Eating For Health

Many people love spicy foods.   Did you know that adding some spices to your foods is actually good for your health?   Not only do spices have almost no calories, they add lots of health benefits.   A class activity I did with students was to modify a lasagna recipe to make it healthier.   One group of students took out all the spices thinking this somehow made the lasagna healthier.   A good learning opportunity as we then discussed how you want to ADD SPICES to your day for good health.    Why are spices healthy? Think antioxidants , those healthy chemicals in plant foods.   There are over 100 different spices and these not only are a source of antioxidants but a concentrated source of antioxidants.   Different spices provide a varying array of antioxidants.   Health benefits of spices can include being anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, helping to lower glucose and cholesterol levels, and even boost your mood and brain function. Jo...

This Fall how can you eat to boost your immune system?   What foods should you be adding to your day or week?   Fall and winter may bring on colds, the flu, and other infections.   Are there foods you can eat to help boost your immune system?   Besides the traditional chicken soup and hot tea that many recommend, what other foods can give your immune system a boost?    Can some foods really give your immune system a boost? No one food will prevent you from getting sick.   But eating foods full of the vitamins and minerals your immune system needs, will help give your immune system a boost and may help prevent an illness and help you recover faster if you do get sick.   Doctor Cassandra Calabrese says , “There’s no doubt that a healthy diet improves your immunity to illness.   What you put in your body is important for your overall health, including your immune system.”   What are some foods to stock up on to give your immune system...

So much has been written about strengthening one’s immune system.   An important thing to do in the era of COVID.   Recently I wrote about Vitamin and Supplements to Boost Your Immune System , describing how vitamins C and D, the mineral zinc and the herb, turmeric,   can be helpful in boosting one’s immune system.   But just this week, I read an article about how drinking cow’s milk can help one in the fight against COVID.   Not plant-based milks like Almond milk, oat milk, rice milk, but real cow’s milk. Does cow's milk help fight COVID? What has the research on milk found? As far back as June 2021, research was being published in Frontiers of Immunology outlining how the proteins in cow’s milk may be helpful in the fight against COVID.   More recently, an article published in the Journal of Dairy Science (February 24, 2022), found that a protein in cow’s milk helps us fight off some viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms.  ...