Magnesium is good for bone health and more!!

Magnesium is a vital catalyst in enzyme activity and assists in calcium and potassium uptake. A definciency of magnesium interferes with the transmission of nerve and muscle impluses. This can cause irritability,nervousness, headaches, osteoporsis, and irregular heartbeats. Supplementing your diet with magnesium can help prevent depression, dizziness, muscle weakness, twitching and PMS. It can also help in maintaining the body's proper pH balance.

The Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board recommended daily allowance is 310-320 mg for women over age 19 and 400-420 mg for men the same age. Good sources of magnesium are found in:
- spinach
- black beans
- peanut butter
- almonds
- baked potato with skin on

How to Navigate through your Supermarkets for healthy food.

Commerical Supermarkets are designed and laid out to get consumers to buy things they may not have opted for when planning their food shopping trip. It's helpful to know where the dangers lie and where you you can find the healthiest food.

Here are some healthful strategies:
1. Beware of foods placed at eye level. Foods are strategically placed to promote consumers to purchase. "Research - lots of it- shows that what you see is what you buy", states professor Marion Nestle of University of New York. Beware of these eye level foods.

2. Skip End of Aisle Displays. Most of the time these displays are promoting junk food.

3. Beware of the Bakery and the bulk items in Corrals (chocolate covered nuts, candy, etc). Bakery items are intended to enhance our senses but be sure to read the labels. Often bakery goods are loaded with fat and sugar.

4. Start with the Perimeter. The freshest fruits and vegetables and the least processed foods with be around the perimeter of your market. Start at the perimeter and enter the aisles only for specific items on your food list.

Serving Sizes: What do they look like?

We are told to read the labels on our packages and encouraged to stick to single servings but what does a serving size look like and how does it differ from a portion?

According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute a portion refers to the amount of food you choose to eat. A Serving is used to describe the recommended amount of food you should eat at a given meal.

To give you a clearer picture here are some visual examples of what a serving really looks like:

One Serving: Visual Example:
1 Baked Potato; fist
1 Cup Salad Greens; baseball
1/2 Cup cooked rice of pasta; 1/2 baseball
1 1/2 ounces of cheese; 4 stacked dice
1 Cup cereal flakes; fist
1 Pancake; compact disk
1 Teaspoon margarine; 1 dice
3 Ounces of Meat; deck of cards
2 Tablespoons peanut butter; table tennis ball

Next time you are out eating and wondering how many servings you are consuming picture the visual example. Remember, healthy eating is all about moderation.