Fitness Nutrition articles

Even if you’re not a vegan eater, the recipes in The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples (Ten Speed Press 2015) will be game changers in your bag of kitchen tricks. Author Miyoko Schinner raises the bar on plant-forward cuisine by making her handcrafted food approachable for readers interested in lighter, healthier fare without the overprocessed or unrecognizable ingredients found in many prepared vegan and vegetarian foods.

It never feels good to throw away food, and yet, we’ve all done it. That gorgeous bunch of lettuce you got at the farmer’s market? Liquefied in the produce drawer. The fresh bread you were going to make so many great sandwiches with? Molded over with just a few slices used. The mango you intended for a new salsa recipe? Unspeakably smelly and buzzing with fruit flies— an innocent bystander that missed its moment of glory as the perfect complement on Taco Tuesday.

Like people, some foods just work better as a team. When the pairing forms a synergy that boosts your health, that’s even better. A study published online earlier this year in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (May 27, doi: 10.3945/ajcn.115.111062) by Purdue University researchers showed that adding eggs to a salad with a variety of raw vegetables is an effective way to improve absorption of carotenoids, which are fat-soluble nutrients that reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Eating a salad with a variety of colorful vegetables pro-

Each morning is a clean slate and an opportunity to start fresh. As fitness professionals, we know that making healthy breakfast choices can set the tone for the rest of the day. Because it can be difficult to make drastic changes all at once, consider asking your clients to concentrate on fine tuning their breakfast habits just one or two days a week. In honor of National Breakfast month, IDEA has compiled a list of our favorite articles on breakfast nutrition, the benefits of eating breakfast and some delicious recipes to inspire your morning meal.

Question: I know that it is best to avoid overly processed foods as much as possible. But isn’t the fiber found in fortified foods such as breakfast cereals as good for you as the fiber found in naturally occurring foods? In other words, aren’t all fibers created equal?newsletter_teaser: The fact that many consumers believe that a high-fiber product, regardless of its source, is a healthful option is not surprising. But all fibers are not identical and as a result do not provide the same health benefits.

Do treadmills accurately count calories burned? How many carbs are right for you? Can meditation slow the aging of your brain? Find the answers to these questions and other relevant news items on IDEA FitFeed. This inclusive tool gathers news articles, research studies, blogs and all content being shared by fitness professionals around the web and posts it in one convenient location.

Question: I recently saw a carton of milk labeled “Grass-Fed Milk.” Is that simply organic milk from cows that are pasture raised? Is there anything I should know about it?

A number of foods that have been spotlighted recently in the culinary and natural-foods worlds may leave you scratching your head—as in, “I’ve never heard of that before.” So that you’re not at a loss when you see “asafoetida” on a menu, here is a primer on a few of the more popular ones. See how many of these you’re familiar with, and study up on their reputed health benefits.