I’m not sure whether this is a new product or just new to me, but I recently came across this in the “healthy foods” aisle at my local grocery store and was intrigued enough to put it in my cart.
Continue reading “Product Review: Hodgson Mill Bulgur with Soy”
As most of you know, I am not overly enthusiastic about vitamin supplements. I think people are better off getting their nutrients from foods rather than pills and—with a couple of exceptions—meeting your nutritional requirements from diet alone is not difficult. After all, most of us live in countries were food is plentiful. (Too plentiful, by the looks of things.)
See also: Do you Need a Multivitamin?
However, there are places where food is scarce and children go hungry. There, a basic multivitamin is more than just an inexpensive insurance policy—it can literally make the difference between barely surviving and thriving. According to a global task force, providing multivitamins to at-risk infants and children is one of the most cost effective ways to combat disease and poverty.
A charitable organization called Vitamin Angels partners with corporate sponsors and local aid organizations to provide free vitamins to malnourished and undernourished children, helping to break the cycle of poverty, disease, and disability. To learn more about this wonderful program or to join me in supporting them, please visit VitaminAngels.org
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.