This blog includes articles on health, wellness, physical activity, healthy eating, and food safety.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Cereals and sugar
A recent report came out by the Environmental Working Group on the amount of sugar in 84 cereals they analyzed. They did not analyze all brands and varieties of cereals, just ones that are more commonly eaten by children.
The 10 most sugary breakfast cereals are:
Some of the best cereals include
To put sugar amounts into a better perspective, four grams of sugar equals about one teaspoon of sugar.
When buying cereals at the grocery store, try the following:
1. Read the nutrition label. Pay attention to the sugar amount in grams, the serving size (they may vary in different cereals and we may eat more than just one serving), and how many ingredients have some type of sugar in them. The more ingredients that indicate sugar and the higher they are on the list, the more sugar in that cereal.
2. Shop for the cereals that are above or below eye level. The ones that are most appealing to children are usually placed at eye level, but are not usually the healthiest.
3. Look for the WIC label for cereal. They have less sugar and must contain iron and folic acid.
4. If your child needs some sugar in their cereal, buy one with less sugar and add a little bit of sugar yourself. You can control the amount and it will typically be less than the amount in the high-sugar cereals. Remember, one teaspoon is about 4 grams of sugar.
For more information, the full report from the Environmental Working Group has more information, including sugar levels in various cereals that were not mentioned above.
The 10 most sugary breakfast cereals are:
- Kellogg's Honey Smacks - 55.6% (sugar by weight)
- Post Golden Crisp - 51.9%
- Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow - 48.3%
- Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's OOPS! All Berries - 46.9%
- Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch Original - 44.4%
- Quaker Oats Oh!s - 44.4%
- Kellogg's Smorz - 43.3%
- Kellogg's Apple Jacks - 42.9%
- Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries - 42.3%
- Kellogg's Froot Loops Original - 41.4%
Some of the best cereals include
- Kellogg's Mini-Wheats: (Unfrosted Bite-Size)
- General Mills Cheerios Original
- General Mills Kix Original
To put sugar amounts into a better perspective, four grams of sugar equals about one teaspoon of sugar.
When buying cereals at the grocery store, try the following:
1. Read the nutrition label. Pay attention to the sugar amount in grams, the serving size (they may vary in different cereals and we may eat more than just one serving), and how many ingredients have some type of sugar in them. The more ingredients that indicate sugar and the higher they are on the list, the more sugar in that cereal.
2. Shop for the cereals that are above or below eye level. The ones that are most appealing to children are usually placed at eye level, but are not usually the healthiest.
3. Look for the WIC label for cereal. They have less sugar and must contain iron and folic acid.
4. If your child needs some sugar in their cereal, buy one with less sugar and add a little bit of sugar yourself. You can control the amount and it will typically be less than the amount in the high-sugar cereals. Remember, one teaspoon is about 4 grams of sugar.
For more information, the full report from the Environmental Working Group has more information, including sugar levels in various cereals that were not mentioned above.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Fifty best websites of the year
Time magazine has listed their 50 best websites of the year. The categories range in anything from music and video, family and kids to shopping and travel and social media. One of the categories is health and fitness, so here are those websites with a little information about each.
CalorieKing is a website that provides nutrition information about thousands of different foods. The foods range from foods purchased at the store to restaurant and fast food. The basic information from the website is free, but there is paid access too that provides more options on the website.
Healthgrades includes ratings for health care providers and hospitals, as rated by those who visited the website. It also includes specialty areas and insurance information. This can help narrow your search to find an A+ health care provider.
MapMyRun helps runners keep track of runs. You can also find runs that have been shared by other runners, as well as workout and meal planning information. There are paid plans, but also many features that are ad-supported and free. If you don't run, you can check our similar sites, such as MapMyHike, MapMyRide, and MapMyWalk.
Summer Tomato is a blog by a scientist that includes photos, links to other recommendations, recipes, and answers to reader's questions. The blogger is an advocate of eating healthy, delicious, local, and seasonal foods.
Zen Habits is a tranquil blog, providing both sensible and practical information. The blogger only posts 5 to 10 times a month and helps us slow down a little and appreciate life.
While this is not an exhaustive list of health and fitness websites that are available, these are the five that Time decided to choose. With so much information available at our fingertips, it is important to find what websites provide you with beneficial information or the information you are searching for.
CalorieKing is a website that provides nutrition information about thousands of different foods. The foods range from foods purchased at the store to restaurant and fast food. The basic information from the website is free, but there is paid access too that provides more options on the website.
Healthgrades includes ratings for health care providers and hospitals, as rated by those who visited the website. It also includes specialty areas and insurance information. This can help narrow your search to find an A+ health care provider.
MapMyRun helps runners keep track of runs. You can also find runs that have been shared by other runners, as well as workout and meal planning information. There are paid plans, but also many features that are ad-supported and free. If you don't run, you can check our similar sites, such as MapMyHike, MapMyRide, and MapMyWalk.
Summer Tomato is a blog by a scientist that includes photos, links to other recommendations, recipes, and answers to reader's questions. The blogger is an advocate of eating healthy, delicious, local, and seasonal foods.
Zen Habits is a tranquil blog, providing both sensible and practical information. The blogger only posts 5 to 10 times a month and helps us slow down a little and appreciate life.
While this is not an exhaustive list of health and fitness websites that are available, these are the five that Time decided to choose. With so much information available at our fingertips, it is important to find what websites provide you with beneficial information or the information you are searching for.
Cook it Quick newsletter and cancer prevention
The December edition of the Cook it Quick newsletter from the University of Nebraska Lincoln is available.
In the newsletter this month you will find recipes and a slide show about making food mixes in jars for holiday gifts. The recipes include (warning: you may be hungry after viewing the page):
One a separate note, a research study was released today about cancer prevention. In a comprehensive review of cancers and lifestyle factors, it was determined that four factors - tobacco, alcohol, diet and obesity - cause about one-third of all cancers.
That means that just under half (about 40%) of cancers can be prevented and are not just related to genetics. Smoking is by far the biggest risk factor in both men and women. There were some gender differences in other risk factors.
Are you starting to think about a New Year's resolution? Maybe one of the above listed lifestyle factors could make the biggest improvement in your health over a lifetime.
For more information, you can read one of the news articles that was released today.
In the newsletter this month you will find recipes and a slide show about making food mixes in jars for holiday gifts. The recipes include (warning: you may be hungry after viewing the page):
- cranberry oatmeal cookies
- easy-as-a-mix pizza
- country chili mix
- homemade cornbread
- sloppy joes
- friendship soup
- master mix for pancakes and muffins
- and others!
One a separate note, a research study was released today about cancer prevention. In a comprehensive review of cancers and lifestyle factors, it was determined that four factors - tobacco, alcohol, diet and obesity - cause about one-third of all cancers.
That means that just under half (about 40%) of cancers can be prevented and are not just related to genetics. Smoking is by far the biggest risk factor in both men and women. There were some gender differences in other risk factors.
Are you starting to think about a New Year's resolution? Maybe one of the above listed lifestyle factors could make the biggest improvement in your health over a lifetime.
For more information, you can read one of the news articles that was released today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)