Eating For Health

Who doesn’t love snacking?   On a recent trip to Europe, one thing we missed were snacks.   Americans love to snack.   Snacking doesn’t have to be unhealthy and actually can add some good nutrition to your day.   One of my favorite snacks is a banana.   A natural food, unprocessed, no plastic packaging and rich in potassium and fiber.   But too many Americans are eating snacks that are ultra-processed.   What is ultra-processed ?   Ultra-processed foods are those shiny, packaged products that often have little resemblance to their natural origins.   They are typically loaded with additives, preservatives, and artificial ingredients.    What are some examples of ultra-processed snacks to avoid? Mass-Manufactured Chips/Snacks:   Think Cheetos or other colorful, flavored, and heavily processed snack foods.   Sweet Buns and Cookies:     Those soft, sweet buns and sugary cookies you find at the store?   Yes...

The USA is well known for its safe food supply.   But there are foods and ingredients in the USA that are banned in other countries.   Each country and the European Union have their own food standards so what can be sold in one country may be banned for sale in another country.    Go on a trip to another country and you will see American food everywhere.   In France, you can easily stop at a McDonald’s for their coffee or food.   Our fast food restaurants seem to populate the globe.   But some foods you can easily buy in the USA are not sold in some other countries.   Or, there are some ingredients you can find on food labels in the USA but not in some countries.   What are some of these ingredients and what countries ban them?      1.     Artificial Food Dyes :     Many candies and other foods are colorful because of artificial food dyes.   M&M’s – one of my favorite snacks, esp...

What are ultra-processed foods and how might these foods add to your waist line and   The obesity epidemic in the USA is blamed on many factors:   less exercise, more Fast Food, more and more screen time, more riding in a car instead of walking.   New research is focusing on how ultra-processed foods contributes to more weight on the scale and bigger waist lines.    your weight? What are ultra-processed foods vs minimally processed foods?   Think of the foods we all love to eat that are high in fat, salt and added sugar and usually loaded with additives.   Although these foods taste good, they often are lacking in vitamins, minerals, fiber and the healthy antioxidants.    White bread is an ultra-processed food. Ultra-processed Foods: A Brazilian nutrition researcher named Carlos Monteiro defined ultra-processed foods to include foods with additives like preservatives, colors, added sweeteners but not whole foods like...