Eating For Health

Potassium – why do you need it and what foods can you eat to be sure you are getting enough of this important mineral?   Most of the students in the classes I teach know we should all be cutting back on the amount of sodium in our diets.   But most students don’t know we should also focus on increasing the amount of potassium in our diets.   Why do we need potassium and why is it so important to good health? Why is potassium important to our health?         1.  Blood Pressure, heart disease -   Maxine Yeung, a Registered Dietitian who founded The Wellness Whisk states, “Potassium is an electrolyte that helps with nerve and muscle function in the body.   And, “Potassium also helps regulate heart and blood pressure by counterbalancing sodium.”   Low intake of potassium is related to high blood pressure , while an increase in potassium helps counteract the effects of sodium and helps keep our blood pressure normal.  ...

Sports – so fun to have your kids play a sport.   Last week we noted that sports not only require skill but also fuel.   We noted how important it is to stay hydrated and how important carbs are to an athlete as carbs fuel the body.   What about maintaining weight?   Many teenagers lose weight when participating in sports as they not only need calories because they are growing, they need calories to fuel their sports activity.   A local basketball coach was alarmed when one of his players kept losing weight and lost 11 pounds over the basketball season.   And this was 11 pounds the teenager didn’t want to lose.   What are some ways an athlete can maintain their weight and muscle mass while playing sports?   What are some nutrition goals student athletes should focus on to “ eat better, play better ”? 1.        Maintaining Weight – Not surprising, maintaining weight involves calories.   Athletes, especiall...

Why focus on protein?   Americans eat a lot of protein but usually at dinner.    New research is showing how important eating protein is at breakfast and lunch and not just at dinner time.   Focus on Protein to Boost Your Muscle Mass   Eating protein at breakfast and lunch can help boost muscle mass.   This is increasingly important as people get older and they start to loose muscle mass.   A study of healthy older adults found that those who added protein to breakfast and lunch added muscle mass.   Your peak muscle mass is in your 30’s.   Then is it a downward trend unless one focuses on protein and resistance training. Why spread protein out between breakfast, lunch and dinner? A study at the University of Texas found your body had 25% more muscle synthesis when protein was spread throughout 3 meals a day and not just emphasizing protein at dinner.   They note that the study participants didn’t increase how much protein th...