Food Facts

I have long stated that if you want to be optimally healthy, you should spend 90 percent of your food budget on whole foods, and only 10 percent on processed foods. Unfortunately, most Americans currently do the opposite, and their health suffers as a result.

With most foods, the closer they are to nature, the better. It's possible to have some processed foods that are still healthy; for instance, frozen green beans have been "processed" as has butter, grass-fed ground beef, or freshly prepared almond butter.

Strawberries make a wonderful smoothie ingredient or healthy snack. In addition, it turns out that they’re great for your health, influencing everything from the condition of your skin to how likely you are to develop certain serious diseases.

One new study recently — published in the peer-reviewed journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism — found that many artificial sweeteners, acting on the hormones, can actually increase the craving for sugars, leading to an increased risk for obesity and subsequent complications like diabetes and heart disease. While more research is certainly called for on this subject, avoiding the following sweeteners is truly a healthy choice.

Sometimes foods that are healthy don't always appeal to a large number of people. Blueberries are an exception, however - they are both delicious and nutritious. Blueberries are truly one of the great superfoods for so many reasons. Although they can satisfy a sweet tooth, they are low in sugar and low on the glycemic index, so they will not cause blood sugar levels to spike up.

Iodine is a vitally important nutrient that is detected in every organ and tissue and many if not most are deficient in this nutrient. Along with being essential for healthy thyroid function and efficient metabolism, there is increasing evidence that low iodine is related to numerous diseases, including cancer.

Turmeric is one of the most versatile healing spices in the world! A spice commonly found in curries may boost the brain’s ability to heal itself. Study suggests a compound found in turmeric could encourage the growth of nerve cells thought to be part of the brain’s repair.