Diet and Nutrition

Chocolate May Help Lower Blood Pressure

It seems there’s been a lot of news circulating my favorite food lately: Chocolate. And this time, research is pointing to one more benefit of this delectable dessert.

A new study from the UK-based research group, Cochrane Collaboration, suggests that chocolate consumption truly is good for your heart. And no, we’re not making this stuff up.

As reported by NPR, a collection of 20 studies analyzed the compounds in cocoa known as flavanols and found they may help reduce blood pressure. This is because flavanols have been found to help the formation of nitric oxide in the body – an effect of relaxed blood vessel walls.

The studies required participants to consume either dark chocolate or cocoa powder every day ranging in portion size from 3 -100 grams. For reference, a 1.5 ounce Hershey’s bar weighs 43 grams, and a single Hershey’s kiss weighs 4.5 grams.

Results showed participants saw small reductions in blood pressure: 2-3 mm Hg on average (mm meaning millimeters of mercury).

Karin Ried of the National Institute of Integrative Medicine and the University of Adelaide in Australia was pleased with the findings, but doesn’t believe this means chocolate is the new go-to treatment for high blood pressure. Instead, she contends that flavanols may be a good component to come alongside other treatment options in hopes of controlling and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease. (more…)

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Dana

Dark Chocolate Brownies for Julia Child’s 100th Birthday

If you have any level of love for food, then you likely recognize the name Julia Child. My earliest memories of Julia stem back to childhood when my parents would mention not only how talented of a cook she was, but also how vibrant of a personality she had.

When I began taking more interest in cooking as an adult, Julia’s recipes would inevitably surface from time to time and I always recognized how incredibly high quality they were, and how she executed them with such professionalism and love. This, I hope, is the way I approach food every time I enter the kitchen.

 

 

Julia passed away just two days before her 92nd birthday in 2004, and today would’ve marked her 100th birthday. In commemoration of a chef who brought classic French cooking with her own unique twist to America and beyond, we’re celebrating her the best way we know how: By cooking. (more…)

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Dana

The Scientific Quest for a “Healthy” Cheese Leaves us Flavorless

By Abra Pappa for Nutritious America

In a world of endless food “science” it isn’t terribly surprising that even the mighty cheese is subject to investigation, processing, and testing in an attempt to create a cheese-like-food-product that scientists will deem “healthier” by reducing sodium and fat. In this never ending quest to make all food “diet worthy” and eternal dieters “happy” there is no food spared from their turn in the science wheel. Yet, each time we’ve attempted to replace a natural, whole food with a processed version of the food the results of “health” have not exactly worked out.

Case in point: changing butter to margarine. The partially hydrogenated fats that were originally thought to be much healthier then butter’s saturated fat have since proved to be the exact opposite. Why would a “new” cheese be any better?

The average American consumes nearly 30 pounds of cheese per year; that is an awful lot of fat and salt. But, cheese is so much more than a block of fat and salt, it has a story, a life, a history.

If you have ever spent time with a cheese expert or any amount of time in a real cheese haven like Murray’s cheese shop in New York City, you may have been graced with some of the history and story behind cheese. Stories of generations of sheep farmers in France creating glorious cheese from humble resources, or small American artisinal cheese makers who, with a much shorter history of cheese making, are taking this culinary world by storm. Cheese has been consumed as a traditional food in many cultures for literally thousands and thousands of years, and yet it is just in the last 50+ years that we are seeing the steep decline in the health of people. It makes us ask, is cheese really to blame? (more…)

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Nutritious_America

Competitive Eating Grows in Popularity, and So Do the Potential Risks

The Olympic torch is still warm as many of us are still caught up in the spirit of the Games. The proof can be seen in retail, where swim, athletic shoe, and sport stores are seeing increased sales. We all have been inspired and want to let our competitive hearts seek greatness, too. But some aspire to greatness in a completely non-athletic, gut-busting way.

