Whether you’re heading to the beach, escaping to the mountains or enjoying an amusement park, vacationing often means throwing out any thought of healthy eating. Between fast food on the road and airport eating traps, many people feel lethargic on trips and come home with unwanted pounds. Make this summer’s vacation a fun and energetic one (not to mention healthy) with these simple strategies for on-the-road eating.
Want to maintain a heart-healthy diet, but have a weakness for the sweeter things? You’re in luck! You don’t have to nix all your decadent favorites to keep a heart-healthy diet. The traditional Mediterranean diet includes a balance of many foods including some sweet, rich and indulgent options like these. Just remember, everything in moderation!
If you’re aiming to eat more heart-healthy foods, you may want to look to the traditional Mediterranean diet for inspiration. Scientists note that lowering risk for heart disease is less about eating a particular food and more about eating a balanced collection of foods that work together to take care of your heart. Some of these foods include options like whole grains and vegetables, long known for their nutritional value.
Of course you take care of yourself, but are you eating what’s best for your heart? For decades, researchers have noted that people living in Mediterranean regions tend to have lower risk for heart disease thanks a diet full of unprocessed foods that supply an array of heart-healthy nutrients and compounds. Delicious staples like salmon, olive oil and nuts supply both a wealth of great nutrition and flavor. Check out how some of these foods typical of the Mediterranean diet can help.
In an effort to cut back on added sugar in soft drinks and other treats, people often turn to non-nutritive sweeteners, a.k.a. “artificial” sweeteners, to get their sweet fix. Intensely sweet, these compounds are anywhere from 200 to 600 times sweeter than regular table sugar, so just a speck can be used in beverages or baked goods for essentially zero calories.
If you haven’t taken a stroll down the frozen food aisle for fear that entrées and the like lack the nutrition you want, think twice! The world of frozen entrées abounds with good-for-you choices nowadays. A bit of label reading and applying a few simple principles are all you need to find a healthy option that’s right for you. To help you navigate the frozen entrée aisle, here are a few things to look out for when making your selection.
During these dim winter months, your body can suffer from the lack of sunlight, and as a result, your health may as well due to a lack of vitamin D. New studies along with new thinking from experts suggest that sagging vitamin D levels may be to blame in part for the winter-time fatigue and frequent illness, along with a host of conditions beyond poor bone health. And even more shocking—your diet doesn’t cut it when it comes to D! Here’s the latest on this sunny vitamin and all its D Duties.
Avocados are amazing. Don’t believe us? Studies show that despite their high fat content, avocados can help lower artery-clogging LDL cholesterol levels, and supply folate and vitamin E, two vitamins that lower the risk for heart disease. Not only are these superfoods super tasty and nutritious, they’re also super versatile and can be used many ways in and outside the kitchen.
Back in the day, you drank a glass of milk and you knew where it came from—a cow! Check out the dairy section and beverage aisles nowadays, and along with cow’s milk you’ll find other dairy options like goat’s milk. Even with cow’s milk, you can choose fat-free, low-fat or whole milk. The options go on and on!
Not sure which dairy milk is right for you? Here’s the rundown on how they stack up nutritionally.
Whether you’re looking for something to enjoy with your cereal, coffee or cookies, standard dairy milk is not the only option anymore. Along with cow’s, sheep’s and goat’s milk, there are also a variety of alternative “milk” beverages made from a slurry of ground seeds like almond, coconut, soy or rice mixed with water.
Here’s an inside look at how each non-dairy milk alternative stacks up nutritionally.