KTK-Nutrition

According to the University of Southern California , almost half of Americans over the age of 20 have high blood pressure.   This means an astounding 122 million Americans.   Unfortunately, as you get older it is more likely to have blood pressure increase.   Many people don’t even know they have high blood pressure or hypertension.   The American Heart Association notes at first there are “no obvious symptoms to indicate something is wrong, but HBP can lead to heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.”    A relative was asking what they could do diet wise to help lower their blood pressure.   We had already discussed the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).   (See:   Best Diets for Healthy Eating in 2024 .) and physical activity.    Diet wise, they were cutting back on sodium and increasing potassium foods but were wondering if there were anything else like any drinks that could help lower blood pressure?  ...

Google “blueberries and health” and you will see article after article about the health benefits of blueberries.   My sister sent me one titled, 7 Science-Backed Benefits of Blueberries .   Growing up I often went blueberry picking with my grandparents.      My grandmother then made blueberry muffins, blueberry pie and blueberry sauce.    Little did I know that wild blueberries were especially healthy.      What are some of the health benefits of blueberries?          Heart health:   Blueberries help lower your bad LDL cholesterol while increasing your good, HDL cholesterol.   Additionally, blueberries help lower your blood pressure.   The antioxidants in blueberries help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.   To read more about blueberries and heart health, go to Heart Health . Improve brain function :   Studies on older adults have found that eating blueberri...

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...

Why is yogurt so healthy? Protein – yogurt is not only a good source of protein, the protein in yogurt is a high-quality protein.   Eating protein at meals helps you feel full longer as protein has “staying power” and takes longer to digest than carbs.   This may be the reason that yogurt helps keep off the weight.   Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt but often has less calcium. Probiotics – a huge, benefit of yogurt is the probiotics.   The “friendly bacteria” in yogurt that seems to have so many health benefits.   Look on the label for “live” active cultures when buying yogurt. Fat in Yogurt – the fat in yogurt contains “sphingolipids” a type of fat that actually seems beneficial to heart health.   And fat is more filling.  Eating whole milk yogurt would be a snack that would be more filling and have more "staying power" than a low fat yogurt.  Not All Dairy Fat is Equal – one would think that the dairy fat in b...

Recently I was in the grocery store watching a couple trying to choose cooking oil.   They would pick up a bottle of oil, look at it, put it back and then pick up another bottle of oil.   They seemed totally mystified by the vast array of oils to choose from.    And it can be confusing.   But one cooking oil stands out as being the healthiest and that is Olive Oil.   Which Olive Oil to Choose? Choose Extra Virgin Olive Oil – a little pricier but a better choice for your health.   Or, as Rachel Ray calls it, EVOO.   EVOO is the least processed of the olive oils so it is richer in the polyphenols that are good for our health.   It is also higher in Omega-3’s and vitamin E.   Pass up the “light” olive oil.   It is not “light” in calories but is the most refined olive oil so not the one to choose for your health.   Also avoid “pure olive oil”.   Sounds good but it is also refined and not as good as EVOO.   So Rachel...