More on Fiber

I mentioned yesterday that I would talk about the "Whole Grain" piece. One of the ways to be certain that you are getting whole grain in whatever you are buying is to look for the "100 percent whole grain" stamp from the Whole Grains Council. This stamp lets you know that whatever you are buying contains whole grain and there is at least 16 grams of whole grains per serving. Participation of a company to obtain the Whole Grains Council stamp is voluntary.

Don't just go for the big label advertising like 100% whole grain or whole wheat. Read the ingredients. What you are looking for is "whole wheat flour" or "whole durum wheat flour. If you see "Semolina or durum wheat flour" minus the whole, it is a refined grain.

Don't assume that organic or health food pastas are whole grain. Pasta made with spinach or tomatoes may actually contain very little of the vegetables - just enough to give it some color.

Fiber in Your Diet

Have you ever looked at the print on a food and it says something like "high in fiber". What does that really mean? The other claim we see a lot in the grocery store "fiber fortified" - now does that exactly mean? What both of these mean is that you need to read beyond the big print on the package. Look at the ingredient list. A high fiber breakfast bar or a fiber fortified yogurt are not the same as eating old fashioned oatmeal with fruit and milk.

One of the claims on the package you may see is "made with 5 grams of whole grain per serving" is not the same as containing 5 grams of fiber. The fiber in quote is often a grain that is refined white flour.

Your best choices for fiber are fresh fruits and vegetables. Remember you should be eating 8-10 servings of these a day. Nuts and seeds are also great sources of fiber.

More tomorrow on the Whole grain bread stories.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #6

A food similar to yesterday's food is pumpkin. Obviously these aren't always available, but in the Fall there is usually lots to go around at a very reasonable price. Buy some extra and freeze it or can it. One small or medium pumpkin will yield lots of pumpkin that you can eat year around.

Pumpkin has lots of Vitamin A and Vitamin C and is loaded with fiber. You can eat it similarly to sweet potatoes.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #5

Another very healthy food is sweet potatoes. These can be expensive if not in season or locally grown. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Plus they are an excellent source of fiber.

To maximize the benefits, avoid boiling them as this leaches out some of the nutrients. Bake them and be sure to eat the skins as this is where most of the nutrients are. These are a great substitute for regular potatoes and much better for you.

You can also wash them and cut them into what look like french fries. Instead of frying them - be sure to leave the skins on - coat a pan with olive oil, a small amount, and put them in the oven to bake. Everyone in our household loves these.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #3

One of my favorite healthy foods is spinach because of the variety of ways in which it can be used. Again, locally grown in season is best and usually the least expensive. This food is really a nutritional powerhouse.

Spinach is rich in antioxidants and is a real boost to your immune system. One cup of it raw is one serving. You can use it in salads, sandwiches, eggs, soups, or other side dishes.

Spinach is rich in iron, carotenoids, lutein, bioflavanoids, calcium, folic acid, Vitamin K, fiber and Vitamin C. The lutein specifically targets eye health. You can read more about lutein by going to the other posts about lutein in this blog.

10 Healthy Foods for Less #2

The next healthy food is beets. These are best when you can buy locally grown in season. Beets are very high in fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. They also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Again, if you can buy them fresh instead of canned, they are usually less expensive. I often cook them and cut them up with greens, a couple boiled eggs and onion. You can use a little mayonaise, or what we like best is a little olive oil and lemon or lime juice. Makes a tasty salad or sometimes we just eat this as our main course.

A word of warning. Beets will give the stool a bright red color and the water in the toilet will look like bright red blood. Don't be alarmed, this is just from the beets.

10 Healthy Foods for Less

Over the next 9 days I'll be giving you a food a day that is a healthy choice that is not so expensive. You can use these foods to improve your health and save money doing it.

The first food is beans. Raw beans or legumes are a great source of fiber and protein. You can use them in a variety of ways, as a main course or added to salads. Canned beans are not quite as good because some of the nutrients may have been cooked out of them. So buy them raw which are less expensive and cook them yourself. The broth in which they cook is great for soups and is nutrient rich.

