Tumeric or Turmeric?

Tumeric or Turmeric? Whichever way you say it, it is one powerful spice!! It is a member  of the ginger family which also has numerous health and digestive benefits which we will talk about at a later time. Here is an excerpt from drugs.com:

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What is it used for?

Traditional/Ethnobotanical uses

Turmeric has a warm, bitter taste and is used extensively as a food flavoring and colorant; it is a primary component of curry powders and some mustards. The spice has a long tradition in Asian medicine to treat problems ranging from flatulence to hemorrhage. Use to treat ringworm, as a poultice, for pain, and in the management of jaundice and hepatitis has been documented. It is also being heralded as an anti-inflammatory which is perfect as lately science is learning more and more about how people are becoming more and more susceptible to inflammation because of their horrible lifestyles!! “Eat more turmeric, live longer”!!

Miscellaneous uses

Turmeric is used as a spice in curry powders and mustard. It is being investigated in clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of cancers, particularly of the gastrointestinal tract, and for treatment of colitis and Alzheimer and Huntington diseases. And this one is my own discovery; it is also used as a non-dairy creamer and is super delicioso in my coffee, here’s a link: Laird Hamilton Superfood Turmeric coffee creamer!!

You should experiment with turmeric and find your own path to turmeric happiness. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of turmeric in your diet or would like more information on how you can make better lifestyle choices regarding your nutrition, set up a consult meeting with Dr. McBride at Main Line Integrative Nutrition

Check your cereals for TSP :-(

It has been brought to my attention that several cereals from General Mills such as Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch have TSP (Trisodium Phosphate) in them!!!! This is alarming. Well, I’m taken back to the days when I was “handy” and wanted to do a lot of things on my own. One of them, painting the walls. It was recommended that before I paint, clean all the surfaces with TSP. Why is it in cereal?

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This is not good! I would not buy anything that contains tsp. Look at the warning label on a box of TSP:

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There was guy on line that said it best. He said, “If I give my kids food and sprinkle some trisodium phosphate on it, I’m going to prison” IKR!!!! So don’t do it. Just buy something else. Plus, I don’t care what the nutritional value is, if it’s one of those sugary cereals, there are no nutritional benefits at all. Fun, YES, yummy, YES, once in a while, SURE!! Part of an everyday healthy lifestyle, not even close!! Here’s some healthier options:

oatmeal with fruit and nuts (heck, even sprinkle some brown sugar on it if you have to)

egg sandwich with turkey bacon

southwest omelette wrap

yogurt

protein shake if your short on time

waffles with fruit and yogurt

If you would like to know more about what you should and should NOT be putting in your body as part of a healthy lifestyle, make an appointment at Main Line Integrative Nutrition.

Fiber 101

Here is a great article on Fiber from The Nutritious Noodle 🙂

The Nutritious Noodle

What is fiber?

Fiber comes from plant foods, like fruits, vegetables, and grains. It is the part of the plant that the body cannot absorb. Unlike carbohydrates, protein, and fats; your body does not digest dietary fiber. It goes through the body whole.

There are two types of dietary fiber:

  1. Soluble Fiber: This type dissolves in water. It turns to gel during digestion, slowing digestion and keeping you full. It comes from food items like oats, nuts, beans, carrots, and barley. It has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels.
  2. Insoluble fiber: this type of fiber does not dissolve in water. It relieves constipation by instigating the movement of material through the body. It increases the stool bulk in the body and helps movement, eliminating toxic waste as it goes. This type of fiber comes from foods like whole-wheat flour, beans, and vegetables.

Many high fiber…

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Going green? Don’t stop at recycling!!

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Go green with your grilling too. Vegetables taste better and are healthier for you if you grill them because you are not losing any of the nutrients in the cooking medium (water, oil, steamer). And make sure you don’t “char” them because that char is loaded with carcinogens according to some recent studies. You can see here that I took some corn and just threw it on the grill as is. It comes out great!! Plus, I’m not too concerned about the nutritional value of corn 🙂 I have also found that the thicker you slice the zucchini, the better it comes out and once you grill asparagus, it’s hard to do it any other way!!

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Grilling your proteins are also a healthier alternative to “indoor” cooking.

Grilled meats have a reduced fat content. This is because the fat drips off as the food cooks. It results in healthier meals and makes it easier to manage a low fat diet. Grilled foods also have lower calorie content than fried foods. This helps in weight management and keeping fit. Reduced fat intake helps to lower bad cholesterol levels in the blood. Healthy cholesterol levels improve cardiovascular health. Various health conditions such as obesity, stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes become a risk with fried foods.

When you grill your food, it helps to reduce the risk of such diseases. It also ensures that you get more value out of your food. This is because of the shorter cooking time involved when you grill. It results in minimal loss of moisture and vitamins from vegetables. This ensures that as much of the nutritional content is retained in the food when cooked. Healthy cooking contributes to good health and overall wellbeing.

