Eating For Health

Everyone is complaining about high grocery prices.   And groceries have gotten more expensive.   What are some superfoods that you might want to add to your grocery list?        1.   Choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil over Coconut oil For years my students would say coconut oil was the healthier oil.   I always taught them that was not the case.   Still many people swear by coconut oil, even putting it in their morning coffee.   And many cook with coconut oil thinking this is a healthy thing to do.   What is so bad about coconut oil?   The high saturated fat content, “a whopping 12 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon.”   What’s the problem with saturated fat?   According to Medline Plus , ‘too much saturated fat can cause cholesterol build up in your arteries (blood vessels).   Saturated fats raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol.   High LDL cholesterol increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.”   ...

As discussed in last week’s blog, the US News and World Reports ranks the best diets ( Best Diets 2015 ).   One of the top rated diets is the Mediterranean diet.   This diet is not really a “diet” but a way of eating that is healthy overall.    So why is the Mediterranean diet so great and what is the diet? Mediterranean diet – health benefits Heart Health - This diet promotes heart health as it decreases your risk of heart disease Depression – want a diet to improve your mood, this is it. Dementia – want a brain healthy diet?   This is it. Cancer – following the Mediterranean diet reduces your risk of cancer Parkinson’s disease – the Mediterranean diet reduces one’s chances of getting Parkinson’s disease What is the Mediterranean diet? Focus on Fruits and Vegetables – you have heard of “5 a day”, to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day.   Well the Mediterranean diet steps it up   – 6 servings of fruit and vegetables a day minimum, ...