Eating For Health

Who hasn’t heard the old wives’ tale, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”?    Although not true, eating apples has some health benefits.   Fall is apple season and how fun it is to visit an orchard to pick or to browse and choose some freshly picked apples.   Growing up we did not hear much about the health benefits of apples.   But more research has found apples not only provide some good nutrition but also fiber and those healthy antioxidants.    What are some health benefits of apples?   Cleveland Clinic has a great article on 7 Reasons Why Apples are Good for You .   Blood sugar control – yes, apples do contain the natural sugar, fructose.   But unlike sugary foods like donuts, eating an apple won’t spike your blood sugar.   Why?   Because the fiber in the apple slows down the absorption of fructose, and apples are lower in sugar than processed foods like donuts.   In fact, a study of over 38,000 women found, those who ate one or more apples a day, had a 28% reduced risk

Caffeine – who doesn’t enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning?   Whether a K-cup, Starbucks or Mr. Coffee, most people enjoy starting their day with a cup of coffee.   According to the FDA , about 80% of adults in the US have some caffeine every day.     How does all this caffeine affect our health? What beverages and foods have caffeine? Coffee and tea have caffeine as does chocolate.   Energy drinks such as Red Bull contain caffeine.   How much caffeine is safe to drink? FDA notes that for most people, caffeine can be part of a healthy diet.   “But too much caffeine may post a danger to your health.”   FDA says healthy adults can consume up to 400 mg of caffeine a day which equates to about 4-5 cups of coffee a day, or 10 cans of soda , or 2 “energy shot” drinks.   But this varies as some people are more sensitive to caffeine and some people metabolize it faster or slower.   Pregnant or breastfeeding women should consult with their health care provider about limiting caffeine

Growing up who didn’t’ enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?   So many kids are raised on PB&J.   And many adults love to enjoy peanut butter sandwiches.   A favorite sandwich of Elvis Presley was a peanut butter and banana sandwich.   Are there health benefits to including peanut butter in your day?   My sister sent me an interesting article, The Popular Sandwich Spread That Helps Prevent The Risk Of Stroke .   I have heard a lot of benefits of eating peanut butter but had not heard that PB may help prevent strokes. Peanuts, peanut butter, and health: As noted in the article , about every 40 seconds someone in the US suffers from a stroke.   Many factors affect stroke risk including obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, but diet also plays a role.   Some foods increase one’s risk of stroke including “diets high in sodium, processed meats, and sugar-sweetened drinks”.   Including peanut butter and peanuts in one’s diet can reduce one’s risk of stroke.

This week my daughter asked me to do some research on the benefits of sugar free wine.   I had not even heard that this was a new thing.   Seems odd as who ever heard of wine having a lot of sugar?   Curious, I did do some research on the subject.   If you Google “sugar free wine” you will find a lot of topics coming up including:           Dry Farm Wine – Sugar Free Organic Wine   Keto Friendly-Zero Sugar Wine   Sugar Free Wines     If you enjoy drinking some wine, should you even be concerned about the sugar in wine?   Do some wines have added sugar? Those interested in a more detailed explanation of “sugar” in wines, can read the full article, Don’t Trust ‘Sugar-Free’ Wine   which provides an excellent explanation of the natural sugar in wines and the added sugar in some wines. Natural sugar in wines .   Most people know wine is made from grapes.   All grapes contain the natural sugar, fructose.   This fructose is absolutely necessary to make the alcohol content of any wine