KTK-Nutrition

Everyone knows that walking is good for you.   New studies have show how good walking is for your overall health.   If a short walk is good, is a longer walk better?   How much walking does one have to do to improve health? How much walking is needed to improve health? Sedentary is bad, walking is good , is a new way to look at activity.   A sedentary person who only walks about 1,000 steps a day who ups it to 3,000 steps a day can improve their health.   A study published in PLOS One , and highlighted in More Steps a day keep the doctor away , found that the more steps you do the greater the health benefits.   But even increasing walking from 1000 t0 3000 steps a day resulted in a 12% lowered mortality risk.     Those who met the goal of walking 10,000 steps a day lowered their mortality risk a whopping 46%.   They determined this by tracking 3,000 Australians, average age of 58, for over 15 years.   The study participants wore...

Looking to lose weight before summer?   So many people focus on cutting back starches to lose weight when cutting back on added sugars may be more beneficial.   People are more willing to cut back on the slice of bread but not the sugared soda.   As stated by Laura Schmidt, professor of Health Policy at UC San Francisco, “Too much sugar does not just make us fat; it can also make us sick.” Is Sugar Making Us Sick? Recent research shows that cutting back on added sugars is a good way for obese kids to lose weight.   (The Berkeley Wellness Letter highlighted this study in “Yes, it’s the sugar”, March 2016.)   Cutting back on nutritious foods needed for growth is not a good idea when a child is trying to slim down. But added sugars add calories and not nutrients needed for growth and development. What did the research find about added sugars? Two universities, University of San Francisco and Touro University of California studied 43 obese kids ranging in ag...

Does what you eat affect your vision?   Do the foods you eat or don’t eat affect your eye sight?   Recently I was at a restaurant and a couple sat down in the table next to us.   The man asked the server for a flashlight as he was not able to read the menu in the dim light.   It was a little dim in the restaurant but most people would be able to read the menu.   I didn’t know what his vision problem was, but one thing came to mind, vitamin A deficiency.   One of the first systems of vitamin A deficiency is night blindness.   This results in poor vision at night or in dim light.   Perhaps this gentleman had trouble reading the menu in the dim light because he was deficient in vitamin A.   What are the vitamins and nutrients that promote good vision?   The March 2016 issue of Environmental Nutrition has an article, “ Eat to See Clearly ”.   Choose a Rainbow of Colors:   – Eat the colors of the rainbow for healthy eyes. ...

How many calories are in those beverages you are drinking every day?   Many people drink high energy drinks, Starbuck’s coffee, soft drinks and drinks like Gatorade without even considering those calories.    And calories from beverages easily add up.    The Alliance for a Healthier Generation has some good advice for high school students that can be applied to all of us. Drop Liquid Calories is one of the Alliance for Health’s recommendations.   Many of us aren’t eating our calories but drinking our calories by consuming sugary beverages – soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened ice tea, coffee with flavored syrups.   High school students and adults “are drinking more sugary beverages than ever before.”   As the website notes, the biggest source of added sugar in the diets of many of our youth are sugary beverages.   Surprisingly, many of these sugary beverages are provided by parents and they can easily change what beverages are in the ho...

Recently the walnut industry has been advertising walnuts a lot on TV.    Eat walnuts for heart health, put walnuts on your salad.   Are walnuts good for your health?   Dr. Oz wrote a column with “walnuts: the superfood” and a posted blog post, The Wonderful Walnut .   So why does Dr. Oz and many nutritionists think walnuts are a superfood? Omega-3 fats – these fats are the “good” fats, the fat that is good for our hearts.   Walnuts are full of omega-3’s.   Studies have shown that eating walnuts actually improves heart health.   How?   By lowering the bad cholesterol, LDL and even helping to lower blood pressure.   Omega-3’s are also good for reducing inflammation.   Diabetes – eating walnuts helps lower blood sugar and reduces your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.   ( Nuts Good for Some with Diabetes) .   Eating walnuts 2-3 times a week is helpful in lowering Type 2 diabetes risk.   Vitamin E, manganese, co...

Recently a relative stated their Fitbit didn’t seem to accurately reflect how many calories they burned up during exercise.   Many calculators I have used do seem to overstate the calories burned in an activity.   Calculators that are simple relying on weight and duration may not be as accurate as calculators that require more input like gender, height and that provide a much broader array of activities.   Some activity calculators are built into apps like Lose It! and others are online stand-alone exercise calculators.   If you want to know how many calories you are burning at the gym, doing routine chores or exercising outdoors here are some calculators to try: Health Status – Calories Burned Calculator – This provides an extensive listing of exercise and common daily activities.   You enter your age, gender, height, weight, and number of minutes for the chosen activity and it estimates calories burned.   As the calculator notes, it takes 3500 calor...

What is the DASH diet and why is the DASH diet so good for your health?    As noted last week, every year for the past 6 years, US News and World Reports ranks the best diets ( Best Diets 2016 ).   They gather a panel of diet and nutrition experts and rank 38 diets on a number of criteria.   What diet ranked the best for overall health?   The DASH diet.      What is the DASH diet? This diet was originally designed to help stop hypertension or high blood pressure.   They have now found it also helps prevent and control diabetes and supports a healthy heart.   Thus, it is a diet to follow for overall good health.   Diet doesn’t mean one is trying to lose weight.   Rather it is a healthier pattern of eating.   What nutrients are emphasized in this diet? This diet promotes potassium, calcium, protein and fiber.   Although most people know to limit sodium because sodium (salt) is linked to higher blood pressure, m...