Nutrition

Tricky Labels: What Do They Mean?

May 20, 2015

Articles, Healthy Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Heart-Healthy Foods labeled as "heart-healthy" have been deemed to be low in sodium, low in saturated fat, and contain no trans fats. Heart healthy foods contain very little fat in general. The heart healthy check: You've seen this check mark on food labels in the grocery store, but you may have not known what it was for. What exactly does heart healthy food need to have before it can be labeled so? Foods have to meet a specific set of qualifications in order to be packaged with the Heart Healthy Check on their label. The FDA inspects each product to make sure it meets the standars. You can read more about the qualifications at heart.org: Total Fat: Less than 6.5 g Saturated Fat: 1 g or less and 15% or...

The Dish on Diets: Healthy Eating for a Healthy Life

May 18, 2015

Articles, Healthy Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Fad diets and crash diets come and go, but there are a few diets that have stood strong throughout the years. We will be talking about a few of the most popular and long-standing diets that have come around, emphasizing both the positive and negative aspects of each. Diets don’t work for everybody, and diets are definitely not one-size-fits-all. We are all looking for a balance of food groups, essential vitamins and minerals, and living a healthy and active lifestyle. Steer clear of diets that promote rapid weight loss or have very strict guidelines. A diet is about a lifestyle change, not a temporary fix, and strict guidelines make it difficult for new dieters to stick to their plan! Paleo Description The idea behind the paleo diet is...

What's the Deal with Fermented Foods?

April 23, 2015

Articles, Nutrition

Power Up Your Gut with Fermented Foods Fermented foods may be setting a trend lately, but these nutrient-potent foods have been around for thousands of years in Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and German cultures. For people living without modern medicine and refrigeration, fermentation was a simple means of food preservation and a way to imbue foods with the health-enhancing properties of the live bacteria the gut needs to stay in balance. Fermented foods are a potent source of probiotics, which research has shown are essential to powering up the mucosal immune system in your digestive tract and producing antibodies to pathogens. Both are key to helping you maintain vibrant health. Why probiotics are so important You may not even realize just how many fermented foods you already enjoy in...

Power of Probiotics

April 23, 2015

Articles, Natural Medicine, Nutrition

Body Defenders With 80% of your immune system located in your gut, having balanced intestinal flora is a major factor in defending your body against disease. Balanced gastrointestinal (GI) flora is critical to the functioning of the immune system, synthesis of nutrients, and detoxification. Balanced GI flora is also necessary for regular and normal bowel movements. Flora imbalances can be caused by poor diet, illness, use of antibiotics, and stress. Symptoms can include persistent gas, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea. To maintain or rebalance GI flora, consider adding probiotics to your diet. Probiotics are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) that are similar to the beneficial microorganisms naturally found in your GI tract. The most common probiotic bacteria come from two groups, lactobacillus or bifidobacterium, although many other...

What are natural flavors on food labels

April 1, 2015

Healthy Living, Nutrition, Uncategorized

Secret ingredients? We are beginning to understand how important it is to read the labels on our food and know exactly what we are eating. As you scan through the list of ingredients, what you’re not seeing is a lot of hidden ingredients. Hidden ingredients are things that remain undisclosed on the label. Most of the time they are harmless, but if a person has certain food sensitivities, these hidden ingredients could cause trouble. How do we know what we are reading really means what it says? Artificial colors What does this mean? We see this listed on ingredients everywhere! Artificial colors are simply food dyes that are added to foods where the color is not appealing, healthy-looking, or when the product will change colors with age. Some...