Eating For Health

Many parents today fail to give their kids milk at meals.   Some even serve water thinking water is actually healthier than milk.   Odd since milk has water in it and one doesn’t need to serve a kid water when milk is served at the meal.    It is great that the new MyPlate shows a glass of milk with meals.   But many people choose milk alternatives.   Some because they are lactose intolerant.   Lactose is the naturally present sugar in milk that some people have trouble digesting so regular milk can lead to stomach upsets for them.   Others, have heard “coconut milk” is healthy so they forgo regular milk and have jumped on the coconut milk bandwagon.   So what are the pros, cons and nutritionally differences in milks versus milk alternatives?   Consumer Reports in their September issue did a great review of the various milk alternatives and their nutrition strengths and weaknesses.   Consumer Reports noted that up to 21% of America...

How many times have we heard something about nutrition that we wonder, “Is that really true?”.   In class I showed a video about nutrition and the nutritionist stated potato skins are healthy.   Is this really true?    You may have heard nuts are fattening.   Is that true or a myth?   So here are some myths vs truths you may have heard and the real truth. Nuts are fattening – it is is true that nuts are higher in calories than some foods.   But they have recently discovered that almonds and perhaps all nuts have less calories than previously thought.   USDA researchers have found that almonds provide 130 calories per ounce, not the 170 calories they thought and you may still find on nutrition labels.   Why?   USDA was measuring all the calories in almonds and not the calories we digest.   Turns out we don’t absorb all the calories in almonds.   So enjoy almonds and other nuts.   A handful of nuts a day is actually ...