Blog 3: Healthier Eating for the Month of January

Hey there fellow bloggers, and welcome to the really rushed version of my blog as I try to complete this before the end of 6th period. I would give you some answer that I intended to do this sooner or something, but I was just being lazy.

Anyways, if you've seen my previous blogs, you know what the table on the right is. For the uninitiated, I essentially keep track of all the healthy foods in my book, and put them into an excel spreadsheet. The foods may look similar to the previous month, which can be chalked up to laziness and ease of access to certain foods.. There's not much to say here, other than that remembering to consistently go out and get these mentioned foods can be quit the hassle (as you can see by some of my missed days.)

Highlight - Bananas

According to Jonny Bowden, the author of my IRP book, "Bananas are convenient and relatively low in calories (about 100 calories per banana). And let's not forget the major role potassium plays in the body, helping to maintain cell integrity, fluid and electrolyte balance, and, most important, a steady heartbeat" (Bowden 111). In addition to the low calories and high amount of potassium, Bananas also contain a high amount of fiber. Specifically, bananas contain Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), a fiber that greatly helps the bacteria in your stomach break down food. So, in addition to all the health benefits, bananas also help you breakdown the nutrients in other healthy foods that you may consume. In addition to this, the superstition that bananas have high amounts of sugar, is just that: a superstition. While they do contain some sugar, it's far less than you might think, as the glycemic load of the average banana is only 10. 

Highlight - Tea

Now, being British, I consume a lot of tea (as you can see by my excel chart,) so I was overjoyed to see all the health benefits of it. According to Jonny Bowden, "The key to health benefits of tea can be found in a large group of protective plant based chemicals generally known as phenolic compounds, or polyphenols. Plyphenols, like other antioxidants, help protect cells from the normal, but damaging physiological process known as oxidative stress" (Bowden 298). In addition to this, tea can help prevent both strokes and heart attacks, can fight cancer, can help blood vessels function, etc. Not only is a cup of tea recommended daily for health benefits, but it tastes good as well. (Also, as a side note, the tea I'm referring to is bagged tea, as opposed to tea leaves.)

Welcome to the end of this blog. Please, be sure to comment, (or don't, cause then I would have less work to do,) and leave your feedback below. Stay tuned for my next blog where I highlight 2 much different foods on my next blog, as apposed to the typical things I've reviewed so far.