To learn more about how to integrate more healthy eating habits into your everyday routine, visit Main Line Integrative Nutrition

Date Walnut Bars

Yummmm!!!!

The Nutritious Noodle

Date Walnut Bars

20170808_17555610 pitted dates
1 cup walnuts
1 tsp vanilla

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until it begins to form into a ball. Form into a ball and cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Take out and flatten into a square. Cut into 3 in by 1 in bars.  Enjoy! 

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Amazing Pasta alternative!!

If you feel bad after eating pasta, don’t eat it. It’s not the main flavor in the dish anyway. Try this instead: Zucchini noodles!! Do yourself a flavor (see what I did there, it’s not a typo 🙂 get a spiralizer and start making zucchini noodles. Plus, it’s fun and you can use it for a lot more than zucchini. Here’s a great recipe using zucchini noodles:

Pesto zucchini noodles and chicken

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Here’s 10 reasons why should do this:

  1. Gluten free
  2. less calories
  3. high in Lutein and vitamin c
  4. anti-inflammatory properties
  5. high in phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese
  6. 95% of it is water
  7. can help reduce the risk of colon cancer
  8. can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol
  9. Super versatile: can be grilled, roasted, boiled, mashed, spiralized
  10. you can scoop out the middle and make zucchini boats and fill it with stuff

Let’s compare regular noodles (spaghetti) to zucchini noodles. You have to cut the serving size in half for the spaghetti but you get the picture.

If you want a more comprehensive plan of what your body is lacking and what you should be eating to keep your body firing on all cylinders, call Main Line Integrative Nutrition and schedule a consultation.

 

Hi I’m Al, Al Cohol :-)

Yeah, I know, if you’re my age (late 30’s 🙂 all of our parents were alcoholics!! Well, we are not our parents and if you are actually reading this blog then chances are you care more about your health than your parents did. Having said that, here’s an excerpt, straight from the american nutrition and dietetic association

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“Moderate drinking, along with a healthful eating pattern and regular physical activity, may offer health benefits too, such as lower risk for heart disease, mostly for middle-age and older adults. But remember that calories from alcoholic beverages can add up, causing weight gain and the so-called “beer belly.” For example, one beer is generally about 150 calories, which may not seem like much, but over time those calories can add up fast.”

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Think about everything that went into making this (my personal fave) bottle of whiskey. And then after it was made, it SAT in oak barrels for 21 years pulling everything it could out of the perfectly charred wood. This bottle will last me about a year!! How healthy is that!!?? Remember, you must be of legal drinking age to consume alcoholic beverages, which is currently 21 in the US.

They also say, which I have heard many times and not sure if I agree with, that moderate drinking is one drink for women and two drinks for men per day. Now if you’re drinking every day, you gotta ask yourself a question, “Can I just not drink for a week”. Try it and see what happens. You know what I’m getting at. If you want to know more about alcohol and nutrition, you can get your liver checked (or what’s left of it) by setting up an appt. at Main Line Integrative Nutrition.

PROTEINS – It’s all in the balance!!

6 degrees of preparation 🙂

 

Good nutrition can help prevent disease and promote health. There are six categories of nutrients that the body needs to acquire from food: protein, carbohydrates, fat, fibers, vitamins and minerals, and water.

Proteins:

 

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Protein supplies amino acids to build and maintain healthy body tissue. There are 20 amino acids considered essential because the body must have all of them in the right amounts to function properly. Twelve of these are manufactured in thebody but the other eight amino acids must be provided by the diet. Foods from animal sources such as milk or eggs oftencontain all these essential amino acids while a variety of plant products must be taken together to provide all these necessary protein components.
There are 33 elements you should be aware of to keep your body functioning at the proper levels. If you would like to know if you are properly balanced, take this test:
  • Micronutrient Testing
    This test is a comprehensive nutritional analysis of 33 vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, antioxidants and metabolites measured at the cellular level. This test provides the basis of a personalized approach in addressing a broad variety of clinical conditions.
  • You can schedule an appointment to have it done here: Main Line Integrative Nutrition.

EGGcellent food!!!!

Eggs may just be the best food in the world!!!! I just came across this article and now I think I’m gonna eat more eggs than I already do!! Two a day to be precise because here’s what happens to your body when you eat two eggs a day:

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  • you lower your risk of cardiovascular disease
  • lower the risk of birth defects from lack of enough folic acid
  • slow down the aging process
  • lowering the risk of cancer
  • improving your hair, skin, and liver (I need all the help I can get for this one)
  • improving your eyesight
  • losing weight more efficiently
  • protecting your brain
  • maintaining a healthy metabolism
  • keeping your bones healthy and calcium levels up.

Also, in order to make sure you are getting all of these benefits, buy free range organic eggs!!