Healthy Hints & Tips

Here you can find healthy hints and tips to live a healthy lifestyle through nutrition. Healthy Hints offers you the latest news, updates, how to eat clean; and how to understand what that food label is saying to you to take the guess work out of what you are eating. There are also easy ways to include more fruits and veggies into your day. For those on the go, we have tips on eating out and quick meals; and how to become more active.
Eating several servings of fresh fruits and vegetables has been scientifically proven to improve and keep one healthy. However, eating fruits and vegetables have risks as well. That includes pesticide exposure.
The Environmental Working Group’s 2013 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce list may help you make your decision on where to put the money on organics. Of course, the locally grown produce sold in your local famer’s market or home grown is always the best. You can lower your pesticide intake by avoiding the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables and choosing the least contaminated produce.

2013 Dirty Dozen: Apples, Celery, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Grapes, Hot Peppers, Nectarines-imported, Peaches, Potatoes, Spinach, Strawberries, Sweet Bell Peppers, Kale/Collard greens, Summer Squash.
2013 Clean Fifteen: Asparagus, Avocados, Cabbage, Cantaloupe, Sweet Corn*, Eggplant, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Mangoes, Mushrooms, Onions, Papayas, Pineapples, Sweet Peas-Frozen, Sweet Potatoes.

* Genetically modified plants, or GMOs, are not often found in the produce section of grocery stores. Field corn, nearly all of which is produced with genetically modified seeds, is used to make tortillas, chips, corn syrup, animal feed and biofuels. Because it is not sold as a fresh vegetable, it is not included in EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. Nor is soy, another heavily GMO crop that makes its way into processed food.
The genetically modified crops likely to be found in produce aisles of American supermarkets are zucchini, Hawaiian papaya and some varieties of sweet corn. Most Hawaiian papaya is a GMO. Only a small fraction of zucchini and sweet corn are GMO. Since U.S. law does not require labeling of GMO produce, EWG advises people who want to avoid it to purchase the organically-grown versions of these items. (taken from EWG’s network).

News & Bulletin

Nutrition and exercise are two key elements in maintaining a healthy lifestyle at any age. What you are putting into your body can have a huge impact on your overall health. Stay informed on the latest news, trends and research-based studies so you can life a healthier life every day. Be sure to check our website often to keep up-to-date.

What is the true “value” of our food.

So we are eating fish, in accordance to the latest studies, for the health benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids. However, it seems everywhere we turn there’s more scary news about genetically modified foods on our plates. Just recently it appears we are headed to genetically modified salmon, known as Frankenfish. A recent study revealed that the genetically modified salmon could escape into the wild and cross-breed, posing a huge environmental risk for wild fish populations. Another investigation uncovered in the Thai seafood industry, a major provider of shrimp to the U.S, where 90% of all shrimp on American plates is imported from Asia, where it is grown on farms using high levels of antibiotics and chemicals that are not environmental friendly, not to mention a danger to those that consume them. And while salmon farming is being proclaimed as the way of the future, Monsanto too sees industrial aquaculture as a growing source of revenue for their genetically modified soy feed.
We can do better than this. There are plenty of healthy, sustainable fishing communities. So why, then, do we continue to support a seafood industry that potentially jeopardizes our health and environment? Why do we welcome factory-fed fish into our diets? Low food cost is the demand of Americans. It was the promise of a lower cost, high profit protein source that makes Frankenfish seem like a good idea, and that never-ending shrimp and seafood buffet sure does taste good. When we turn a blind eye to where our food comes from in the name of convenience and price, we allow others to make our choices about what kind of food system we want to have. Ignorance may be bliss, but we can no longer afford to ignore the impact of our food choices.
Eating well doesn’t have to cost more. Mark Bittman, whose “Minimalist” column ran in the Dining section of the New York Times for more than 13 years, is a Times Opinion columnist, and lead food writer for The Times Magazine, and a columnist for the Times Dining section has a philosophy of putting protein in a supportive role, and choosing higher quality, smaller portions of meat and fish alongside lots of vegetables (a great way to get those 5-7 servings each day). Watching Chef Evan Hanczor at Brooklyn’s parish Hall showed how it is done, with a modest serving of wild, local fish served alongside platters of fresh local produce. This kind of cooking is a growing trend, and we think we can all change our habits from the high processed and GMO consumption to a conscious, thoughtful understanding of the intricate freshness that feeds us. In the end, it’s this connection to the source that crystallizes the true value of our food.