veggiefeed

May 18, 2013
by Matthew
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Proof that Healthy Eating Starts at Home

I am going to get straight to the point. Developing the lifestyle habits that ensure lasting health is of primary importance in the quest for wellbeing and fulfillment. And, I believe that this quest should begin with the advancement of our cooking skills and the implementation of shared meals.

Why?

According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, taking meals as a family encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables and discourages the overconsumption of less-than-ideal foods that contain excessive amounts of sugar, salt and harmful fats. Along the same vein, a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that adolescent consumption of ‘novel’, or unfamiliar, fruits and vegetables increased with repeated exposure, which can help improve a child’s relationship with food while providing the ensuring that micronutrient needs are met through the consistent consumption of a variety of foods. Finally, according to the Journal of Marriage and Family, children who share meals with their parents score markedly better on a range of well-being indicators, which assess life satisfaction and happiness. more, please…

May 15, 2013
by Matthew
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Fast Food Fail and the Subway Panacea

Eating healthful foods isn’t always easy. Everyday we are forced to juggle the demands of our personal and professional lives with little or no time to adequately plan for our physical and emotional needs with a home-cooked meal or mindfully prepared snack. And, almost as inevitable as eating itself, hunger most often strikes when we find ourselves miles away from the go-to snacks we typically carry without a single natural grocer or conscionable juice stand in sight. But, as inconvenient as it may be, we humans must eat and circumstance may force us to seek out establishments that provide quick and reasonably healthy meals. Personally, which I am sure is the case with many others, such situations typically turn into quests for the glowing green and yellow Subway sign and the sometimes-magical experience of eating the familiarly stale bread and wilted vegetables.

more, please…

May 11, 2013
by Matthew
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MSG: Friend or Foe?

Working in the same vein as last weeks post on the perils of HFCS consumption, I wanted to address another oft-neglected food additive that may be interfering with your health. MSG, or monosodium glutamate, has received a considerable amount of scrutiny in the past, but its continued use in the food production and preparation process has seemingly dropped off the radar (my radar at least). But, after completing a recent project where I found MSG in what most would consider a relatively healthy food (kimchi), I thought it might be fun to explore MSG and the guidance as to what harm it may cause. more, please…

May 3, 2013
by Matthew
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Finding Your Spiritual Experience

Life and health are often measured in tangibles. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI all attempt to quantify the value of the diet, exercise and lifestyle habits we have developed to reach our health goals. However, as important as these measures may be in tracking our physical progress, they often fail to recognize the less tangible actions we take to improve our emotional and spiritual connection with ourselves, others, nature and whatever we choose to call our Higher Power. Connections that I wholeheartedly believe are just as, if not more, valuable in ensuring the physical and emotional wellbeing that bestows a healthy, happy and meaningful life.

more, please…

April 30, 2013
by Matthew
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High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soda and Disease

We all know that soft drinks, and all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for that matter, are at the root of the obesity epidemic and their consumption should be severely reduced if not completely eliminated. However, many continue to imbibe these toxic substances out indifference or ignorance towards the biological damage that they can cause. Well, inspired by a recent study (http://www.diabetologia-journal.org/) that found that the daily consumption of drinks containing caloric sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, sucrose or fruit juice concentrate is associated with a 22% increase in type II diabetes risk, I thought this would be the perfect time to revisit how SSBs and, more specifically, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) function in the body and inspire a few more people to ditch these toxic beverages for good.

more, please…