You may have noticed that fruits taste sweeter as they ripen. This does not mean the sugar content increases! Fruits taste sweeter as they ripen because the larger carbohydrate molecules are being broken down by naturally occurring enzymes., thus producing a sweeter taste. The calorie count does not change.
The previous couple of posts have been about Dr. Sears, a famed pediatrician, author, and colon cancer survivor. Following up with more of his advice is this quote from the doctor:
If you are guilty of stocking your pantry with sugary breakfast cereals, break the habit! Whether for yourself or your family, it is much better for your/your family's health to buy plain whole-grain cereals and top them with fresh fruit and/or berries. A whole-grain cereal topped with sliced banana and strawberries, as example, is a much healthier way to start the day. And don't fall into the trap of allowing your kids to eat sugary cereals for dinner. It might be handy but it will be setting your children up for obesity and perhaps diabetes later in life.
The human body needs water more than anything else, except oxygen. At as little as a 2% loss of water, our bodies become fatigued. As little as a 10% loss can cause serious problems and a week without water can be fatal. Check out the following facts and you will understand why water is so important:
If nectarines are not currently included on your food list, you might want to add them. Nectarines are a good source of immunity-boosting Vitamin C, potassium - essential for blood pressure control, etc, and Vitamin A which is important for eye health. When buying nectarines, pick ones that are fragrant and give slightly when lightly squeezed. You can't go by color as there are many varieties of nectarines that look ripe when they aren't. You can ripen a firm nectarine by setting in on the kitchen counter in a paper bag.
Following are some tidbits I got from the cooking cardiologist, Dr. Richard Collins, over the years.
You may think eye hygiene is a strange title because the eyes are basically self-cleaning. However, below are a few things to consider regarding care of your eyes.
Have you ever considered your eye health, just like other body parts, need a well-rounded diet and yes, even exercise to maintain their healthy status? Notice the above sentence states a 'well-rounded' diet. According to Dr. Craig W. See, an ophthalmologist, no single food - and that includes carrots - are the perfect food for the eyes. The doctor does suggest eating, what he calls superfoods, daily. This list includes:
Most of us will need glasses at some point in our lives. Even those of us who have always had good eyesight, usually end up with glasses or contacts. I will never forget the first time I needed glasses. I live in the Dallas/Ft Worth area but was working in New York City. I noticed I was standing on one side of the hallway reading the bulletin board on the other side of the hallway. It came to my attention when everyone going down the hall was saying, "Excuse me" to me. I made an appointment with an optometrist in Texas for my next trip home. Imagine my surprise when he told me I needed bifocals. I had always thought of bifocals as glasses for old people who had worn glasses for years. Seeing my surprise, he said, "It's just your age. These things start happening at your age." I was forty!
According to Brandon Butler, an optometrist in NYC, genetics play a part in eyes just like other parts of our bodies. He says the more near - or far -sighted your parents are, the higher your chances of needing glasses but other factors come into play with age. As an example, he says Presbyopia occurs when the eyes' lenses lose the ability to change shape and focus up close. This condition affects around 90% of persons over 45. We all know cataracts occur as we age. Cataract symptoms usually start to appear in our sixties. The good news is that these conditions are easily treated. Tomorrow we will talk about ways we can keep our eyes healthy for many years.
According to Prevention magazine (Oct. '11)*, one of my favorite foods is good for lowering blood pressure. Since that is a concern of mine, I was especially delighted with this news! Are you ready for this? Drumroll please...Dark chocolate (flavanols) make blood vessels more elastic thus lowering blood pressure. Yeah! I love chocolate! The bad news? Okay, here it is....You can eat 1/2 ounce of at least 70% cocoa daily. This leaves out milk chocolate, sugar-laden candy bars, etc. But isn't it nice to know we can have a bit of chocolate daily and improve our blood pressure?
*This is an old publication, however, in 2025 dark chocolate is still said to be helpful in fighting high blood pressure.
