KTK-Nutrition

Last week we talked about how important fiber is for feeding the good bacteria in your gut.   To have a healthy gut you need to populate it with good bacteria by eating yogurt and then you need to “feed” those good bacteria by adding some fiber to your diet.   Fiber is not only good as a food source for your good gut bacteria, fiber is also good for your heart.   A recent article in our local newspaper points out “ Four ways fiber helps your heart ” taken from an article by a registered dietitian, Carolyn Williams.   She acknowledges fiber is good for your gut but also your heart by saying, “to put it simply, eating more fiber means a healthy gut, and a healthy gut means a healthy heart.”      So how does fiber promote heart health?   Fiber lowers your cholesterol .   Have you seen the oatmeal and Cheerios packages?   Right on the front of Cheerios, it states, “Can help lower cholesterol as part of a heart healthy diet”.   Foods l...

What are some of the latest findings about nutrition?   Interested in following the Paleo Diet?   New research indicates this may not be a heart healthy diet.   Want less belly fat?   To reduce belly fat are there foods should you be eating more of? Paleo Diet – many personal trainers and others push the Paleo Diet for good health.   Many articles have been written about the Paleo Diet and many outline the health issues related to this diet.   I have never been a fan.   As Dr. Donohue once noted, cave man didn’t live a long life and this diet follows that of cave man.   The European Journal of Nutrition studied 44 on the Paleo Diet and looked at 47 others on a more traditional diet.   They found that people on the Paleo diet had higher levels of a gut-produced compound called TMAO than those not on the Paleo Diet.   Interesting that some people promote the Paleo Diet for gut health. The gut-produced compound that is increased is ...

The New York Times Well Blogs , featured their most popular health questions for 2015 Most Popular Health Questions You Asked This Year .   Some of these questions and responses are highlighted below. (Q and A adapted somewhat for this blog.) Q:   What is the Best Time to Exercise to Lose Weight? A:   Running on empty seems to work.   Some research shows working out on a completely empty stomach stimulates the body to burn more fat and even stave off weight gain.   But for me, exercising on empty would only lead to low blood sugar and poor performance.   Even before I go for a morning walk I at least eat a banana to have some energy. Q:   How Can I Reduce Belly Fat ? A:   Belly fat is not only of concern for appearance sake, it also can be a health risk.   The Mayo Clinic and other researches ( Central Obesity ) have noted those with large waists are more likely to have health problems such as cardiovascular disease than those with...

If you haven’t added some yogurt to your daily diet, it would be a good time to start.   Many people that eat yogurt think only Greek yogurt is healthy but it doesn’t have to be Greek yogurt.   Find a yogurt you like, in a flavor you are willing to eat.   Here are some health benefits of yogurt and what to look for when choosing yogurt.  (Adapted from Yogurt and health).        1.          Does yogurt help your smile?   Yes.   Yogurt not only doesn’t cause cavities, it helps protect your teeth (calcium) and even helps prevent periodontal disease.         2.        Does yogurt help your brain?   Yes.   Surprisingly, researchers have found that your gut bacteria affect brain function.   So researchers studied the probiotics in yogurt and found yogurt improved brain cognition.        3.  ...

How often do we hear people say, “I am watching my carbs?”   So many people think cutting back on carbs is the best way to lose some weight.   But is this true?   Should you cut back on fat calories or carb calories?   A recent study posted by WebMD looks at carbs vs fats.   Which diet burns more fat and which diet would lead to lasting weight loss? The title of the WebMD article gives away the study findings:   Low-Carb Diets Don't Work the Way We Thought . Low carb diets – do they really “melt away the fat”?   Melt away your belly fat?    One theory behind low carb diets is that eating less carbs lowers your insulin levels in your blood.   Since insulin promotes fat storage, less insulin less fat storage.   Is this true?   The newest study says “NO” Study – NIH studied 19 overweight adults.    For 11 days, they lived in a special room and everything they ate was monitored.   They even captured the air...

Who among us isn’t trying to reduce the size of our bellies?   Are there really foods that can help cut the belly fat?    MSN listed foods this week that are worth a try.   Even if you don’t add all of these, some are really easy to incorporate into our diet and daily routine.         Onion and leeks – so easy to add to our diet.   Onion slices on our hamburger, onion in our salads.   How do they work?   Onions produce butyrate which is a prebiotic that encourages the growth of good bacteria in our intestines.   The butyrate also helps one burn body fat.            Artichokes and asparagus – on a recent trip to the Cheesecake Factory, my daughter and I enjoyed the fire-roasted artichoke appetizer.   Absolutely delicious.   Asparagus is now plentiful at our local farmers markets where I live and a great health food.   These two are also prebiotics and they produce acet...