KTK-Nutrition

After being in our homes for that past few weeks, many of us have added on some unwanted pounds.   Now that the weather is better, can walking help you lose some of that weight?   Popsugar has a good article , “Yes, You Can Lose Weight Walking as Little as 30 Minutes a Day..”.   What are some keys to know about walking and weight loss? Amount of time – note the article indicates walking 30 minutes a day.   Much research has shown that if you want to lose some fat, you need to exercise for more than 20 minutes.   So, a 30-minute walk is a great way to start. How often?   Aim for walking and exercising for at least 150 minutes a week .   That breaks down to at least 21 minutes a day.   If you walk 30 minutes a day, you will meet and exceed the recommendation for 150 minutes a week of exercising. How long?   One may not get quick weight loss by walking.   But a JAMA Internal Medicine article reported that without changing their diet, stud...

At long last, summer is around the corner.   With summer heat comes hydration issues.   How can you stay hydrated this summer?   What beverages are best for hydration?   How do you know when you are getting dehydrated?   What are the health benefits of water? Many people don’t know water is a nutrient and has many important functions in our bodies.    The Mayo Clinic notes that every cell in our body needs water in order to work properly.   According to CDC , water helps your body in many ways: Water helps keep your temperature normal – so important on hot, humid days. Water helps lubricate and cushion your joints – important in summer when we are biking, walking, hiking, golfing, playing tennis – exercise that uses our joints day in and day out. And perspiration is water – sweating on a hot day means you are losing water and need to replenish it. Why do we need more water in summer? Hot days – when we are outside in hot weather, we s...

What does vitamin D have to do with COVID-19?   New research at Northwestern University indicates people who are deficient in vitamin D are “twice as likely to experience major complications”.   The researchers looked at data from 10 countries, including the USA, and found that people low on D had overactive immune systems.   Well, one would think having an overactive immune system would be a good thing, not so, especially when it comes to COVID-19.   Adequate levels of Vitamin D are protective as Vitamin D enhances our immune system and prevents the overactive immune problems.   The WST-TV 2 in Atlanta reports from Dr. Arielle Levitan, “We do believe that there is a link between vitamin D and immunity and it’s very possible that being vitamin D deficient could set you up for a worse infection.”    According to the article, not only does vitamin D boost your immune system but it also helps you fight inflammation and supports the function of your lung...

Eggs – who hasn’t heard that eggs are high in cholesterol and we should limit how many eggs we eat?   Because of this, many of us have cut back on how many eggs we consume.   But what does the latest research show?   Gluten free – one of the latest fads in eating.   One can hardly buy a packaged good without seeing “gluten-free” on the label.   But are gluten-free foods good for your health?   Do you really need to be concerned about gluten?    Did you read my blog last week about how much plastic we are consuming each week in our foods and beverages?   This week I took a look around the kitchen and was surprised to see how many foods that used to be in glass or cardboard, are now in plastic.   Are there ways to cut back on plastic?   Let’s look at each of these topics. Enjoy those eggs Eggs are much maligned – we have been scared for years about eating too many eggs. But for those of us who love eggs, there is good news.   Yes...

Are you eating plastic every day?   Most people have never even thought about how much plastic they are consuming each day, each week, each month.   Consumer Reports has a great article, How to Eat Less Plastic .   In the article it notes, “Each of us might ingest up to a credit card’s worth of plastic weekly through food and water”.    Kind of alarming since most of us never think about eating plastic and that we might be getting plastic in the foods we eat and from the water we drink. How much plastic are we ingesting? Besides the credit card reference, an article in Environmental Science & Technology, discussed “Human Consumption of Microplastics”.   They estimate that our annual consumption of microplastics from foods and drinking water “ranges from 39000 to 52000 particles”.   Those of us who rely on water from plastic bottles ingest another 90000 microplastics each year.   Interestingly, even those who consume only tap water c...