🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ What is Intuitive Eating?

One of the newest diets around isn’t a diet at all. It doesn’t name “good” or “bad” foods. Nor does it require measuring food, tracking calories or stepping on a scale. Yet it’s consistently linked to healthier weights, improved mental health and lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, according to one Public Health Nutrition review.

So how does it work? Intuitive eating comes down to paying attention to your body, whether you feel sated, says explains Tracy L. Tylka, professor of psychology at Ohio State University who has extensively studied intuitive eating.

Through her Intuitive Eating Scale, she notes four main characteristics of the approach:

    1. Labeling no foods as forbidden.
    2. Avoiding emotional eating.
    3. Trusting the body’s hunger and satiety cues to guide food choices.
    4. Choosing foods that both make the person feel good in his or her body and taste good.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Is It Time for Healthy Eating?

What Is Healthy Eating

The key to a healthy diet is to eat the right amount of calories for how active you are so you balance the energy you consume with the energy you use.If you eat or drink more than your body needs, you’ll put on weight because the energy you do not use is stored as fat. If you eat and drink too little, you’ll lose weight.You should also eat a wide range of foods to make sure you’re getting a balanced diet and your body is receiving all the nutrients it needs.

Healthy Eating Tips

  1. Base your meals on higher fiber and starchy carbohydrates -such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals. Choose higher fiber or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice or potatoes with their skins on.
  2. Eat lots of fruit and veggies.
  3. Eat oily fish like salmon at least twice a week.
  4. Cut back on saturated fats and sugar.
  5. Lose the salt shaker.
  6. Stay hydrated.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Are You Getting Enough Folate & Folic Acid in Your Diet?

Folate and Folic Acid

Why you need it —  Folate is a general term that’s used to describe the many different forms of vitamin B9. Vitamin B9 is one of the eight B vitamins. It’s important in red blood cell formation and for healthy cell growth and function. And it’s particularly important for women to ingest folate during the first three weeks of pregnancy to prevent birth defects. Folic acid is a synthetic form of folate that is used in supplements and in fortified foods. (Fortification is the process by which vitamins and minerals are added to food.)

How to get it —  It can be difficult for some to get the daily recommended amount of folate through foods alone. “Keep in mind that many of us are still not getting enough fruits, vegetables and legumes — our best sources for folate. You can get more folate naturally simply by increasing your intake of these foods:

      • Leafy green vegetables.
      • Fruits — especially citrus fruits, melons and strawberries.
      • Fruit juice (Remember: The less sugar, the better).
      • Legumes such as dried beans, lentils and peas.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Plant Based Foods are Good for You

Eat Your Greens

There are countless benefits to eating a diet rich in plants: It can lower your risk of heart disease, stroke and certain cancers. It can boost your immune system and brain function. It’s no surprise that the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and American Diabetes Association all recommend a plant based diet as one of the best ways to prevent disease.

Plants are nutrient-dense, which means they contain more beneficial nutrients – like vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants – than calories. For those watching their weight, a plant-based diet can help control appetite since the low glycemic index and high fiber content of fruits and veggies keep you feeling full longer.

Source: US News Health Team Newsletter

🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ 6 Benefits of Eating Nuts

Though they’re small in size, nuts of all types pack a nutritional wallop – and they provide a number of health benefits for aging people. Research suggests eating nuts can lower your risk of cancer and protect your heart health.

6 health benefits of eating nuts:

  • Healthier heart.
  • Sharper mind.
  • Better eye health.
  • Prevents or mitigates age-related weight gain.
  • Helps maintain blood sugar control.
  • Eases aching joints.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Calories are Not Equal

Calories Aren’t Created Equal

Where are your calories coming from? It matters what type of food your calories come from. For example, a candy bar of 200 calories is not the same as eating 200 calories worth of cooked brown rice or a yogurt topped with fruits and nuts. There’s more to food than calories. Think about all the things that a particular food brings to the table, like vitamins, minerals and fiber to name a few.

Source: US News Health Team News Letter

🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Foods that Fight Wrinkles

Eating Right for Your Skin

Avoiding excessive sun exposure is a big way to help stave off wrinkling. But you can also make some changes in the kitchen that could impact how many wrinkles you get.

Antioxidants – Foods rich in antioxidants:  Examples include: Berries, dark green, leafy vegetables,, plums, and broccoli.

Vitamin A – Vitamin A and its constituent compound beta-carotene . . . . is also a helpful nutrient in the fight against wrinkles. Foods high in vitamin A and beta-carotene include: Carrots, sweet potatoes, and cheese and dairy products.

Vitamin E – Vitamin E-rich foods may help calm the internal inflammatory process that plays a role in skin damage. In addition, getting an insufficient amount of vitamin E has been linked to skin dryness, leading to wrinkles. Foods high in vitamin E include: Almonds, olives, sunflower, safflower and soybean oil, and peanuts and peanut butter.

Vitamin C – A powerful antioxidant that helps support immunity, vitamin C can also help defend your skin from the ravages of time by mitigating the damaging effects of free radicals. Foods high in vitamin C include: Strawberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peppers, and potatoes.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids – Omega-3 fatty acid can lower inflammation. Foods high in omega-3s include: Salmon and other fatty, cold water fish such as sardines and herring, Oysters, shrimp and other shellfish, seaweed, chia and hemp seeds.

Collagen – Collagen is a type of protein that’s integral to building strong bones, tendons, skin, hair and nails. Foods  rich in collagen that can help support healthy joints, skin, hair and nails include:  Collagen-rich foods include: Citrus fruits, chicken, and  egg whites.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Music Is Good for Your Health

Music is a fundamental attribute of the human species. Virtually all cultures, from the most primitive to the most advanced, make music. It’s been true through history, and it’s true throughout an individual’s lifespan. In tune or not, we humans sing and hum; in time or not, we clap and sway; in step or not, we dance and bounce.

The human brain and nervous system are hard-wired to distinguish music from noise and to respond to rhythm and repetition, tones, and tunes. Is this a biologic accident, or does it serve a purpose? It’s not possible to say. Still, a varied group of studies suggests that music may enhance human health and performance.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Your Brain is Working 24/7

Feed Your Brain with the Right Fuel

Think about it. Your brain is always “on.” It takes care of your thoughts and movements, your breathing and heartbeat, your senses — it works hard 24/7, even while you’re asleep. This means your brain requires a constant supply of fuel. That “fuel” comes from the foods you eat — and what’s in that fuel makes all the difference. Put simply, what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood.

Like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress — the “waste” (free radicals) produced when the body uses oxygen, which can damage cells.

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🍎 Today’s Health Tip ~ Strawberries are Sweet & a Healthy Choice

Make Time for Strawberries

What’s small, red, and packed with more vitamin C than an orange? Strawberries. . . .Strawberries are rich in fiber and vitamin C, a nutrient pairing that’s great for reducing oxidative stress, which can reduce heart disease and cancer risk. . . .Eating strawberries may also reduce your chances of having a heart attack. . . . Strawberries are a great source of potassium—a nutrient that counteracts bloat-inducing sodium in your diet—they can also help you lose water weight.

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