Eating For Health

How frustrating to be on a diet and the scale doesn’t move.   On X a man was lamenting how he had been on a very restrictive diet for a week and the scale hadn't changed.   Many people give up at this point and go off the diet.   But are positive things happening to your body even though the scale hasn’t budged? Beyond the Scale lists 6 ways you can know your diet is working even if the scale hasn’t moved.   Your diet and new exercise habits are working even if the scale doesn’t show it.   Better Health Markers Even though the scale hasn’t changed, your blood pressure may be lower, your lipid levels like cholesterol may be lower, and blood sugar levels may be lower.  More Energy Better eating and more exercise can lead to increased energy levels.  And exercising burns up calories and leads to higher energy levels. Improved Digestion Eating better, including eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains adds fiber to one’s day leads to a more diverse...

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...

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...