KTK-Nutrition

Who doesn’t love some pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving or any other time of year?   Fall is a great time to enjoy some fall foods and many of these foods, like pumpkin, are loaded with good nutrition.   I always tell my students to enjoy their pumpkin pie or some pumpkin pudding. Pumpkin – a very healthy, nutritious food.   So, enjoy some pumpkin pie, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, or pumpkin muffins.   Pumpkin is loaded with beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A.   The beta-carotene gives pumpkin its orange coloring. Beta-carotene is super healthy as it helps prevent cancer, protects against asthma and for older folks helps reduce the risk of getting macular degeneration.   Additionally, pumpkin adds fiber to your day and many Americans aren’t getting enough fiber.   Besides pie, there are many other ways to enjoy pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, or enjoy some pumpkin pancakes.   Good information on the surprising heal...

Who hasn’t heard the old wives’ tale, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”?    Although not true, eating apples has some health benefits.   Fall is apple season and how fun it is to visit an orchard to pick or to browse and choose some freshly picked apples.   Growing up we did not hear much about the health benefits of apples.   But more research has found apples not only provide some good nutrition but also fiber and those healthy antioxidants.    What are some health benefits of apples?   Cleveland Clinic has a great article on 7 Reasons Why Apples are Good for You .   Blood sugar control – yes, apples do contain the natural sugar, fructose.   But unlike sugary foods like donuts, eating an apple won’t spike your blood sugar.   Why?   Because the fiber in the apple slows down the absorption of fructose, and apples are lower in sugar than processed foods like donuts.   In fact, a study of over 38,000 women found, ...

Who doesn’t enjoy some fresh watermelon?   So juicy and naturally sweet.   We have some sliced watermelon in our fridge as my husband went to the farmer’s market this week. Many people enjoy watermelon and don’t realize how healthy it is.   Cleveland Clinic says, “watermelon should be part of your diet”.   Why?   Watermelon is “packed with vitamins and minerals and can be enjoyed all year ‘round”.   We hear a lot about superfoods like blueberries but we don’t hear much about other fruits like watermelon.    Watermelon packs a big nutritious punch. One reason why watermelon is so good for your health is that it is loaded with many vitamins and minerals as well as fiber.            Vitamins : watermelon is a good source of vitamins A, C and many B vitamins.   One cup of watermelon balls provides 12.5 mg of vitamin C, almost 25% of daily needs.   One cup also provides 876 IU of vitamin A, ...

Go to the grocery store and you will see hundreds of varieties of yogurt to choose from.   For years eating yogurt was a popular fad.   And that was great as yogurt is a great health food.   But lately, my husband says there are less and less varieties of yogurt to choose from.   Many of the flavors we love are getting harder to find.   Sad, as this means people are eating less yogurt and may be substituting yogurt for some foods that are far less nutritious. When students in my class analyze their diet recall there is almost two nutrients they are low in, calcium and vitamin D.   These are two nutrients that most yogurts are a great source of.   If you have been cutting back on your yogurt intake, it would be a great time to add some yogurt back to your day. What is Greek yogurt and how does it differ from regular yogurt? According to WebMD , “Greek yogurt has been strained to remove extra liquid and whey.   The result is a thicker, denser fina...