C is for Coconut Oil! People swear by coconut oil for many reasons, one being for their cardiovascular health but the studies are conflicting and as of now, the science tells us that this is still a saturated fat and needs to be treated that way. Saturated fats raise your LDL (bad cholesterol). The interesting thing about coconut oil is that it also raises your HDL (good cholesterol). How you eat in general will decide if coconut oil will work with you or against you. If you have a diet that is high in processed foods, heavy with meat and butter, high in sugar and refined carbohydrates then chances are coconut oil is not going to benefit you because you have so many other factors playing against your cardiovascular health. However, if you eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, walnuts, flaxseeds, and fatty fish; a little bit of coconut oil on a daily basis may give you the extra boost your HDL needs. Be cautious though, more is not better in this situation. A little goes a long way here. Just 1 tablespoon of coconut oil contains about 11 grams of saturated fat. Say you are an average sized women who needs about 1400 calories per day, that translates into 7 grams of saturated fat per day and not leaving much wiggle room to just add coconut oil in all of your food, all day long. This RDN recommends that you enjoy no more than 1 tablespoon of coconut oil on most days of the week and to replace your unhealthy fats with healthy fats for example substituting butter for olive oil or mayonnaise for avocado. When choosing coconut oil, look for unrefined (virgin) varieties. There is no classification system between virgin and extra virgin coconut oil, it is just used for marketing purposes. There are no GMO varieties of coconut and they are naturally resilient to pests, so your coconut oil does not need to be organic. Enjoy! #wellnesswednesday #coconutoil #HDL #dontfearfat #lessismore #hearthealth

C is for Coconut Oil! People swear by coconut oil for many reasons, one being for their cardiovascular health but the studies are conflicting and as of now, the science tells us that this is still a saturated fat and needs to be treated that way. Saturated fats raise your LDL (bad cholesterol). The interesting thing about coconut oil is that it also raises your HDL (good cholesterol). How you eat in general will decide if coconut oil will work with you or against you. If you have a diet that is high in processed foods, heavy with meat and butter, high in sugar and refined carbohydrates then chances are coconut oil is not going to benefit you because you have so many other factors playing against your cardiovascular health. However, if you eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil, avocado, walnuts, flaxseeds, and fatty fish; a little bit of coconut oil on a daily basis may give you the extra boost your HDL needs. Be cautious though, more is not better in this situation. A little goes a long way here. Just 1 tablespoon of coconut oil contains about 11 grams of saturated fat. Say you are an average sized women who needs about 1400 calories per day, that translates into 7 grams of saturated fat per day and not leaving much wiggle room to just add coconut oil in all of your food, all day long. This RDN recommends that you enjoy no more than 1 tablespoon of coconut oil on most days of the week and to replace your unhealthy fats with healthy fats for example substituting butter for olive oil or mayonnaise for avocado. When choosing coconut oil, look for unrefined (virgin) varieties. There is no classification system between virgin and extra virgin coconut oil, it is just used for marketing purposes. There are no GMO varieties of coconut and they are naturally resilient to pests, so your coconut oil does not need to be organic. Enjoy! #wellnesswednesday #coconutoil #HDL #dontfearfat #lessismore #hearthealth

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Feeling sick? Try some nice hot honey lemon tea. Lemon is a natural anti-inflammatory, honey is nature's cough suppressant, and of course the water is necessary to keep you hydrated and healthy. My Nana used to add butter and whiskey to her honey lemon tea. Do you have a favorite home remedy you can share? Help fill my favorite mug! #sickday #homeremedy #honey #lemon #tea #einstein #thanksmom #favoritemug

Feeling sick? Try some nice hot honey lemon tea. Lemon is a natural anti-inflammatory, honey is nature's cough suppressant, and of course the water is necessary to keep you hydrated and healthy. My Nana used to add butter and whiskey to her honey lemon tea. Do you have a favorite home remedy you can share? Help fill my favorite mug! #sickday #homeremedy #honey #lemon #tea #einstein #thanksmom #favoritemug

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B is for Blueberries and they are pretty amazing little berries! Aside from being a delicious snack they are a super powerful antioxidant. Blueberry is used for preventing cataracts and glaucoma, ulcers, urinary tract infections, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fever, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, improving circulation, and as a laxative. It is also used for colic, labor pain, and as a tonic after miscarriage. The dried fruit is used for diarrhea. Tea made from the dried leaves is used for sore throat and other inflammations of the mouth or mucous membranes of the throat. Studies have shown that having 1 cup of blueberries a day for 14 days increases your antioxidant capacity! When it comes to blueberries fresh or frozen is best because the heat from canning and juicing destroys some of the antioxidants. Domestic grown blueberries are on the clean 15 list and don't have to be purchased organic but imported blueberries contain high amounts of pesticides and should be organic. One more fun blueberry fact before you go racing out to get some...if you eat them with milk (especially whole milk) you don't absorb all of the antioxidants so you should separate them by 1-2 hours! #wellnesswednesday #blueberries #clean15 #dirtydozen #ewg #antioxidant

