Blood Pressure: A Moving Target

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In a press release this past weekend, the National Institute of Health released preliminary results of the SPRINT Study (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. It reported that lowering the target systolic blood pressure (SBP) from 140 mm Hg to 120 mm Hg in people over 50 years old significantly reduced the death rate and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes.

The subjects were recruited from 102 clinical centers throughout the U.S. (1). The conditions for inclusion in the trial were that men and women must be 50 or . . .

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Rich Foods

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Today I finish up my look at Southern-style collard greens. On Thursday, I looked at bacon, one of the key ingredients in most recipes. Another is ham. As long as the ham is lean, it has much more protein than fat so that’s not a real concern at 45 calories per ounce. That leaves us with the greens and onions.

Adding a large white, yellow, or red onion doesn’t add many calories but it adds plenty of phytonutrients. It adds flavonols such as quercetin and kaempferol as well as another type of phytonutrient called allicins. Research shows . . .

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Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, Bacon

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Bacon and eggs. Bacon on cheeseburgers. Bacon martinis. Bacon-caramel cupcakes. Bacon all by itself. If ever a food craze is in full swing, it’s the obsession we have with bacon. It satisfies the taste buds for salty and umami with a fatty texture. The primary concern from a health perspective is the amount of fat in the bacon.

The typical recipe for collard greens begins with bacon. The amounts vary but in order to add flavor to the greens, the smokiness of the bacon is one of the keys. It can’t be duplicated by simply adding salt . . .

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Poor Man’s Food

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Once again the events in my life have led me to write this week’s messages. First, I watched a presentation on flavonoids and their role in health by two of the country’s leading experts. Why we don’t eat more vegetables, herbs, and fruits is beyond me. Maybe it’s because of what happened in a conversation I had with one of the aides who works with my father-in-law in assisted living.

The conversation started when she asked me what I do. When I told her my background in nutrition, she asked how I felt about . . .

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Healthier Eating for Kids

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In the last message before Labor Day, I wanted to provide you with a few references to help your kids eat better. It’s something that I’ve never done before but frankly, I just don’t know everything and I’m not going to live long enough to learn it all. I hate that, but every man’s got to know his limitations. Yes, that’s one of my favorite movie quotes.

Two are books that I referenced in earlier webinars; the other two are books by long-time readers who are passionate about helping kids eat healthy. I . . .

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Kids’ Lunches

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Schools have either begun or are about to begin after Labor Day, so let’s stick to our topic from last week, kids and food.

School lunches have been in the headlines. In a recently published study, researchers compared the amounts of fruits and vegetables kids put on their trays and ate before and after the National School Lunch Program rules mandated every student should eat more fruits and vegetables. The headlines suggested that kids took more, ate less, and threw away more. Sounds bad? They took 0.20 cups more fruits and vegetables (about 24 blueberries), ate 0.06 . . .

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Teaching Kids to Cook

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When it comes to teaching kids to cook, the primary thing to consider is safety. I’m not giving a three-year-old sharp knives nor letting a five-year-old operate a stove. Common sense has to reign supreme. The best approach is to start with basics.

Before we get to that, you have to understand that it’s going to be messy and it’s going to take a lot longer. Those are givens. It may be better to pick one afternoon or evening to dedicate to cooking with your kids, creating soups, casseroles, and crockpot meals for . . .

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When I Was a Kid…

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I began cooking young, probably around 10 or so. My grandmother was a cook; not a chef by today’s standards, but a very, very good cook. She worked as the head cook in the cafeteria of a manufacturing company back in the day when they had such things. She also worked weekends at a private-park kitchen; think of it as a place where companies held summer picnics for their employees. In addition to that, she and my mother also catered weddings.

I had a single mom who worked second shift, and we lived with my grandparents who were . . .

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Kids and Cooking

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Many people are still finishing up their vacations so I thought I’d tackle something a little lighter than a complicated study this week. Sometimes I’m bombarded with so many events and observations, a message theme just appears; recent events are pointing me to kids and cooking.

First, it’s back-to-school time. What seemed to begin the day after school let out—the back-to-school sales—has kept kids in every ad and commercial.

Second, the NBC show Foodfighters featured a 12-year-old girl who was inspired to cook healthier meals when her . . .

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Further Research: Iron and ADHD

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The final study I’ll review this week turned into three. In my original research, a study from 2012 demonstrated a tendency for children with ADHD to have low levels of ferritin (1), a protein that can store iron until it’s needed to make energy as well as other functions. When I came across the study, I checked to see if any further research had been done. Sure enough, two more studies confirmed that some children with ADHD have low ferritin levels (2,3).

The low ferritin was also associated with insomnia and restless-leg syndrome. The association doesn . . .

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