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HEALTHeHABITS desires to deliver alternative nutrition information that helps you in making healthy and wholesome eating decisions.  HEALTHeHABITS believes that a return to nourishing whole foods (organic if possible), like real butter, real eggs, fruits and vegetables, meats without hormones/antibiotics, and limited processed foods and oils, provides the nutrients a growing and maturing body needs. 

HEALTHeHABITS specializes in small group classes (at your church, home or office), individual instruction, quarterly newsletters, and for the summer, cooking and nutrition camps for pre-teen girls.

In The News

Vitamin D is in the news again … and this should be a reminder why you should get your vitamin D tested.  Ask for the 25(OH)D test.

Who is at most risk of a low Vitamin D blood level? People who ...

• rarely get outdoors or are housebound
• always cover up all of their skin when outside
• liberally apply sunscreen
• have dark skin
• are elderly
• live in big cities
• avoid oily fish or fortified milk
• are at a higher risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or auto-immune illnesses
• have seasonal depression
• have osteoporosis
• are obese or not able to lose weight
• have joint pain or undiagnosed muscle pain

Know your vitamin D level. Your level should be at least 35 ng/dl (the lab will probably say 32 is “normal”).  But most nutritionists suggest a much higher value – 62 to 75 ng/dl.

 Did you know?

• Studies have found the lower the blood-level of vitamin D the higher the risk for breast, colon, and prostate cancer; the greater the weight; the higher the risk of diabetes; and a lowered  immune response
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• In one 2003 study on non-specific musculoskeletal pain, ALL of the so-called otherwise “healthy” participants were deficient in vitamin D.  Of those, 55% were severely deficient and 5 of the 150 (3%) had NO measurable vitamin D in their blood. JAMA, 2003
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• Vitamin D depletion was found in 72% of subjects with osteoporosis [a level less than 30 ng/mL] Osteoporos Int, 2008
• Babies born to vitamin D deficient rats are permanently and irreversibly brain damaged, proving that vitamin D has profound effects on developing neural tissue.
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• The more vitamin D in participants’ diets, the less they weighed, according to research in the Journal of Nutrition, 2003. 
• Vitamin D deficiencies are rampant in children.  In one study on healthy kids, 42% had levels below 20 ng (Harvard, 2004 study).
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• “Taking 1,000 international units (IU) - or 25 micrograms - of the vitamin [D] daily could lower an individual's cancer risk by 50% in colon cancer, and by 30% in breast and ovarian cancer,” according to University of California researchers (2005).
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Every adult should know about vitamin D.  UVB rays are the primary source.  Some people need more sun exposure than others. It is recommended light-skinned people get about 15 minutes a day while seniors and those with dark skin get 45 minutes.  It is found only in a few fatty foods like sardines, mackerel and egg yolks and is fortified in milk and a few products like Yoplait (check the labels) and processed cheese.  Living in the northern states should remind everyone that there are limited UVB opportunities – mainly in the summer months.  These few months of exposure should provide enough pre-vitamin D to last until the next summer (the body pulls out of storage and converts to active vitamin D).

• Currently it is recommended children get 200 IUs (the RDA) although the American Academy of Pediatrics, in view of the “mounting research about potential benefits of vitamin D”  now recommends all infants to teens consume 400 IUs of vitamin D a day, a doubling of the current recommendation.
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• Adults to age 50 need 400 IUs and over age 51 need 600.

It is estimated that these levels are too low, even theupdated children’s levels.   Look for these numbers to change over the next five years.  Too much vitamin D is not good but too little is certainly risky.  Do you know your level? 

The claim that sunshine exposure will increase cancer risk is refuted in the following article

ALSO ...

Eating nuts is a good habit. Can you enjoy an ounce of nuts five times a week?  If yes, here’s what you can experience …    

• A lower risk of weight gain 
• Fewer heart attacks (by as much as 60!)
• Reduced gallstones by 25%
• Reduced risk of blood clots
• Reduced risk of diabetes

Pasta With Walnuts and Peppers

By Jean Carper

Source: USAWeekend.com Magazine

 

2 Tbs. olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

¹/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

2 medium bell peppers -- green, red, yellow or a combination -- cored, trimmed and cut lengthwise into

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¹/2 -inch-long strips

1¹/2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

1¹/2 cups coarsely chopped parsley

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 cups cooked penne or rotelle (about 6 ounces dry)

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute walnuts and garlic till lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook till soft, about 5 minutes. Put onions and peppers in large bowl; cover. Microwave on high power till tender. Transfer peppers, onions to skillet. Add parsley; stir to combine thoroughly. Put pasta in large shallow bowl and cover with walnut-pepper sauce. Serves 4.

Per serving: 367 calories, 9.6g protein, 46.4g carbohydrates, 4.7g fiber, 17g fat (1.9g saturated), 19mg sodium.

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