One event we didn’t see in London that will doubtfully ever grace an Olympic stage is gaining popularity at high rates in the U.S. That event is the “sport” of competitive eating. The roots of these types of events are nearly as ancient as the original Grecian games. A legend of a 13th century slave defeating the Norse god Loki by eating his plate is the earliest noted eating competition. However, in the U.S., these battles have only grown popular in the last 100 years or so.

NPR reported on their food blog, “The Salt,” that the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest on Coney Island was watched by 40,000 spectators this year. That’s up from about 1,000 viewers 15 years ago. Clearly, we’re intrigued by this gluttonous event many call “sport.” There are TV shows devoted to various food challenges, and many restaurants are creating their own variations to live up to the demand. (more…)

Posted on August 15, 2024 by Lacy

Scientists Discover Way to Replace Fat in Chocolate with Fruit Juice

Good news for chocolate lovers! Scientists have discovered an innovative way to slim down the calorie contents of your favorite chocolate bars by substituting 50 percent of the fat with fruit juice. Finally, some healthy developments surrounding dessert.

As reported by the Times of India, chemists at the University of Warwick found a way to remove much of the cocoa butter and milk fats that most chocolate bars are laden with, and replace it with “tiny droplets of juice measuring under 30 microns in diameter.”

The science behind this makeover, which was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry, requires a new technique that maintains the Polymorph V content of the chocolate. Polymorph V is the substance in fat’s crystal structure that gives chocolate it’s glossy appearance and firm texture, and makes it melt slowly and smoothly in your mouth.

Scientists were able to replace the fat with an infusion of orange and cranberry juice, milk, and dark and white chocolate by using a method known as Pickering emulsion. This emulsion not only prevents the small droplets from merging together, but will also help prevent the ‘sugar bloom’ that appears on chocolate that’s gone a little past its shelf life. (more…)

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Dana

How to Eat Gluten Free: Lunch

If you missed my introduction to gluten-free eating in which I shared how to eat gluten free for breakfast, consider this my second installment covering all-things gluten-free lunch.

I wanted to create a gluten-free breakfast, lunch and dinner menu because I have plenty of friends who are gluten free and I never know what to prepare them when I’m hosting. I figured the best solution was to do some research and then share what I found here so I can come back as a reference and pick a dish depending on what type of meal I’m serving.

Today we’re looking at how to eat gluten free for lunch, because if you’re like me, all I ever want for lunch is a big sandwich – something gluten-free dieters typically can’t have. But the good news is, there are so many delicious gluten-free options that are easy to throw together for lunch that there’s no reason to come up short on ideas. Here are just a few of my favorite newly-discovered gluten-free dishes. (more…)

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Dana

Coffee and Alcohol May Increase Heartburn

If you’ve ever experienced heartburn and were left stumped as to what the cause was, perhaps you should turn your gaze toward the bottom of your cup – your coffee cup, that is.

Experts from the University of California, Los Angeles, are suggesting that alcohol and caffeinated beverages can have a direct effect on heartburn. This is because a ring of muscle located between the stomach and esophagus called the “lower esophageal sphincter” can be temporarily affected by alcohol and caffeine in some people.

As reported by NPR, UCLA gastroenterologist Kevin Ghassemi, explained that this muscle is meant to be closed at all times except for when food is passing into the esophagus. But because alcohol relaxes it, it creates an opening. And when this happens, he says, stomach acid can come back up into the esophagus, which is reflux – which is what causes the burning sensation we experience with heartburn.

Furthermore, Ghassemi makes the link to caffeine as well saying, “The caffeine that’s in coffee or other caffeinated beverages also will relax the sphincter muscle.”

If you’re one of the lucky few who doesn’t experience heartburn after consuming caffeine or alcohol, consider yourself normal. Ghassemi points out that some people are naturally predisposed due to a “weak or faulty sphincter muscle.” This, he says, can often be influenced by being overweight or obese because it increases the risk. (more…)

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Dana

Our First-Ever Food Awards Reveal the Healthiest Groceries

We’re never been quiet when we find a new product we love. We make it a point to try out the newest “health” food being marketed and uncover brands with a smaller ad budget and a bigger nutritional bang. But we’ve never given you one collective list all at once like we’ve done in our first-ever food awards!