B is for Blueberries and they are pretty amazing little berries! Aside from being a delicious snack they are a super powerful antioxidant. Blueberry is used for preventing cataracts and glaucoma, ulcers, urinary tract infections, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fever, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, improving circulation, and as a laxative. It is also used for colic, labor pain, and as a tonic after miscarriage. The dried fruit is used for diarrhea. Tea made from the dried leaves is used for sore throat and other inflammations of the mouth or mucous membranes of the throat. Studies have shown that having 1 cup of blueberries a day for 14 days increases your antioxidant capacity! When it comes to blueberries fresh or frozen is best because the heat from canning and juicing destroys some of the antioxidants. Domestic grown blueberries are on the clean 15 list and don't have to be purchased organic but imported blueberries contain high amounts of pesticides and should be organic. One more fun blueberry fact before you go racing out to get some...if you eat them with milk (especially whole milk) you don't absorb all of the antioxidants so you should separate them by 1-2 hours! #wellnesswednesday #blueberries #clean15 #dirtydozen #ewg #antioxidant

www.nutritioncareofrochester.com

Please join us for the Infant Nutrition Class on Saturday January 23rd at 11 am at 809 East Ridge Rd. The class is $45 for the family. Don't wait! The deadline to reserve your spot is Wednesday January 20th! Space is limited! To sign up, call 563-9000 or email amanda@nutritioncareofrochester.com Learn everything you've wanted to know about infant nutrition for physical and developmental growth: when to start solids, different methods of offering food, feeding strategies, which foods to choose, and there will be time to answer all of your burning questions. This class will be an open forum where we can casually learn and chat. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Call or email us today!

Please join us for the Infant Nutrition Class on Saturday January 23rd at 11 am at 809 East Ridge Rd. The class is $45 for the family. Don't wait! The deadline to reserve your spot is Wednesday January 20th! Space is limited! To sign up, call 563-9000 or email amanda@nutritioncareofrochester.com Learn everything you've wanted to know about infant nutrition for physical and developmental growth: when to start solids, different methods of offering food, feeding strategies, which foods to choose, and there will be time to answer all of your burning questions. This class will be an open forum where we can casually learn and chat. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Call or email us today!

www.nutritioncareofrochester.com

A is for Avocado! Avocado is a fruit that is rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFA). These fats help you absorb the carotenoids in the avocado and it also turns the beta carotene into active vitamin A (important for vision, immunity, reproduction, and communication between cells). Although avocados are high in fat, they lower your risk of heart disease, lower LDL (bad cholesterol), raise HDL (good cholesterol), and reduce oxidative stress. Studies have shown that people who eat avocados have improved nutrient intakes, lower body weight, lower BMI, lower waist circumference and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Avocado is also on the EWG's Clean 15 list (low pesticide risk). To get the most nutrients from your avocado, peel it like a banana! #wellnesswednesday #dontfearfat #avocado #hearthealth #weightloss #EWG #clean15

A is for Avocado! Avocado is a fruit that is rich in monounsaturated fats (MUFA). These fats help you absorb the carotenoids in the avocado and it also turns the beta carotene into active vitamin A (important for vision, immunity, reproduction, and communication between cells). Although avocados are high in fat, they lower your risk of heart disease, lower LDL (bad cholesterol), raise HDL (good cholesterol), and reduce oxidative stress. Studies have shown that people who eat avocados have improved nutrient intakes, lower body weight, lower BMI, lower waist circumference and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Avocado is also on the EWG's Clean 15 list (low pesticide risk). To get the most nutrients from your avocado, peel it like a banana! #wellnesswednesday #dontfearfat #avocado #hearthealth #weightloss #EWG #clean15

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My favorite tip to increasing veggie intake for kids is to offer it before dinner as a snack. Tonight I made purple and orange sweet potato chips in the microwave. Purple potato not shown because they already ate it! Be sure to put some of the veggie on the dinner plate too. Feel free to share your tips! #sweetpotatoes #snacksbeforedinner #normalizeveggies

My favorite tip to increasing veggie intake for kids is to offer it before dinner as a snack. Tonight I made purple and orange sweet potato chips in the microwave. Purple potato not shown because they already ate it! Be sure to put some of the veggie on the dinner plate too. Feel free to share your tips! #sweetpotatoes #snacksbeforedinner #normalizeveggies

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An appropriate activity to get your young toddlers involved in family meal time is to have them help set the table. We have the kids eating utensils in a cabinet that is at their level. This helps give them a sense of ownership and accomplishment. How do you let your toddler help in the kitchen?

An appropriate activity to get your young toddlers involved in family meal time is to have them help set the table. We have the kids eating utensils in a cabinet that is at their level. This helps give them a sense of ownership and accomplishment. How do you let your toddler help in the kitchen?

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A 1955 7-Up ad encouraging mom's to feed their baby's soda pop! It's funny, I think of that era as the time of homemade meals. Really it was the height of marketing packaged, processed foods and infant formula as the better options to feed your family rather than cooking from scratch and nursing your child. This wasn't the period of good home cooked meals, it was the beginning of #epigenetic changes and families being driven by #marketing. #tbt #dontgivebaby7up

A 1955 7-Up ad encouraging mom's to feed their baby's soda pop! It's funny, I think of that era as the time of homemade meals. Really it was the height of marketing packaged, processed foods and infant formula as the better options to feed your family rather than cooking from scratch and nursing your child. This wasn't the period of good home cooked meals, it was the beginning of #epigenetic changes and families being driven by #marketing. #tbt #dontgivebaby7up

www.nutritioncareofrochester.com