stlmomsworld.com - Kay Quinn

Kay

Thursday, July 10, 2008

11 Best Foods You're Not Eating!

I hope you'll watch Newschannel Five at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 11. I'll show you the 11 best foods you're probably not eating!
I won't give them all away here. But I consider myself a pretty healthy eater, and there are a few on the list I've never tried.
The list comes from a book written by Dr. Jonny Bowden called The 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth. I took the list of the 11 foods to a local dietitian and had her evaluate them for me.
I'll give you a little "taste" of the story.
Pomegranate juice is one of the 11 foods. I've heard of it, and even seen it in the grocery store, but I generally stay away from juices because of the high sugar content.
Well, according to Jennifer Ebelhar, a registered dietitian at St. Louis University School of Medicine, you don't need much more than two or three ounces of the pomegranate juice to get a big benefit.
"You're really going to get the most bang for your buck if you choose the one that's 100 percent pomegranate juice," said Ebelhar. "It is expensive, so it's an expensive way to get those antioxidants. But they are very powerful."
So, I hope you'll tune in tomorrow to Newschannel Five at 5, or check out my column in Monday's Healthy and Fit section of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Why don't you try a few and let me know if you like them, or think they could become a staple of your diet.

Labels: food, superfood

¶ 11:40 AM 0 comments

Friday, June 27, 2008

Mini Food: Pros and Cons

I love those little 100 calorie food packages. I think it's a great way to sometimes get a sinful treat in moderation. You can't go wrong with 100 calories, right?

Here's a little picture of some of the snacks in my desk. Two are 100 calorie products: Doritos and blueberry muffins. So you can see, I really do enjoy these kinds of snacks from time to time.
The idea was sparked by an interview with a dietitian. Samantha Comte with St. Anthony's Medical Center brought a number of snacks to an interview we did on healthy snacks in schools in 2007.
Among those she recommended, even in place of a birthday cake? Caramel apples, caramel or chocolate dip for fruit, even low-fat pudding in 100 calorie packs.
"You know, you can bring in 100 calorie snack packs of cookies or chips or different things and really just being creative with your ideas and talking to people involved is probably going to be the best bet."
I am on-board with this idea. A few Doritos have always tasted better than the whole bag.
But apparently, that's where the trouble can start.
Rita Rubin, medical reporter for USA Today newspaper, writes in her blog at http://blogs.usatoday.com/betterlife/ about research done on those little bags.
It seems dieters like the idea of the mini foods too, but tend to eat all of the little bags in one sitting. It's an interesting column, and interesting research.
Dieters appear to be more vigilant about serving sizes when they come from bigger bags because they know the hazards of all of those calories.

Labels: diet, food, snacks

¶ 12:00 AM 0 comments

Name: Kay Quinn

Location: St. Louis, MO

ABOUT ME

Health and medical issues make up one of the most exciting beats in the newsroom. Few other areas of news touch each and every one of us so closely and so often.

Whether you're a senior worried about paying for prescription drugs, a parent concerned about the health of a child or waging your own fight against cancer or heart disease, you can usually find health news that applies to you in my daily reports.

I always tell St. Louisans they are so fortunate when it comes to health care. Our city is home to two research hospitals.

Doctors and scientists at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis University School of Medicine are involved in some of the most critical research underway in medicine today.

Work is bring done right at this moment, right in our area, that could lead to a vaccine for bird flu or better ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease.

I enjoy staying on top of those stories, as well as bringing you health and medical news you can use.

Along with the latest medical breakthroughs, you'll frequently find information on low-cost exercise programs right around the corner from where you live, or details on where to get this year's flu shot.

Many viewers want to know whether I have a medical background. I don't, but my mother was a nurse and I know her health background made a big impression on me as a child.

It's the lifelong curiosity and interest I have in health issues that serves me well in my work as health reporter.

Staying on top of what you need to know to stay fit and healthy is a job I love.