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Just when you think it is safe to eat Cheerios

October 30, 2006 by in Product Analysis with No Comments

There is now Yogurt Burst and Fruity Cheerios

Cheerios, first introduced in 1941, a cereal you have come to trust for its nutritional value. Add yogurt and fruit juice and it can only make a great product better, right?

What are you really eating?

Naturally flavored yogurt coating

Legal definition of naturally flavored:

Must be from an extract oil or derivative of a spice, herb, root, leaf or other natural source and still can contain artificial flavoring. There is no way to know just what was used to flavor the yogurt coating.

Dried nonfat yogurt:

If a food contains the beneficial active cultures from yogurt the words “active or live cultures” must be in the list of ingredients. Live are active cultures are not listed.

Palm kernel oil: 80% saturated fat.

Even though the following ingredients are simple sugars in both the “Yogurt Burst and Fruity Cheerios they do not have to be listed as sugar. 

Corn starch, corn syrup, brown sugar syrup, dextrose and orange juice, this type of simple sugar behaves as fat once in your body.

This adds up to 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar per 3/4 cup of cereal.

 

If you are not crazy about vegetables, try this dish

October 27, 2006 by in Uncategorized with No Comments

You know you need to eat more vegetables but you just are not crazy about their taste, try this suggestion from The Sugar Solution; this is a great diet from Prevention magazine.

Dip asparagus, zucchini, bell peppers, corn, eggplant, yellow squash, and mushrooms in balsamic vinegar, grill or broil the vegetables until desired texture. Add pineapple chuncks for flavor.

For more great suggestions go to www.sugarsolutiononline.com

When you think diet do you think deprivation?

October 26, 2006 by in Uncategorized with No Comments

Diet has become synonymous with weight loss. Tell someone you are on a diet and chances are the first question they ask is are you doing low-carb, low-fat or just counting calories?

In our society being on a diet means that you are depriving yourself of at least one food group. Eventually you grow tired of not eating the forbidden fruit and go back to your old way of eating;this leads to gaining back all the weight you lost plus a few extra pounds. 

In Latin the word for diet is diaeta meaning “way of living”; the Greek word is diaita meaning “to live one’s life”.

This is why I was so excited when I discovered Intuitive Eating, their philosophy is about living your life and listening to your body.

Learn more about Intuitive Eating at www.intuitiveeating.com

 

 

Do you have high blood pressure? Use DASH

October 25, 2006 by in Nutrition with No Comments

From Harvard Health Publications: www.health.harvard.edu

A landmark study has shown you can eat your way to better blood pressure by using the DASH diet approach. DASH is the abbreviation for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The DASH diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts.   

Will eating fish cause cancer or prevent it?

October 23, 2006 by in Nutrition with No Comments

This ia a question asked in the latest issue of Consumer Reports on Health. Their answer; “Consuming fish probably helps more than it hurts”. Providing you do not consume on a regular basis the varities that are at a high risk for contamination.

It is well known that the fatty acids in fish help to protect your heart; these same fatty acids are proving to be beneficial in protecting you from breast cancer, endometrium, kidneys, ovaries, prostrate and colon. Fish is also a good source of vitamin D and selenium, both are cancer fighting nutrients. Consumer Reports state that a European study of about 500,000 people support these findings but did not report any statistics on the study.

Fish you should eat twice a week:

Striped bass, Wild Alaskan Salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies, mackerel and Alaskan halibut.

Fish to avoid or eat only occasionally:

Farm-raised salmon or wild-caught fatty freshwater fish such as carp, catfish, bass and trout.

Fish that may have high levels of mercury:

King mackeral, shark, swordfish, tilefish and to a lesser extent, tuna steaks and canned white tuna.

Antioxidants

October 22, 2006 by in Nutrition with No Comments

From Fitness magazine:

Oslo is Norways oldest university and has four Nobel prize winners in research. Researchers from Oslo tested 1,113 common foods to determend which foods have the highest concentration of antioxidants.

This is a list of the top 10 foods starting with #1:

1. Blackberries
2. Walnuts
3.Strawberries
4. Artichoke hearts
5. Cranberries
6. Brewed coffee
7. Raspberries
8. Pecans
9. Blueberries
10. Ground cloves

Antioxidants from food have proven to be beneficial in the prevention of diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Santa Fe Chicken Chili

October 20, 2006 by in Uncategorized with No Comments

Autumn is here and there is a chill in the air. When you feel that chill does your thoughts turn to a nice bowl of hot chili? If so you will love Santa Fe Chicken Chili.

I found this recipe in an issue of Country Woman several years ago and it is a favorite with both family and friends. Not only is it full of flavor, you can make it a day ahead or double the recipe and freeze extra for a day when you need something on the table fast.

To make this chili as healthy as it is full of flavor I use less oil and made a small change in the way it is prepared.

