Weekly Wellness
Issue 414
Featured Article
Diet Friendly Chips Let's face it, most of us love to munch on chips at times - or maybe lots of times! Check out this quick list of five diet-friendly chips and shave off a few calories next time your munchie-craving hits.
Fitness Tip
The 20-Year Benefit
Impaired glucose tolerance - blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not as bad as diabetes - is a sign that diabetes could develop. So it's wise to use diet and exercise to keep those blood sugar levels from getting worse. But will the benefits last? A look at people in China with impaired glucose tolerance indicates the answer is yes.
Ping Zhang of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues from China followed people in a six-year diet and physical activity program for 20 years. They found people in the program had a lower risk of developing diabetes over those six years, and 14 years more.
His conclusion: "Lifestyle intervention can prevent or delay diabetes by up to 43 percent for up to 20 years."
The study was in a British journal, The Lancet.
Nutrition Tip
Healthy "Bars"
- Products labeled "natural" or "made with organic ingredients" are not necessarily more healthful than conventional bars; they may still be high in fat and sugar.
- In general, bars with nuts have more fat and therefore more calories. The fat from the nuts is mostly the healthful unsaturated kind, but be sure you can afford the extra calories.
- Meal replacement bars generally provide more than 200 calories, with more fat and protein than other bars. They are intended to be used in place of a meal, so eating them as a light snack may add more calories than you planned.
- Compare the serving sizes of bars by weight; they range from a skimpy 22 grams (less than an ounce) to a hefty 78 grams. Calories typically follow suit.
- Choose a bar that provides at least two grams of fiber; besides helping to meet your daily fiber quota, it will help keep you full longer.
Quip or Quote of the Week
Quip
A scorching heat wave during the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair led a tea plantation owner, who had been offering free hot tea, to add ice cubes to his samples. "Iced Tea" became an instant crowd pleaser. Today, ready-to-drink iced tea accounts for about 80 percent of tea sales in the United States.
Quick Recipe
Hummus and Pita
Store an extra can of garbanzo beans in your pantry and a package of pita bread in your fridge. Process the rinsed and drained beans with a tablespoon of olive oil, a garlic clove, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and enough water to make for easy spreading. Season with salt and black pepper and serve with pita wedges.
Tidbit(s)
MSG
MSG (monosodium glutamate) has a new bad rap: It has been linked to weight gain. A study of 752 adults found that those who consumed the most MSG were more likely to be overweight than those who didn't eat any. MSG, which can lurk in canned soups, may blunt the effect of leptin, an appetite-regulating hormone - prompting you to snack more.
Food Fixes
Another idea for hummus: Toast fresh pita bread and cut into triangles. Arrange on plate with a few black olives and serve with hummus or salsa.
For a guideline on purchasing a healthier canned soup, shop for soups with less than 600mg sodium per cup.
Tasty Tidbit...
Spread flour tortillas with salsa, sliced jalapenos, black beans and low-fat cream cheese. Roll them up and slice into pinwheels. Hold with toothpicks.
More Cooking Tips and Quick Cooking Tips on the Web site!