Tag Archives: calcium

Can You Follow the Baby Food Diet in a Healthy Way?

The Baby Food Diet has taken Hollywood by storm but as more Americans who want to lose weight are jumping on the jarred, pureed food bandwagon, nutrition experts and parents are questioning whether the diet is safe and effective.

“Meeting adequate nutritional needs while following a diet that promotes eating small portions of low calorie pureed foods isn’t so easy,” said Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com and mother of three. “Jars of baby food vary from 15 to 100 calories so it can really be up to the dieter to mix and match various food groups to meet dietary needs.”

While eating baby food alone can put a person at risk for certain vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, there are variations to the diet that can make it healthier, more accessible and more sustainable.

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8 Tips to Live a Longer Healthier Life

Most people want to live long, healthy, and personally fulfilling lives. Unfortunately, there’s not a Fountain of Youth that will magically give you these things. If there was, I bet we would all be waiting in line for a glass of water from that spring. However, there are some things you can do to improve the quality and length of your life.

Get Physical. Physical fitness is a great way to keep yourself healthy and in shape. All you need to do is add 20 minutes of fitness to your day. Try something that is fun for you, whether it is dancing, walking, yoga, or something else entirely.

Milk It. You need calcium in your diet to prevent osteoporosis. Try eating at least one food that contains high levels of natural calcium, such as dairy products, salmon, and leafy greens.

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The More Protein The Better is a Common Nutrition Myth

Protein is essential for normal body functioning and crucial to help build and repair muscle tissue after strenuous workout sessions. Protein is defined as organic compounds made of amino acids that are arranged in a linear chain, typically found in meat, fish, nuts, eggs, dairy products, legumes, and protein supplements. They are considered to be the building blocks for your muscles and immune system. Protein can also be used as a form of fuel to provide the body with energy if you are not getting enough fat or carbohydrates, which are the primary energy sources.

The recommended daily value (DV) of protein based on a 2,000 calorie diet is 50 grams. For those who exercise frequently, it is recommended to get .8 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For instance, a 200 pound (90.9 kilogram) male is recommended to intake 72 to 108 grams of protein per day. If you don’t get enough protein in your diet, your immune system may become weakened, you can lose muscle mass, experience growth failure, and even weaken the heart and respiratory system. So, please make sure you are getting enough protein in your daily diet.

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Get More Calcium in Your Diet

It’s important for everyone to get enough calcium, but women are especially at risk for calcium deficiency, which can lead to osteoporosis and decrease bone health later in life. Even though there is calcium in many of our favorite foods, it can still be difficult to meet the recommended daily allowance for the important mineral.

Dairy products provide calcium, but people with dairy allergies, lactose intolerance and vegans need to look to other food sources to fill their calcium needs.  Foods high in calcium include: almonds, broccoli, spinach, cooked kale, canned salmon with the bones, sardines and tofu.

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Calcium – The Wonder Mineral

milkWhen I was a kid, I never developed a taste for milk. Well, no, that’s not strictly true – I loved CHOCOLATE milk. I never had it, so, consequently, I didn’t drink milk. I heard all of the horror stories that were linked to non consumption of milk – the broken bones, the osteoporosis later in life – but I chose to ignore all of them. I mean, really, who wants to think about the things that might happen fifty years in the future?

Me. Now. I’m thinking about it now. (more…)

Five Key Supplements For Good Health

vitaminsEverywhere we go, we are assaulted by claims of “Enriched with Vitamin C!”, “Added B vitamins!”, “More Vitamin A than the leading brand!”, and so on. We all know that vitamins and minerals are essential to the proper balance and function of our bodies, but which supplements are vital and necessary to our health and well being, and which might we avoid, lest we end up with an expensive bathroom trip? Here are my top five choices for essential supplements:

  1. Calcium – According to the National Institute of Health, the recommended total calcium intake is 1,000 mg a day for women between 25 and 50 years of age, 1,200 – 1,500 for pregnant or lactating women, and 1,500 mg per day for postmenopausal women. The average calcium consumption among North American women is currently only 600 mg per day. I take a calcium magnesium supplement and find that it really helps me with nighttime leg cramps. (more…)

We Love Rachel’s Cottage Cheese

For some, cottage cheese is an abhorred diet food. But to others like myself, I go through cottage cheese like water. For me, it’s a near perfect food – low-fat, low-carb and filled with satiating protein and bone-strengthening calcium.

rachels cottage cheeseTherefore, when on a recent trip to Whole Foods, I discovered Rachel’s Wickedly Delicious single-servings of cottage cheese, I knew I had found a gem of a food find.

That is why, this week, We Love Rachel’s Cottage Cheese.

The dairy lovers at Rachel’s took plain ole cottage cheese and jazzed it up with sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries, dill, cucumbers and all sort of other tantalizing seasonings, including fruits and veggies. So rather than you adding a bit of this and a bit of that to your cottage cheese, Rachel’s does it for you. Trust us food-lovers, here at DietsInReview, this is no ordinary cottage cheese; This is as gourmet as cottage cheese can get. (more…)

Alcohol Consumption May Strengthen Bones

While we’ve always been told to bone-up on our calcium intake to strengthen our bones, there may be an unlikely helper – moderate alcohol drinking.red wine

A new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says that one or two drinks a day can improve your bone density. The study looked at the effect moderate drinking has on older men and women. It included 1,182 men, 1,289 post-menopausal women, and 248 pre-menopausal women, from as young as 29, to 86.

The lead researcher, Dr. Katherine Tucker of Tufts University, says that it’s not the alcohol (of course), but the high silicone content and resveratrol in beer and wine that benefit our bones. Liquor has less of a positive effect. (more…)

We Love Greek Yogurt

This week, we love Greek Yogurt. For breakfast, a mid-afternoon snack or even as a dessert, this creamy and super nutritious snack is one of our trusted go-to foods.

Greek yogurt has a tangier and richer texture than most other yogurts. Sorry Dannon and Yoplait, but when it comes to nutrition, Greek yogurt has you beat. With 15 to 20 grams of protein, 25% of your calcium needs, immune-boosting live bacteria and 120 to 150 calories per serving, it is no wonder that Greek yogurt has become a staple food for health devotees and nutrition connoisseurs.

Greek yogurt has a heaven-sent texture of being super rich and yet also light and fluffy at the same time. The most popular brands are FAGE (pronounced “fa-yeh”) and Oikos, but specialty stores like Trader Joe’s have their own brands as well. Most varieties come in full-fat, reduced-fat and fat-free versions. Trust us: They are all divinely decadent!

While the possibilities of eating Greek Yogurt are endless, we like ours best topped with crushed almonds, fresh berries and drizzled with honey.

Avoid 12 Common Diet Mistakes

fad dietIt’s likely that you’ve been on a diet at one point in your life. And everyone can easily name a few friends or family members who’ve been on one. Did you succeed? Did they? Or did you find yourself right back where you started? If you can answer yes to any of these questions, then you’ve likely made one or some of the most common dieting mistakes.

1. Have you ever followed a crash or fad diet? These are the ones that promise unrealistic weight loss, like 10 pounds in a week, or have you consume terribly low calories, like >1000 each day.

2. Skipped breakfast to stay on schedule? You can get where you need to be sooner and you’ll save yourself a few hundred calories, that’s what you’re telling yourself. However, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day and you should make the time to eat it. (more…)