Feasting on Frozen Fish Filets
by Shereen Jegtvig
The American Heart Association, as well as other health organizations, suggests we eat at least two servings of fish each week. That’s because fish is low in saturated fat while being a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids that can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. Of course the type of fish you choose is important. Baked salmon is good, but fried fish filets aren’t so good because your healthy fish has been surrounded with a fat-soaked batter.
So what should you look for when buying frozen fish filets so you can keep the goodness of the fish intact? You want fish filets made with little or no breading and no added trans or saturated fats. You may also want to look out for sodium, which is usually present because of flavor enhancers like monosodium glutamate or other additives. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
Cheese: Healthy Lifestyle or Fattening Indulgence?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Cheese is one of those foods (like chocolate) that’s good for you in the right amount, but too much probably isn’t so good. Cheese is a dairy product so it’s a good source of protein and calcium, but it’s usually high in saturated fat and sodium. Too much saturated fat may lead to cardiovascular disease and inflammation, plus all that fat adds a lot of calories (cheese is a very energy dense food). Then there’s the sodium.
People who have high blood pressure have probably been told to cut back on their sodium intake to around 1500 milligrams every day. Those of us without high blood pressure should probably eat no more than 2400 milligrams sodium daily. The obvious source of sodium is the table salt you add to recipes or to foods at the table, but that only accounts for about 11% of your daily sodium content.
In order to get the health benefits of cheese, you need to do three things. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
Warning Labels on Hot Dogs?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Just recently, a vegan group called the Cancer Project filed a lawsuit asking the state of New Jersey to require cancer-warning labels on hot dogs. I think most people would find this lawsuit to be frivolous and I doubt New Jersey residents will see warning labels on their hot dogs anytime soon, but it is worth thinking about.
There have been studies suggesting a link between processed meats, like hot dogs, and colon cancer. They’re usually high in saturated fat and loaded with artificial additives and preservatives, the worst probably being nitrites, which are added to prevent bacterial growth and adds that familiar pink color. When the nitrites combine with other substances also found in meat to form N-nitroso compounds that are associated with a higher risk of several cancers. As an aside, many green vegetables naturally contain nitrites, but they don’t convert to the N-nitroso compounds, perhaps due to vitamins or antioxidants also found in the vegetables.
Does this mean that hot dogs should carry warning labels or that you should shriek and run away in horror the next time you see hot dogs at a picnic? Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- The next target for the food conscious community
- Smart Choices RIP
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Nutrition Rating Systems – the problem and a solution
Using FoodEssentials as Part of a Healthy Lifestyle
by Shereen Jegtvig
Studies show how following a healthy lifestyle reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease (the leading cause of death in the United States). The important lifestyle behaviors include getting exercise, not smoking, light consumption (or less) of alcohol, and of course, eating a healthy diet.
Changing your diet usually means you have to eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains while reducing fat and sodium. Sounds easy enough, but some of those food manufacturers sneak extra fat and sodium (along with artificial colors, flavorings and preservatives) where you don’t expect them. You can spend hours at the grocery store sifting through the information on the food labels to be sure you’re buying healthy foods. Or you can use the FoodEssentials tool to do the work for you. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Added Sugar increases risk of Heart Disease
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
Cholesterol and Your Diet
by Shereen Jegtvig
Cholesterol is a waxy type of fat found in your body, and although many people think of cholesterol as a bad thing, it isn’t. In fact, your body needs cholesterol to produce hormones, vitamin D and bile, plus cholesterol protects your nerves and is a major component in the structure of cells. The problem occurs when your body has too much bad cholesterol (called low density lipoproteins) in your bloodstream and not enough good cholesterol (high density lipoproteins) (http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/tc/high-cholesterol-overview). The cholesterol can stick to blood vessel walls, so having increased levels of cholesterol (especially LDL) can directly increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, increasing the liklihood of heart attacks and/or stroke.
