KTK-Nutrition

Who doesn’t love sugary snacks or dessert?    But then one bite leads to craving even more sugary snacks and desserts.    A candy bar can help you curb your hunger and give you an energy boost but only for the short-term. Then as your blood sugar drops you can feel hungry again.    My husband has been working on cutting back on sweets.    Not an easy task.   Sugar, sugar everywhere.  Why it can be hard to cut back on sugar. Everyone knows there is sugar in candy and most desserts.  But added sugar has crept into many foods including bread, cereal, fruit drinks, sauces like spaghetti sauce, and yogurt.  Americans eat a lot of  sugar  averaging 17 teaspoons of sugar a day when the recommended amount is about “6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 for men”.  (See:  Is hidden sugar sneaking into your diet? )   What are some ways you can  curb your cravings  for sugar? Eat me...

A friend was saying how tired she had been lately.    So tired she fell asleep at church and then fell asleep working at her desk in the middle of the afternoon.    This was very unusual, so she went to her doctor and was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia.    What is iron deficiency anemia?    Why does it make you tired?    What is the treatment if you have this condition?   What is iron deficiency anemia?  Anemia  means your body is lacking in red blood cells.  Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to the cells in your body.  When your cells don’t receive enough oxygen, you can feel weak or fatigued.  There are different types of anemia, one is iron deficiency anemia.  You lack enough iron to make hemoglobin – the protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body.     What are the symptoms of iron deficiency anemia? As my friend ...

Want an easy habit to adopt for better health?    Just add a handful of nuts a day.    So easy to do and so many great health benefits.    Nuts are packed with good nutrition including protein, fiber, healthy fats, and many vitamins and minerals.    Health benefits of adding a handful of nuts a day include reducing your risk of heart disease, reducing your risk of type 2 diabetes and helping with weight management. What nutrients are in nuts? Protein:  Nuts are a good source of protein.  Not as good as animal foods like dairy, eggs, or meat but a good plant-based source of  protein  providing about 3-7 grams of protein per ounce.  Which nut provides the most protein?  Peanuts with about 7 grams of protein per ounce.  Next are almonds and pistachios providing about 6 grams of protein per ounce.  (See:  How can you add some high-quality protein foods to your day? ) Healthy fats: ...

At the gym this week a friend shared that their A1c was 8.7 and that he was now reading food labels and was cutting back on sugar.    So many Americans are finding their fasting blood glucose levels are higher than normal and their A1c level is high.    Many Americans have either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.   How many Americans have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes?  Prediabetes  is becoming increasingly common with 97.6 million Americans (38%) with prediabetes meaning they have blood sugar levels above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  Those with higher levels have type 2 diabetes.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) an estimated 34.2 million Americans (10.5%) have type 2 diabetes as of 2020.  Can prediabetes be reversed?  Prediabetes can be thought of as a warning sign for type 2 diabetes.  The good news is that prediabetes can be reversed with ...

Have you noticed the ingredients on some packaging?    In place of sugar some manufacturers are using high fructose corn syrup to sweeten foods.    So much so that now you can find packages with bold letters stating, No High Fructose Corn Syrup.     What is high fructose corn syrup and how does this sweetener affect your health? What is high fructose corn syrup?  High fructose corn syrup  is made from corn starch.  After processing it is a liquid composed of 55% fructose and 45% glucose.  How is high fructose corn syrup used in  foods ? One doesn’t go to the store to buy high fructose corn syrup, rather manufacturers use high fructose corn syrup in place of sugar to sweeten foods as high fructose corn syrup is cheaper.  High fructose corn syrup not only adds sweetness to foods, it also is used for other reason such as surface browning, giving “moisture, structure, and texture” to foods.  In foods like bread,...

So much confusion and misunderstanding about carbs.    This week my dentist said he had a patient trying to eat 3,000 calories of protein a day and skipping the carbs. My dentist told him his kidneys wouldn’t like all that protein.    I just heard a commentator on TV say they are eating a lot of protein and skipping the bread.    What is the truth about  carbs ?    Do carbs really make you gain weight, make you fat?   Should you go on a low carb diet to lose weight?  In 2017  researchers  reviewed 32 clinical trials of patients eating the same calories and protein but on high or low carb diets.  Those on a low carb diet lost the same amount of weight as those on a high carb diet.  Other researchers looked at weight loss differences in those on a high protein diet or a high-carbohydrate diet.  Surprise, surprise, there was no difference in pounds lost.  Marilyn Holmes, a registered...

Food dyes are in the news a lot lately.    Robert F. Kennedy wants to work with the food industry to get artificial food dyes out of our food including out of the National School Lunch Program.    My husband showed me an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal,  Removing Artificial Food Dyes Will Be Difficult .    Why?    Because artificial food dyes are in so many of our foods.             1 in 10 foods contain artificial food dyes           40% of food items containing artificial food dyes contain 3 or MORE food dyes The article notes artificial food dyes are in popular foods such as Pop-Tarts and Doritos.  And in foods that even I was unaware of.  I told my daughter that some pickles have artificial dyes.  She didn’t believe me, opened her fridge and looked at her jar of pickles.  Not one but two artificial yellow dyes in the pickles....