Weekly Wellness
Issue 401
Featured Article
Featured Article
Low Fat Dessert - No meal is over unless there is a desert involved. Yet, we're constantly told how bad dessert is for us - but it needn't be that way. You CAN have your dessert - and eat it, too.
Fitness Tip
Post Workout Energy
Do you feel totally pooped after working out? Try a musical pick-me-up. Test participants who listened to calming tunes for 15 minutes while resting after exercising had lower heart rates and didn't think they had worked out as hard as those who rested without the music, according to Chinese researchers. Relaxing rhythms may coax your brain to release feel-good hormones that help slow your heart rate and make that tired feeling fade.
Nutrition Tip
Fiber Food Tampering
Companies are now adding a host of isolated fibers, such as inulin, maltodextrin, oat fiber and polydextrose to foods. They then advertise implying that these fibers are equal to the intact, naturally occuring fibers in foods. As long as these fibers count as "fiber" on their food labels, manufacturers continue to dump them into everything from water to ice cream. While the evidence on isolated fibers is skimpy, some problems are arising. Both inulin and polydextrose have negative side effects in some people. Inulin may cause gas and other GI problems. For some this isn't a big deal, but others are very sensitive. Polydextrose must have a warning if a food contains more than 15 grams of it because, "Sensitive people may experience a laxative effect". So you might want to be on the alert for labels that note an "addition of fiber". It's still the best and safest to get fiber from foods it occurs in naturally or all-natural fiber supplementation.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quote
Good intentions, like good eggs, soon spoil unless hatched.
--Author Unknown
Quick Recipe
Creamy Ginger Dressing
1/2 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
Nutrition information per serving (salad with 2 tablespoons dressing): Calories: 313; protein: 20g; carbohydrates: 24g; fat: 16g; fiber: 4g; sodium: 310mg
Tidbit(s)
Diet Deception
Ever hear of "The Weight Loss Cure 'they' Don't Want You to Know About?"? The book recommends dangerous measures like multiple colonics and daily shots of an unapproved drug, plus wacky food rules (never use a microwave or eat in a chain restaurant). What author Kevin Trudeau does not want you to know: The book's unsound advice pushed the Federal Trade Commission -- which punished the author in years past for phony claims about pain relief, hair growth, memory, and weight loss -- to sue him again.
Food Facts
Macadamia nuts improve several risk factors for heart disease, as other nuts do.
Soothe a Cough: For a nagging cough or scratchy throat that threatens to keep you or your kids up, try 2 teaspoons of honey. (Don't give it to babies under age 1, though). Honey coats the throat and helps thin mucus, says Ian M. Paul, MD, of Pennsylvania State University in Hershey, PA.
Tasty Tidbit...
Try freezing different fruits and vegetables for kids snacks, such as peas, blueberries, grapes, etc.
More Cooking Tips and Quick Cooking Tips on the Web site!