So, what are you eating?

Everything you ever wanted to know about the things you eat (and probably a few things you didn't want to know, too). Learn how foods affect your health and the simple changes you can make to maintain a healthier diet.

NutritionData.com has everything you need to help you watch what you eat - nutrition facts for over 1000 foods and meals (including information on protein quality, nutrient balance, glycemic load, and fullness factor), sensible diet advice, tips on supplements, healthy alternatives and an e-pantry where you can store, analyze and create recipes or meal plans and track your daily consumption.

Start by completing the Daily Needs Calculator to determine your Body Mass Index and recommended minimum consumption of calories, vitamins, minerals, carbs and proteins. Then find the foods that best suite your needs by searching for items sorted by their nutritional characteristics (like the ones highest in fat, lowest in carbs, or the best choices for weight loss). To get a little more in-depth knowledge, check out the Topics section, where you'll find info on fatty acids, dieting and weight loss, food additives and plenty of delicious, wholesome recipes.

Next, stop by the Pantry and save your favorite foods to study their nutritional value and compare them to some NutritionData.com-recommended alternatives. You can also check out a pre-loaded pantry, stocked with items great for special dietary needs such as low-carb, heart healthy, and super nutritious.

So, what are you eating? Visit Nutrition Data.com

Heat - Eat - Review

Frozen food can be quite delicious. It can also be disastrous. So don't take your chances. Before you head to the freezer section, head to HeatEatReview for the scoop on all meals microwaveable.

Most people consider themselves lucky if they have enough time to eat during the day, let alone prepare a meal from scratch. So it's not unusual for those swamped with work and other responsibilities to look to the freezer aisle for a quick cure for their hunger pangs. But little time doesn't mean little taste. Or does it? That's what the people HeatEatReview aim to find out.

Start off by reading the five star items (if you're tight on time, it's better to know what to buy than what to avoid), then work your way down. The site has product reviews for over 75 companies, from appetizers to four course meals to desserts, so finding something you'll like won't be hard. Each review includes information about ease of preparation, level of deliciousness and the item's "bang for the buck" — helpful tidbits when you're short on time and money. And they're all pretty cheeky, so you'll have fun reading about something before you enjoy eating it.

But if the ratings on HeatEatReview are any indication, there are a lot of frozen foods out there that are tough to swallow. So check out this site before getting experimental in the freezer aisle — your taste buds will thank you. Visit HeatEatReview

Excellent Fruit

While Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the New World is the most celebrated in the annals of American history, subsequent voyages also were "fruitful," particularly his second trip.
In 1493, Columbus made a stop at the island of Guadeloupe in the West Indies where he found a marvelously sweet and juicy fruit, completely unknown in Europe. The Guarani Indians, who inhabited the isle, cultivated their ananas - or "excellent fruit" for food and wine-making.














Columbus presented the strange fruit to Queen Isabella and the popularity of ananas spread quickly among the European aristocracy. The English later renamed them "pineapples" due to their resemblance to pine cones.

Messages we send to children

In my house watching TV is a privilege that must be earned with good behavior and completion of all school work and chores. The reward is 1 hr of “screen” time. Our child can choose between computer, TV, game system, or supervised Internet play. Very rarely is TV chosen and as parents, we are elated that this is “given up.”

Pre-teen programming has many issues that send our child into rages. Violence, disrespect for adults, picking on other children, and the list continues. This is just speaking of the programming and not the commercials. The commercials promote a “want” atmosphere with a sedentary life of playing games via “screens”, eating and drinking unhealthy products filled with high fructose corn syrup, dyes, and other substances that a growing mind and body can do without.

Britain is taking a step in the right direction by discontinuing all commercial that promote Junk foods with high fat, sugar and salt. Below are a two UK links on this topic:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JZGLP4G0WRRVJQFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2006/05/18/nbeans118.xml

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1951310,00.html

What lead up to this ban? Who is responsible? We need to bring those people into the US and strive for the same outcome. We would still have to deal with many other issues surrounding poor children’s programming and commercials, but promoting healthy eating for this young generation may enable these young people to live a longer and healthier life.

Many schools are stepping in the right direction by banning junk on campus. Again, Britain is taking the lead and banning all junk foods in all schools across the country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4287712.stm

Students are still able to bring junk food to school with them. In reality, this problem needs to be more closely monitored by concerned parents who are striving to raise emotionally and physically healthy children.