Eating “ultra-palatable” foods with any regularity. Foods high in fat and/or sugar and salt can directly stimulate the brain’s pleasure centers predisposing to food addiction and chronic loss of appetite control. The worst offenders are traditional fast foods, along with ice cream, cookies, pastries, cake, donuts, and other sweets/desserts. Using fat-free salad dressings. Most are excessive […]
If you love almonds like I do, you will be delighted to learn that this wonder of a superstar food provides significantly fewer calories than previously thought. In a study specifically designed to accurately measure the actual number of “digested and absorbed” calories provided by almonds – scientists found the calorie counts were in reality […]
Over the past two decades, whole grains have garnered a sparkling reputation for broad-spectrum disease protection and a large review of past studies adds further credibility to this wholesome food group. For the review, the researchers selected studies that focused on whole grains and the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. When […]
Normally, white potatoes are on my list of forbidden foods because of their high glycemic response (which means they send your glucose levels up high and fast because of their rapid and easy digestibility). If you have a craving for them, here are 4 simple strategies that you can use to turn this high glycemic […]
Soluble fiber is great for you! This indigestible form of plant carbohydrate has many health benefits including: lowering cholesterol, stabilizing insulin and glucose levels, promoting satiety, and protecting against belly fat accumulation. Here are the foods that provide the most soluble fiber: Beans (any variety) Peas Barley Flax seeds Chia seeds Oats Oat bran Avocado Carrots […]
Maintaining a healthy and abundant ecosystem of bacteria in your gut is paramount for all aspects of good health, particularly gastrointestinal, metabolic, immune, and brain health. And the surest way to get there is to consume plentiful amounts of fiber-rich, plant-based foods because these are the foods that feed them. Beneficial gut bacteria are especially fond of […]
To improve your appetite control during the morning hours, choose a bowl of oatmeal over a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal. In a carefully conducted head-to-head study, researchers noted that eating a calorically equivalent bowl of prepared oatmeal resulted in greater fullness and less hunger during the following four hours relative to eating a bowl of breakfast […]
Fiber has a long list of health benefits. Here are the best ways to get more of this special compound in your daily diet. Consume as many fruits and veggies as possible. The superstars for fiber content include: berries (raspberries #1), snow peas, apples, canned tomato products, pumpkin, cauliflower, avocado, spinach, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, Brussels […]
Relative to ready-to-eat breakfast cereals, oatmeal, especially the steel- cut variety, offers greater satiety (feelings of fullness). Oatmeal has all the proven health benefits attributed to eating intact whole grains, which include protection from heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Oatmeal is uniquely high in a special type of soluble fiber, beta-glucan, […]
Here are some great tips to navigate the grocery store so you can walk out with the best foods to eat right for life! –Ignore the dizzying array (60 plus varieties!) of flavored and specialty yogurts now complicating the yogurt aisle and limit your selections to the one and only truly healthy yogurt—low- fat or […]
Eat more beans! I consider beans the most underutilized and under-appreciated economical superfood. Here are some tips to help you succeed in eating more of them. Keep them “top of mind” with the goal of including a serving each day. Know that canned beans are just as nutritious (and often more convenient!) than dried, fresh […]
Plant-based diets are all the rage and deservedly so. Studies continue to pour in supporting the power they bestow to keep us healthy and disease free. This month we have two new, big ones to add to the list. In the first, scientists followed the diets and health status of over 10,000 US adults from […]
