KTK-Nutrition

Eating healthy isn’t hard, one just had to reduce the amount of processed food and focus more on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.   But what is processed food?   The Berkeley Wellness Letter (January 2016) outlined the various levels of “processed”.   Usually, the less processed the food, the better for your health.   Foods can range from highly processed to minimally processed.   Some processing is actually healthy for you.   For example, pasteurized milk is processed to kill the harmful bacteria so this is a good form of “processed” food.   Highly Processed Foods – For many of us, highly processed foods comprise up to 63% of our calories.   That is too much processed foods.   These are foods so full of processed ingredients they are no longer recognizable as being from a plant or animal source.   Some examples:                 Hot dogs, margarine, most ...

Who doesn’t like cheese?   Cheese pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese and crackers.   Many studies have been done on cheese and its health benefits.   So what is the latest – is cheese healthy or bad for our hearts and bodies? The recent issue of the Wellness Letter from the University of California reported on the latest cheese research (Say Cheese?, September 2015).  They noted the French consume a lot of cheese as I can verify having visited France last year.   Cheese and bread at breakfast, cheese and bread at lunch.   The French love their cheese.   Yet, the French have relatively low heart disease rates.   Why?   Heart Health – many people say cheese is not good for your heart because cheese has some bad fat in it, saturated fat.   A study in 2013 found no link between eating a lot of cheese and heart disease.   Another 2012 study found followed Swedish women for 12 years.   Surprisingly, the women who ate ...

School is starting soon and has started in some cities.   What should you pack for your kids’ lunch?   What are some of the more healthier options?   In Japan, they have these cool lunch packaging containers with compartments for essentially each food group.   When packing a kids’ lunch keep MyPlate in mind.    2 fruits/veggies – yes, 2 servings – one of each is good or 2 fruits, 2 veggies – carrot and celery sticks, a juice box and an apple     Grains – whole grains are best but it is often not easy to get a child to like whole grains.   They do have whole grain white bread or whole grain crackers.   They even have whole grain Goldfish.   Dairy – if it can be kept cold, yogurt is a great option as long as it is not the child’s versions loaded with added sugar and artificial flavorings.   Or have your child buy milk at school. Protein – lean meats, peanut butter, 2% cheeses. MSN, Healthy Foods That are Perfect for Sc...