"healthy diet" news and stories

I don't eat as healthy as I should (the entire bag of Dove milk chocolate I ate last night is proof of that), but I'm always looking at ways to make my diet a lot better.

Cooking Light has picked five healthy food trends that you might want to follow. I've heard of most of them, though Flexitarianism is a new term to me, even though I would say many American's follow this without even know it. It's when a person eats a diet that's mostly grains, vegetables, and fruit, with a little meat, fish, poultry, and dairy mixed in too. Functional Foods are foods that are enriched with more nutrients, such as orange juice with calcium. We know what Organic Food, Locally Grown Foods, and Vegetarianism represent, but are you familiar with Slow Food? I first heard this term a few years ago (and there have been books written about it and it's a growing movement). It's choosing locally grown food, cooking it in traditional ways and then eating it with family, something that a lot of families don't do nowadays. Whenever I hear the term I think "food that's not cooked in a microwave," though I doubt that's the real definition.

Even though earlier reports said that junk food boosted productivity in the office, it now appears that a healthy diet is they key to a busy, productive employee. The availability of sugary snacks did cause employees to work longer hours, but the same foods also made employees sluggish. Longer hours might have been necessary to compensate for a loss of productivity due to inattention or lack of energy.  In addition, a diet high in fat and sugar can potentially increase the risk of obesity and diabetes, leading to an increased risk for other diseases and missed work time. Overweight workers are twice as likely to miss work as their fitter colleagues. Companies that have implemented a program of offering healthy snacks and subsidizing gym memberships have healthier employees. The employees, along with good health, also receive a big boost to morale. After 6 months of access to healthy snacks and activities, workers experienced a drop in cholesterol as well as a drop in the proteins that are indicators of possible heart disease. Happier and healthier employees work more efficiently and accomplish more and it starts with offering apples and oranges instead of donuts in the morning. That's definitely food for thought for employers.

Source

Despite the fact that study results were released this week indicating that eating a strictly low fat diet will not lower the likelihood of developing cancer or heart disease, companies do not anticipate a decrease in the demand for low fat products.

All that the 8 year study of over 40,000 women proves is that there is no link between a strictly low fat diet and the onset of these diseases. By strictly low fat, I mean that the diets of the study participants did not take into account anything other than the fact that they followed a diet made up of less than 30% calories from fat. They could have had higher than the daily recommended number of calories, never exercised or simply been genetically predisposed to the diseases. In other words, while the low fat diets were not shown to lower the risk factors, they did not raise them.

So, should you still watch the amount of fat you eat?

Fiber is often cited as being a crucial part of a healthy diet. "Fiber" refers to carbohydrates that cannot be digested and comes primarily from plant sources. A high fiber diet can help lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and manage weight. Fiber reduces the risk of developing many digestive disorders and diabetes. Fiber is found in foods such as oatmeal, nuts, legumes, apples, blueberries, whole grains, brown rice, barley, zucchini celery and tomatoes.

It seems that many people, though they know that fiber is important, do not know precisely why. In a study last month done by the National Fiber Council (NFC), half of respondents could identify that fiber could help lower cholesterol, but 19%believed that it contributed to strong bones and 10% thought that fiber could improve vision. Neither of the latter is true, but this shows that fiber is a misunderstood part of the diet. Most study participants did not know how much fiber they should be consuming daily (32 grams or more, according to the NFC), nor did they know what types of food fiber could be found in. Foods like berries, nuts and whole grain breads were frequently listed as not being a significant source of dietary fiber, while more than half of all the respondents in the study said that steak was a good source of fiber. In reality, meat is very low in fiber.

On a less serious note, the participants were also asked what celebrities looked as though they consumed a high fiber diet. 34% of people said that Oprah looks most like she has a high fiber diet, followed by Brad Pitt at 21%.

Source