FitSugar

Eggs For Eyes?

FitSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:30:00 PST

Move over carrots, you've been riding on your reputation as the best food for eye health for too long. The incredible, edible egg is chock full of eye friendly antioxidants. It is true that carrots are high in the chemical family of carotenoids, but eggs yolks are high in lutein, a type of carotenoid that helps fight macular degeneration, the leading cause of legal blindness.

It is true that eggs don't contain as much lutein as green leafy veggies, like kale and broccoli, but according to nutritional biochemist Elizabeth Johnson of Tufts, the body is able to absorb these antioxidants better from eggs.

Eggs are definitely a food to stop avoiding. They are good for brain function, as well as dieting since they provide a protein filled breakfast that keeps you full, which in turn prevents overeating later in the day. Now it seems, they are good for your eyes!

Fit's Tip: Eating one egg a day is not considered unhealthy nor will an egg a day increase your risk for stroke or cardiovascular disease. The National Institute of Health found that the small adverse affect of cholesterol in an egg is counterbalanced by the effects of other nutrients including antioxidants, folate, and other B vitamins.

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The Lowdown on Lutein

FitSugar — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 15:30:00 PST

I have been seeing the word "lutein" a lot lately, but honestly had no idea what it was. So, I decided to do a little research. It's something called a carotenoid, which is a naturally-occurring pigment found in plants and even some types of fungus and bacteria. Lutein is pretty easy to spot since it adds color to red, orange, yellow, and green fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, berries, carrots, and squash. High sources of lutein are found in leafy green veggies like kale and spinach.

Now you know where to find it, but I bet you want to know why you should be eating it. Lutein is necessary for healthy vision and can be found in the retinas of your eyes. Getting enough lutein in your diet can lower your risk of developing cataracts. Lutein has also slows down the thickening of arterial walls, helping to prevent cardiovascular disease. Not only that, but getting enough lutein can increase skin hydration and elasticity, so it's good for your skin's health as well.

It's recommended to eat between 4 and 10 mg of lutein a day. How do you get enough? A 1/2 a cup of cooked broccoli has .8 mg, 1 cup of raw spinach has 3.7 mg, 1 cup of cooked kale has 23.7 mg, and 1 cup of romaine lettuce has 1.1 mg of lutein. So make sure to include lots of green veggies in your diet, and your eyes, heart, and skin will thank you.

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Berry Breakdown

FitSugar — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 12:30:00 PDT

Berries are like nature's candy. Not only do they taste sweet and juicy, but they are so good for you. They are a good source of vitamins and phytochemicals (which help to fight disease or disorders).

For instance, cranberries and blueberries can fight off urinary tract infections. Blueberries and strawberries have been found to have anti-cancer properties. Dark colored berries like blackberries contain powerful antioxidants which can help to slow down the aging process. Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, also contain something called lutein, which is important for healthy eyes. Wow, they may be tiny, but they sure are powerfully healthy!

Want to see how these berries compare nutritionally, then

1/2 cup (1/4 of the pint)	Calories	Fiber (g)	Vitamin A (mcg)	Vitamin C (mg)	Potassium (mg)	Folate (mcg)
Strawberries	23	1.4	9	42	110	17
Blueberries	41	1.7	39	7	56	4
Raspberries	32	4	20	16	93	13
Blackberries	31	3.8	154	15	117	18
Boysenberries	33	3.5	44	2	92	42
Raw Cranberries	22	2.2	28	6	40	0
Dried Cranberries (1/3) cup)	123	2.3	0	0	16	0

Fit's Tips: Get your fill of these delicious fresh berries by adding them to your cereal, salads, and baked goods. A bowl of fresh-picked berries also makes a great dessert on its own.

Breakfast Ideas For Healthy Skin and Fewer Wrinkles

Prevention — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:11:00 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Reduce wrinkles and look younger with your a.m. meal
By Mara Betsch, Prevention

There's more to getting healthy, glowing skin than buying the perfect anti-aging skincare products. "You can put on all the makeup and concealer in the world, but unless you're eating a diet full of beauty foods, your skin will not look its best," says Lisa Drayer, MA, RD, the author of The Beauty Diet.