Most of the cholesterol your body needs is made by your liver, but some of the cholesterol comes from the animal based foods you eat (foods from plants don’t have cholesterol – they have sterols that can actually lower your cholesterol – more on that later). It would be nice if lowering the cholesterol levels in your body was as easy as just cutting out cholesterol, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. Two other types of fats have a bigger impact on your cholesterol levels than the cholesterol you eat – saturated fats and trans fats. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
What to Eat Instead of Greasy French Fries
by Shereen Jegtvig
French fried potatoes are popular because so many of us love the combination of starch, fat and salt. Unfortunately the fat adds extra calories you don’t need (and worse if they’re fried in oil high in trans-fats). But if you love French fries, there are a couple of ways to get that flavor without the fat.
You can make your own healthier version of baked fries by slicing a couple of potatoes into long thin strips, sprinkle with some olive oil or canola oil and top with a bit of seasonings, herbs or salt and bake in a 375 degree oven for about an hour. They taste great, but they’re a bit time consuming, so if you’re looking for French fry flavor with a bit more convenience, choose frozen potatoes that you can bake in the oven. Be sure to read the label to find potatoes that aren’t fried – look for zero or low-fat fries, wedges, or shreds. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
The Elusive Good-For-You Pizza
by Shereen Jegtvig
There’s no denying the popularity of frozen pizzas. Look in any grocery store and you’ll find dozens of varieties, with different types of crusts, cheeses and any number of toppings. But they pretty much all have one thing in common – they’re just not good for you. Just none serving of a typical frozen pizza is high in saturated fat and sodium, and how many times have you wolfed down a whole frozen pizza as a meal? That’s three, four or more servings.
So is it possible to find a frozen pizza that’s good for you? Or at least one that can be served as part of a healthy meal? I decided to use the FoodEssentials tool to search for one. I started by searching for ‘frozen pizza’ and the tool returned seven different categories of frozen pizzas. That’s great! This tool gives you plenty of foods to chose from. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Added Sugar increases risk of Heart Disease
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
Too Much Saturated Fat Is Bad for You
by Shereen Jegtvig
Saturated fat is found mostly in animal products (beef, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, whole milk and high fat cheese) and some plant sources like coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Saturated fat is fairly solid at room temperature (think of butter or the fat you see in a raw marbled steak. Eating too much saturated fat increases the amount of cholesterol in your blood (much more so than consuming high cholesterol foods) and research shows diets in saturated fat increase inflammatory conditions in the arteries.
Many years of research has resulted in the American Heart Association and other expert groups, including the School of Public Health at Harvard to recommend limiting the amount of saturated fats in your diet. This doesn’t mean you can never eat red meat or cheese again, just watch your portion sizes and add variety to your diet with poultry, fish and seafood, and vegetarian dishes. Replace butter with heart-healthy oils like olive and canola oil, and buy non- or low-fat dairy products. Limit your daily saturated fat intake to less than 10% of your daily calorie intake (less than 20 grams for most of us). Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
Food Tip: Saturated Fats in Chips and Snacks
by Sherren Jegtvig
There are several types of fats in many of the foods you eat. Some of the fats are good like omega-3 fatty acids (a type of polyunsaturated fat), and monounsaturated fats. But some fats are bad like saturated fats and their evil cousins the trans-fats.
Saturated fats are bad for your health because when you eat too much of them you’ll raise your bad cholesterol and increase inflammation in your arteries. You don’t have to completely avoid all saturated fats, but keep your intake to less than 10% of your daily caloric intake (about 20 grams for 2000 calories). Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
- The Goodness of Grapes
Sour Cream and Dairy Toppings – Fat Vs. Additives
by Shereen Jegtvig
In my last post, I gave you some things to think about when you buy milk. It’s fairly easy — you need to think about the amount of fat in the milk and if you want organic milk (or at least milk that is free from bovine growth hormones). Now I’d like to talk about sour cream and dairy toppings because it isn’t quite a simple as choosing milk. You still need to think about the fat content, but you also have to factor in some of the additives that aren’t found in milk. Read more
Possibly Related Posts:
- Lower Cholesterol Through Diet
- Added Sugar increases risk of Heart Disease
- Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
- Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
- Choosing Canned Meat