We’ve spent the summer developing nutrition criteria, scouring every shelf of the grocery store, reading labels until our eyes-crossed, and swapping lunch calories for taste-testing calories all in the name of helping you put the best food possible on your grocery list.

What we’ve come up with is a list of 13 popular food categories at the grocery store with a clear winner in each: bread, cereal, hot dogs, yogurt, snacks, deli meat, pasta sauce, dips, frozen meals, dressing, granola, beverages, and soup. While the general rule of thumb is to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, if you’re willing to read labels then there’s plenty of good food stocked down the aisles.

View the Slideshow: 2024 Food Awards

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Posted on August 14, 2024 by Natalie K

Women with Eating Disorders More Likely to be Vegetarian, Study Finds

At various points in my life I’ve attempted to be a loyal vegetarian. But for whatever reason I could never quite make the commitment, be it my ultimate love for well-seasoned chicken or my lack of ethical reservations concerning animal consumption.

My reasons for attempting to go meat-free ranged from health to just trying something new to even shedding a few pounds when I felt meat was packing on unwanted weight. But according to a new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, going vegetarian for weight loss isn’t as uncommon as you might think. And furthermore, meat-free diets are being linked more often to people who struggle with eating disorders.

The study suggests that women who are suffering from eating disorders are four times more likely to be vegetarian than women without eating disorders. While I don’t feel I personally fell into this category, it’s important to point out that a vegetarian or vegan diet can very easily become a person’s socially acceptable means of avoiding certain foods in order to lose weight.  (more…)

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Dana

School Food Laws May be Reducing Children’s Weight, Study Finds

When it comes to childhood obesity in the U.S., we obviously have a problem. An estimated one in three American kids and teens is obese, according to the American Heart Association. And as a result, weight-related diseases like Type 2 diabetes are on the rise in children, which leaves health experts scrambling for ways to reverse this alarming trend.

But thanks to various food laws put in place in some schools, we may be making some healthy progress.

According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, strict laws that curb the sales of junk food and sugary drinks in schools may be reducing children’s BMIs and slowing overall weight gain.

To conduct the study, researchers analyzed 6,300 students in 40 states, first measuring their heights and weights when they were fifth graders in 2004, and again when they were eighth graders in 2024. Over the same lapse of time, researchers also examined the databases of several state laws concerning nutrition in these schools.

Among the schools examined, there were a range of laws in place to govern the food and drinks being sold either in vending machines or school stores outside of designated meal times. These laws included restrictions on the sugar and fat contents of food and beverages, and the severity of these laws ranged from district to district. (more…)

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Dana

John Burton Lost 260 Pounds by Joining an Online Weight Loss Community

John Burton is a Ph.D. student living in Belfast, Ireland, and over the past three years, he’s lost nearly 300 pounds. While this is a phenomenal achievement, he’ll be the first to tell you that it wasn’t easy, and that it took several years for a reason.

Growing up, John was always a bit on the heavier side, but it was a never severe issue until his teenage years.

“It was when I got to university and I didn’t have anyone looking at what I ate. It was all up to me,” he said. “I ate what I wanted whenever I wanted. And I never ate fruits and vegetables. I always had pizza and burgers and rubbish like that.”

John’s weight developed into obesity when he was 18 or 19. At that time, he’d drink a big bottle of coke or a pile of chocolate without even thinking about. John blames these bad eating habits on his tendency to be a picky eater as a child.

When John moved 2.5 hours away from home for college, he says that was the first time he was away from family and friends and had any responsibility when it came to his diet. This new environment led him to become more indulgent than ever and he began eating whatever foods he wanted. (more…)

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Dana