Nutrition Project
By: Kate, Ali, and Sydney
UK leading the world in salt reduction
The United Kingdom’s Government has taken their people’s health into their own hands by having the Food Standards Agency (FSA) set salt reduction goals for the Food & Drink Federation (FDF) and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The main issue in the food industry is the amount of salt the people of the UK are consuming daily. Companies have a few ways to keep customers coming and their food tasting the same even when they are reducing the amount of salt in the product. The two main approaches to this are either gradually reducing the amount of salt in a product over time so that the consumer’s palate is being “re-tuned” to food with less salt. The other method being used is to still maintain the level of saltiness, just artificially with lower sodium levels and add extra ingredients or technological solutions. The UK is currently in 1st place for having the lowest sodium intake within a developed country. The average sodium intake of a person in the UK went from 9.5g to 8.1 g per day since 2005. Just this salt reduction alone saved 8,500 lives. The UK is urging other countries to follow in their footsteps and save thousands of live too. Scientists say “Studies suggest that this 1.5g reduction in average daily salt intake, through the reduction it has on blood pressure, will prevent approximately 20,000 strokes, heart attacks and heart failure, 8500 of which are fatal, in the UK every year.” Not only does this save lives ,it also provides huge cost savings to the NHS. Many countries including the US, Canada, and Australia are now onboard with this idea and are setting goals of their own. The FDA sets salt reduction goals for each company so that it’s a level playing field. This way each company is equally decreasing the amount of salt that they use. http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/news/saltnews/2012/78091.html
Extra pounds may put you in the hospital
Extra pounds may put you in the hospital
Studies have shown that recently, even the smallest difference in weight can have a HUGE impact on a person’s health. Even with 30 extra pounds some people have been hospitalized due to organ function being in jeopardy. Six or seven pounds can simply raise your risk of being hospitalized by 4 percent in a two year period. A study was done and out of an experimental group of 250,000 people that were just a tad overweight, within two years 61,000 of them were hospitalized. Today, in America, with these statistics it can be predicted that 30-35% of hospitalizations in the United States can be eliminated if citizens would lower their BMI to at least 28. Once your BMI reaches 30, you are classified as obese. I believe that this is important because not only are people’s health in danger, but they are having to spend thousands of dollars on healthcare and if they cannot afford it, it is coming out of our tax dollars. Once this issue is solved, not only can our country be healthier in general, but we can save millions upon millions of dollars. More and more studies are showing that weight in America is not only affecting our global image, but also our economic image. People across the globe know that we are an obese country. But when you factor in our economic status, how reliable do we seem? When people hear “America” we would hope that they would think of all of the fabulous things that we have done, instead, they are busy thinking about how in our culture, being morbidly obese is an everyday thing and that we don’t really care about our health. We need to work as a country to turn our global image around and be known as the healthy, strong country that we once were. The smallest pounds count people, do not let them pile up or else you’ll be in the hospital before you know it.
http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/21/14600785-extra-pounds-may-put-you-in-the-hospital-study-finds?lite
Water
Remeber to stay hydrated when working out!!
Working out
If you don't like working out, but you like hanging ou twith your friends then go to the gym with your friends. It will make it more exciting and y'all can motivate each other.
Ali Gentry's Current Event
Recipe for Banana-Raisin Scones
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 2 Tbsp. hot water
- 2-1/2 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 6 Tbsp. cold butter or margarine
- 1-1/2 cups Great Grains Banana Nut Crunch cereal
- 1 egg
- 1 container (6 oz.) vanilla low-fat yogurt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix raisins and water in small bowl; set aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cereal. Beat egg in small bowl; stir in yogurt and raisins and their liquid. Add to flour mixture; stir until mixture forms soft dough.
- Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets.
