KTK-Nutrition

Who doesn’t like some left over Halloween candy?   My husband showed me an article about the “best and worst Halloween candies” apparently ranked by dietitians.   The article was interesting and we will give some highlights.   I don’t expect Halloween candy or any candy to be healthy.   But, if it has some chocolate, there is some nutritional value to chocolate.   And nuts – say hello to peanut M&M’s or PayDays.   Candies that contains some chocolate and/or nuts at least provide some nutritional value.   Read about what candies dietitians rated the highest and why. How do two dietitians rank some popular Halloween candy?   Dietitian 1 Ranked the top 3 as: PayDay - one of my favorites.   Ranked number 1 because it contains peanuts.   This candy bar actually provides some protein, up to 7 grams depending on the size you buy.   And surprising for a candy, PayDay provides some fiber, about 2 grams.   One of these candy ...

Added sugar – many people don’t know the difference between sugars added to food versus the natural sugars in foods.   It is the added sugars that we need to be concerned about.   Nathan Myers, R.D., a clinical dietitian notes that it isn’t just the extra calories added sugars add to your day but all those added sugars can pose a risk to your health.   “Added sugar also increases your risk of developing a laundry list of serious health problems including being overweight and conditions related such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers.”   What is Added Sugar?   What is the difference between Added Sugar and the Natural Sugar in foods? Added Sugar:   This is the sugar that manufacturers add to foods.   It can be the simple white table sugar, or brown sugar but it can also be high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, molasses, corn syrup, or raw sugar.   FDA requires new food labels to clearly list th...

Americans love to snack.   Who doesn’t enjoy some snacks?   Most afternoons I enjoy some popcorn as a snack.   Not a bad choice since popcorn is whole grain and actually good for you.   We can fit snacks into our diet, even some not-so-healthy snacks.   But, some of us have no idea how much is too much.   We start to eat a seemingly small portion of a snack and before we know it, we’ve eaten most of the bag or box.   Eat This, Not That! Has some good recommendations on what the correct portion size is for snacks.   Why watch the portion size?   Many snacks that we enjoy fall into the junk food or empty-calorie food category, meaning the snack food is loaded with calories but not loaded with nutrients.   What are some of those snack foods we tend to eat an over-size amount of? Potato Chips – one of my relatives who loved Pringles said they had to give them up cold turkey.   Why?   Because they would always eat the entire ...

The USA is well known for its safe food supply.   But there are foods and ingredients in the USA that are banned in other countries.   Each country and the European Union have their own food standards so what can be sold in one country may be banned for sale in another country.    Go on a trip to another country and you will see American food everywhere.   In France, you can easily stop at a McDonald’s for their coffee or food.   Our fast food restaurants seem to populate the globe.   But some foods you can easily buy in the USA are not sold in some other countries.   Or, there are some ingredients you can find on food labels in the USA but not in some countries.   What are some of these ingredients and what countries ban them?      1.     Artificial Food Dyes :     Many candies and other foods are colorful because of artificial food dyes.   M&M’s – one of my favorite snacks, especi...

What is this “new sugar” that Nestle has developed? Nestle researchers have been trying to reduce the amount of sugar in chocolate.   The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend we reduce our intake of “added sugars”.   So it would be a good thing if chocolate candy has less “added sugar”.   What Nestle is doing is changing the actual structure of the sugar molecule.   Basically, it will be hollowed-out sugar molecule so you taste the sugar on your tongue but it will be hollow inside, and thus reducing the sugar content by 30%.   In their press release , Nestle introduced their new Milkybar , their first candy with the reduced sugar content.   Not yet available here in the U.S.A., but will be appearing in the United Kingdom and Ireland.   Nestle describes the new sugar as, an aerated, porous sugar that dissolves more quickly in the mouth. This allows someone to perceive the same sweetness as before while consuming less sugar.   Hopefull...

Who hasn’t used the 5 second rule?   You drop some food on the floor and if it is less than 5 seconds, is it safe to eat?   If it is on the floor longer than 5 seconds, is it really more contaminated?   Does the type of floor matter?   The type of food?   Is the 5 Second Rule another food myth?    Believe it or not, researchers have actually studied the 5 second rule.   What foods did they drop and what did they find? A number of researchers have studied the 5 Second Rule the most recent study about Myth Debunked , was published in September in the journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology.   Previously, a high school student studied gummy bears and fudge-striped cookies dropped on a floor contaminated with E. coli.   He found that food was contaminated in less than 5 seconds.    So, what did the 2016 researchers find? What is the 5 Second Rule – the belief is if you drop any food on the ground/floor and pick ...

Seeing as our next holiday is Valentine’s Day, I thought I would take a look at chocolate.   And who doesn’t like chocolate?   Everyone says candy is bad for you – at least that is what they used to say.   And yes, candy does have added sugar and that isn’t healthy.   But can chocolate have health benefits?   Yes, it can, dark chocolate that is.   When the manufacture dark chocolate they leave in more of the cocoa solids and add less sugar compared to milk chocolate.   This is what gives dark chocolate its stronger, rich flavor.   So what is the “healthy” ingredient in dark chocolate?   Flavenols, these are an antioxidant found in dark chocolate and cocoa.   Milk chocolate is not has healthy as it not only contains more added sugar but less of these healthy flavenols.   It is the flavenols that can help guard against heart disease, diabetes, dementia and stroke, quite a list of diseases. Heart benefits of dark chocolate: ...