KTK-Nutrition

Many people love spicy foods.   Did you know that adding some spices to your foods is actually good for your health?   Not only do spices have almost no calories, they add lots of health benefits.   A class activity I did with students was to modify a lasagna recipe to make it healthier.   One group of students took out all the spices thinking this somehow made the lasagna healthier.   A good learning opportunity as we then discussed how you want to ADD SPICES to your day for good health.    Why are spices healthy? Think antioxidants , those healthy chemicals in plant foods.   There are over 100 different spices and these not only are a source of antioxidants but a concentrated source of antioxidants.   Different spices provide a varying array of antioxidants.   Health benefits of spices can include being anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, helping to lower glucose and cholesterol levels, and even boost your mood and brain function. Jo...

You hear the word “fat” and you think you don’t want any fat in your diet.   But there are fats that are actually good for you.   Most people know olive oil, especially EVVO is a healthy oil.   Have you heard of omega-3 fats?   What are they?   What foods have them?   And why are omega 3 fats good for your health?    What are omega-3 fats?   Believe it or not, your body can’t make these fats.   We all know our bodies can certainly make fat as anyone who has gained weight knows.   But there are 2 fats your body can’t make, one is omega-3 and the other is omega-6 fats.   Both of these are called essential fats as you have to “eat them to get them”, your body can’t make them.   (I tell students in my class that “essential” means you have to “eat them to get them”.) There are actually 3 different types of omega-3 fats and you may have seen some of these mentioned in commercials.   o    EPA – eicosapentaeno...