What foods should you buy organic? Is this fruit full of pesticides?

Ah, Summer.  Sunny bike rides, vacations, baseball games, farmers markets and pesticides…  Pesticides?  They don’t seem to fit in here, right?  However, you might be more susceptible to ingesting these nasty chemicals come Summer time when fruits and veggies are in season and the pyramid of juicy, fuzzy peaches at the store is calling your name.  A refreshing fruit salad on a hot Summer day sounds delicious and healthy, but not if your fruit is filled with pesticides.

You can control the amount of pesticides that invade your body by paying attention to how you purchase your fruits and veggies.  The Environmental Working Group has put together a list to help shoppers buy produce with the least amount of pesticides present.  The lists below shows the top 12 foods with high levels of pesticides which should be bought from the organic section and the top 15 which are lowest in pesticides and do not necessarily need to be organic.

Dirty Dozen – From Worst to Better….Buy These Organic

1. Celery
2. Peaches
3. Strawberries
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Nectarines
7. Bell Peppers
8. Spinach
9. Kale
10. Cherries
11. Potatoes
12. Grapes (imported)

Clean 15 – Lowest in Pesticides

1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant
11. Cantaloupe
12. Watermelon
13. Grapefruit
14. Sweet Potato
15. Honeydew Melon

Print out this list for your next grocery visit and remember that calories should not be the only concern next time you are filling the cart.  The organic section can be a bit pricier, but it’s a small price to pay to stay clear of known toxins.

Check out EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides for more information.

Share on Facebook

Proteins-much do you need in your diet for proper nutrition?

The old “Pink Floyd” song begs the question; “How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat?” How true this really is. Protein is the basis of the human diet. It provides the components for maintenance and repair of many structures in your body as well as the ingredients for all of your enzymes. In fact you can live off of quality protein and a little fat, no carbs necessary! Many people don’t get nearly enough of this essential building block of life.

The World Health Organization says a person needs 30 grams a day to maintain health. This is a MINIMUM daily requirement, your body functions much more efficiently with a higher intake.
                                                                                                                                                                         Well then, how much should a person be eating? This will vary depending on your weight and activity level, but in general 100 grams or more a day is a good baseline. Heavier individuals and athletes may require even more, up to 1 gram per pound of body weight a day! This can be difficult to achieve. A full pound of ground beef has roughly 80 grams of protein in it. How many people eat even that much? Well, I do, but that is a whole other story. I find it easiest to eat a good portion of meat with every meal, and supplement with protein powders.
                                                                                                                                                                    So what sources are the best? Animal products provide by far the most complete and bio available proteins. As a benefit, wild caught fish and grass fed animals are also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. It is possible to get enough protein from plant sources, but it is much more difficult. Non-animal proteins include rice, quinoa, yellow pea, and soy. However, many people now suggest you stay away from soy, as it can interfere with digestion and nutrient absorption.
Diet is the foundation of health. If you aren’t giving your body the basic components it needs to function, any number of problems can arise. So, as Hanna Kroeger used to say, “Eat your meat!”

Share on Facebook

Hanna Kroeger had some great guidelines for food combining, which you can find in her books  Help One Another and God Helps Those Who Help Themselves.  Here’s a quick summary:

• Proteins and vegetables can be eaten together.
  

  Hanna taught us that food combining, like proteins and vegetables, is important to pay attention to so we get the proper nutrition our bodies need.

• Carbohydrates and vegetables can be eaten together.

• Proteins and carbohydrates should be eaten separately.

• Fruit is ideally eaten alone and should not be eaten with protein or vegetables.

• Apples and rice are universal and can be combined with other foods.

Enjoy your holidays and enjoy your food! While we all may slack a bit during the holidays with food combinations, once we learn which foods work best with others we will begin to make better choices and enjoy better health!

Share on Facebook

A beautiful spread can quickly turn bad when foodborne illness is the outcome from poor food safety measures.

As we begin preparing for holiday feasts and parties let’s remember that if you want your guests coming back next year, not making them sick from your food is number 1.   There are some basic steps you can take to make sure there are no chances for your friends and family to contract a foodborne illness.

The FDA article Food Safety Tips for the Holidays covers some basic tips to keep your next feast free of any bacteria.

