Eats « Weekly Gravy

Your metabolism rate determines how fast you burn calories, and that can influence how fast you lose weight — and how easily you can gain it. After age 25, metabolism naturally slows by 5 percent every decade. So if you eat as much in your 40s as you did in your 20s, you’re going to add extra pounds — especially if you exercise less and lose muscle. In addition to weight training to maintain muscle, these tips from the American Council on Exercise can help. Stick to well-spaced meals at the same times each day. This lets your body know to expect fuel at regular intervals and prevents it from conserving calories and adding to fat stores. Calorie cutting is important if you need to lose weight, but reducing your intake to starvation levels also puts your body in conservation mode, slowing down metabolism. So rather than speeding up weight loss, starvation ultimately slows it. And that’s why it’s so easy to regain lost weight when you start eating normally: Your metabolism tends to stay slow. Dehydration can lead to a 2 percent drop in the number of calories burned, so drink at least 8 glasses of water throughout each day, and even more when you sweat a lot. Watch the alcohol. Besides adding empty calories to your diet, processing alcohol diverts the liver from… read on >

(HealthDay News) — From heart disease to arthritis, many major diseases have been linked to chronic inflammation. Favoring anti-inflammatory foods in your diet could reduce your risk of illness. Harvard Medical School recommends that anti-inflammatory diets include: Tomatoes. Olive oil. Nuts. Fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna. Green leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale.

Your food processor can help you get a healthy and hearty dinner on the table with a quick flick of a switch. Here are two taste-pleasers. Love making meatloaf, but don’t like handling raw meat? All the healthy ingredients can be combined in a food processor — ground turkey, which is high in protein and low in fat; oats, high in heart-healthy fiber; mushrooms, high in B vitamins; and an egg, rich in iron and B vitamins. Chunky Mushroom Meatloaf 1 pound ground turkey 1 cup quick-cooking oats 1 cup small mushrooms (white button or cremini) 1 egg 1/2 cup low-sugar, low-sodium BBQ sauce, plus an optional 1/4 cup for glaze Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place all the ingredients except the optional BBQ sauce in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Transfer to a loaf pan and smooth with a spatula. Spread on the additional sauce, if desired. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Yield: 4 servings For an easy and delicious meat sauce, try this Bolognese packed with low-calorie veggies that you chop in your food processor. Easy Bolognese 1 cup baby carrots 1 cup pearl onions, peeled 4 garlic cloves, peeled 2 cups kale, rinsed 8 ounces lean ground beef 28-ounce can diced peeled tomatoes Place carrots, onions, garlic and kale in the bowl of a food processor and… read on >

When it comes to getting the best taste and the greatest nutritional value from grains, keep it whole grain. Quinoa, oats, short-grain brown rice and wild rice, polenta (which is made from corn) and barley are most nutritious in their whole, unprocessed form. That’s because the bran is still intact, and the bran is where most of the minerals, vitamins and plenty of fiber reside. Processed and packaged foods are rarely made from 100 percent whole grains. Think of them as empty carbs with lots of preservatives, so switch to these flavorful grains to load up on nutrition, including essential minerals and even some protein. Tip: Don’t be fooled by the word “multi-grain” on packages — this does not mean that a variety of or even any whole grains were used. Brown rice is high in magnesium and tryptophan, barley is high in selenium and tryptophan, and steel cut oats are high in manganese and zinc. These grains are simple to prepare. Bring water to a boil, add your grains and cook on low heat for about 45 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat and keep covered for 5 minutes to allow the grains to fluff, then stir with a fork. Quinoa is another excellent choice, high in iron and manganese, plus it’s quicker to cook than the other grains. Rinse a cup of… read on >

(HealthDay News) — Some diets encourage fats and some advocate against them. But which is healthiest? Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health agree that there is no universally optimal amount of fat consumption. For most people who want to maintain a healthy weight and lower risk of disease, the focus should not be on fats. Instead, researchers suggest that diets low in sugar and refined grains should be emphasized.

