KTK-Nutrition

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...

  So many of us are doing everything we can to kill bacteria and have a cleaner home.   But did you know there are “good bacteria” that are actually good for our health?   We want those “good bacteria” to multiply in our gut so we can have a healthier gut. What are the “good bacteria”?   It actually doesn’t sound too healthy but good bacteria are good for a healthy gut.   NIH defines the healthy bacteria in your body as all the bacteria, fungi and viruses that live on or inside our bodies.   NIH notes this “microbiome” actually contributes to our health in many ways including:   protecting us against bacteria that can cause disease, helping your immune system, and helping our bodies digest food.   Dr. Mullin from Johns Hopkins University notes , “Your gut bugs help determine your overall health in a good way – or a bad way.” Can you change the population of “good bacteria” in your gut?   Yes, you can and diet is one way to do so.   ...

Whenever one hears about bacteria, they think disease or illness.   But there are actually bacteria that are good for your health.   As WebMD notes , probiotics are live bacteria that are good for you, especially your digestive system.   This week in the nutrition class I teach, we are learning about probiotics and another term not often heard, prebiotics .    What are Probiotics? These are the “good” bacteria and these good bacteria help keep you and your gut healthy.   You have “good” and “bad” bacteria in your gut and when you eat foods with “probiotics” or good bacteria, you change your gut to have more good than bad bacteria.   A healthy thing to do.   There are many “probiotics” as there are many different types of bacteria.   Usually in foods like yogurt you will see on the label: Lactobillus – this is a probiotic commonly added to foods like yogurt.   Interesting that these bacteria digests some lactose, the natural ...

Who knew that there are bacteria that are good for us.   It’s true, there are some bacteria that actually improve your health.    What foods provide healthy bacteria?   Some people know that yogurt has healthy bacteria.   But did you know you also have to “feed” the healthy bacteria?   What can you do to add some healthy bacteria to your day for a healthier gut? And not just your digestive system benefits.   Research is now showing that probiotics may help our health in many ways including:   “immunity, weight, heart health, and even memory”.   But skip the supplements and get your probiotics and prebiotics from real food.  What are the “good” bacteria for a healthy digestive system? You may have heard of “probiotics”.   According to WebMD, probiotics are “live bacteria and yeast that are good for your health, especially your digestive system”.     Probiotics are the good bacteria that promote a healthy gut. ...