Eating For Health

Are you drinking one or more sugar sweetened beverages every day?   Some of the students in my class drink sweet tea which is common in the South.   Other common sugar sweetened beverages besides soda and sweet tea include:   Caramel Latte’s, sports drinks, fruit drinks (not real juice), or other beverages loaded with added sugar.   One student drank Gold Peak Sweet Tea and noted they added 347 calories to their day.   This would be 347 calories of added sugar and empty calories.   It is also common for parents to serve even very young children sweet tea or a soda at meals instead of milk.   The meal is then loaded with empty calories instead of the nutrition a glass of real milk provides.   This sweet tea is loaded with added sugar. Why cut back on sodas and other sugar sweetened beverages ? The Dietary Guidelines for 2015-2020 recommends limiting foods and beverages high in added sugars: Added sugars:   Less than 10% of calories per day starting at age 2.   Avoid foods and bever

Ever eat a meal and in no time at all you are hungry again?   My students often ask why sometimes they eat a meal and shortly after they are hungry?   But sometimes they eat a meal and they are hungry hours later.   Why do some meals fill you up and keep you feeling full for hours, yet other meals or food seem to leave you with an empty stomach not long after you eat? One reason is that some foods are digested rapidly and some foods take much longer to digest.   Some foods seem to fill you up and leave you feeling satiated.   What is satiated?   The book I use to teach nutrition, defines “satiety” as “the feeling of fullness and satisfaction that occurs after a meal and during eating.   Satiation determines how much food is consumed during a meal.” The Satiety Index My daughter sent me an article on the Satiety Index that rates different foods as to how full they make you feel after a meal.      Susanna Holt, PhD from Australia, developed this index as a way to determine how fo

So easy to go to a Fast-Food drive thru and pick up a quick bite to eat.   Fast Food meals can easily add extra calories and fat to your day and probably a lot of added sugar.   If you are going for some Fast Food, are there some healthier choices?   Dr. Oz and others have some recommendations.   Yes, you can choose some healthier options at Fast Food establishments and this blog will give you some ideas on how to do so. Dr. Oz provides 4 healthy Fast-Food suggestions (these suggestions are adapted to make even healthier):       1.  Hamburger/Cheeseburger – some people put hamburgers into a junk food category.   But hamburgers provide protein and a serving of grains. I would recommend a cheeseburger and not a hamburger.   Add cheese and you now have 3 out of the 5 food groups recommended by MyPlate .   Dr. Oz not only includes hamburgers on his Fast-Food list but states : “If you’re craving a burger, go for it!”   Choose a hamburger with a patty the size of the palm of your han