Good Protein Source

Lentils may be one of the new hottest protein sources. These beans can be used in multiple ways including meat loaf.

They are a fairly economical way to expand your food dollar and get healthy nutrition as well. They come in different colors, brown being the most common. There are also red and green lentils.

Lentils are almost as good as soybeans in terms of their protein. Most soybeans today are genetically altered and if you find true lentils they are better for you.

Lentils like other beans do not require a presoak and they cook in 20 to 30 minutes.

In addition, lentils are a great source of folate, iron, and fiber.

Good Foods to Eat Vegetable

My last vegetable in this list but by no means does it mean that there aren't other really good vegetables out there. This one is unique because it is listed as a vegetable, but really is a fruit. It is the tomato.

Tomatoes are very rich in lycopene which helps with heart health and reduces the risk of certain cancers like pancreatic and prostate. You don't have to eat just the tomatoe to get it's good nutrients. You can also get the nutrients in tomato products such as tomato paste, sauce, juice, soup and ketchup.

Tomatoes also contain Vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, phytonutrients and fiber.

One thing to keep in mind is that eating the tomatoes with fat helps the body to absorb the lycopenes. Of interest is that organic ketchup has three times more lycopene than non-organic ketchup.

Healthy Foods Continued

Next in my list of health foods is cabbage. Usually the only way people will eat cabbage is as cole slaw - beware of the dressing. Cabbage is one vegetable that if you are going to cook it, be extra careful not to over cook it. Not only will it smell bad, but you have cooked all of the good parts out of it.

Cabbage contains lots of fiber and very few calories. In addition to the fiber, cabbage is loaded with phytonutrients, minerals, and vitamins. These nutrients can help you reduce your risk of cancer and protect your brain.

Some of you may be thinking, well what about sauerkraut and kimchi, aren't they from cabbage. Yes indeed they are. Sauerkraut is an excellent non-dairy source of probiotics or bacteria that have a health benefit. The lactic acid in sauerkraut helps in the absorption of iron.

Benefits of Butternut Squash

A great treat in the fall is butternut squash. It is packed with nutrients that help you stay well.

Beta-carotene is present in the squash and your body converts this into Vitamin A. This helps your body ward off skin disorders, age related vision loss and even leukemia.

Smoking creates a Vitamin A deficiency which can lead to emphysema. Eating food rich in Vitamin A can reduce the chances of developing this disease.

The other powerful piece about butternut squash is that it contains potassium and fiber. This is an excellent source of potassium - better than bananas. It also contains folate which helps prevent heart disease.

So get some butternut squash!

Some Do's To Help You Stay Trim

As we move into the holiday season, people are always looking for ways to not gain another 10, 15 or 20 pounds during the holidays. Over the next couple of days, I'm going to give you some suggestions to help you not over eat and go crazy with food over the holidays.

My first suggestion is to eat more fiber. Fiber mixed with protein will give you a feeling of fullness much more quickly than if you are eating rice, pasta or breads. A good choice is to eat beans such as lentils, pinto, kidney, black, navy, or garbanzo beans. Beans naturally contain protein and fiber which slows mealtime digestion, so it takes fewer calories to fill you up.

Keep in mind that as you eat, you are actually "full" long before your brain tells you that you are full.

Nutrients That Make Your Body Work #6

The next nutrient which is essential to the functioning of the body is fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest. Let me clarify something, many foods have carbohydrate content that is digestible and some that is not. Vegetable and fruits are prime examples. They contain carbohydrates that your body can absorb and utilize in the cells to make energy. They also contain fiber that is not digestible and that fiber helps push food through the intestinal tract, helping to prevent constipation.

So the fiber that is not digestible is what helps your body eliminate waste products. I'll talk more about this in a few days.

Eat Whole Grains

Most of us in this country are concerned about fiber and how much we are getting. A recent study indicated that the average American only consumes about 12 grams of fiber a day. What you actually need each day is 30-25 grams to maintain a healthy weight and avoid disease such as heart disease and diabetes.

So how do you increase your fiber? Start increasing the amount of fruit and vegetables that you eat each day. These are your best sources of fiber. When you eat bread, be sure that it is whole grain. Better yet is to eat old fashion oatmeal which is a whole grain. Remember most cereals are not whole grain, contain lots of sugar and very little fiber.