Based on 18 years of research of more than 71,000 women conducted by Tulane University and Harvard School of Public Health, for every serving of green leafy vegetables you add to your diet, you may slash your likelihood of developing Type 2 diabetes by 9%. Green leafy vegetables include spinach, chard, kale, etc.
Disclaimer: I have to say greens are some of my favorite foods and I did develop Type 2 diabetes at age 60. However, diabetes runs heavy in my family, I had it on both my maternal and paternal sides so maybe eating greens is why I didn't get it until age 60. I have been a diabetic for 15 years but have never had to take insulin, so I am not complaining.
If you are a yogurt eater, and there are many benefits in yogurt, beware of the fruit-on-the-bottom varieties. Many people just grab their favorite yogurt and think they are doing themselves a big favor by 'eating yogurt.' However, there are some unhealthy traps in yogurt, and this is one of them. Are you aware that many of these fruit-on-the-bottom varieties contain more sugar in a single serving than does a candy bar? Yes, that's right! If you want fruit in your yogurt, add a few slices of healthy banana or stir in some blueberries to a regular low-fat yogurt. (There is a lengthy article on this blog comparing the benefits of regular yogurt to Greek yogurt and which is best the best one for you.)
Being overweight does matter. I'm not talking fifteen or twenty pounds but being seriously overweight. Check out these numbers below.
Do you drink alcohol? If you do, you need to read the rest of this post. There are many reasons to stop drinking alcohol or to cut back on the amount. Here are a few reasons you may not have considered or even known. Alcohol can cause inflammation in the body and inflammation is responsible for a lot of health problems. Alcohol is known to increase inflammation in the intestines, disrupting gut bacteria. Alcohol can change brain structure and function. It can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Experts recommend no more than one alcoholic beverage per day for both men and women.
HEART DISEASE IS THE #1 KILLER OF BOTH MEN AND WOMEN IN AMERICA!
Studies show that grass fed beef are higher in healthy unsaturated fat and lower in unhealthy saturated fats than beef from conventionally raised cows. They usually have less antibiotics, etc, too since they aren't fed the additives in grain fed cows.
I have not tried this as I am not good with plants. This is an old Amish way of making flowers grow. If you have ever lived near the Amish, you know they grow beautiful flowers, so you might want to try this.
Soak eggshells in warm water then use to water the flower plants.
Would you believe putting food into your body is like taking drugs. The foods we eat act like drugs in the body so the question is this, are you eating good drugs or bad drugs? The fact is every time you put food in your mouth you will experience pharmacological and biological reactions. Therefore it is up to you to control the type of drugs you are eating!
Are you one of those people who always overeat at a buffet? Research has shown that these little hints can help you control how much you eat. Unfortunately, in my opinion, covid closed many good buffets but they are still out there.
Tests have shown the sink is usually the dirtiest place in the kitchen even though it may look clean! Never place food directly in the sink; use a colander to hold the fruits and veggies you wash. Never take a chance on getting a food-borne illness. It is my understanding they can make you very sick!
There are many posts on this blog about inflammation, from what it is to treatments. I only bring this up again, number one because I haven't mentioned it in a while and number two because I saw a statement that got my attention. As you may know, I have several autoimmune diseases and have battled inflammation most of my life. I suggest you go to the side list of topics and click on inflammation, if you are interested in reading more about the subject. Here is the statement that caught my attention today as I was looking through some medical information. "More than half of all deaths are thought to be attributed to diseases related to inflammation." Wow!
Amber Massey a registered dietitian at a large hospital in Ft Worth, Texas says that people often see the words 'sugar-free' or 'fat-free' on processed foods that are deceptively high in calories. To make matters worse, these foods are often maddeningly low in satisfaction. And satisfaction can be crucial to a successful weight-loss or weight-maintaining diet. She says, "Unfortunately, we have become a fat-sugar-phobic generation." Often those fat-free, sugar-free foods pack as many calories as their regular counterparts. To make those foods tasty enough for you to eat, they add something in somewhere. Again, let me stress, read the labels!
