KTK-Nutrition

Are organic foods healthier?   Should you spend the extra money and purchase organic foods?    People you know may buy no organic, buy some organic or all organic which can be quite pricey.      So what are organic foods and what are the advantages of going organic? Organic – The main advantage of organic is that these foods don’t have the pesticides, herbicides, hormones or drugs that can be found in non-organically grown food.             Plants – may use natural pesticides like soaps, plant oils or bugs but not chemical pesticides.                     Only natural fertilizers used like manure or compost.            Animals – are not fed hormones or given antibiotics, and the animals are fed only organic feed         ...

If you listen to the commercials, high fructose corn syrup is the same as white table sugar and has no adverse health consequences.   But is that true?   For years now, I just try to avoid foods that have high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient.   Not easy to do as manufacturers love to sneak this sugar into everything from bread to catsup.   Many manufacturers know there are consumers that are like me and try to avoid high fructose corn syrup so they make a catsup without it then charge more. Why high fructose corn syrup?   Manufacturers love it as it is easy to ship, has a long shelf life and is cheaper than sugar.    It improves the texture of cookies, and browns better in breads.      What is HCFS?   It is comprised of fructose and glucose and manufacturers use it in place of sugar.   It has the same caloric value of sugar, 4 calories per gram. Is HCFS Bad for our Health?   Many researchers would say no but mo...

Growing up we would often hear a commercial about the breakfast of champions.   Who doesn’t want to be a champion?   Many people skip breakfast altogether so this post isn’t for them.   But for those of us who eat breakfast, what is a “good” breakfast?   What is a “healthy” breakfast?   So many of my students who eat breakfast say it has no “staying power” they get hungry soon after eating breakfast.   So what can you do to have a healthy breakfast with “staying power”?    Consumer Reports recently did an excellent article on “ Breakfast Matters ”.   Some highlights:   Why Breakfast : Breakfast eaters have better diets overall.   They eat more fruits, vegetables, milk and whole grains than breakfast skippers. Eat within 2 hours of waking up and you positively affect blood glucose levels for not just the morning hours but the entire day. Skip breakfast and your body can send off more of the “hunger” hormone, called Ghrelin. ...

Many parents today fail to give their kids milk at meals.   Some even serve water thinking water is actually healthier than milk.   Odd since milk has water in it and one doesn’t need to serve a kid water when milk is served at the meal.    It is great that the new MyPlate shows a glass of milk with meals.   But many people choose milk alternatives.   Some because they are lactose intolerant.   Lactose is the naturally present sugar in milk that some people have trouble digesting so regular milk can lead to stomach upsets for them.   Others, have heard “coconut milk” is healthy so they forgo regular milk and have jumped on the coconut milk bandwagon.   So what are the pros, cons and nutritionally differences in milks versus milk alternatives?   Consumer Reports in their September issue did a great review of the various milk alternatives and their nutrition strengths and weaknesses.   Consumer Reports noted that up to 21% of America...