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Tag: Healthy Eating

Go With Your Gut Bacteria

Posted on by djbechard

Your colon, a.k.a. your large intestine, is home to 100 trillion bacteria. They represent some 1,200 different species, which have evolved over millennia. In fact, your gut has about four pounds of bacteria that entered your system from food and the environment. This may sound like a bad thing. But, research shows that those bacteria are crucial to your health. Among other things, they:

  • Digest fiber, along with other parts of food that you couldn’t digest otherwise.
  • Produce and activate B vitamins and vitamin K.
  • Release beneficial chemicals in food – including ones that may prevent cancer.
  • Activate your immune system (especially important during the cold and flu season).
  • Prevent “bad” bacteria from taking over and making you sick.

Evidence shows that gut bacteria probably influence our risk for many health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain autoimmune diseases. For example, lean people appear to have different gut bacteria than people who are obese, but scientists are only beginning to understand why. New research also shows that our personal bugs may affect mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.

So, while scientists are busy examining bacteria in poop samples, we can engage in a more enjoyable task. Focus on feeding the good bacteria in your gut so they can thrive and you can, too. The best food for intestinal bugs comes from plant-based fiber. The more kinds the better, so eat a wide range of fiber-rich vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. Diversify your diet, and get busy feeding those hardworking bugs.

By: Jamie Rathbun

Eating Smart as We Age

Posted on by djbechard

We’re all aging, there’s no way to get around that. But, we can age gracefully and healthfully by taking on daily healthy habits such as staying physically active, sleeping restfully, staying socially active, and eating healthy foods. Focusing on nutritious foods will help maintain a healthy body and protect against various illnesses. Use the following tips to eat a nutritious diet for optimal aging.

  • Focus on fruits and vegetables. The current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend adults should consume 1.5–2 cup-equivalents of fruits and 2–3 cup-equivalents of vegetables daily. Include a vegetable and/or fruit at every meal or snack and focus on making half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
  • Control your portions. Overloading your plate, taking on seconds and eating until you feel stuffed can lead to excess calories, fat, and cholesterol. Typical portion sizes have drastically grown throughout the years and it’s important to listen to your body’s fullness signals.
  • Everything in moderation. It’s important that you eat healthy foods most of the time, but it’s ok to treat yourself every once in a while. Focus on those fruits and vegetables first to make sure you’re reaching the recommended amounts and don’t allow junk food to take the place of foods your body needs to thrive.
  • Drink enough water. Every system in your body needs water. If you don’t drink enough water, you may become dehydrated which can leave you feeling sluggish or tired. Severe dehydration can lead to confusion and changes in heart rate. Although fluid intake varies from person to person, on average, you should drink enough fluid that you rarely feel thirsty and produce colorless or light-yellow urine.
  • Say NO to sodium. Reduce your daily sodium intake by keeping the salt shaker off the table, eat less processed foods, choose foods that have “low sodium,” “reduced sodium,” or “sodium free” labels, cook at home more, and pay attention to condiments.
  • Consume less sugar. There are many dangers of including added sugars in your diet such as tooth decay and adverse health effects such as obesity, lower HDL levels, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Added sugars are often hidden ingredients that are dense in calories and have zero nutrients. Reduce your added sugar intake by eating fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, limit candy, baked goods, and other sweet treats, opt for water instead of sugary drinks, sodas and sweet teas, and limit processed foods.

Let’s Make Salsa!

Posted on by mjsaxton@ksu.edu

Is your garden full of delicious produce such as peppers, onions, tomatoes? If so, you have the basic ingredients to make homemade salsa that you can eat with chips, or jazz up your poultry or fish. A fresh recipe from North Dakota State University is below, along with a video to help you make fun, simple, and delicious salsa!

 

 

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 c. onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 medium onion)
  • 1/2 large green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/2 to 1 whole jalapeno pepper, finely chopped*
  • 4 large Roma (paste) tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 small bunch of cilantro leave, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice or lime juice (freshly squeezed)

Directions

Mix ingredients together and serve. Store covered in the refrigerator and use within a few days. Serve with whole-grain crackers or chips.

Makes 4 servings. Per Serving: about 35 calories, 0 grams (g) of fat, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g protein, 2 g fiber, 25% of the daily value for vitamin A and 70% of the daily value for vitamin C.

*Note: Be cautious when handling jalapeno peppers. Wear plastic gloves if possible and wash your hands thoroughly. The “heat” is in the seeds and veins. This salsa recipe is not suitable for canning.

By: Ashley Svaty

Ask A Dietitian: Intro to Healthy Eating

Posted on by Marci Metz

Join us for a fun and interactive evening at the Smith County Memorial Hospital cafe to learn how cooking at home is simple, delicious and healthy! Steve Smith, Registered Dietitian and chef from the Smith County Hospital and Ashley Svaty, Nutrition, Food Safety and Health Extension Agent for Post Rock District will answer your questions related to food and health. Participants will enjoy a delicious meal followed by a program and a question and answer session.

Cost for the event is $5 and will be paid at the event.

Registration will begin at 5pm and event will begin at 5:30p on June 27th at the Smith County Memorial Hospital Hometown Cafe.

Questions about the event?  Email Ashley Svaty at asvaty@ksu.edu

Register here: https://forms.gle/UcbhmLHjvbJr6QQu9

By:  Ashley Svaty

Eating Healthy Can Equal Cost Savings

Posted on by Marci Metz

Sometimes putting dollars behind the message can really motivate people to change behaviors. That’s what a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found regarding the reduction of health costs when eating a quality diet. This study is the first of its kind to associate cost savings to healthy eating.

They study looked at two eating patterns recommended by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They included the Healthy US-Style and the Healthy Mediterranean-Style diets. Health issues evaluated included reductions in cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and hip fractures.

The overall results showed cost savings ranged from $16.7 billion to $31.5 billion. This is based on a 20 percent increase in following the Mediterranean diet and Healthy US-Style respectively. That increase reduced cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes when following a Healthy US-Style diet and these same diseases plus Alzheimer’s disease and hip fracture reductions when following the Mediterranean diet.

I think we all can use a little extra money in our pockets!

Source: https://jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(18)30461-1/fulltext

By:  Ashley Svaty