Eating For Health

Harvard School of Public Health recently tweeted, “How man y hours are you going to spend sitting down today?" Turns out this is an important health question as studies are finding the more you sit the higher your risk for diseases.   A recent study has indicated that sitting less can add to your life.  So how do you add years to your life?  This study found that people, who sat for less than 3 hours a day, could add 2 years to their life span.  Those that limited their TV viewing to less than 2 hours a day, added about 1.4 years to their life.  It seems sitting is a health risk factor just like obesity is a health risk factor.   So if you sit more, you die earlier?  Not exactly but sitting more increases your risk of dying earlier.  One of the authors for this study was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal ( Wall Street Journal blog ).  The author, I-Min Lee noted how she is trying to be more active by jumping up and ...

Many of us stop at Fast Food restaurants for a quick bite to eat. Are there healthier options like salads that would be a good choice to eat? What can you do to make your salad choice a healthier choice? WebMD recently ran an article written by a Registered Dietitian, Elaine Magee, about the Best and Worst Fast-Food Salads So which salads should you avoid and which are better choices? Surprisingly, she noted that some Fast-Food salads have as many calories and fat as a double Quarter Pounder with cheese which provides 740 calories and 42 grams of fat. Not really a low cal option. Some suggestions for healthier choices:  Choose grilled chicken on your salad and not “crispy” chicken  Choose your salad dressing wisely and limit the amount of salad dressing you use.    What makes a salad a good choice? Less calories, more fiber, less saturated fat   What makes a salad a “worst” choice? High saturated fat, high fat, high calories  Ms. Ma...

Is Coffee Healthy? Do you drink coffee? Does coffee have any health benefits? Yes, it does according to a report by the Harvard School of Public Health. Two recent studies have noted the health benefits of drinking your morning cup of coffee.  One study led by a research fellow at Harvard School of Public Health (Elizabeth Mostofsky) found that one to two cups of coffee a day can lower our risk of heart failure by 11%. Of course, overindulging in coffee has harmful heart effects but one to two cups can be beneficial or our heart health.  A second study conducted by Jiali Han a professor of epidemiology at Harvard, noted that reported by Harvard looked at people who drank 3 or more cups of coffee a day. They found that this amount of coffee protected one from basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) and lowered one’s risk of getting basal cell carcinoma by 20%. Unfortunately for those who like decaf, there was no benefit as it seems the protective ingredient in cof...

Disney:  This week a number of interesting articles appeared about nutrition.   One of the top stories was about Disney.   What does Disney have to do with nutrition?   In one word, advertising.   Disney announced they will no longer advertise junk food on the morning cartoons for children. No more junk food ads on their TV channels, radio or website.     What do they consider junk-food ads?             Sugary cereals – those with more than 10 grams of sugar per serving             Candy             Fast food             Capri Sun drink – too much sugar             Oscar Mayer Lunchables – too much sodium First Lady Michelle Obama was part of the announcement a...

I remember growing up and playing outside was an everyday thing.   All children played outside every day.   We couldn’t wait to get off the bus, change into play clothes and head outside.   Weekends were spent outdoors the entire day.   When my children were growing up they would spend hours outside playing with their friends in the neighborhood.    Today, it is mostly silent outside.   Luckily, some kids still get the pleasure and health benefits of playing outside every day.   Sadly, many children are kept inside, hour after hour, day after day.   One organization now says kids have a vitamin N deficiency.   Or a nature deficiency as they never get to play outside and enjoy nature.   These observations are not just borne out by looking around one’s neighborhood, they have also been confirmed in a recent study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (April 2, 2012).     The researchers studied ...

According to the textbook (Marotz, 2012), carbohydrates, particularly complex carbohydrates such as those found in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains,  are the body’s best source of energy and should make up the majority of food consumed.  This advice is echoed in a WebMD.com article ( http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/carbohydrates ), which notes that 45-65 percent of adult’s calories should come from carbohydrates.  The article further notes that the fiber in complex carbohydrates (such as whole grains) take longer for your body to digest, prevent the ”peaks and valleys” in blood sugar.  This longer digestion process also means people feel fuller for longer, according to the article. Another article about carbohydrates on the Mayo Clinic website (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrates/MY01458) notes that some studies have shown that whole grains and fiber can help reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.  

Introduction:   In the child nutrition class I teach, students were asked to respond to and prepare a convincing argument on the statement, Carbohydrates are bad for you .   One of those students, Brittany Ekvall, has been asked to be a guest author on this blog site.   Her paper on Good Carbs-Bad Carbs is below.   Are Carbohydrates Bad or Good for You? Many people think that all carbohydrates are bad for you.   While WebMD will partially agree with you that some carbohydrates are indeed bad, not all carbohydrates are created equal.   Our bodies require anywhere from 45-60% of our calories from carbohydrates.   Knowing how to choose the proper carbohydrates rather than reaching for the refined and processed foods is the key to staying healthy without packing on the pounds. The main reason we need carbohydrates in your life is because they provide energy.   Once we ingest our food, it gets broken down into simple sugars and absorbed into th...