KTK-Nutrition

Eating healthy isn’t hard, one just had to reduce the amount of processed food and focus more on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.   But what is processed food?   The Berkeley Wellness Letter (January 2016) outlined the various levels of “processed”.   Usually, the less processed the food, the better for your health.   Foods can range from highly processed to minimally processed.   Some processing is actually healthy for you.   For example, pasteurized milk is processed to kill the harmful bacteria so this is a good form of “processed” food.   Highly Processed Foods – For many of us, highly processed foods comprise up to 63% of our calories.   That is too much processed foods.   These are foods so full of processed ingredients they are no longer recognizable as being from a plant or animal source.   Some examples:                 Hot dogs, margarine, most baked goods, ice cream, candies.                    Also, snacks like Cheetos, Cheez-Its, Goldfish are highly processed.

What are “gut bugs” you might ask?   Last week we talked about E. Coli and how these “bugs” can make you sick.   But you also have good “bugs” or bacteria in your gut.   And guess what?   You need to feed this good bacteria.   They are now finding that having good bacteria in your gut has huge health benefits.   As Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen said in a recent article, the next time “you open the fridge, remember that you’re not eating just for one.   You’re also feeding the 100 trillion bacteria that call your digestive system home.”    (    By feeding these good gut bacteria you can: Help control your weight Promote heart health Stabilize blood sugar levels Improve your immune system Improve your mood So what can you do to feed your gut bugs and reap these health benefits? Probiotics – eating a yogurt a day is a good start.   Yogurt has probiotics which helps put the good bugs in your gut. Fiber rich plant foods – go for the whole grain breads, cereals and foods like Quinoa.

Chipotle has certainly been in the news about E. Coli outbreaks at its restaurants.   What is E. Coli and what can you do to avoid getting an infection?   WebMD, CNN, CDC and others have focused on E. Coli and provide some excellent tips for consumers. What is E. Coli? It is a bacteria and the official name is Escherichia coli.   Food infections can come from animals or humans.   It is found in both animal and human intestines.    A simple way to describe it is “Poop Germs”.   Many of us can have E. Coli in our intestines and it is harmless.   However, some strains can make you sick with diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illnesses and if severe enough even kidney failure. What foods can be contaminated with E. Coli? Most commonly, E. Coli outbreaks are linked to undercooked hamburgers.   Produce can be contaminated and is the leading reason for outbreaks.   Raw milk as it hasn’t been pasteurized, and unpasteurized apple cider.   How does E. Coli get into our fo

If you haven’t added some yogurt to your daily diet, it would be a good time to start.   Many people that eat yogurt think only Greek yogurt is healthy but it doesn’t have to be Greek yogurt.   Find a yogurt you like, in a flavor you are willing to eat.   Here are some health benefits of yogurt and what to look for when choosing yogurt.  (Adapted from Yogurt and health).        1.          Does yogurt help your smile?   Yes.   Yogurt not only doesn’t cause cavities, it helps protect your teeth (calcium) and even helps prevent periodontal disease.         2.        Does yogurt help your brain?   Yes.   Surprisingly, researchers have found that your gut bacteria affect brain function.   So researchers studied the probiotics in yogurt and found yogurt improved brain cognition.        3.        How do the probiotics in yogurt help your health?   Probiotics are the “healthy bacteria” in yogurt.   These bacteria help your intestinal flora and may improve your immune system.       

Some interesting nutrition topics in the news this week.   Coffee Drinker?   Well good news for your health.   I love coffee and couldn’t start my day without it.   A large study has reported drinking coffee actually reduces your risk of dying from heart disease and other diseases.   Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health studied both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee in over 200,000 men and women.   For non-smokers the reduced risk is impressive.   Just one-three cups of coffee a day reduces risk of dying by 8%, 3-5 cups reduced it by 15%.   But less returns on coffee consumption for over 5 cups a day.    Interesting, these findings were also true for those drinking decaf coffee.   Cranberries – what is Thanksgiving without the traditional cranberries?   Have any leftovers?   Enjoy as cranberries are great for your health.   Eating fruits and vegetables is more than getting vitamins and minerals.   Most are loaded with antioxidant compounds that are beneficial to our h

