Nutritious Oranges

Oranges and orange juice have long gotten good publicity, and there is every reason to believe that the trend will continue.  Oranges are extremely low in sodium and fat, and they are a great way to get your vitamin C, both fresh oranges and orange juice are loved by virtually everyone.  Questions asked in the past relating to whether or not the nutrients in oranges survive the transition from orange grove to frozen orange juice concentrate.  The answer is a resounding yes!  Analyses by the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that frozen orange juice concentrate has almost every milligram of vitamin C that was in the orange it came from.  If you are wondering how orange juice stacks up against fresh whole oranges, the answer is that juice stacks up pretty well, with one exception.  Apparently due to their fiber content, fresh whole oranges have proven to be more filling than orange juice.  The best way to find a tasty orange is to simply hold it in your hand.  If it feels heavy for its size, it should have plenty of juice inside.  Small and medium size fruit tend to be sweeter than the larger fruits.  If the oranges are not cold, you can smell them to check for sweetness.  Navel oranges are famous for being seedless.  Valencia and Temple oranges are great for juicing.  And Seville, which is tart to bitter in taste, is perfect for adding a salt-free zip to marinades, beverages, and desserts.  If oranges will be used within a week, you can store them at room temperatures.


Sugar Substitute

Research has shown that sucrose and table sugar, when used in equal amounts with starches, does not hike blood sugar levels any more than other starches, such as potatoes and wheat.  Therefore diabetics can have modest amounts of refined sugars if their diabetes is under control and you are not too overweight.  But otherwise, you will need to check out alternative sweeteners.  Experts say that substitute sweeteners are safe to use.  The ADA has approved noncaloric sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin, and sweeteners with calories, such as fructose and sorbitol.  People with well-controlled diabetes can use fructose and sorbitol with little problem.  Fructose raises blood sugar the least of the caloric sweeteners.  But, in diabetics with low insulin reserves, fructose will raise triglyceride levels.  And in large amounts, both fructose and sorbitol can cause diarrhea.  Calorie-rich fructose and sorbitol, both found in fruit (sorbitol breaks down in the body to form fructose), are not exchanges for the noncaloric sweeteners.  So if you have added fructose and taken out saccharin, you have still added calories to your diet.  Diabetics need to proceed with caution when using fructose and sorbitol as sweeteners and know ahead of time that calories will be added to your daily intake. 


Family Camping Trip

The smell of the pines, the sound of the wind blowing gently in the hot summer night, the smell of hotdogs roasting on the open fire. What could make for a more enjoyable outing than this? Yes, you guessed it, all of the above refers to camping. In a tent, an RV, a sleeping bag on the bare ground under the stars, or in your station wagon, the experience is substantially similar. The key to successful camping, especially where children are involved, is advance planning, and plenty of it! At least three weeks prior to your outing, make sure to go through your check list and set aside the basic essentials you’ll need for the trip: your tent, food supply, kitchenware, camp stove, coolers, can openers, compass, matches, tarpaulins, sleeping bags, pillows, cots, ropes, and flashlights. This is a very good article that everyone would enjoy reading.
http://www.wildmanscorner.com/2010/03/09/camping-fun-for-the-whole-family.html


New Breakthrough in Lactose Intolerance

Due to some important findings, diets for lactose intolerance are no longer based solely on avoiding lactose-containing foods.  You will be happy to note that some advances have actually broadened your choices in available food, not limited your choices.

            - The meal factor.  Eating lactose-containing foods with meals enables some patients to tolerate milk better because only half of the lactose in milk went undigested when patients consumed it at the same time as solid foods such as corn flakes, banana, and hard-cooked egg.

            - The lactase enzyme factor.  You can also buy packets of lactase enzyme that break down the lactose in food before you eat it.  This is sold under the brand name LactAid, it is widely available in drugstores, or it can be ordered directly from the manufacturer.

            - Lactose-reduced dairy products.  Encouraged by the success of LactAid enzyme, its manufacturer also markets LactAid-treated milk, cottage cheese, cheese, and ice cream.  These products have been pretreated with the LactAid enzyme and are ready to use.  If you cannot find them in your supermarket, contact the manufacturer for a source near you.

            - The yogurt factor.  It’s not just the amount of lactose that matters but also the form that it is in.  Eighty percent of lactose-intolerant patients complained of symptoms after drinking milk, but only twenty percent complained after eating yogurt that contained the same amount of lactose.  Yogurt culture provides enzymes that can digest lactose.  Yogurt has been a very popular food item for many years in countries where lactose intolerance is the rule. 


Diabetes and Diet

Although knowledge of dietary needs for diabetics is continually expanding, there are guidelines that are based on current consensus thinking.  Each diabetic’s diet should be tailored to fit that individual’s needs and lifestyles.  At this time it is recommended that Type II diabetics load up on carbohydrates with 50 to 60 percent of daily calorie intake coming from carbohydrates.  Generally the recommendation is somewhere around 50 percent.  Carbohydrates are either simple (sugars) or complex (starches).  Each gram of carbohydrate produces 4 calories.  Protein should amount to about 12 to 20 percent of your daily calorie intake.  Each gram of protein equals 4 calories.  Calories from fat should account for no more than 30 percent of your daily calories.  Each gram of fat produces 9 calories.  Every chance you get replace artery-clogging saturated fat with polyunsaturated, or better yet, monounsaturated fat, or with complex carbohydrates.  Natural fiber in food has been found to have a host of beneficial effects for everyone.  That goes double for people with diabetes.  It is recommended that whole wheat products, barley, oats, legumes, vegetables and fruit be consumed as sources of fiber, as well as for the essential nutrients that these foods offer.  It is also recommend that diabetics cut their cholesterol level.  This means cutting way down on organ meat and egg yolks and restraining yourself when it comes to meat and dairy fats.