Whole grain nutrition sales have increased 17% in the last year according to the Packaged Facts market research firm. Whole grain nutrition is linked to numerous benefits, such as decreased heart disease risk, improved digestive health, and reduction in cancer. Retail sales hit $5 billion in 2008 and anticipated to reach $6 billion by 2013.

Fortunately, this appears to be a new trend that is not a short term “fad”!

Great sources of whole grain nutrition include:

100% whole wheat bread
Whole wheat pasta
Whole grain cereal
Barley
Oatmeal
Brown rice
Wild rice
Buckwheat
Millet
Popcorn
Quinoa
Amaranth

Receive a step by step plan to promote heart health and weight loss with a Mini Diet Makeover. As a special New Year’s bonus you’ll receive a complimentary copy of the Calorie Counter for Dummies. Learn more here – http://www.lisanelsonrd.com/minidietmakeover.html

You can learn more about how to use dietary fiber to reduce heart disease risk here.

Share how you have increased your whole grain intake below!

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Be Heart Healthy and Lose Weight
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com

Let’s talk about snacks for a moment. I believe there is a general perception that snacking is bad and you need to cut out snacking if you want to lose weight and be heart healthy. Well, the opposite is actually true. Let me explain.

It is important to eat regularly, every 3-4 hours to maintain your metabolic rate, promote stable blood sugar levels, and prevent insulin spikes. By maintaining a high metabolism you boost the calories you burn throughout the day, which helps you lose weight. By maintaining stable blood sugar levels and preventing insulin spikes you will prevent drops in energy and halt a chain reaction that can lead to heart health complications (increased C-reactive protein, increased blood viscosity, increased clotting factor, increased free radical damage, etc.).

Now, this doesn’t mean just any food will work. You need to select heart healthy snacks. This means eating snacks that balance carbohydrates with protein and/or heart healthy fats. Fat and protein slow the breakdown of carbohydrates, preventing the rapid rise in blood sugar and the corresponding increased insulin release.

Here are healthy snacks that are high in carbohydrates:

Whole grain crackers
Dried Fruit
Pretzels
Fig bars
Fresh fruit

You can make these snacks heart healthy by combining with a protein. These protein sources that are easy to include with snacks:

Glass of skim milk
Yogurt
Cheese
Nuts
Peanut Butter

Here’s an example of how you can apply this to your daily snacks.

Mid-morning snack: Yogurt with granola
Mid-afternoon snack: Nuts mixed with dried fruit
Evening snack: Light frozen yogurt topped with strawberries

Receive a step by step plan to promote heart health and weight loss with a Mini Diet Makeover. As a special New Year’s bonus you’ll receive a complimentary copy of the Calorie Counter for Dummies. Learn more here – http://www.lisanelsonrd.com/minidietmakeover.html

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.lisanelsonrd.com/howtolowercholesterol.html”>How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps

A survey of 2900 individuals found those living near more fast food restaurants and convenience stores to be 25% more likely to be obese. The Canadian survey looked at food sources within 800 and 1600 meters of homes. If there were more grocery stores versus restaurants/convenience the likelihood of obesity decreased. The link between restaurants/convenience stores versus grocery stores also decreased with distances greater than 1600 meters.

This was a short survey I found interesting and decided I’d share with you. There is no concrete evidence to say the higher number of restaurants/convenience stores is to blame for the higher obesity rates. The survey did not actually look at individual eating habits. However, if you are looking to move and make a healthy change at the same time, maybe the above is something to take into consideration!

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Top 5 Key Strategies to Lose Weight Permanently