Ingredients

2 Lbs. chicken breast, boneless/skinless
cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 red peppers, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil /I use 2 Tblsps.
2 tsps. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 large onions, chopped
1 – 28oz. can diced tomatoes/undrained
2 – 14oz. cans chicken broth/low-fat
2 – 15 1/2oz. cans kidney beans/drained & rinsed
1 – 12oz. jar salsa
I double the amount of salsa
1- 10oz. pkg. frozen corn
light salt (opt)
black pepper (to taste)

Original recipe:

In the original recipe the chicken and vegetables are browned together
in 1/4 cup olive oil. After the chicken is cooked through the rest of
ingredients are added to the same pan. Not only is this a lot of
unnecessary fat the fat from the chicken is absorb by the vegetables.

My version:

In large skillet brown chicken until no longer pink, with slotted spoon remove
chicken to a large kettle or 5qt. Dutch Oven.

Add 2 tblsps. olive oil, peppers, garlic, and onions, cook until vegetables are
tender, about 5 minutes.

Next add chili powder, cumin, cayenne and black pepper, and salt (opt), stir for
1 minute. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for
30 minutes.

Rudi's Organic Bakery

October 16, 2006 by in Nutrition with No Comments

Finding bread without high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans-fats) can be compared to searching for a needle in a hay stack; after a long search I found a bread without either ingredient.

Honey Sweet Whole Wheat Bread

produced by Rudi’s Organic Bakery

Rudi’s uses all organic ingredients, has no trans-fats, and is sweeten with cane juice, honey, and molasses; a much better choice than high fructose corn syrup. Another plus is that each slice of bread contains three grams of fiber, that is a great source of fiber.

Why not use High Fructose Corn Syrup?

A little sugar for most of you is not a bad thing, HFCS may be another story. This sweetener is used in most commercially produced foods because it is cheap and extends the shelf life of most foods.

High fructose corn syrup is made through a complicated chemical process using cornstarch. Your body, not clear on just how it should metabolize this substance, sends HFCS straight to your liver. After it enters your liver HFCS behaves more like a fat than glucose.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and around the world have discovered links between heart disease, diabetes, and even possibly liver problems and the high consumption of high fructose corn syrup.

A study done with 50,000 U.S. nurses found those drinking one soda or fruit punch a day gained weight. The nurses drinking more than one a day increased their risk of developing diabetes by 80%.

In men, not women, HFCS increases triglycerides, blood fats that increase the risk of heart disease.

Artificially flavored fruit pieces

October 15, 2006 by in Label Language with No Comments

A friend brought this product to my attention-

               Quaker Oatmeal to go; natural and artificial flavored fruit pieces

Two questions immediately popped into his mind-

  1. Since when does fruit need to be artificially flavored?
  2. Doesn’t fruit come with it’s own flavoring? 

 

Water; keep out of the reach of children

October 10, 2006 by in Uncategorized with No Comments

Water, you constantly hear drink at least eight glasses a day. This clear liquid is essential for life: you can not survive more than 5 or 6 days without it. Most doctors and nutritionist will tell you not only is it essential for life but proving to be a dieters best friend. The next time you are craving a candy bar try a glass of water, you may be surprised to find you no longer desire the candy bar.

This wonderful beverage has no calories, no fat, no sugar, and contains no alcohol; what beverage could possibly be more diet friendly? Imagine my surprise when at my local supermarket I spotted bottled water designed to help you lose weight. Since there is nothing to take out I checked to see what ingredient may have been added.

The first brand I checked contained garcinia cambogia; studies have shown this herb to help mice lose weight but no evidence of weight loss in humans. ABC news did an experiment with Jennifer and Lauren ( sisiters ); Jennifer drink regular bottled water at $6 a case and Lauren drank bottled water containing garcinia cambogia at $40 a case. At the time of the experiment neither sister knew which bottled water they were drinking. Their instructions was to drank a bottle 30 minutes before each meal and another 2 to 4 bottles at some other time during the day. During a four week period Jennifer lost 6 1/2 lbs. dranking bottled water at $6 a case, Lauren lost 5 lbs. dranking bottled water at $40 a case.

The one plus here is that even though garcinia cambogia may not aid in weight loss at least there are no harmful side effects. The same can not be said for yohimbe alkaloids contained in the second brand of diet water. I will add here that this brand of water has a warning label stating “Keep out of the reach of children” and “Sale to minors not recommended“.

Yohimbe alkaloids come from the bark of a tree in Africa; sold in health food stores as a natural aphrodisiac, to treat erectile dysfunction, weight loss, and depression. Some have even smoked yohimbe as a hallucinogen.  

In Germany the Commission E, the country’s herbal regulatory agency, has yohimbe on its list of unapproved herbs.

The commission warns

People with kidney or liver disease, stomach ulcers, heart disease, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, post traumatic disorder, and panic disorder should not take yohimbe.

There is more but it would take close to another paragraph to list all the warnings.

Maybe it is wise to stick with just regular tap water, it is not only going to save you money, it may save your life. 

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