KTK-Nutrition

As the weather turns colder a cup of hot tea can be welcoming after a walk in the cold or as a soothing hot drink on a cold winter’s day.   Are there any health benefits to drinking green tea?   There are many.   So often people say “eat healthy” and then we think of all the foods we need to eliminate from our day.   But there are many foods and drinks you can add to your day that add health benefits.   And adding in some green tea is one of those things.  What are some health benefits of green tea? Green tea can lower your bad cholesterol .   In my blog, How to lower your bad cholesterol , I talked about how the “bad” cholesterol can build up in your arteries and lead to heart attacks or stroke.   Cutting back on foods with saturated fat is one way to lower your bad cholesterol.   But did you know that drinking some green tea can help lower your bad cholesterol?     In a study published in the Nutrition Journal , of over 3000 ...

Many people are concerned about cholesterol levels and heart disease and stroke.   A lot of us have changed our diets thinking we are eating foods that lower cholesterol and giving up some foods that we had enjoyed for years.   This week my husband and I were treated to dinner at my daughter’s and son-in-law’s home.   We enjoyed some wonderful homemade crab cakes, fresh bread and potatoes.   An old-fashioned butter dish was on the table with a stick of real butter.   My daughter said they had switched from margarine to real butter as margarine had too many chemicals in it.   Interesting because my husband and I have switched back to real butter.   Since it is hard to spread, we get the butter mixed with canola oil.   I don’t think a little real butter will do much damage to our cholesterol levels.    What foods can you eat that have been found to lower blood cholesterol levels?   My sister sent me some articles on foods that lower y...

Who hasn’t heard of the saying, “an apple a day, keeps the doctor away”?   For years I have heard apples aren’t all that healthy.   At least not compared to carrots or blueberries.   But now experts are saying apples have a lot of nutritional value.   The Fall is apple season and there are so many varieties to enjoy.   We love the Honey Crisp variety.   (A big shout out to David Bedford at the University of Minnesota who created the Honey Crisp variety.) Oh, so tasty.   No one fruit will really “keep the doctor away” but what is the truth about the health benefits of apples?          1.  Fiber – apples provide the fiber, pectin .   Although we really don’t digest pectin, this fiber has a of health benefits.   a.        Pectin can help lower cholesterol:   Pectin is called a soluble fiber that binds to cholesterol in our intestines and literally takes the cholestero...

We all have heard that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”.   I always emphasize to students how important breakfast is to children’s health and recent research is showing to adult health as well.    Adult Health Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that breakfast skippers increase their risk of dying from heart disease or a stroke.   And the risk is huge.   The study found that people who skipped breakfast had not only a higher risk of dying from heart disease but breakfast skippers had an 87% higher risk of dying from heart disease than those who took the time to eat breakfast every day.   And it just wasn’t a study of “old” people.   The 6,550 study participants ages ranged from 40 to 75.    How often did the people in the study skip or eat breakfast? 5.1% never ate breakfast 10.9% rarely ate breakfast 25% had breakfast sometimes 59% ate breakfast every day  Unfortuna...

Cinnamon, does it have any health benefits?   Last week we talked about turmeric and the many health benefits spices have.   Cinnamon is a spice that also has health benefits.   Like turmeric, cinnamon has been around for a long time , “since 2000 BC in Ancient Egypt”.   In the U.S. cinnamon ranks just behind black pepper as a popular spice.    What can cinnamon do for your health? Diabetes- some research has shown that cinnamon can help those with type 2 diabetes.   How?   By lowering blood glucose levels and also improving lipid levels.   Researchers monitored 60 people with type 2 diabetes who added cinnamon to their diets for 40 days. Those taking cinnamon lowered their blood glucose, their bad LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.   Another study found taking 1/4 th teaspoon of cinnamon a day lowered the LDL bad cholesterol.   However, other research indicates that adding cinnamon didn’t help lower blood glucose...

We all have heard of natural remedies for many health conditions.   Go to any drug store and walk down the vitamin aisle.   You will see hundreds of bottles of vitamins and minerals but also many so-called “natural” remedies for certain medical conditions.   Some of these remedies are bogus, unproven, and can even be bad for one’s health.   But other “natural” remedies seem to have some promise.   One of these natural remedies is a spice.   Spices have been known for a long time to have health benefits as spices are full of those healthy antioxidants.   Not only do spices make our food taste better, they provide few calories while providing good nutritional value.   One spice in particular, turmeric, is getting a lot of attention and praise from those in the health field. What is Turmeric? Turmeric is a yellowish spice , known for 4,000 years and used often in Indian cooking and the spice used in curry.   The chemical   in turmer...

Looking to lose weight before summer?   So many people focus on cutting back starches to lose weight when cutting back on added sugars may be more beneficial.   People are more willing to cut back on the slice of bread but not the sugared soda.   As stated by Laura Schmidt, professor of Health Policy at UC San Francisco, “Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick.” Is Sugar Making Us Sick? Recent research shows that cutting back on added sugars is a good way for obese kids to lose weight.   (The Berkeley Wellness Letter highlighted this study in “Yes, it’s the sugar”, March 2016.)   Cutting back on nutritious foods needed for growth is not a good idea when a child is trying to slim down. But added sugars add calories and not nutrients needed for growth and development. What did the research find about added sugars? Two universities, University of San Francisco and Touro University of California studied 43 obese kids ranging in ag...