Start your morning off right by whipping up these beauty-boosting breakfasts. They're full of beauty foods that protect your skin and keep it looking young, fresh, and absolutely radiant.

Omelet Italian-Style
Tomatoes add juicy flavor to this simple omelet, but they also boost skin health. "Tomatoes are the number one skin-friendly vegetable," says Jessica Wu, MD, a Los Angeles dermatologist and the author of Feed Your Face. Studies show that eating these bright red veggies may help fight sunburn, boost collagen, and even reduce skin roughness.

Get the Full Italian-Style Omelet Recipe!

Fruit and Spice Cut Oatmeal
Besides being heart healthy, this steel-cut oats breakfast may improve your complexion. While instant oatmeals are often packed with sugar, this recipe instead relies on spices, fruit, and a touch of honey for flavor. "Sugar may contribute to wrinkles, and there's research that shows that following a diet lower in refined carbs improves adult acne," says Drayer.

Try it Yourself! Get the Fruit and Spice Oatmeal Recipe

Keep reading for more anti-aging recipes!

Eat Right With Color - It's National Nutrition Month

Susi May — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 04:00:48 PST

January is dedicated to New Year's resolutions. February is all about hearts. And March is National Nutrition Month - that's 31 days dedicated to cultivating sound eating habits. Created by the American Dietetic Association to help Americans improve their diets, the month comes during the time of year when people find their resolve for making healthy choices start to fade.

This year's slogan, "Eat Right with Color," is cheerful enough to bust through the dreariness of late Winter. Eating a rainbow of foods is great way to ensure you're getting a variety of vitamins and minerals - different antioxidants create the different colors in fruits and veggies. Here's what adding a little color to your plate can do for you:

Yellow/Orange: Sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, mango, corn, and cantaloupe all contain a variety of carotenoids, an antioxidant that reduces your risk of developing cancer. Also high in vitamin A, orange and yellow foods make great post-workout snacks since cartenoids help repair micro tears in well worked muscles.
Green: Vegetables such as kale, spinach, and broccoli are high in lutein, which keeps your vision sharp and clear. Treat your taste buds and your peepers to sautéed dino kale with pine nuts and currants. It's a snap to make.

Learn what the rest of the rainbow has to offer.

5 Reasons You Should Eat More Berries

FitSugar — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:25:53 PDT

If someone told me that the only food I'd be able to eat for the rest of my life were berries, I wouldn't bat an eyelash. I absolutely love all kinds of berries including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries - they are a simple, sweet, healthy treat that can be added to a variety of dishes. Just buy them, or pick them, and rinse them up and enjoy. Berries not only taste good, but they are also chock-full of nutritious goodness and deliver a plethora of health benefits. Here are five reasons why you may want to up your berry intake.

They are good for your brain: Investigators with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston found that the polyphenols in berries help the part of the brain that takes care of regular maintenance and "housekeeping." Blueberries and strawberries were said to contain the most polyphenols.

They may help you lose weight: Berries are loaded with the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin. This antioxidant is said to be able to alter the activity of genes found in human fat cells, making it more difficult to put on weight if you are regularly consuming anthocyanins.
They are good for your eyes: Berries, especially blueberries and raspberries, contain lutein in the pigment of their skin, which is important for healthy eyes.
They are anticarcinogens: Christine Sardo, who manages clinical trials on berry consumption and cancer prevention for Ohio State University's College of Medicine, found that rats that ate a diet consisting of 10 percent black raspberries showed reductions in oral, esophageal, and colon cancers of about 50 percent compared to rats that did not eat berries. Sardo concluded that berries contain potent anticancer compounds including calcium, folic acid, fiber, and various phytochemicals. Specifically, black raspberries slow the growth rate of premalignant cancerous cells through a process called apitosis, therefore stimulating those cells to die.
They help slow down the aging process: The powerful antioxidants in berries prevent free radical damage in your body. And less free radical damage means slowing down the aging process and helping you live longer!

You Asked: Daily Avocado Snack – Too Much?

FitSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 02:00:00 PST

You're asking and I'm answering . . .
Hi Fit. I was wondering if eating avocados every day is unhealthy and bad for my diet? I love avocados and i just recently was wondering if when I get super hungry before lunch or dinner, I could eat one? I know it has a bad rep for being a fatty fruit/veg..but I wanted to make sure and I was hoping you could help because I honestly don't know! Thanks!
– Amorous of Avocados Ava

I too love avocados; they are green creamy goodness. While avocados do contain a high amount of fat, they mostly contain monounsaturated fat, which is one of the healthy and beneficial fats that might actually help prevent heart disease and enhance memory. However, fat is still fat even if it is the "good" kind. The recommended daily intake (RDI) of fat is 65 grams and one cup of avocado contains almost one third of your fat intake for a day, about 23 grams. (One cup of avocado equals about 150 grams, a little over half a pound, and roughly the equivalent of a medium avocado.) Aside from fat content, avocados offer plenty of antioxidants like lutein and beta carotene.

I think a better approach is to eat a half an avocado a day. This will lower your fat intake, but you will still get to enjoy the ease and taste of snacking on an avocado. Half an avocado contains about 8 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein, making it a great pre-meal or pre-workout pick me up. I like to spread avocado on toasted whole wheat bread, which is why I often refer to avocados as vegan butter. This makes the perfect snack, mixing the fat, protein and carbs.

How do you like to eat avocado? Share the details in the comments section below.

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Start a Healthy Eye Routine to Combat Office Environs

Leta Shy — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:50:12 PDT

You work out every day and have a dental hygiene routine that would make any DDS proud, but are you proactive about your eye health? Since a lot of us spend countless hours a week on sitting at desks and staring into computers, maintaining a healthy eye routine is essential. From the glare of the monitor to the dry office air, it seems that our workhorse eyeballs never get any respect. So with all the abuse they take, why not be proactive to make sure you keep your eyes healthy? Learn important tips to babying those baby blues (or browns, or greens) after the break.

5 Things About Eggs

FitSugar — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 04:30:17 PDT

While it's a bit strange that a holiday associated with a bunny also includes eggs, it's one of the reasons I love Easter so much. Even if you don't have kids, dyeing eggs is a fun activity to do with friends - any excuse to be social is a good one! After the celebration is over I often see a lot of eggs going to waste, but instead of throwing them out why not keep them? Since hard boiled eggs stay good in the fridge for up to a week, enjoy them as an afternoon snack or use them in a salad or sandwich. Better yet, make a batch of these delicious (and better for you!) not so devilish eggs.

If you're still not convinced, here are five reasons to enjoy Easter eggs after Sunday:

The majority of an egg's nutrients are in its yolk. An egg yolk is full of B vitamins, iron, and vitamin D. And while it's true that most of an egg's fat and cholesterol are also in its yolk, the American Health Association says that eating one egg a day is OK: the cholesterol found in an egg's yolk is counterbalanced by all that good stuff.
One large egg has about 70 calories, making it a low-calorie, nutritious snack.
Eggs are high in the amino acid leucine, which helps muscles utilize the fuel glucose. This means it's a great source of protein that helps preserve muscle mass and provides power, strength, and energy. Make them your go-to pre-workout snack!
Eggs are rich in choline, a nutrient essential to healthy brain function including memory.
Just like carrots, eggs are good for the eyes. Eggs contain lutein, a type of carotenoid that helps fight macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness.

Dealing With Office Eyes

FitSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:50:55 PST

Staring at a computer all day can take a toll on your peepers. Chances are if you're reading FitSugar you're on a computer a fair bit, so I thought I'd share these helpful tips my optometrist gave me on dealing with the eyestrain that accompanies office work.

Take eye breaks. Be sure to look away from your screen every 15 minutes - if not more. Look at something close up (check out your cuticles) and something far away, to help exercise your depth perception. It’s especially smart to look out a window when searching to focus your eyes on something in the distance.
Remember to blink! When staring at a computer screen we tend to blink about five times less than usual. Blinking might seem like an unimportant activity, but it lubricates eyes so they work smoothly.
Eye-cercise. Eye exercises look silly, but they help. A private place to do them is in the bathroom; take a minute to do eye circles, diagonals, and long blinks. Yep, you can alleviate some eyestrain by working out your baby blues. Unforch, these moves don't count as strength training.

Hope your eyes don't feel too strained because I have plenty more tips, so continue reading.