Eating For Health

Who doesn’t make some New Year’s Resolutions?   Most of us make resolutions but unfortunately most of us don’t keep those resolutions.     Forbes Health polled Americans about their 2024 New Year’s Resolutions.   What are the top New Year’s Resolutions for 2024?   Top priority was improving fitness (48%), improving finances was second (38%), improving mental health came in third (36%) and losing weight came in fourth (34%).   But a fifth was improving ones’ diet (32%).   Despite good intentions, many of us fail to keep these resolutions .   Only about 8% keep their resolutions for one month, about 22% last 2 months, and only 13% are going strong at 4 months.      But setting goals for yourself is a good idea.   Some nutritionists got together and came up with some New Year’s Resolutions you should not put on your list.   And they give some guidance of how to set some health goals for the new year that are more likely t...

Who doesn’t love going to holiday parties and enjoying all that good food to eat?   But along with enjoying all that delicious holiday food can come some unwanted pounds.   What can you do to enjoy the food but not add on the unwanted weight?   Between mid-November and mid-January, Americans gain about 1-2 pounds.   Not all that much except if one doesn’t lose those couple of pounds and they stick around until the next year’s holiday season.   Some experts think this holiday weight gain is responsible for adult weight creep.   Just a few added pounds a year ends up being many pounds over a decade.   Consumer Reports and others have a few recommendations to help avoid gaining weight over the holidays.   Try out what works for you, even try one of the tips each day. Tip 1:   Know your holiday starting weight – weigh yourself first thing in the morning.   This is your weight goal to maintain over the holiday season.   Then each da...

Who isn’t looking forward to all the great food there is to eat on Thanksgiving?   In our family, we have some great cooks and they love to cook up a storm and they bring lots of different main dishes, side dishes and desserts.    How can you enjoy all those Thanksgiving goodies without feeling guilty?   Last year I provided some tips on how you can enjoy the Thanksgiving feast and all those leftovers without ending up gaining weight over the long weekend.   Not exactly an easy thing to do but some of these tips may help you stave off groaning when you get on the scale after the Thanksgiving break.   No, I am not recommending dieting – who wants to skimp on all the good food?    And Thanksgiving is a day not to be on a diet but a day we can enjoy every bite but not gain a lot as a result.   How can you make some slight modifications in your Thanksgiving feast and still enjoy a tasty meal? What are some suggestions for enjoying all the food bu...

Whether you are an NFL fan or not, everyone knows that NFL players are in shape.    Many teams now have a dietitian/nutritionist coaching them on good nutrition.   In the nutrition class I taught, I showed a video of an NFL team being consulted on eating to win with nutritionist/dietitian Leslie Bonci .   In the video, an NFL player noted how he ate 3 chicken breasts and 8 egg whites for breakfast. Bonci showed the team members that protein is important but so are other foods like fruits and veggies.   Recently, MSN has a great article on 3 simple principles to follow to get in shape and stay healthy for life, according to an NFL nutritionist ,   Mike Minnis .    Sounds easy.   What are these 3 principles?   Principle 1:   Maintain a healthy weight by understanding energy balance Nutritionist Minnis says understanding energy balance means: the balance of the calories you take in versus the calories you burn up.   Take i...

This week my husband showed me an interesting article in TIME, Can Taurine Slow Aging?   Who isn’t interested in slowing down father time?   Then my husband asked me if I knew what taurine was.   I said, “sure, it is an amino acid in some proteins.”   So, what does taurine have to do with slowing aging?   What foods have taurine?   Are there ways to increase taurine levels in your body besides eating certain foods? .   What is taurine? As noted in my blog, How can you add some high-quality protein foods to your day? , proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids.   Your body can make some amino acids but some you have to get from the foods you eat.   For babies taurine is an essential amino acid but adults can make the amino acid, taurine.      Taurine levels decline as you age. Although adults make taurine, the amount we make decreases substantially with age.   For example, in 60-year-old individual...