KTK-Nutrition

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,...

Are you being fooled by foods promoted as “healthy” that turn out to be not so good for your health?   Some foods marketed as “healthy” can still be high in sugar, salt, or unhealthy fats.   To make informed choices one has to read labels and understand the nutritional content of foods.   What are some examples of misleading “healthy” foods?      Plant-Based Meat:   These have been the rage but now seem to have lost their popularity.   Good thing as many of the plant-based meat products are not so good for your health.   I had a student that was so proud of switching from eating a regular hamburger to a plant-based hamburger and really thought that this was so much better for her health.   Was it?   McDonald’s tested the McPlant burger based on Beyond Meat but it ended in 2022 and never went nationwide.   Burger King offered Impossible Burgers in 2019 as the Impossible Whopper.     The Burger King website says t...

Everyone has heard of “processed foods”.   But now they talk about “ultra-processed” foods.   When teaching nutrition we did talk about why processed foods can be unhealthy but only recently has the term “ultra-processed” foods come into vogue.   In a previous blog post, Should You Avoid Ultraprocessed Food? , I noted that some of my students say that to eat healthy one should avoid “processed food”.   What they did not seem to understand is that most of the food we eat is processed to some extent.   Whole wheat bread is a healthy choice but bread is a “processed food”.   They harvest the grain, mill the grain, make the flour and then make the bread.   Cereal, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables, 100% juice – all are processed to some extent.   But now there is “ultraprocessed food”.   These foods are not only highly processed but often contain a lot of added sugar, salt and fat as well as preservatives and many have artificial coloring ad...

So many people develop New Year’s Resolutions focusing on giving up things or on losing weight.   Why not focus on adopting some healthier habits in 2023 and some healthier lifestyle changes?   Last year I discussed some recommendation by a   nutritionist in London, Kate Llewellyn-Waters, on how you can adopt a healthier lifestyle.   Below are some of her easy-to- adopt suggestions and I have added some suggestions of my own. Protein at every meal – Protein is filling and helps stave off those hunger pains between meals.   What are some high quality protein foods?   All animal foods provide high quality protein.   Focus on lean proteins like chicken breasts.   Chicken and other lean meats, provide not only high-quality protein but also many nutrients like iron, zinc, selenium and many B vitamins.   B vitamins are known as the energy vitamins as they help your body produce the energy needed for all your activities.   A top-rated prote...

Have you seen those commercials on TV for brain supplements?   You take some pills and you can remember things better, you think better.   Well, I don’t know about pills, but there are some foods that help promote a healthier brain.   Foods that can help your memory and thinking.   My sister sent me the article , The Best Brain-Healthy Foods to Protect Your Memory and Cognition , highlighting some healthy brain foods.  Many of the healthy foods for your brain are found in two diets that promote overall good health.   One of the best diets for good health is the Mediterranean Diet.   As I wrote it my blog, Best Diets for Health 2021 , the Mediterranean Diet is ranked by US News & World Report as the number one Best Diet Overall .    Why?   Because eating the Mediterranean Diet way is good for weight loss, for good heart health, and for brain health.   It also can help prevent cancer and prevent or help control Type 2 Diabetes....

Seems like everyone is going on vacation this summer.   But how can you enjoy your vacation and not return 5 or more pounds heavier?   We all want to have fun on vacation by eating out in new restaurants, trying new foods, and not worrying about gaining weight.   For those who want to return from vacation at the same weight they left, what are some things you can do?   WebMD has some good advice in their article, Avoid Vacation Weight Gain: 5 Simple Rules   .   Tip 1:     Plan Ahead to Include Some Physical Fitness Every vacation my husband and I go on, includes hiking on trails, renting bikes to enjoy some bike trails, or walking a lot.   Yes, we still enjoy site seeing, eating at restaurants, but we also enjoy being active on our vacations.   On a recent trip to Yellowstone, we hiked a lot, walked a lot and also rented bikes and enjoyed biking by a number of geysers.   The WebMD article notes , “Keep in mind that physical acti...