Eating For Health

Whether you are an NFL fan or not, everyone knows that NFL players are in shape.    Many teams now have a dietitian/nutritionist coaching them on good nutrition.   In the nutrition class I taught, I showed a video of an NFL team being consulted on eating to win with nutritionist/dietitian Leslie Bonci .   In the video, an NFL player noted how he ate 3 chicken breasts and 8 egg whites for breakfast. Bonci showed the team members that protein is important but so are other foods like fruits and veggies.   Recently, MSN has a great article on 3 simple principles to follow to get in shape and stay healthy for life, according to an NFL nutritionist ,   Mike Minnis .    Sounds easy.   What are these 3 principles?   Principle 1:   Maintain a healthy weight by understanding energy balance Nutritionist Minnis says understanding energy balance means: the balance of the calories you take in versus the calories you burn up.   Take i...

Do you know how much protein you need each day?   I have heard many people say, “I am watching my carbs.”   Have you ever heard anyone say, “I am watching my protein?” Probably not.   The students in my classes are often confused as to what foods provide high quality protein and how much protein they need each day.   Do you need that protein shake, those protein bars?   Did you know most Americans get much more protein than they need each day?   This is true for those ages 19-59.   You may not know that people over 59 may need to focus on adding more protein to their day.   How much of your diet should be protein? The Mayo Clinic notes :   About 10-35% of the calories you eat should come from protein.   If you eat about 2000 calories a day, this equates to 200-700 calories from protein.   Or, if you count grams, this would be 50-175 grams of protein a day.   Most of the young adults in my nutrition class ate over 90 grams...