KTK-Nutrition

Have you ever heard of brain food?   Foods you can eat for a healthier brain?   I always told my students that before an exam they should drink some water.   Why?   Because even being slightly dehydrated (1%-5%) can adversely affect brain function .   A 2% decrease in brain hydration can result in short term memory loss and have trouble with math computations. Besides staying hydrated, what foods can you eat for a healthier brain? My sister sent me an interesting article, “ People who eat magnesium-rich foods like spinach and almonds may have bigger, healthier brains” .    Why magnesium?   According to NIH , about half of Americans have diets deficient in magnesium.   It is known as a “silent deficiency” as most people are totally unaware that they are lacking in magnesium.   What are the health benefits of magnesium?   Magnesium is a mineral that has many roles to play in your body.         Heart – ...

Who doesn’t like bananas?   One of my favorite fruits.   Such a fave, that I eat a banana every morning.   What are some health benefits and convenience of eating bananas?   Easy and convenient Bananas are now available in grocery stores all year.   One doesn’t have to wait for them to be in season. Bananas are easy to store, don’t need refrigeration and easy to pack in a lunch. Kids find bananas easy to eat.   If you ever went to a school lunch room when apples are served, you would be shocked to see how many apples have a tiny bite in them and then the rest of the apple hits the garbage can.   But when bananas are served, the kids usually eat all of the banana.    What are the health benefits of bananas? Potassium:   Loaded with the mineral, potassium .   “A medium banana gives you 422 milligrams, which is 9% of what you need every day.”   Potassium helps you lower your blood pressure.   How?   Potassium h...

Do you ever even think about the health of your joints or strength of your bones?   Younger people may not but   recent articles in Runner’s World and Bicycling.com brings these important topics to younger and older readers.   Why would younger people be interested in these topics?   My daughter recently was pleased to tell us she and her husband will be running a 10K this year.   This is quite the goal for her as she broke her ankle a few years ago.   I advised her to beef up her bone strength and sent her an article on boosting bone strength.   Older people are concerned about bone strength and joint health because of fear of broken bones and aching joints.    What are some foods and nutrients that promote bone strength and healthy joints? Calcium – Almost all the students I have taught know that calcium is needed for good bones.   But when they analyzed their diets, they were often low and sometimes really low in calcium. ...

 Have you ever heard someone say that when they are stressed, they like to eat?   When you are stressed are their foods that might help calm you? Help fight that stress?   If you research foods and stress, you will come across any number of headlines:   9 Foods and Beverages That May Promote Calm , What are some foods that east anxiety? , 13 foods that fight stress .   So, what foods might you keep on hand or seek out when you want some calm in your life?   Fruit – satisfy your sweet tooth with some fruit, especially berries .   All those healthy antioxidants in berries can “help protect your cells from stress and may help ease feelings of depression.”     Oranges are another fruit good for fighting stress.   It is the vitamin C that helps fight anxiety.   Studies have shown that diets rich in C “may help calm you and put you in a better frame of mind“.      (See:   Are you getting your daily vitamin C? )...

Who doesn’t love sweets?   Always fun to enjoy some desserts like cookies, cake, candy.   But Americans eat way too much sugar, not just in desserts but in so many foods.   And it is the added sugar in foods that we need to cut back on, not the natural sugar found in fruits or even real cow’s milk.   What are some ways that we can cut back on all that added sugar and those cravings for sweets? Psychologists have studied how sugar affects our brains and body weight as noted in the Frontiers in Psychiatry .   The article notes that “studies have linked sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) to an increase in body weight in children and adults”.   What are sugar-sweetened beverages ?   Think sugar-sweetened sodas like Coke, Mountain Dew, Sprite, sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade, sweet tea, sweetened coffee drinks like Frappuccino, energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster and fruit drinks like lemonade or fruit punch.   These beverages not only contain...