KTK-Nutrition

As the cold weather is hitting most of the states, it is a good idea to start practicing some healthy habits to charge up your immune system and try to keep the colds and flu away.   What are some ideas that are easy to adopt to stay healthier this winter?          1.    Wash those hands – out shopping, going to school, going to work, up and down escalators, staying in hotels?   Germs are everywhere so wash them away.   Hand washing is the first step to keeping colds and flu at bay .   In 6 Tips for Avoiding Cold and Flu , Dr. Pocinki recommends, “Wash your hands as much as you can stand, and then some more—especially after wrapping up a visit with someone’s who’s sick.”   If you aren’t near a sink, use hand sanitizer.   Carry some in your purse, or store some in your glove compartment.     2.  P ower Up Your Immune System – having a healthy diet will help build your immune s...

Who doesn’t love Thanksgiving?   All those delicious foods to eat.   What are some tips to enjoy the Thanksgiving feast and leftovers without adding those extra pounds?   Not easy since food is so plentiful and so tasty.   Not a day to be on a diet but a day we can enjoy every bite but not gain a lot as a result. Consumer Reports wrote an article :   “Good to the Last Gobble” in which they outlined how many calories Americans eat at the Thanksgiving feast.   They cite the Calorie Control Council (who knew there was such a Council?) that says we consume 4,500 calories or more at our Thanksgiving feast.   That is a lot of calories for one meal, especially since our daily calorie intake should be between 1600 – 2000 for adult women and 2000 – 2400 for adult men.   (If you are active, you can take in more calories during the day.   Check out the chart at “Estimated Calorie Requirements”).   Consumer Reports suggest a meal with all ...

Natural sounds good and there are many “natural” remedies and cures advertised every day.   Which ones work and which ones don’t?   Consumer Reports (November 2018) and a number of others have reviewed commonly used natural remedies .   Have you tried some natural remedies and have they worked for you?   What do the experts say?             1.   A pple Cider Vinegar – my daughter recently asked me about apple cider vinegar and if it helps with weight loss.   I told her that myth is very old and was around a long time ago and then keeps coming back.   The hucksters push apple cider vinegar as a great cure all.   Take in just 1-2 Tablespoons a day and they claim you have better blood sugar levels, you lose weight, reduce your cancer risk and a new claim is it cures some skin problems.   Apple cider vinegar is really good for something – to use it in salad dressing.   Dr. Chey from th...

Who doesn’t enjoy some sweets in their diet?   We all like our desserts and treating ourselves.   There are a lot of myths about sugar in our diets.   Food for Health has a great article this month on Sugar:   The Not-So-Sweet Truth .   Do you believe some of these myths about sugar?   Below are some common myths many people have about sugar. Myth 1:   Some sugars such as honey or agave are healthier for you than white table sugar or high fructose corn syrup. A little bit true, as honey and agave do provide some traces of vitamins and minerals such as potassium and vitamin C.   But the amounts are so small, that honey and agave are not really healthier than white table sugar or high fructose corn syrup.   Some people use honey as a cough suppressant .   Others like the taste of honey in baked foods like muffins.   Nothing wrong with choosing honey or agave, they just aren’t much healthier.     Myth 2: ...

How can you add some activity to your every day life?   So much to do?   Commute to work.   Sit at a desk job. Commute back home and watch some TV or have some other screen time.   How can you switch up a sedentary lifestyle to a more active lifestyle?   And doing so will lower your risk of a number of diseases.   Just moving more can help one lose weight or keep off the weight you have lost.   And reducing your weight by 5% or more can lower your risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.   An article in Verywell Health described, 9 Ways to Beat a Sedentary Lifestyle .   What are some of their suggestions and others you can try? Walking – aim for a 30 minute walk a day.   I used to commute to work, have a desk job, but planned a walk with friends at lunch every day.    No time for 30 minutes?   Then take three 10-minute walks each day. If you commute by bus or train, then get off a few blocks before your stop and wa...

Are there things you can do to rev up your metabolism?   Yes.   There are things you can do to rev it up in the short run and other things that will rev up your metabolism longer term.   Some people complain they have a slow metabolism and envy those who seem to have a faster metabolism.   Well there are people that will have a faster metabolism than you for a number of reasons.   So why do some people seem to have a more revved up metabolism?   What are the things you can do to boost your metabolism both in the short term and long term? Who has a faster metabolism? Men – guys will have a faster metabolism than women, even if they are the same height and weight.   Why?   Because guys have more muscle than women. Tall people – the taller one is, the higher their metabolism.   Age – younger people have a faster metabolism than older people.   Metabolism starts to slow after age 40 and some say before that.   It slows about 5%...

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...