KTK-Nutrition

Can you eat to improve your memory?   Apparently so.   A recent article in CommonHealth describes how one can eat to essentially clog up those brain pathways or how one can eat to unclog your brain and improve your memory.   Another article reviews 15 foods to eat for a healthy brain.   What food clog up your brain? We all know that eating high fat foods, especially those high in saturated fat, can clog up your arteries and are not good for your heart.   Another fat, trans fat, is especially bad as it builds up in our blood vessels and damages them.   So those French fries loaded with fat and foods high in saturated fat like bacon, are not only not good for your heart, they might not be good for your brain. The Diets high in cholesterol and fat might speed up the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.   These sticky protein clusters are blamed for much of the damage that occurs in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Recommendat...

America is growing, not just in terms of population but also in size.   The Editorial in our local paper reads:   Obesity rates remain a national concern .   As the editorial notes, too many Americans are getting bigger.   Trust for Americas’ Health released their 2017 Obesity report.   The report found that, “far too many Americans, both adult and children, are significantly overweight to the extent that it jeopardizes their overall health and well-being.”    States vary a lot in the number of adults who are overweight or obese.   West Virginia leads the nation as 37.7% of the adults in West Virginia are obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. The state with the lowest rate of obese adults was Colorado at 22.3%.   If you are interested in your state, visit Adult Obesity Rate by State, 2016 .   Some states and their rankings are noted below: States % Obese Adults (BMI 30+) District of Columbia, H...

Why is yogurt so healthy? Protein – yogurt is not only a good source of protein, the protein in yogurt is a high-quality protein.   Eating protein at meals helps you feel full longer as protein has “staying power” and takes longer to digest than carbs.   This may be the reason that yogurt helps keep off the weight.   Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt but often has less calcium. Probiotics – a huge, benefit of yogurt is the probiotics.   The “friendly bacteria” in yogurt that seems to have so many health benefits.   Look on the label for “live” active cultures when buying yogurt. Fat in Yogurt – the fat in yogurt contains “sphingolipids” a type of fat that actually seems beneficial to heart health.   And fat is more filling.  Eating whole milk yogurt would be a snack that would be more filling and have more "staying power" than a low fat yogurt.  Not All Dairy Fat is Equal – one would think that the dairy fat in b...

Can you walk your way to better health?   Is taking your dog for a walk every day good for your health? Walking for Heart Health According to an article in NPR, even moderate-intensity walking can be as effective as running in terms of reducing one’s risk for high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.   So many people think exercise has to be going to the gym, jogging, participating in a sport like basketball.   All these are great activities but going for a walk also has health benefits. The American Heart Association notes, “walking is one of the simplest ways to get active and stay active”.   The organization recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise like walking.   But it doesn’t have to be done all at once.   No time for a long walk, then “even 10-minute activity sessions can be added up over the week”.    The President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition has some suggestions for adding more steps to you...