- Bake 10 min. or until lightly browned. Serve warm
Low-Fat Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
- 9 whole low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, broken in half
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Cooking spray
- 2 8-ounce packages Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
- 2 8-ounce packages fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
- 2 large eggs plus 3 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- Assorted toppings
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until crumbled. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and the butter; pulse until moistened. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil to prevent leaks. Coat the inside of the pan with cooking spray and press the crumbs onto the bottom. Bake until browned, about 8 minutes. Let cool, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat both cream cheeses and the sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, 5 minutes, then beat in the sour cream on low. Lightly whisk the 3 egg whites in a bowl, then add to the cheese mixture along with the 2 whole eggs, flour, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Pour over the crust.
Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan and add enough warm water to come one-quarter of the way up the sides of the springform. Bake until the cake is set but the center still jiggles, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Turn off the oven; keep the cheesecake inside with the door closed for 20 minutes.
Remove the cake from the water bath and transfer to a rack. Run a knife around the edge, then cool completely. Chill until firm, at least 8 hours. Top as desired.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/low-fat-cheesecake-recipe/index.html
Low fat Cheesecake
This recipe makes 14 servings each at 229 Calories when the average cheesecake would be around 300 calories. If you went to The Cheesecake Factory 1 serving of the Red Velvet cheesecake is 1540 calories!
Organic Neufchatel Cheese
This is just like a healthier version of ceam cheese! While the average Cream cheese has at least 33% milk fat and 55% at the highest, Neufchatel cheese has 23%. Flavor-wise, Cream cheese and Neufchatel cheese are practically the same.
Strawberries!
One cup of strawberries contains over 13% of the RDA of dietary fiber, yet only 43 calories. The dietary fiber that is located in Strawberries helps with your digestion and aids in lowering blood pressure.Strawberries contain a chemical compound called phenols that are anti-Inflamatory, anti-Cancer, help degenerative eyesight, and help bone health.
Salmon Salad Bento Lunch
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup boneless, skinless canned salmon, flaked (2 1/2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 kalamata olives, pitted and diced
- 1 teaspoon minced red onion, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon rinsed and chopped capers
- 1/2 cup watercress, tough stems removed
- 1 ounce small whole-grain crackers, (about 16)
- 1 cup mixed vegetables, such as bell peppers and carrots, cut into sticks
- 1 cup mixed grapes
Preparation
- Combine salmon, oil, lemon juice, olives, red onion, parsley and capers in a small bowl.
- Pack the salmon salad, watercress and crackers in one medium container.
- Fill another medium container with vegetables and grapes.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/salmon_salad_bento_lunch.html
Grilled Chicken Tostadas
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo, coarsely chopped
- Kosher salt
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (1 pound)
- Cooking spray
- 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 1 pound tomatillos, removed from husk and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 2 ounces queso fresco, crumbled, about 1/3 cup
- Chopped onion, cilantro sprigs, and lime wedges for serving
Combine the lime juice, garlic and chipotle chile in a medium nonreactive bowl; season with salt. Add the chicken, toss well to coat, and refrigerate 2 hours. Remove the chicken from the marinade; thread onto 4 (12-inch) skewers lightly misted with cooking spray.
Preheat the grill to medium. Mist the tortillas with cooking spray. Add the tortillas to the grill; cook, turning once, until lightly toasted, about 1 to 2 minutes per tortilla.
Meanwhile, add the chicken and the whole tomatillos to the grill; cook, turning often, until tomatillos are charred and chicken is cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the skewers from the chicken.
Coarsely chop the tomatillos and toss with oil and salt to taste. Place toasted tortillas on plates; generously top with romaine, tomatillos, chicken, and queso fresco. Serve with onion, cilantro sprigs, and a lime wedge if desired.
Interval Training
Interval training lets you boost fitness, burn more calories, and lose weight. The basic idea is to vary the intensity within your workout, instead of going at a steady pace
Swimming
Swimming is the perfect excercise to do because the buoyancy of the water supports you and keeps the strain off of your joints.
Walking.
Walking is simple yet powerful. It can help you stay fit. Improve cholestorol levels, strengthen bones, keep blood pressure in check, lift your mood and lower your risk for a number of heart diseases. Walking and physical activities can also improve memory .