Eating For Health

Are you choosing whole wheat bread or bread that has some or no whole wheat?   When I ask my students, “How can you tell if bread is whole grain?” I get quite interesting answers.   Some say, color – brown bread is whole wheat bread.   Some say – look at the label but then don’t explain what to look for.   So how do you know if bread is whole wheat and what are some of the best whole grain breads to choose?   Environmental Nutrition recently wrote, “ Best in Whole Wheat Bread ” and provided a lot of recommended whole wheat breads to choose from.    Why whole wheat bread?   Choosing whole grain bread is good for your health.   Forget the gluten free craze (unless you have celiac disease) and focus on buying and enjoying some whole grain bread. Whole grain bread adds fiber to your day.   Most Americans have diets quite low in fiber and eating whole grain bread is a great way to add some fiber to your diet. Whole grain bread has many trace minerals missing or low in white bre

So many nutrition myths about what foods are good for you and what foods are bad for your health.   MSN has an interesting article 11 things people think are terrible for your diet that actually aren’t .   What are some of these foods and drinks?   Red Bull – yes, it can be loaded with sugar.   But what if you get a can of sugar-free Red Bull?   The writer says when she drinks it, people say things like, “That stuff will kill you.”   The sugar-free Red Bull has about 80 calories so not really a high calorie drink and about 80 mg. of caffeine.   This amount is about one third the caffeine in a Starbucks coffee.   They do add some B vitamins and taurine which most people don’t need but not really harmful.   Even white bread is enriched with B vitamins and any protein food provides taurine so these nutrients aren’t ones lacking in most Americans diets. Fatty Foods like Avocado and Olive Oil will make you fat .    It is true that foods higher in fat are higher in calories.  

Celebrate! Parties, dinners, cookie exchanges, buffets, what a fun time of year.   We all want to indulge and enjoy ourselves over the holidays.   How can you be merry, eat and drink this holiday season and not pack on the pounds?   I told my husband that the CommonHealth offered 10 Tips to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain .   He responded, “What are they?   Stop eating?”    Well stop eating would work but that is not one of the tips.    Many others, like Brianna Elliott, RD , also offer some tips on avoiding weight gain during the holiday season.   What are some of their tips?     Hydrate – did you know that if you are thirsty, you are becoming dehydrated?     We are so busy this time of year, with shopping, going to parties, going to chorales, plays, and other holiday events that we may forget to stay hydrated.   The goal of 8 glasses of water a day is still a good one.   Keep some water or hot tea in your car as your running errands.   Stop and buy some water or a cup of hot tea w