Eating For Health

     Are you making some nutrition mistakes?   Even those who are health conscious and pride themselves on eating well can make some of the mistakes noted below.   Or, you may be interested in eating healthier and want to avoid some nutrition mistakes.    An interesting article in the Washington Post, 10 Nutrition Mistakes Even Really Healthy People Make covered a number of “mistakes” you may not be aware of.   What are some of these nutrition mistakes?         1.       Flax seeds – Flax seeds are the latest trend and healthy so you add some whole flax seeds to your cereal, your smoothie.   Flax seeds are super healthy, loaded with heart healthy omega-3 fats plus fiber and some antioxidants.   But to get the benefit of flax seeds, don’t eat them whole as they may go through you pretty much undigested.   Instead, buy ground flax seeds and sprinkle some on your mo...

What city is going to tax soft drinks and other beverages?   New York City tried and failed to do this.   This week, the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, decided to be not so friendly to soft drinks and other beverages.   The City Council passed a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on many beverages.    Doesn’t sound like much, but buy a 20 ounce soda and the tax would be 30 cents.   Want a 12 pack of sodas?   Then add $2.16 to your bill.   This doesn’t include the 8% sales tax that would be charged on that soda.   What beverages are being taxed? Sugary beverages including sugared sodas, sports drinks, Iced Tea like Snapple Iced Tea, lemonade, Gatorade, Energy Drinks like Monsters Energy Drink, Powerade Mountain Berry Blast would be taxed. Diet sodas like Diet Coke, Coke Zero are also taxed.   V8 Splash Carrot Orange Drink would be taxed as it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup and contains only 15% juice.   Vitamin Water ...

Who hasn’t heard the myth, “Carbs are bad for you.”   You should avoid carbs”.   Really, is that myth true?   Briefly, NO – you shouldn’t avoid carbs.    There are “bad carbs” such as white sugar and white flour but there are many good carbs such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.   Avoiding carbs can mean avoiding the many nutrients carbs provide that our bodies need and that athletes need. Should athletes focus on carbs?   Absolutely.   For good athletic performance, an athlete needs carbs.   During exercise, carbs provide the greatest source of energy in the form of glucose.   Our bodies convert the carbs we eat to glucose.   Glucose is the sugar in our blood that feeds our cells and glycogen is how we store carb energy in our muscles and liver.   Eating carbs before a workout, before soccer, baseball or other sports game provides one with the energy needed for that event. Weight lifters – should those who...