KTK-Nutrition

My daughter called me to ask me which is healthier, white rice or brown rice?   She had ordered some Chinese food and chose the brown rice.   Did she make the healthier choice?   Is brown rice healthier than white rice? In the U.S. we have two choices for rice, either white rice or brown rice.   Growing up we never ate brown rice.   We always ate the Minute white rice from the box.   Processing Both white and brown rice come from the same grain but white rice is much more processed.   There are 3 parts to grains – the bran, the germ and the endosperm.    Whole grains like brown rice contain all 3 parts of the grain.   Processed grains like white rice, have the bran and germ removed, leaving only the white endosperm part of the grain.   Brown Rice is more nutritious than white rice Because brown rice has all parts of the grain, brown rice provides more fiber, magnesium, phosphorus, selenium and manganese.   White rice ...

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 ...

Almost everyone has heard of cholesterol.   Not everyone has heard that you have both “good” cholesterol and “bad” cholesterol.   For good health the goal is to raise the “good” cholesterol.   And yes, you do want the “good” cholesterol to be higher.   The other goal is to lower or keep within normal range the “bad” cholesterol.   What is cholesterol?   The Mayo Clinic defines cholesterol as “a waxy substance found in your blood”.   Believe it or not but your body not only needs cholesterol for healthy cells, your body also produces cholesterol.   Adults make about 1,000 mg of cholesterol a day and we get about 200-300 mg of cholesterol a day from food.   Our bodies need cholesterol for many functions in the body including being a precursor for vitamin D, a layer covering our nerve cells, to transport molecules around our body, and for each cell.   What about cholesterol and heart disease?   Our bodies use the cholesterol ...

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...