Recently a student asked me if high fructose corn syrup was something to avoid.    Good question as there is so much being written about high fructose corn syrup.   If you watch the commercials sponsored by the high fructose corn syrup industry, all is well and there is no difference between sugar and high fructose corn syrup.   Others have renounced high fructose corn syrup almost from day one.   So what do some of the experts have to say about high fructose corn syrup? Is high fructose corn syrup the same as sugar? Actually, no.   Table sugar is about half fructose and half glucose.   High fructose corn syrup has a higher ratio of fructose to glucose having 55- 65% fructose and the rest glucose.    Does the higher fructose content of high fructose corn syrup cause health problems?     Some studies are indicating, YES.   The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup can significantly raise the bad cholesterol, or

Who doesn’t want to slow down the aging process? Are there foods you can eat to slow down Father Time?   WebMD has an article called, Best Foods for Your Anti-Aging Diet .    In this article, dietitian Manuel Villacorta is quoted, “ What you eat makes a huge difference in how you age and how you feel.”   An aging expert, Dr. Pontius states, “ Even your skin will stay younger-looking if you eat right ”.   So what are these foods that can help us stay younger longer?         1.          Fruits and vegetables – yes, back to at least 5 A DAY and aim for even more.   It is not just the vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables that are good for us but the color – and the more colorful the better.   Each color provides a different array of antioxidants.   It is the antioxidants that slow the aging process and help stop the damage to your healthy cells.                  Some vitamins and minerals act as antioxidants such as vitamin C and zinc and the precursor to vitamin A, beta-

Well the World Health Organization (WHO) has once again taken the joy out of the American diet.   They made headlines recently for their proclamation about the health risks of eating meat.   The Time headline is, The War on Delicious which is very appropriate when an organization wages war on the foods so many Americans eat.   So what are the health risks with red meat, processed meats and what meats are they talking about?   How much can you eat before you are at risk?   As a person who enjoys a bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich, a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin with Canadian bacon, I did not take the news lightly that processed meats are bad for one’s health. Health Risks and Processed Meat WHO attributes about 34,000 cancer deaths each year to diets high in eating processed meats.   For red meat, they attribute 50,000 deaths a year.   But as Time points out, tobacco-related cancer is linked to 1 million deaths a year.   How much raises your risk, about 50 grams of processed meat a day.

What nutrients are missing in your diet?   Last week we focused on 4 nutrients that you may be missing or deficient in.   This week we look at 3 more nutrients of concern and mention fiber since it is oh so important to your health.   This information is from WebMD’s slide show, The 7 Missing Nutrents in Your Diet .   This week we focus on nutrients good for your bones, calcium, vitamin D and even vitamin C helps your bones.   Also, many of us have diets low in fiber so this is needs special attention in most people’s diets. 1.        Vitamin D –many Americans, adults and children, are deficient or have low vitamin D levels.   Bones need vitamin D as do our muscles and our nerves.   Like vitamin A, vitamin D helps our immune system. Good sources – milk and yogurt are usually fortified with vitamin D.   Milk or yogurt at meals is a great way to ensure you and your kids are getting the vitamin D needed.   Egg yolks, some cheese and liver also provide some vitamin D.   Sunshine – our

Are you missing some nutrients in your diet?     There is a lot of focus on health and healthy eating, yet many Americans have diets low in one or more nutrients.   What are the top 7 nutrients commonly missing in people’s diets?   WebMD has a great slide show on   The 7 Missing Nutrents in Your Diet .   This week we will focus on 4 of these nutrients and next week cover 3 more. Are you missing or Low in These Nutrients ? Potassium - almost everyone knows we should cut back on salt and sodium but few realize potassium helps negate the harmful effects of all that salt in our diets.   Well sodium is linked with increasing blood pressure, potassium helps lower your blood pressure.   Those into weight lifting and body building may want to focus on potassium rich foods as we need potassium for our muscles. Good sources of potassium – bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados, legumes, milk, potatoes 2.        Magnesium – not really a nutrient many of us think about.   But magnesium has

       Are there foods you can eat or not eat that can help you live longer and age well?    Environmental Nutrition has an interesting article in their November issue, 5 Tips for Eating to Age Well .    Their 5 key strategies?                1.          Eat foods rich in EPA and DHA omega-3’s .    Many commercials on TV advertise supplements to get your EPA and DHA but eating foods rich in these is preferred. EPA and DHA foods -  Fish oils are rich in EPA and DHA so focus on fish – wild-caught salmon, sardines, and herring.     How Do EPA and DHA help you age well?   They support heart health, your brain function and memory.   Even muscle strength has been shown to improve.             2.       Healthy gut – yes, exercise is a way to improve your midsection but eating well can improve the intestinal flora in your gut.   As you get older, the bacteria in your intestines change and not for the better.   You have less diverse bacteria and more harmful species.     Feed y