Enjoy that turkey, really

3 comments November 19th, 2008

I’ve recently become a fan of audio-book adaptations of novels by James Patterson.

In one of them — it might be Roses are Red — he quotes a character as saying something to the effect that the properly prepared white meat of a turkey is too good to be enjoyed only twice a year. I agree and here are some facts about that bird you’re about to dig into on Thursday.

Four ounces of turkey — a serving slightly larger than a deck of cards — has about 214 calories and provides about 65 percent of the recommended daily value for protein with about half the saturated fat of red meat. It’s also a good source of selenium, niacin, vitamin B6 and phosphorous.

It’s also an excellent source of tryptophan, which other than overstuffing yourself, may explain why Thanksgiving dinner makes you sleepy.

Enjoy.

Lose it this month

Add comment November 1st, 2008

Partly because they have what must be the best public relations plan in the universe, it was pretty hard to miss that October was National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Of course, it was also American Pharmacy, Health Literacy, Dental Hygiene, Vegetarian Awareness and 13 other health-related awareness months.

November is, for the sake of making a point, 12 different kinds of health awareness months but two of the biggies — Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness and American Diabetes Awareness — have something very much in common. That would be more and more evidence that they are tied in with increased obesity.

Tips for avoiding both diseases are practically identical. They include eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly greens and orange vegetables; avoiding saturated and trans fats; eating foods high in Omega-3 oils; eating more whole grains and legumes, and avoiding too much sugar, among other things.

At least for this month, then, maybe you could think about cutting back to avoid these diseases.

Cutting 250 calories per day (the equivalent of a couple of cookies, a bagel or one and a half cans of sugared soda) out of your diet per day would save 1,750 calories per week. Add a brisk half-hour walk to burn about another 250 calories per day and you could be looking at a four-pound weight loss by the time December rolls around.