Wellness Foods

With Memorial Day weekend behind us, and graduation parties and summer vacations beginning, it is easy to let healthy eating habits slide by the wayside. But healthy eating can be as easy as adding nuts to a salad, grilling fish, experimenting with different fruits or vegetables, or drinking a yogurt smoothie rather than a soft drink. Here are a few tips and facts about healthy eating:

• Adding just a handful of pecans to a traditional low-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet can dramatically lower your cholesterol. (Journal of Nutrition, September 2001)
• Men who eat fish and shellfish at least once a week are about half as likely to suffer sudden cardiac death as men who eat fish less than once a month. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 1998)
• Diets high in low-fat dairy foods such as milk, yogurt and cheese can help reduce body fat as much as 69 percent. (The University of Tennessee, 2000 study)
• Men who eat at least two meals a week containing tomato products can lower their risk of prostate cancer by 24 to 36 percent. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, March 2002)
• Women who eat two to three slices of wholegrain bread daily (or the equivalent) are 30 to 40 percent less likely to have a stroke than women who eat less than half a slice daily. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000)
• Healthier diets might save Americans $71 billion per year in medical costs and lost productivity. (America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences, 1999)
• Supermarket produce departments now offer more than 400 produce items, compared to 150 in the mid-1970s. (America's Eating Habits)

If you want to know more, check out Wellness Foods A to Z, by Sheldon Margen, M.D., and the editors of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter (Rebus Inc., 2002). The 640-page quick-reference encyclopedia provides complete, up-to-date information on more than 500 fresh foods - from almonds to yogurt. It also offers detailed nutrition profiles, shopping and storage tips, and preparation and serving suggestions to take advantage of each food's key nutrients. A comprehensive vitamin and mineral guide and wellness eating strategies round out the book.

Resources:

Wellness Letter, a newsletter containing tips on nutrition, fitness, and self care