July 31st, 2009 by AmyJo
I’d just like to talk for a minute about something that drives me nuts. That would be things that like yogurt, juice, and ice cream that are not naturally a source of fiber, but suddenly claim to be “a good source” of the roughage. What? Who wants fiber ice cream? Yuck.
Fiber is awesome. I love it. You should too, because I do. But beware of all kinds of foods that have added fiber to give it a superior looking nutrition profile. It’s a fake, and your body knows it. Natural sources of fiber like vegetables, fruit, and whole grains are really super for your body (digestion, detoxification, reglarity, the whole works). But fake fiber has none of those benefits. Companies often use inexpensive refined flour and then add back in fiber so that it looks healthy again. Really they’re just being cheap. So when you see 10g fiber in a tortilla, dont be overly impressed. It might have a sky high amount of fiber, but whole grains dont have that much fiber. And honestly, it is much better for your body to eat a whole grain tortilla than to eat a refined flour tortilla with all kinds of inulin and other added fibers to it.
For grains, make sure the ingredients contain “100% whole grain” rather than “oat fiber” or “inulin.” For yogurt and juice, chocolate and other random foods that are suspiciously high in fiber, just skip it. The less processed and altered from it’s original state a food, the better.
Just keeping things regular…
July 21st, 2009 by AmyJo
Not to brag, but I’ve never broken a bone. Never. Not even a toe. And I’d like to say that it’s because I drank gallons of milk as a growing child, but honestly, milk was never my thing. Carrots, however were. And even though most people don’t think of carrots as bone-strengtheners, it’s time to break out of the milk carton and realize that there are other nutrients that keep your bones strong.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that fruits and vegetables rich in carotenoids help keep your bones strong. A carotenoid is a pigment found in fruits and vegetables with vibrant yellow, orange and red color. Carotenoids like lycopene and beta carotene act as antioxidants which ward off dangerous Read the rest of this entry »
July 15th, 2009 by AmyJo
Cherries are about as all-American as apple pie. Minus the fat and laborious effort to prepare a good crust. And because I’m flat out sick of the exotic berry craze stealing attention from other great super-foods, I’m about to toot some cherry horn.
Like other berries, cherries contain plentiful antioxidants, but that’s just the tip of the iceburg. Researchers at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular center found that cherry-rich diets reduce both cholesterol and inflammation. Also in the study, animals fed cherry-enhanced diets had 14% lower body fat than the other animals.
But my favorite thing about cherries (besides the sweet deliciousness that they are in your mouth) is the sleep-aiding effect they offer. Cherries are one of just a few food sources of an antioxidant called melatonin. Melatonin is usually Read the rest of this entry »
