Eating For Health

Yogurt was in the news this week.   Why?   Because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will let yogurt companies put a new health claim on yogurt.   One company, Danone North America requested the FDA let them put a health claim on yogurt that eating yogurt reduces one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.     What evidence did the Danone North America company submit to FDA related to yogurt and type 2 diabetes? Amanda Blechman, a registered dietitian with the company, stated that Danone filed a petition with the FDA reviewing 32 research studies on yogurt and type 2 diabetes.   These studies show that eating some yogurt may help reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.   A Harvard study “found that a daily serving of yogurt was linked to an 18% lower risk of type 2 diabetes”.       What did FDA decide? FDA noted “there is some credible evidence supporting a relationship between yogurt intake and reduced risk of...

COVID is in the news almost every day.   A new variant is popping up, etc.   The news recently was fascinating.   Are there foods or supplements that not only can help prevent COVID but also reduce symptoms?   Why hadn’t we heard this before?   You may have seen the many headlines about Probiotics can Reduce COVID Symptoms and Delay Disease .   Researchers at Duke University have come out with surprising findings about probiotics and COVID.    What did the Duke University study find about COVID and probiotics? Before COVID, researchers already knew that probiotics were helpful in preventing respiratory infections.   In March 2020, before many people had been vaccinated for COVID, Duke researchers studied unvaccinated individuals who had been exposed to COVID.   They studied 182 people, with half getting the probiotic lactobacillus and the other half taking a placebo pill.   Even though the research was cut short because study...

This Fall how can you eat to boost your immune system?   What foods should you be adding to your day or week?   Fall and winter may bring on colds, the flu, and other infections.   Are there foods you can eat to help boost your immune system?   Besides the traditional chicken soup and hot tea that many recommend, what other foods can give your immune system a boost?    Can some foods really give your immune system a boost? No one food will prevent you from getting sick.   But eating foods full of the vitamins and minerals your immune system needs, will help give your immune system a boost and may help prevent an illness and help you recover faster if you do get sick.   Doctor Cassandra Calabrese says , “There’s no doubt that a healthy diet improves your immunity to illness.   What you put in your body is important for your overall health, including your immune system.”   What are some foods to stock up on to give your immune system...

Go to the grocery store and you will see hundreds of varieties of yogurt to choose from.   For years eating yogurt was a popular fad.   And that was great as yogurt is a great health food.   But lately, my husband says there are less and less varieties of yogurt to choose from.   Many of the flavors we love are getting harder to find.   Sad, as this means people are eating less yogurt and may be substituting yogurt for some foods that are far less nutritious. When students in my class analyze their diet recall there is almost two nutrients they are low in, calcium and vitamin D.   These are two nutrients that most yogurts are a great source of.   If you have been cutting back on your yogurt intake, it would be a great time to add some yogurt back to your day. What is Greek yogurt and how does it differ from regular yogurt? According to WebMD , “Greek yogurt has been strained to remove extra liquid and whey.   The result is a thicker, denser ...