KTK-Nutrition

Last week I wrote about the Mediterranean diet.   A major component of this diet is eating many fruits and vegetables.    A very easy way to ensure you are getting enough fruits and vegetables is to focus on eating at least 5 A DAY .   Not only are fruits and vegetables loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber they are also loaded with PHYTOCHEMICALS.    “Phyto” is from the Greek and means “plant”.   Phytochemicals are only in plant foods, are not nutrients but are ever so important to your health.    Different fruits and vegetables have different phytochemicals so varying the kind of fruits and vegetable and varying the color is important.   Blue/Purple - helps fight aging, improves your memory and reduces cancer risk.    Choose plums, eggplant, raisins, blueberries, black olives, blackberries, purple grapes Red – great for your heart, tomatoes and other red vegetables and fruits have lycopene – a phytochemical that is an antioxidant.   Helps lower your bad cholesterol, lowers y

As discussed in last week’s blog, the US News and World Reports ranks the best diets ( Best Diets 2015 ).   One of the top rated diets is the Mediterranean diet.   This diet is not really a “diet” but a way of eating that is healthy overall.    So why is the Mediterranean diet so great and what is the diet? Mediterranean diet – health benefits Heart Health - This diet promotes heart health as it decreases your risk of heart disease Depression – want a diet to improve your mood, this is it. Dementia – want a brain healthy diet?   This is it. Cancer – following the Mediterranean diet reduces your risk of cancer Parkinson’s disease – the Mediterranean diet reduces one’s chances of getting Parkinson’s disease What is the Mediterranean diet? Focus on Fruits and Vegetables – you have heard of “5 a day”, to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies a day.   Well the Mediterranean diet steps it up   – 6 servings of fruit and vegetables a day minimum, but more is better.   Some recommend

Every year for the past 5 years, US News and World Reports ranks the best diets ( Best Diets 2015 ).   They gather a panel of diet and nutrition experts and they rate various diets on areas of: ease in following diets ability to produce long-term and short term weight loss how nutritionally complete the diet is  safety of the diet       if the diet has the potential to prevent diabetes, heart disease or helps manage these diseases            What are the Best Diets Overall?      DASH diet – this diet was originally developed for high blood pressure and the acronym stands for D ietary A pproaches to S top H ypertension.   But it is also a nutritionally complete diet, very safe, helps prevent and control diabetes, supports healthy hearts.     TLC Diet – stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes and was created by the National Institutes of Health.     Mediterranean Diet – this diet emphasized fruits and vegetables, fish, olive oil and whole grains.      This diet provi

My nephew posted a sign on Facebook that read:   “ This year I will get to a Healthier place ”.    It was posted at Anytime Fitness in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.    How many people want to be healthier, make New Year’s Resolutions to be healthier and then fizzle out after a few weeks or months?   My husband says the gym was packed yesterday as it usually is in January, then less in February and by May it is back to the regulars.    So what could you do to make 2015 a healthier year with goals you can keep?     1.  Start small – set small, specific, realistic goals a.          NOT - “I will go to the gym more” b.       But set goals like:                     i.       I will go up and down the steps in my home (or at work) 5 times a day (aerobic challenge)                    ii.       I will park well away from the door when I go shopping (increase your steps)                    iii.       I will buy a Fitbit or pedometer and increase my steps by 1,000 over what I do now (mea