Having a little fat in salad dressing helps you absorb the nutrients from the vegetables and ferries vitamin E into your blood stream.
Archive for December, 2006
Microwave Cooking
There is a myth that cooking food in your microwave zaps it of valuable vitamins and minerals. According to Consumer Reports On Health the microwave cooking may retain the vitamins and minerals better than stove top cooking.
The longer you cook a food in water the more vitamins and minerals you lose. Soups and stews are the exception because you eat the broth used in cooking the vegetables.
Mercury and Fish
Eating fish, rich in omega 3 fatty acids, keeps both your heart and brain strong; but there is a growing concern here because of the mercury levels in some fish.
Through the Wellness Letter published by the University Of California I have learned of a site that will help you make healthier seafood choices, www.gotmercury.org. Got Mercury even provides a calculator that takes the guess work out of which fish is the safest to eat.
You do not have to give up fish when you www.gotmercury.org.
Fiber From Inulin
Inulin is a carbohydrate that is isolated from chicory root; considered fiber because it’s poorly digested. There is where the similarity between high fiber and inulin ends.
At this time there is no evidence that inulin will reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes or constipation as well as the fiber in whole grains.
Whole wheat should be the first ingredient listed with 3 to 5 grams fiber per serving.
Suggestion
Try a bowl of shredded wheat, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, add your favorite fruit. Mix 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract to 1 cup milk (your choice) and pour over cereal, sweeten with stevia.
Stevia is an herb used as a sweetener; there are no calories in stevia and it is safe for diabetics. Found in health food stores and now sold in many grocery stores.
Sorbee–Sugar-Free Cookies, Maybe Not
Sorbee sugar-free crunchy Chocolate Fudge Cookies. Sugar-free has to be good for someone with diabetes, right?
Chocolate Fudge Cookies
First ingredient: enriched white flour, this is refined flour with all the brown husk removed. Any food with white flour as the main ingredient breaks down immediately in your blood stream causing glucose levels to rise.
Look for whole grain foods with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving
Sugar Alcohols: Will not cause the blood glucose levels to rise as high as regular sugar but it is still wise to limit these. They will cause bloating and diarrhea if eaten in large quantities.
Partially Hydrogenated Soy and/or Cottonseed Oil: This is a Trans-fat known to lead to heart disease. A diabetic is already at high risk for heart diesease.
One Cookie
Carbohydrates: 15 grams, which is 3 3/4 teaspoons sugar per cookie
Calories: 110 calories and 6 grams of fat per cookie.
Decaf Doesn't Mean Caffeine-Free
Headlines in the “Health&Nutrition Letter” published by Tufts University. University of Florida tested 10 cups of decaf coffee from various coffee shops, fast-food outlets, doughnut shops and an instant coffee brand, plus a dozen decaf drinks from Starbucks. The only decaf coffee found to contain no caffeine is the Folger’s instant crystals.
It is true that the amount of caffeine in the decaf brands is small compared to regular coffee but there is still enough to be a problem with certain medical conditions or medications. A regular cup of coffee has 170 milligrams of caffeine; the decaf coffees tested range from 8.6 to 13.9 milligrams. Dr. Goldberger, PhD stated that two cups of decaf coffee could have as much caffeine as a cola.
If your physician has advised you to stay away from caffeine make sure you are drinking Flogers.
FitFact from Fitness magazine: www.fitnessmagazine.com
Sauced, pureed, juiced and cooked red tomatoes pack two to eight times as much readily absorable, cancer-fighting lycopene as raw tomatoes.
Trans-fats
Trans-fats; it has been all over the news that in New York City trans-fats are ban and I for one applaud them; but there is a hidden danger. There is the illusion that if there are no trans-fats that fried food is now healthy. It is a better choice but eating too many fried foods, no matter the fat used to fry the food, will still lead to a weight problem. Being over weight puts you at high risk for such diseases as heart and diabetes.
So please remember moderation is the operative word.
Got Almonds
Maybe the question should be “Got Almonds” rather than “Got Milk”.
1 cup almonds has 418 mg. calcium, 1 cup milk has 298 calcium.
If your child does not care for milk let him/her munch on a few almonds.
Hi there. I'm Patricia Setzer, and I show you how to prepare your favorite foods in a way that can help boost your energy, maintain a healthy weight and improve your overall health ...