Eating For Health

Are you drinking one or more sugar sweetened beverages every day?   Some of the students in my class drink sweet tea which is common in the South.   Other common sugar sweetened beverages besides soda and sweet tea include:   Caramel Latte’s, sports drinks, fruit drinks (not real juice), or other beverages loaded with added sugar.   One student drank Gold Peak Sweet Tea and noted they added 347 calories to their day.   This would be 347 calories of added sugar and empty calories.   It is also common for parents to serve even very young children sweet tea or a soda at meals instead of milk.   The meal is then loaded with empty calories instead of the nutrition a glass of real milk provides.   This sweet tea is loaded with added sugar. Why cut back on sodas and other sugar sweetened beverages ? The Dietary Guidelines for 2015-2020 recommends limiting foods and beverages high in added sugars: Added sugars:   Less than 10% of calories per da...

Are there foods that promote healthier skin?   Students in my class often ask what foods they can eat for healthier skin.   As it turns out there are lots of foods that promote skin health.   Environmental Nutrition recently had an article, “Eat to Glow” and they outlined many foods for eating to glow.   WebMD and other sites also provide guidance on eating for healthy skin.   What are some of their recommendations? 1.  Fruits and Vegetables – “eat the rainbow”.   Many people know that fruits and veggies are healthy but many don’t know the different colors of fruits and veggies pack different antioxidants that are good for you.   For great skin, focus on vitamin A and carotene which turns into vitamin A in our bodies.   Think dark green and dark orange like spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, green peppers, broccoli and cantaloupe.   Interesting, foods that are red – not only provide carotenes but also the healthy antioxidant, lycopen...

Sugar – how much are you eating each day?   Who doesn’t like their sweets and desserts?   The students I teach are surprised to learn that I enjoy my desserts and we have a candy dish – usually full of chocolate, on our coffee table.   Some people think nutritionists don’t eat any sugar, but not true.   However, I do point out to my students that my “sugar” intake is usually from a dessert and not from sugared soft drinks, and every day food items that can be loaded with sugar.   How can you cut back on the sugar in your day and still enjoy some desserts and sweets?   Since I enjoy having a dessert, I liked the article , “6 Simple Ways to Eat Less Sugar – Without Giving up Dessert”.     The American Heart Association also has a great article, “Tips for Cutting Down on Sugar”.   Sugar isn’t an enemy.   All the cells in our body use sugar, in the form of glucose, for energy.   What does our brain use for energy?   Glucose. ...