Key Points for Food Safety

Clean – It is important to keep your hands and cooking materials clean.  Always wash your hands before and after handling food.  This also goes for cutting boards, knives and anything that comes in contact with the food.

Separate – It is very important that you separate foods from ones that are being cooked and those not being cooked.  The juices from eggs and meats can spread on to foods not being cooked and easily spread bacteria.  It is suggested to use different cutting boards, knives and to keep them separated through out preparation to keep from spreading bacteria.

Cook – One of the easiest ways to incur foodborne illnesses is eating uncooked meats.  Use a thermometer!  Follow this guide for cooking temperatures to be safe.

Chill – The last thing to remember when finishing your meal is to refrigerate your leftovers before it has a chance to grow any bacteria.  When defrosting food thaw in the refrigerator, under cold water or in the microwave and do not thaw at room temperature.

These helpful tips of food safety will keep you and your family happy and healthy this holiday season!

Share on Facebook

Is all fat bad? No! This delicious spread of salmon is full of healthy omega 3s your body needs!

So what kinds of fats should you eat? Omega-3’s from fish oil and grass-fed animals are the most important. These fats make your cell’s run smoothly, keep your brain working sharply, and help control inflammation. Omega-6’s from vegetable sources like coconut help balance Omega-3’s. Omega-9’s from special plants like Borage and Primrose help your body maintain healthy hormone levels. Our company, Kroeger Herbs, manufactures a wonderful Evening Primrose Oil soft gel. We also carry quality fish oil supplements and coconut oils at Hanna’s Herb Shop.

Ready to learn more about good fat and omega 3s?

Achieve your health goals with the assitance of good fats and omega 3s! Find answers to your questions by visiting a recent blog post here! We have outlined healthy ways to get omegas, even if you are a vegetarian or a vegan. A car needs oil to run smoothly and so do our bodies! It’s true, not all fat is bad.

Share on Facebook

What are you really eating? Learn how to use the nutrition facts to get in on hidden ingredients.

Nutrition Data is a great resource to use when writing your grocery list, planning dinner, or to help you choose healthier alternatives to improve your lifestyle.  What we put into our bodies everyday is important in order to give us sufficient nutrients so that we can perform at the highest level at whatever we are doing.  Take advantage of having a website such as this to help us make those healthier decisions at the grocery store and in your everyday life.

One of the features I really like is the nutrient search tool, which allows you to search for foods that contain or are high in certain nutrients and are low in other nutrients.  Another interesting feature is the tracking software which you can use to track your intake and help you attain your goal whether it is to eat healthier, incorporate more of a specific nutrient into your diet or weight loss.

Take a look around the site and see how you can benefit from knowing what you are eating and how you can improve your daily intake.

Share on Facebook

Is gluten undermining your health?

It seems like everyone is allergic to some sort of food these days. The most common is gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It’s estimated that at least 1 out of 133 people is gluten intolerant (Celiac Disease) or gluten sensitive. 

Gluten is in almost all processed foods and can even be found in our shampoo, lotions and other beauty products like lipstick! Cutting out wheat isn’t enough if you have an allergy to gluten and we need to be careful with what we purchase. If you’re buying a product off the shelf, it needs to say ‘gluten-free’ so you can be sure you are not buying a product that contains the protein. Also, do your research to understand the difference between a gluten allergy and a gluten sensitivity. People with gluten sensitivities may not show gluten as an allergy if tested with regular allergy tests because the body isn’t producing antibodies to gluten, it just doesn’t process it well, causing inflammation in the intestines.

Not processing gluten well may sound simple but it’s actually a major underlying issue for many health problems including: autoimmune diseases, bowel cancer, arthritis, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, glandular disorders, acne, autism and many more. Gluten intolerance and sensitivity is associated with absorption problems as it damages the villi in the small intestine which enable digestion. A compromised ability to absorb nutrients will undermine the health of the whole body. If you are having a health issue that you feel like you’ve tried everything to balance out and it just isn’t working, you may want to try a gluten-free diet; give it a month and see how you do.  Kroeger Herb also has a product called Healthy Gut that promotes health of the intestinal villi and keeps the gut happy while promoting proper absoption. Take a look at a previous blog post about Healthy Gut here and learn more about health conditions that Healthy Gut can address in a post here.

Educate yourself in your sensitivies and intolerances with food so that you can live a healthy life. Don’t let gluten undermine your health!

Share on Facebook