Foods to eat, foods to avoid

That's Fit to Eat

By Joanne Eglash
Healthy Lifestyle Columnist
eDiets

Natural isn't Always Safe
If you're diabetic, your doctor probably frequently discusses your nutrition, exercise, and medications with you. Your health care provider may also ask you about over-the-counter medications that you take. But if you are taking herbs, homeopathic remedies, or other alternative supplements, you may assume that they're "safe." As a result, you may not consider those factors worth discussing with your doctor.

Bad assumption. As reported in the Journal of Advanced Nursing 2007; a survey of international health literature revealed that herbal medications and nutritional supplements rank as the most frequently used complementary therapies by diabetics. The problem: many patients don't reveal their use to their doctors. Some of these alternative treatments can, however, impact key diabetes tests. For example, your blood sugar levels can be altered by using fenugreek. As a precaution, check with your doctor before you start taking any new nutritional or herbal supplement.

Big Apple Regulation Update...
The Big Apple is the place to be if you're counting calories. On July 1, the New York City Board of Health's new regulation requiring chain restaurants to list their calories on their menu boards took effect. First to comply: Subway. Walk into a Subway restaurant in New York City and you'll have no excuses for not sticking to your calorie allotment for the day.

Choose a six-inch Veggie Delite, for example, and you'll consume 230 calories. Ask for a six-inch Chicken and Bacon Ranch sandwich, and you swallow almost 600 calories! If your lunch includes a package of chips washed down with fruit punch, and two white macadamia nut cookies for dessert, you just took in more than 1,200 calories for lunch. For a petite woman on a diet, that can use up her entire day’s allotment of calories. Ouch.

Don't Take Teen Bad Eating Lightly
Teens are notorious for their bad health habits. Staying up late at night... lunching on pizza every day... scoffing at the notion of eating their veggies and fresh fruit at home... skipping breakfast or substituting a doughnut for their morning cereal.

If that sounds like your teenage offspring, don't shrug it off with the comment, "Oh, she's just a typical teen." According to new research on asthma reported in the medical journal Chest, being deficient in key vitamins and nutrients can impact respiratory health.

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The researchers' study showed that teenagers who limited their intake of good-for-you foods such as veggies and fruits were more apt to have breathing problems, which ranged from chronic asthma to bronchitis to wheezing and coughing. Teens who combined smoking with bad nutritional habits were even more at risk: the researchers reported that the two bad habits combined resulted in seven times the risk of asthma for teens. The message for parents: start teaching your children good eating habits at a young age, and make certain they understand just how deadly smoking can be. If you have teens at home who won't listen to you, don't despair. Skip the lectures, and create meals that are healthy and tasty. For example, make pizza with a whole-wheat crust that's topped with good-for-you tomato sauce and lots of cut-up veggies. For dessert, serve a fresh fruit and low-fat frozen yogurt blender "milkshake" topped with a tablespoon of low-fat whipped topping and zucchini bread or carrot muffins.