Eating For Health

Last week we talked about how important fiber is for feeding the good bacteria in your gut.   To have a healthy gut you need to populate it with good bacteria by eating yogurt and then you need to “feed” those good bacteria by adding some fiber to your diet.   Fiber is not only good as a food source for your good gut bacteria, fiber is also good for your heart.   A recent article in our local newspaper points out “ Four ways fiber helps your heart ” taken from an article by a registered dietitian, Carolyn Williams.   She acknowledges fiber is good for your gut but also your heart by saying, “to put it simply, eating more fiber means a healthy gut, and a healthy gut means a healthy heart.”    So how does fiber promote heart health?   Fiber lowers your cholesterol .   Have you seen the oatmeal and Cheerios packages?   Right on the front of Cheerios, it states, “Can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet”.   Foods like o...

What are some of the latest findings about nutrition?   Interested in following the Paleo Diet?   New research indicates this may not be a heart healthy diet.   Want less belly fat?   To reduce belly fat are there foods should you be eating more of? Paleo Diet – many personal trainers and others push the Paleo Diet for good health.   Many articles have been written about the Paleo Diet and many outline the health issues related to this diet.   I have never been a fan.   As Dr. Donohue once noted, cave man didn’t live a long life and this diet follows that of cave man.   The European Journal of Nutrition studied 44 on the Paleo Diet and looked at 47 others on a more traditional diet.   They found that people on the Paleo diet had higher levels of a gut-produced compound called TMAO than those not on the Paleo Diet.   Interesting that some people promote the Paleo Diet for gut health. The gut-produced compound that is increased ...

The New York Times Well Blogs , featured their most popular health questions for 2015 Most Popular Health Questions You Asked This Year .   Some of these questions and responses are highlighted below. (Q and A adapted somewhat for this blog.) Q:   What is the Best Time to Exercise to Lose Weight? A:   Running on empty seems to work.   Some research shows working out on a completely empty stomach stimulates the body to burn more fat and even stave off weight gain.   But for me, exercising on empty would only lead to low blood sugar and poor performance.   Even before I go for a morning walk I at least eat a banana to have some energy. Q:   How Can I Reduce Belly Fat ? A:   Belly fat is not only of concern for appearance sake, it also can be a health risk.   The Mayo Clinic and other researches ( Central Obesity ) have noted those with large waists are more likely to have health problems such as cardiovascular disease than those ...