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Resources from the professionals — including cooking tips, food preparation, and safety in the kitchen — are available to help you create healthy and tasty meals for your residents.

Food Facts

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Misleading Claims on Packaged Food

Common Claims and What They Actually Mean Consumers are more health-conscious than ever, so some food manufacturers use misleading tricks to convince people to buy highly processed and unhealthy products. Health claims on packaged food are designed to catch your attention and convince you that the product is healthy. Here are some of the most […]

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Be Sodium-Smart

Make Informed Decisions Despite what many people think, most dietary sodium (over 70%) comes from eating packaged and prepared foods — not from the salt shaker. Even though sodium may already be in many packaged foods when you purchase them, you can lower your daily sodium intake by using the Nutrition Facts label. Know the […]

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Food Processing and Nutrient Loss

Freezing, Drying, Cooking, and Reheating Nearly every food preparation process reduces the amount of nutrients in food. In particular, processes that expose foods to high levels of heat, light, and/or oxygen cause the greatest nutrient loss. Nutrients can also be “washed out” of foods by fluids that are introduced during a cooking process. For example, […]

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Meat-Grilling Tips

Reducing the Amount of HCAs and PAHs Outdoor grilling is a popular cooking method, primarily because of the wonderful taste it imparts on meats. It can also be a healthy alternative to other cooking methods, because some of the meat’s saturated fat content is reduced by the grilling process. However, grilling also presents a health […]

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Top 5 Foods for Eye Health

Whole Foods with Synergistic Healing Effects Do your eyes have all the nutrients they need to help prevent cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma, and other sight woes? Read on to learn about the top foods for eye health. But don’t count on popping a pill to get these nutrients — your best sources of vitamins and […]

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Functional Foods

What Is a Functional Food, Exactly? Magazine articles and news reports tout the benefits of eating “functional foods,” which they claim can do everything from reducing cholesterol to preventing conditions such as heart disease or cancer. At the grocery store, you’ll find plenty of breakfast cereals, yogurts and nut butters with similar health benefits proclaimed […]

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The Link Between Inflammation and Chronic Diseases Inflammation is a sign that the immune system is fighting infection. The infection may be related to germs, wounds, allergens, toxins or other causes. Typically, we think of signs of inflammation as redness, swelling, and pain. But, sometimes inflammation can happen within our bodies. Someone with bronchitis has […]

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Preventing Cross-Contact

Cross-Contamination vs. Cross-Contact Food poisoning often is what comes to mind when you hear the words home food safety. But for the 15 million Americans with food allergies, 3 million with celiac disease, and many more with other sensitivities, avoiding contact with an offending food is every bit as much of a concern. Coming into […]

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Food Allergies and Intolerances

Food Intolerances vs. Food Allergies Each year, millions of Americans have allergic reactions to food. Although slightly more common in young children and in people who have a family history, most food allergies develop early in life and many are outgrown. Food allergies occur when your body’s immune system reacts to a substance in a […]

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The Glycemic Index

What is the Glycemic Index? The glycemic index, simply put, is a measure of how quickly a food causes our blood sugar levels to rise. The measure ranks food on a scale of 0 to 100. Foods with a high glycemic index, or GI, are quickly digested and absorbed, causing a rapid rise in blood […]

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Serving Size vs. Portion Size

What’s the Difference? When it comes to deciding how much to eat, the terms serving size and portion size are often used interchangeably. However, they don’t mean the same thing. Serving size is a standardized amount of food. It may be used to quantify recommended amounts or represent quantities that people typically consume on a […]

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Tricky Food Labels

Shop Smart with These Label Tips It seems like every time you turn around, companies are adding a new claim to their product packaging. So how can you decipher all these crazy assertions, much less separate the useful ones from the misdirection? Why, with this handy-dandy guide, of course! All-Natural This means that everything in […]

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