Eating For Health

We recently got back from a wonderful trip to Europe.   What food is enjoyed every day, many times a day in Europe?   Bread.   All kinds of bread from delicious croissants in France to many different kinds of breads in Germany and Netherlands.   One morning in France, we talked to a woman walking her dog and later saw her with a bag from a bakery and she held it up and said, “My breakfast”.   We found the bakery she had gone to and went in and the shelves were half empty.   Puzzled the store clerk said they had sold out all those baked goods that morning.   We bought a baked roll and the store clerk gave us a fresh croissant.   It was one of the best croissants I had ever eaten.   Why does the bread in Europe seem so good compared to the bread we eat in the USA?   One reason is that many of the preservatives used in breads made in the US are banned in Europe.   Europeans buy their bread fresh every day because their bread has no pre...

Everyone has heard of “processed foods”.   But now they talk about “ultra-processed” foods.   When teaching nutrition we did talk about why processed foods can be unhealthy but only recently has the term “ultra-processed” foods come into vogue.   In a previous blog post, Should You Avoid Ultraprocessed Food? , I noted that some of my students say that to eat healthy one should avoid “processed food”.   What they did not seem to understand is that most of the food we eat is processed to some extent.   Whole wheat bread is a healthy choice but bread is a “processed food”.   They harvest the grain, mill the grain, make the flour and then make the bread.   Cereal, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, 100% juice – all are processed to some extent.   But now there is “ultraprocessed food”.   These foods are not only highly processed but often contain a lot of added sugar, salt and fat as well as preservatives and many have artificial coloring ...

So many people develop New Year’s Resolutions focusing on giving up things or on losing weight.   Why not focus on adopting some healthier habits in 2023 and some healthier lifestyle changes?   Last year I discussed some recommendation by a   nutritionist in London, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, on how you can adopt a healthier lifestyle.   Below are some of her easy-to- adopt suggestions and I have added some suggestions of my own. Protein at every meal – Protein is filling and helps stave off those hunger pains between meals.   What are some high quality protein foods?   All animal foods provide high quality protein.   Focus on lean proteins like chicken breasts.   Chicken and other lean meats, provide not only high-quality protein but also many nutrients like iron, zinc, selenium and many B vitamins.   B vitamins are known as the energy vitamins as they help your body produce the energy needed for all your activities.   A top-rated pro...