People with arthritis are sometimes advised to avoid tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants (the so-called “nightshade” plants) because they are said to cause inflammation. But this advice really only applies to certain people. Find out how to tell if you’re one of them in this week’s show.
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3 Ways to Fight Childhood Obesity
Today, one in every 5 kids is obese and a great many more are overweight. Not only is this a cruddy way to spend your childhood, but overweight kids are highly likely to become overweight adults, battling both their weight and the associated health problems for a lifetime. In this week’s podcast, I outline three simple things you can do to help your kids maintain a healthy weight. Read or listen to it here.
Is Goat Milk Better for You than Cows Milk?
In recent years, goat milk has gone from a fairly rare specialty item to one that’s available in most large grocery stores. And whenever you see an exotic, costly alternative to a mainstream food item, it’s easy to assume that it must be either better—or better for you. In this week’s show, I take a closer look at the differences between goat milk and cow milk and what nutritional advantages, if any, goat milk might offer.
How Nutritious is 100% Fruit Juice? Not Very.
Q. What should I look for when buying fruit juice? For example the “100% pure and natural orange juice” says it contains 0% Vitamin C. How is that possible? Another one provides 100% Vitamin C but from the list of ingredients we see that Vitamin C is actually added.
A. The USDA considers a half cup of fruit juice equivalent to a serving of fruit but I have my doubts. Processed fruit juice–even 100% juice–is a distant second to fresh whole fruit in terms of its nutritional value. For one thing, fruit juice is a very concentrated source of sugar and calories. All the fiber, which slows the absorption of the sugars in whole fruit, has been removed.
Secondly, many (most?) of the naturally-occurring nutrients are lost during processing, pasteurization, and storage. As you found, manufacturers may compensate for this by adding nutrients back to the juice after the fact. You could get the same benefit from taking a vitamin C capsule.
See also: Juicing for Health and Nutrition
Juice and Diabetes Risk
Nutritionally, I’d rank processed fruit juice only slightly higher than soda and other sweetened beverages. In fact, a large study conducted in China found that people who drink two or more servings of juice a week are 25% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to those who rarely drink juice. This is consistent with another large 2008 study, which also found that increased juice consumption led to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes–but that eating more whole fruit decreased diabetes risk.
My Advice?
Eat Fruit; Drink Water. (Same for your kids!)
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My newest book, Secrets for a Healthy Diet: What to Eat, What to Avoid, and What to Stop Worrying About is my essential guide to all the food choices you make every day. Read a sample chapter here.
Potassium-enriched salt?
Q. You recently pointed out the importance of balancing potassium and sodium intake. They already add iodine, fluoride and/or iron to table salt. Why is there no potassium-enriched table salt?
A. Actually, there is (sort of). Low-sodium salt substitutes are usually made with potassium chloride, a mineral salt formed from potassium instead of sodium. Potassium chloride tastes salty, but can have a bitter or metallic aftertaste. On the plus side, a quarter teaspoon contains 650 mg of potassium!
See also: The Great Salt Debate
Why Can’t Experts Agree on Sodium?
Think the debate over the national debt was contentious? That’s nothing compared to the war being waged in scientific circles about how much sodium it’s safe to eat. As researchers duke it out in the pages of medical journals, poor consumers are caught in a cross-fire of contradictory recommendations. In this week’s podcast, I tell you what you need to know to stay out of trouble. Read or listen to it here.
Chilled Cucumber Soup
This is a great recipe for late summer, when the weather is hot and cucumbers are plentiful.
Serves 2
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
1 1/2 cups low-fat yogurt, divided
1/2 clove fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
10-12 fresh mint leaves
1 small shallot (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or salt substitute
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1. Chop the cucumber into chunks and add to jar or blender with 1 cup yogurt, garlic, olive oil, mint leaves and shallot. Blend mixture at medium-high speed, just until smooth.
2. Pour cucumber mixture into bowl and add salt, pepper, and the rest of the yogurt. Stir briefly, just to combine.
3. Serve in chilled bowls or mugs.
Note: Yogurt gets thinner when you stir or blend it. Adding the yogurt in two batches helps to keep the soup from getting too thin. Another trick is to strain 2 cups of yogurt for 3-4 hours in a thin-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and set over a bowl, until you have collected about 1/2 cup of whey. Discard the whey (or use it to add protein to a meal replacement shake or smoothie), and use the strained yogurt in the recipe.
Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories 160, Fat 6g, Carbohydrate 15g, Protein 10g
How much is an International Unit?
Q. Most nutrients seem to be measured in mg but some are shown as mcg or I.U. How do I convert these measurements into mg?
A. To convert micrograms (mcg) to milligrams (mg), divide by 1,000–or move the decimal point 3 positions to the left. 1000 mcg = 1.000 mg. But generally, you won’t need to convert between these two. We use micrograms for nutrients that occur in very small amounts (folate, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and vitamin K, for example). Instead of writing that a food contains 0.125 mg of vitamin K, it’s less confusing to write that it contains 125 mcg. You generally wouldn’t find milligram amounts of vitamin K in foods or supplements.
Converting International Units (I.U.) isn’t so simple–because it’s a different conversion for each nutrient. The I.U. is an arbitrary amount based on the amount of a given nutrient needed to produce a biological effect. Here are the conversions for the most common nutrients.
| Nutrient | Amount in 1 I.U. |
|---|---|
| Vitamin A | 0.3 mcg |
| Beta-carotene | 3.6 mcg |
| Vitamin D | 0.025 mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.67 mg |
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