Eating For Health

Want to eat healthier in 2021?   What does “eating healthy” mean?   In the last two blogs we discussed simple changes you can make to start eating healthier.   If you want to follow a “diet” or eating plan for eating healthier, what are your options?   In the class I teach, students are always recommending we eat healthier diets.   But when I ask them what this means they often struggle to come up with specifics.   Instead of making a resolution to go on a “diet” this year, why not go on a “diet” to eat healthier?   Are there healthy diets to follow?   A diet not for weight loss or weight gain, but just a healthy eating pattern? Not a “diet” you go on for a week or two but a healthy eating pattern diet that you can go on all year long.   I was watching TV recently and saw the commercial for taking pills to get your fruit and veggies each day.   Rather than take pills, eat your fruit and veggies as a way to eat healthier in 2021.  ...

 Last week we discussed how to set some SMART goals for 2021.   We noted some very simple and easy things you can do to eat healthier.   For example, eating a few baby carrots at lunch every day is good for your skin, good for your health.   In fact, WebMD has an entire article on Carrots .   To eat healthier doesn’t require going on a diet, giving up candy, desserts but focusing more on what foods you can add to your day for a healthier you.   Add more fruits and vegetables to your day .   Each semester the students in my class have to track everything they eat for a day.   It is amazing that the only “vegetable” some students eat is French fries from a Fast-Food establishment.   Many students have no fruit at all and no fresh vegetables.   Whatever your current intake of fruits and vegetables, set a goal to eat another serving every day.   a.        Breakfast – eat a banana for quick energy.  ...

Making any News Year’s Resolutions?   Many people do, only to forget about them by February or so.   I read that about 75% of us make resolutions which are broken only a week later.   About half of us actually get through 6 months of keeping our resolutions.   How can you set some health goals that you are more likely to keep in 2021? First – think of some S.M.A.R.T . goals.    Specific – many people set goals that are vague.   Many students in my class start out with goals like, “I will eat healthier.” When I ask them what specific thing they will do, many haven’t really thought about it.   A more specific goal would be, “I will eat a piece of fresh fruit at lunch every day.”    Not a hard thing to do and a very good, healthy habit. Measurable – the goal of “I will eat healthier” is not really measurable.   But it is easy to determine whether or not you are eating a piece of fruit every day for lunch.   In an earlier blog...

As the weather turns colder, who doesn’t like a hot bowl of soup?   Is soup healthy?   What nutritional value does soup have?   Actually, soup can be a healthy addition to your diet.   What are some health benefits of enjoying that bowl of soup on a cold day? Vegetables – many soups are either loaded with vegetables or the base of the soup is made from vegetables.   Many Americans are low on veggies and soup is an easy way to add some veggies to your day.   If you have a toddler who is fussy about eating vegetables, that toddler may eat the smaller pieces of the soft vegetables in vegetable soup. Even kids who won’t eat tomatoes might enjoy a bowl of tomato soup.   And as I have noted before, cooking some vegetables actually makes them healthier.   The lycopene in tomato soup is better absorbed than the lycopene in a raw tomato.   Enjoy some split pea soup and you added veggies and beta carotene (vitamin A) to your day.   As noted i...