Juices Versus Raw Fruit

I can't tell you how many times when I ask people if they are eating fruit, they say oh yes, I drink juice. A big buzzer goes off in my head every time. Most people think that the juice is as healthy or healthier than the fruit. Not true.

Read those labels. There is a reason to eat the raw, fresh fruit. First and formost, raw fruit contains good fiber. Juices such as apple juice contain absolutely no fiber. Secondly, most juices contain sugar which makes them a sweet drink, but not particularly healthy.

Even fresh squeezed orange juice, you're losing a lot of the fiber contained in the orange. Better to eat the orange!

But I Eat Granola Bars

So you think you're eating healthy if you eat granola bars? Think again. Have you read the label? The granola bars you get in the grocery store are basically a candy bar where the name has been changed to make you think you're getting something healthy. They have lots of sugar and processed carbs in them and very little fiber content.

If you like the idea of a granola bar, then make your own with raw old fashioned oat meal, coconut, almonds, raisins and a little raw organic honey or black strap molasses to make it all stick together. Then you will have a healthy granola bar. When I used to travel a lot, I would make up some of my own granola bars and take them with me for breakfast. They were awesome and very tasty. And in those days, I didn't realize that I was eating something healthier!

What Is A Healthy Food To Eat

There are lots of healthy foods out there and some that are not so healthy. You as a consumer have to be able to discern what is healthy and what is not. The first thing I would tell you is not to listen to the advertising by the company pushing a product. They can say whatever they want to get you to buy the food. The best example I can think of at the moment is the ad for Fruit Loops which says it is a healthy choice.

So what is healthy and what is not. Cereals have been drilled into us by the media as the healthy thing to eat for breakfast. We are told how much fiber they have, but in fact there really isn't much fiber in cereals. The other thing about cereals is that most of them are loaded with sugar. Read those labels. You should be looking for cereals that contain at least 5 grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of sugar.

The best cereals are the old fashioned ones like oatmeal or the ones tha most people don't really want to eat like All-Bran. Look for whole grains, these are your best choices.

Another Good Nut

Another good nut to use as a snack. Pistachios are a great snack. Research has shown that they actually reduced the bad cholesterol (LDL) so there may be some beneficial cardiovascular effect. There are also studies that show that Pistachios raise the good cholesterol (HDL).

They also raise antioxidant levels, so they help the immune system fight off disease. They are also a good source of protein and fiber. The great thing about pistachios is that a serving size rather than 6-8 is a small handful of about 30. These are a great snack for kids as well.

More to Almonds

While yesterday's note on almonds said a lot, there is still more to the almond story. One of the main components in almonds is fiber. We all know that we need fiber in our diets and most of us know that we get way to little fiber in our diets. I mentioned yesterday that almonds decrease the absorption of carbohydrates, but they also decrease the absorption of fat.

While the fiber assists as mentioned above, it also serves to keep the bowel functioning normally and may prevent colon cancer as a result. Also, remember that it contains antioxidants which can boost the immune system and help prevent cancer as well.

Almonds also help reduce c-reactive protein which is an indicator of inflammation in the body. This helps prevent artery damaging inflammation. And as you might expect homocysteine levels are also decreased.

Popeye Had It Right, Spinach Is Good for You

Yes, spinach is a super food. It contains powerful antioxidants which can help our bodies be healthy in many ways, not the least of which is to prevent many medical problems. Some of the nutrients in spinach are choline and inositol. These substances help prevent thickening of the arterial walls (atherosclerosis), thereby helping to control or decrease heart disease.

Spinach also contains lutein which is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent cataracts and age related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in people over age 65). And while we're speaking of those over 65, spinach is also an excellent source of fiber. Much better than taking metamucil every day, try spinach either cooked or raw. Not only will you get the benefits of the fiber, but also all of the vitamins and minerals spinach contains.

While it is a good source of calcium, most of the calcium is not available for our bodies to absorb. The oxalic acid in spinach combines with the calcium rendering it unavailable for absorption by our body.