KTK-Nutrition

Who knew that what you eat affects your sleep.   Yes, overeating can lead to upset stomachs and affect your sleep.   Once my husband and I went out to a French restaurant.   We ordered some food with heavy sauces.   Our mistake.   We felt so full afterwards that we both could not sleep.   Others avoid coffee in the evening as the caffeine keeps them awake.   But are there foods that help promote better sleep? Americans need their sleep as the CDC says about one-third of us are failing to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep every night.   The Cleveland Clinic notes, A good night’s sleep is critical to our health, giving our bodies time to rest, repair and rebuild. There are no magic foods that will immediately help you sleep.   But there are foods and beverages that can help.   In general, eating foods higher in fiber and lower in saturated fat can lead “to deeper, more restorative sleep”.   What pre-bedtime be...

  The next time you are out and about, look at the lines at the Fast-Food places.   Many people have their favorite sandwiches and Fast-Food meals they like to choose.   WebMD has a great slide show on the Worst Sandwiches – not only the worst but “Double-Fisted Diet Wreckers”.    One doesn’t have to be on a diet to be concerned about healthier choices at Fast-Food places.   I had many students in my class that actually needed more calories in their day as they were very active.   Some were athletes and as noted in a previous blog, a carpenter who easily took in 5,000 calories a day.   Playing basketball, my daughter burned up so many calories, it was a struggle getting in enough calories each day. Some Fast-Food sandwiches pack in the calories, fat, and the sodium.   Let’s look at some popular Fast-Food places and look at poor choices and then some healthier options. Burger King Poor choice: Triple Whopper with Cheese .   Yes, ...

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 ...