Tax it, and fewer folks will buy it. So it goes with sugar-sweetened drinks, new research suggests. The California city of Berkeley introduced the nation’s first soda tax in 2014, and within months people were buying 21 percent fewer sugary drinks. Three years later, 52 percent fewer of these drinks were being sold while consumption of water rose 29 percent, the researchers found. “This just drives home the message that soda taxes work,” said study author Kristine Madsen, faculty director of the Berkeley Food Institute at University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health. “Importantly, our evidence comes from low-income and diverse neighborhoods, which have the highest burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, not to mention a higher prevalence of advertising promoting unhealthy diets,” Madsen said in a university news release. The study shows that a soda tax can influence what people buy and can be effective in encouraging healthier drinking habits. This could potentially reduce diseases like diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay, which have been linked to sugar, the researchers added. Sugar-sweetened drinks are very cheap, but cost America billions each year, Madsen said. “They’d cost much more if the health care costs were actually included in the price of the soda,” she added. “Taxes are one way of taking those costs into account.” For the study, Madsen and colleagues polled some 2,500… read on >

It may still be winter, but it’s never too early to plan for your kids’ summer camp. And now’s the time to think about preparing them to handle allergies and allergic reactions, according to experts at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). “Kids who suffer from seasonal allergies, food allergies or asthma also wonder about their health. For them, additional preparation is necessary to keep them safe and happy, so they can enjoy their time away from home,” ACAAI president Todd Mahr, said in a college news release. The ACAAI has five tips to help make the summer camp experience a great one. If your child suffers from asthma or food allergies, consider sending him or her to a camp that specializes in these conditions. Specialty camps can have trained staff who know how to treat asthma and allergies. You can search the internet for camps that focus on your child’s needs. Before sending your child off to camp, consult with your allergist and make sure prescriptions are up-to-date and your child has everything needed to treat their allergies or asthma. The allergist can also provide a plan to share with the camp. Be sure the camp’s staff is prepped on your child’s allergies and asthma. They should know if asthma makes some activities difficult. Be sure the medical staff knows about… read on >

If supermarket circulars influence your grocery shopping, you could be saving money at the expense of your health. That’s because studies show the offerings are often far from the healthiest food choices. Researchers looked at a year’s worth of circulars from a small Midwestern grocery chain to see how the nutritional quality of sale items compared to that of the average American diet, which itself scores low. They found that sales reflected a tendency to eat too much protein and not enough fruits and vegetables. While 25 percent of sale items were for protein-based foods, only 8 percent were for vegetables and 7 percent for fruits. Worse still, less than 3 percent were for the most healthful dark green, red and orange vegetables. So, it’s important not to let these circulars dictate your eating habits. Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost as much as you might think. The difference can be as little as $1.50 more per day. Interestingly, some studies have shown that even people who spend the most money on food don’t automatically select healthier choices. Regardless of budget, the average family spends the biggest chunk of their food budget — about 35 percent — on items like snacks, treats and frozen dinners. That means shifting just some of your shopping dollars may be enough to boost your diet. Once you’re at the… read on >

Kids can be as strongly influenced by TV commercials as by the shows themselves, and many studies have found that tempting food ads have a particularly harmful effect, contributing to childhood obesity. While the government has stepped in with nutrition guidelines for manufacturers, these are largely voluntary and, therefore, not enforceable. So it’s up to parents to be vigilant. It might seem like the odds are stacked against you. According to a study in the journal Childhood Obesity, most food and beverage products in ads seen by 2- to 11-year-olds during kids’ programming don’t meet the guidelines of the government’s Interagency Working Group. The panel includes representatives of the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. Plus, less than half of TV ads during kids’ programming meet the guidelines created by the food industry’s own voluntary group, the study found. While some companies have improved the nutritional quality of some of their foods, these aren’t the products they’re advertising. The vast majority of ads seen during children’s programming are for products high in what dietary guidelines call “nutrients to limit” — fat, salt and sugar. The same is true for the more than 3 billion food ads that appear every year on popular websites for kids, according to research published in… read on >

(HealthDay News) — More than 60 million Americans have heartburn each month, the American College of Gastroenterology says. The fiery burning sensation is caused by stomach acid backing up in the esophagus. Steering clear of certain foods can help you avoid the problem. Limit your intake of these foods to lessen your likelihood of heartburn: Citrus foods such as oranges, grapefruit and lemons. High-fat foods such as cheese and avocado. Garlic and onion. Spicy dishes such as chili. Alcohol and coffee.