KTK-Nutrition

Many people are looking to lose weight and lose weight fast, so they fall for many weight-loss gimmicks.   The best way to lose weight is to change your lifestyle, healthier eating and more exercise.   But a lot of people don’t want to make the effort.   They look for an easy way to lose weight and then try one or more weight-loss gimmicks.   What are some of these weight-loss gimmicks that you should avoid?   Short, 7-Minute Workouts – you have seen these headlines:   Lose weight by exercising only 7 minutes a day.   Any exercise is good for you but exercising only 7 minutes a day won’t lead to weight loss.   If you keep repeating the 7-minute workout and exercise for 21 minutes or more, then the exercise can burn up some calories. Detox and Teas that promote weight loss – I have heard many people say they are on a “detox diet” thinking this is a good thing.   But your liver “detoxes” every day and you don’t need to go on a “detox die...

Are there vitamins that can reduce your risk of getting COVID-19?   What supplements is Dr. Fauci taking to keep his immune system in good health?   A Boston University School of Medicine study found that vitamin D “improves your ability to fight infectious diseases, including viral infections”.    The studies on COVID and Vitamin D A study on vitamin D and COVID was conducted by the University of Chicago and another study was conducted by Boston University School of Medicine.   University of Chicago study:   489 patients had vitamin D levels measured before during the year before they were tested for COVID-19.   Of this cohort, 71 or 15% of study participants tested positive for COVID-19.   They found that people who were deficient in vitamin D were almost twice as likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared to participants who were sufficient in vitamin D levels.   The University of Boston study looked at the vitamin D and COV...

Added sugar – many people don’t know the difference between sugars added to food versus the natural sugars in foods.   It is the added sugars that we need to be concerned about.   Nathan Myers, R.D., a clinical dietitian notes that it isn’t just the extra calories added sugars add to your day but all those added sugars can pose a risk to your health.   “Added sugar also increases your risk of developing a laundry list of serious health problems including being overweight and conditions related such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers.”   What is Added Sugar?   What is the difference between Added Sugar and the Natural Sugar in foods? Added Sugar:   This is the sugar that manufacturers add to foods.   It can be the simple white table sugar, or brown sugar but it can also be high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, maple syrup, molasses, corn syrup, or raw sugar.   FDA requires new food labels to clearly list th...

Americans love to snack.   Who doesn’t enjoy some snacks?   Most afternoons I enjoy some popcorn as a snack.   Not a bad choice since popcorn is whole grain and actually good for you.   We can fit snacks into our diet, even some not-so-healthy snacks.   But, some of us have no idea how much is too much.   We start to eat a seemingly small portion of a snack and before we know it, we’ve eaten most of the bag or box.   Eat This, Not That! Has some good recommendations on what the correct portion size is for snacks.   Why watch the portion size?   Many snacks that we enjoy fall into the junk food or empty-calorie food category, meaning the snack food is loaded with calories but not loaded with nutrients.   What are some of those snack foods we tend to eat an over-size amount of? Potato Chips – one of my relatives who loved Pringles said they had to give them up cold turkey.   Why?   Because they would always eat the entire ...

Who doesn’t eat processed foods?   Almost all the foods we eat undergo some processing.   Bread is processed, crackers are processed.   Real cow’s milk is pasteurized to kill some bacteria and is fortified with vitamin D.   But highly processed foods have many nutrients and fiber removed.   Now many health professionals are talking about ultra-processed foods.   Is some processing of foods needed? Yes.   As noted, cow’s milk is pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria.   They also add vitamin D to milk which is a good thing.   Some foods are frozen, like frozen vegetables and frozen fruit to prolong shelf life.   Grains are processed to make bread, crackers, cereal.   What type of food processing is not good for our health? You may have heard of refined grains.   All grains start out healthy as whole grains.   Then many grains are refined, which removes one or more parts of the grain.   White flour and white rice...

Blueberries – why are they considered a super healthy food?   Growing up, I went blueberry picking with my grandfather.   At first, more blueberries went into my mouth than into the bucket.   Who knew I was boosting my health every time I went blueberry picking? Why are blueberries so healthy?   What make blueberries a power food?   Health.com discusses the   5 Health Benefits of Blueberries, According to a Nutritionist .   1. Antioxidants – blueberries are “blue” or some say “purple”.   This coloring means blueberries provide different antioxidants than other colored fruit.   Berries , in particular, have higher antioxidant levels than other fruits.   Antioxidants are great for our health as they help protect our bodies and cells from damage and thus protect us from some diseases and “protect against inflammation ”.   Blueberries provide the antioxidant, anthocyanin which lowers our risk of certain cancers, helps our memorie...