KTK-Nutrition

Eggs have gotten a bad rap over the years.   Almost everyone knows eggs have cholesterol and for years health professionals have given warnings that eating eggs are bad for your heart.   Is this true?   Does eating eggs raise your cholesterol and raise your risk of heart disease?   For those of us who love eggs, it was hard to limit our egg consumption.   What are the facts? Does eating eggs raise my risk of heart disease?          For most people, eggs are not the culprit they used to be.    Most of us can enjoy up to 6 eggs a week or 2 eggs every other day and not raise our risk of heart disease.   However, some people have a sensitivity to dietary cholesterol and they should heed the recommendations of their health professional.         The latest Dietary Guidelines note that dietary cholesterol such as the cholesterol in eggs are not the primary drivers of blood cholesterol.   ...

Can you give your nutrition a boost?    Kaiser Permanente recently had an article, 4 Easy Ways to Boost Your Nutrition .   Their focus is on easy ways to healthier eating and controlling your weight. Food is Fuel – to have energy for your everyday activities and for any workout, food is your fuel.   But not just any fuel, focus on fueling your body with high quality fuel. At Least 1 fruit or vegetable per meal – yes, 5 A Day is the goal but if you’re not even meeting that, at least start with always having a fruit or vegetable with every meal.   Packing your lunch, your kids lunch – make sure you add some fruit or a vegetable.   A piece of fresh fruit is easy to pack, baby carrots and hummus, green or red pepper strips.   So many great choices.   Fruits and vegetables not only add important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to your day, they help fill you up for few calories. Drink more water .     A recent study found that kids...

We all should be eating at least five fruits and vegetables a day.   But it may be challenging to get kids to eat fruits and vegetables.   One of my daughters had to be coaxed to eat grapes, she didn’t like feel of biting into them.   Another daughter, didn’t like tomatoes, they were to be avoided at all costs.   She would eat spaghetti sauce but not with chunks of tomato. Every kid has likes and dislikes.    A good tip sheet from CDC is Encourage Kids to Eat More Fruits and Veggies .   So what are their suggestions for encouraging kids to get their 5 A Day? Keep fruits visible – have a bowl of fruit on the counter, put cut up fruit and vegetables in small bags in the refrigerator to pack with a lunch or grab as a snack. Fruits and Veggies at Every Meal – MyPlate shows half the plate should be fruit and vegetables.    Have them as side dishes, add vegetables to soup, to entrees.   Top off a yogurt with fresh fruit, put some sliced ...

Hello nutrition!   March is National Nutrition Month .   The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics theme for 2016 is Savor the Flavor of Eating Right .   What is National Nutrition Month?     It was created by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a campaign to promote nutrition education and information.   Its focuses on consumers making informed decisions about food and promoting good eating habits and physical activity.                 What can you do to improve your nutrition and physical activity?         In honor of National Nutrition Month, U.S. News and World Report is has come up with   30 simple health tips to try each day of March .   They recommend “making small changes that will lead to big improvements”.   Some easy health tips to try this week are:      “Sip while you sit” – drink water w...

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. ...