Eating For Health

Who doesn’t love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?   What is the number one sandwich consumed at lunch in the U.S.?   You guessed it, the simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.   So simple to make and it can be a pretty healthy addition to your diet.   But many people are buying a ready-made PB&J and not bothering to make their own PB&J sandwiches.   Years ago, a student noted they ate an “Uncrustable” for lunch.   I had no idea what this was so I looked it up.   I was really surprised that she was buying a ready-made peanut butter and jelly sandwich.   Even more surprising, this week I read that Smucker’s Uncrustables are now nearly a $1 billion a year business.   So popular that Smucker’s is building their third Uncrustable factory.   What are Uncrustables? Smucker’s notes Uncrustables are frozen sandwiches, prep-less, crustless and a day-saver.   These include not just the traditional “sandwiches” made from peanut butter and grape jelly, but also peanut butter and

Plant-based milks like oat milk and almond milk have been in the news lately.   And not for a good reason.   So many people have flocked to replacing real cow’s milk with either almond milk or oat milk.   I was never a fan of plant-based milks and now there seems to be more concerns about plant-based milk’s “health halo”.   This week the Daily Mail came out with the headline, Oat milk linked to ANOTHER cancer-causing chemical as people flock back to dairy .   Earlier in October, the Daily Mail had another headline, Additive in oat and almond milk linked to colon cancer ”.   Both articles presented information I had not been aware of before. What is oat milk? Oat milk is a plant-based, non-dairy milk that is made by soaking oats in water, blending and then straining.   The texture is creamier than cow’s milk with an oatmeal-like flavor.   There are many flavors of oat milk and you can buy it unsweetened or flavored with vanilla or chocolate.   What is Daily Mail’s concern about

Listen to older people talk and you often hear about someone who fell and broke their hip, arm, leg, or other bones.   I visited a childhood friend recently and her arm was in a cast as she had fallen off her bicycle.   But one doesn’t have to be old to break a bone.   A relative was playing flag football, tripped due to a hole on the field, fell and broke her ankle. What foods can you add to your diet to boost bone health and to have stronger bones? What are some ways we can strengthen our bones?   Diet:   adequate intake of certain vitamins and minerals are needed for strong bones. Exercise:      Weight-bearing activities like walking, running, and strength training are great for bone health.   Lifting weights and strength training are 2 ways to “promote new bone growth and maintain existing bone structure”.   What nutrients are essential for building and maintaining bone density? Calcium:   almost everyone knows you need calcium for strong bones but so many people, especial

Who doesn’t love some sweets, some desserts?   Everyone knows candy, cookies, pies, cakes, and other desserts have sugar.    But you may not be aware of the amount of added sugar in everyday foods.   What are some food sources of hidden sugar that may surprise you?   What is the difference between the natural sugar in foods and added sugar?   It is the added sugar in foods that can lead to a number of health problems including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, dental disease and even liver disease.      What foods have natural sugar? When health professionals recommend cutting back on “sugar”, they usually aren’t talking about the natural sugar in foods.   Did you know cow’s milk has some natural sugar called “lactose”?   It is not very sweet so milk doesn’t taste very sweet unless it is chocolate milk and sugar has been added.   Fruit contains a natural sugar called “fructose”.   So why don’t you get a sugar high when you eat an apple or an orange?   Because the fiber in fruit sl

A relative just asked me about their triglyceride levels.   She wanted to know what to do if her triglycerides were high.   What are triglycerides?   What does a high level of triglycerides mean for one’s health?   Do we get triglycerides from food?   Does our body need triglycerides? What are triglycerides? Triglycerides are a fat that circulates in your blood and is the most common fat in your body.   After you eat a meal, you burn up some of the calories from food but your body converts the calories it doesn’t need right away to triglycerides and stores these triglycerides in your fat cells.   If you need energy between meals, your body can release some triglycerides from the fat cells to use for energy.   What do high triglyceride levels due to our health? High triglyceride levels in our blood can lead to several health issues including heart disease, stroke and even pancreatitis.   Why?   Too many triglycerides in our blood causes artery walls to thicken which can lead to

So many of my relatives have switched from drinking sugared sodas to drinking sparkling water.   What are the pros and cons of switching to sparkling water?   My sister sent me several articles about sparkling water that answers these questions. What is sparkling water? Sparkling water is also called “seltzer water” or “carbonated water” as it has carbon dioxide bubbles in it.   There are many kinds of sparkling water including: “club soda, soda water, seltzer water, mineral water, and tonic water”. Mineral water:   water from a mineral spring or a well that may contain some minerals, sulfur compounds and natural bubbles. Tonic water:   has quinine and added sugar or added high-fructose corn syrup.   The quinine gives it a bitter taste.   Sparkling water :   Water with carbon dioxide added to make it fizzy and bubbly.   May also have flavorings, some real fruit juice, or artificial sweeteners added.    What are the health benefits of drinking sparkling water? Hydration:   S