KTK-Nutrition

Are you using coconut oil and thinking it is a healthy choice?   Many people I talk to and a number of students in my classes think coconut oil is healthy.   Not true.   If you are using coconut oil, there are many healthier choices.   A recent article on getpocket.com says , Stop cooking with Coconut Oil .   Why do some people think coconut oil is good for your health? The article notes that two studies in 2003 claimed coconut oil would reduce your belly fat.   Not only that but coconut oil would rev up your metabolism.   Based on these claims, some health advocates pushed coconut oil and a surprising number of people listened to them.   People started cooking with coconut oil, adding coconut oil to smoothies, and even adding some to their morning coffee.   More claims were provided as to how eating coconut oil would improve your memory , lower cholesterol, boost your immune system and even promote good digestion.      ...

So many people are now at home and more people are cooking at home.   This can be good for your health.   When you are preparing food for yourself and your family, what cooking oil are you using?   Just like most things in nutrition there are a lot of myths about what cooking oils are good for your health and what cooking oils are not so good.   Why would a person buy a cooking oil that is bad for their heart health?   I noted this before but I was watching a couple in the cooking oil aisle struggling to figure out what cooking oil to buy.   They would pick up a bottle, look at it, talk about it, put it back and then pick up another bottle.   Choosing and buying a healthy cooking oil is not hard.   Here are some tips. One might think most cooking oils are the same.   And they are pretty much the same when it comes to calories and fat content.   But, the type of fat in the oil really makes a difference health wise. Healthy Choices for...

Fat – we need fat in our diets.   So many people focus on cutting carbs but rarely do people focus on cutting the fat in their diets or changing their diet to include healthier fats.   And there are healthy fats we should be sure we have in our diets.   So, what are the fats we should be cutting back on and what are the healthy fats we should be choosing?   And where do we go to get advice on what fats we should be putting in our diets?    What are the fats we should cut back on, the bad fats? Saturated fats are the fats the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends we cut back on.   Why?   Because it is the saturated fats that raise your cholesterol, especially raising the bad cholesterol, or LDL cholesterol.   As the AHA notes, “high levels of LDL cholesterol in your blood increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.”    Foods with saturated fat Not easy to meet their recommendation though on how much saturat...

Now that the weather has turned colder, it is time to think about how you can protect yourself and family members from getting colds or flu this winter.    There are many things people can do in terms of diet, exercise and habits that can greatly reduce your chances of getting sick.    What diet and other changes can you focus on to boost your immune system and keep you healthy?      1.   Fruits and Vegetables – 5 A Day is the suggested amount but eating even more than 5 A Day during the cold and flu season is a wise choice. a.        Antioxidants for your immune system: Fruits and vegetables are not only full of vitamins and minerals but also antioxidants that can help you fight off those infections and build your immune system.   But each color of fruit and vegetable has different antioxidants.   To ensure you are getting a wide range of colors, vary your colors.   Include many differ...