Foods in the News
People are constantly talking about the latest foods that claim to be the “magic bullet” for health. In the world of health and nutrition, different products are always making headlines regarding their benefits to your health. While you may be hearing about these foods, you may not really know the truth about them. Here are a few that have caught a lot of public attention.
Chia Seeds
These tiny black and white seeds have been all the rage because they are very nutrient dense, containing fiber, calcium, omega 3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein and antioxidants. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs would eat chia seeds as an energy booster. Many claim that chia seeds have the ability to aid in weight loss, and although many studies have been conducted on using them for these purposes, research hasn’t yet confirmed this is the case. However, chia seeds are still a very nutritious seed, providing omega 3 fatty acids and dietary fiber to your meals. Add two tablespoons of chia seeds to your cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, baked goods, rice dishes, vegetables or blend them into a smoothie.
Ginger
Ginger root is a highly talked about herb in the nutrition field that is used for aromatic, culinary and medicinal purposes. Ginger contains phytochemicals that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties. Research also shows that ginger can be used to alleviate pain caused by arthritis. The root also contains essential oils which have anti-inflammatory, nerve soothing and anti-bacterial properties.
Alkaline water
Questions are being raised about whether alkaline water is better for you than regular water. Alkaline water is ionized water that has a pH level greater than 7, which makes it more basic than acidic. For this reason, alkaline water is claimed to neutralize acids in your bloodstream, boost your metabolism and help with the absorption of nutrients. Claims also suggest that drinking alkaline water can help slow down the aging process and prevent bone loss. Research hasn’t yet verified if any of this is true and further investigation needs to be done on the long term benefits of drinking alkaline water.
Juicing
Juicing, as opposed to eating whole fruits and vegetables, has recently become a hot new health trend. Juicing is a way of extracting all of the liquid from fruits and vegetables, resulting in a juice you can drink. Although the liquid will contain most of the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from the whole fruit, it loses the abundance of fiber that you would get from eating the whole fruit or vegetable itself. Advocates for juicing also suggest that your body will absorb the nutrients better since it is in liquid form, although no scientific evidence exits that supports this claim. Juicing may be a great way for you to incorporate fruits and vegetables into your daily routine if you have trouble eating them regularly. If you try juicing, make sure to get some of the pulp into the juice as well for the added fiber I don’t recommended using juicing as a sole source of calories. If you do, you miss out on the health benefits of foods like whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy and healthy fats.
Your turn to take action: Have you tried any of these foods? What are your thoughts on them?
It’s so true that every day some new miracle food “appears”. And even the “research” is often contradictory. I have tried many a diet, health food, and even supplements “guaranteed” to make you lose weight. None of them have worked as claimed. Once I jettisoned all of the miracle foods, and just ate what my body desired, when I was hungry, and in a mindful way, that made all the difference in my health.
Balance, to me, in all things- and don’t eat something you don’t like because your body probably won’t like it either!
I agree Lianda. It’s important to listen to our bodies and give it what it wants and needs. There is no miracle food, diet or pill out there. We need to go back to listening to our internal hunger and fullness signals, and eat what we truly desire in a mindful way. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Well, I never knew that about ginger, Bonnie. My father, who is rather elderly now, sometimes has flare-ups of his arthritis, so I shall certainly look more into this. And many of my friends are firm advocates of juicing, though I’ve always preferred my fruit and veg ‘au naturelle’, as it were. But you may have just inspired me to give it a go. So thanks for the helpful information. This is my first visit, but I have a feeling I’ll be back! Great post.
Welcome Susan, and thanks for your comments. Looking forward to sharing more helpful information with you.