BEST DIETS RANKINGS FOR 2019 BY U.S. NEWS I’ve been away on vacation this past week. Instead of writing my regular weekly feature, I’m taking the opportunity to post this article and lists from a January 2, 2019 U.S. News article titled U.S. News Reveals Best Diets Rankings for 2019 Washington, D.C. – As many Americans resolve to become more invested in their health and wellness in the New Year, U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, today released its annual assessment of the year’s Best Diets. In addition to rankings, the Best Diets...
WHOLE GRAINS—WHOLESOME YET FLAVORFUL I keep reading that we should eat three or more servings of whole grains daily as part of a healthy diet. So, I began looking into what is considered a “serving” and also what exactly is considered whole grain. Well, I found that I haven’t been eating 3 servings daily. Have you? Here are examples of just 1 serving: ½ cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain ½ cup cooked whole-grain pasta ½ cup cooked oatmeal 1 slice whole grain bread 1 cup whole grain ready-to-eat cereal Here’s the skinny on what is considered...
SNACKS CAN BE HEALTHY—AND TASTY TOO I love to eat and hardly ever miss a meal. Yet I love snacks too—mid morning, late morning, mid afternoon, late afternoon. Some of what I snack on is healthy—a small bag of raw almonds, apple slices, grapes. But I’ve been filling in the other snack craving times with Snyder’s Pretzels—which are so easy to grab out of the bag and eat but ain’t so healthy. You probably don’t snack as often as I do. But when you do take a snack break what do you go for? Just today, I finally promised myself...
ARE EGGS HEALTHY? YES! A couple of weeks ago I posted an article on cholesterol, Clearing Up Cholesterol Confusion. Now I want to talk about eggs. For quite a few years we were told to go easy on eggs because of their cholesterol content. However, now I’m seeing articles telling us their benefits outweigh the cholesterol. Good thing! Because I love eggs any old way—scrambled, fried, poached, hard or soft-boiled. Eggs are a terrific source of protein and are rich in many vitamins and nutrients your body needs. In my opinion, they are true superfoods. I’ll let this January 2017...
CLEARING UP CHOLESTEROL CONFUSION Over the past few years more of my friends are being told to watch their cholesterol intake. Some are actually losing weight and exercising more, others are popping the statin Lipitor. I was told I needed to cut back on my “bad” cholesterol. I’ve been advised to eat less processed foods, less meat, more fruits and vegetables—in other words the standard advice for eating healthier. In any case, I’ve decided to find out a bit more about cholesterol and I’m sharing my findings with you in this post. Cholesterol is a soft, waxy fat that your...
DOES OUR CIRCADIAN CLOCK PROMOTE HEALTHY EATING? Lately, I’ve been seeing more news on circadian rhythm. For instance, the July 2018 issue of Scientific American—The Clocks Within Our Cells and the July-August 2018 issue of Fitness Journal—Is it Time to Eat Yet? Often referred to as the “body clock,” circadian rhythm is a cycle that tells our bodies when to sleep and eat and regulates many physiological processes. This internal body clock is affected by environmental cues, like sunlight and temperature. A growing body of research is examining the adverse health effects a disrupted circadian rhythm can have. In fact, researchers studying chronobiology...
LOWERING YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE—FOODS THAT HELP & FOODS TO AVOID Last week I posted Your Blood Pressure: Where Do You Place in the New Guidelines? I included updated recommendations from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association giving a new normal blood pressure of under 120/80 whereas before, normal was under 140/90. Thus, if you didn’t previously have high blood pressure, there’s a chance you do now. The post included suggestions on how you can lower blood pressure without medication. This week I’m adding in specific foods that will help you control blood pressure, a few to...
THE KETOGENIC DIET: IS IT FOR YOU? Recently, the ketogenic diet has become very popular for folks wanting rapid weight loss—which includes many of us seniors. It involves slashing the carbs you consume and replacing it with fat. This puts your body in a state of ketosis. The ketogenic diet typically contains 75% fat, 20% protein and only 5% carbohydrates. This is more carb restrictive and fat favorable than the Atkins Diet which is 60-70% fat, 20-30% protein and 10% carbohydrates (although it begins with a strict 2-week ketogenic phase). Here’s a more detailed description by Marcelo Campos, MD in...
SET-POINT WEIGHT—WHY LOST POUNDS KEEP RETURNING Lately, I’ve begun seeing magazine and online articles on something called “set-point weight.” So, what’s that? Simply, it’s a theory that the body maintains its weight with internal regulatory controls. Some folks have a high setting, which means they tend to have a naturally higher weight as a set-point, while others have a low set-point and a naturally lower body weight. Evidence for this is realized when folks go on a diet that is popular at the time and voluntarily eat less food, most are able to lose some weight. But as attention to...
BEST DIET RANKINGS FOR 2018—BY U.S. NEWS I’m away for the next couple of weeks. Instead of writing my regular weekly feature, I’m taking the opportunity to post this article and lists from a January 3, 2018 U.S. News article that ranks Best Overall Diets, Best Diets For Weight Loss and more. U.S. News Reveals Rankings Washington, D.C. U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, has released its annual assessment of the year’s Best Diets. In addition to rankings, the Best Diets platform offers extensive data and information on 40 diet plans across nine...
