Weekly Wellness
Issue 357
Featured Article
Exercise and Heart Disease Quiz -- Test your knowledge about physical activity and heart disease.
Fitness Tip
Vitamin D and Insulin
For those who suffer from high blood pressure, taking Vitamin D and calcium may kep it from rising further. Researchers randomly assigned 314 people without diabetes to take either a daily placebo or both calcium (500 mg) and vitamin D (700 IU) every day for three years as part of a study designed to look at bone strength. Among the 92 people who started the study with blood sugar levels in the high-but-not-diabetic range (100 to 125 mg/dL); those who took vitamin D and calcium had a smaller average rise in fasting blood sugar (0.4 mg/dL) than those who took the placebo (6 mg/dL). Insulin resistance also increased less in the vitamin D and calcium takers. Vitamin D and calcium had no impact on the blood sugar of the 222 people who had normal fasting blood sugar levels (less than 100 mg/dL) when the study began. What to do: If you have higher than normal blood sugar, make sure you're getting enough calcium (1,200 mg a day) and vitamin D (1000 IU a day) from healthy foods and supplements.
Nutrition Tip
Tame the Shaker
It may only be a pinch of salt to you, but the American Medical Association (AMA) wants you to cut back. We get two to three times more salt than the recommended 1 teaspoon daily. And because the mineral has been linked to increased risk of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke, the AMA is now pushing food manufacturers and restaurants to cut 50 percent of it out of their foods over the next ten years. For tips on cutting down on hidden sodium, go to www.americanheart.org and enter "Cuting down on salt" in the search box. See also:
Tips for a Low Sodium Diet
Sodium Diet Guidelines
Salt Sense
Low Salt/Sodium Recipes
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote:
If nature had intended our skeletons to be visible it would have put them on the outside of our bodies. --Elmer Rice
Quick Recipe
Tipsy Cherry Tomatoes
Slit the bottom of the cherry tomato through the skin and plunge it in
boiling water for 15 seconds, then in ice water, so the peel curls up
and is easy to remove. Soak peeled tomatoes overnight in a dry,
crisp white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc. Drain and serve tomatoes
with lemon zest.
Or how about "Tipsy Carrots"?
Slice carrots into pennies. Cook the carrots, then drain them and
return them to the pan. Add a little butter and a couple of teaspoons
of amaretto (almond flavored liqueur) and cook until the butter melts.
Brown sugar may be substituted for the amaretto.
Tidbit(s)
Are you getting what you deserve?
In a recent study, people who felt they typically received fair treatment at work were much less likely to suffer from coronary heart disease in later years compared to people who felt they never got a fair shake. Speak up and present fair solutions whenever you feel an injustice has occurred.
Food Fixes
In a study, people that ate a handful of almonds every day lowered their "bad" LDL cholesterol on average 4.4 percent.
Dried figs are a great source of fiber. Because drying concentrates the fruit, dried figs have seven grams of fiber per half cup, courtesy of the small seeds embedded in the fruit's flesh.
Tasty Tidbit...
Frozen Biscuits -- Heat until browned, slice, butter and eat. For entertaining, cut the semi-thawed biscuit into three small rounds, bake and serve in a bread basket.
More Quick Cooking Tips Online!