Healthy eating for you and your pet is one and the same

” ‘Now made with whole grain and fruits and vegetables .’ Look Mya, your food is just like what I’m supposed to be eating,” I said to my little cat.

Reinforcing my point is Natural Defense. I attended their launch event last week and learned this new line of food and snacks for dogs is loaded with ingredients such as flaxseed, whole grains and green tea extract. “The same natural extracts benefit dogs in a simliar way,” says food and nutrition trend expert Amy Snider-Whitson.

The variety of vitamins, minerals and extracts in Natural Defense have all been scientifically proven by vets and pet nutritionists to boost a dog’s health in terms of their immune system, digestion, oral, skin/coat and joint health. All I know is that if the products boost a dog’s health half as much as I enjoyed the meal we ate inspired by some of the same ingredients, courtesy of Daniel et Daniel Catering, your dog will be living the good life. (I’m still salivating over the green-tea creme brulee! At my table we were all convinced the addition of green tea cancelled out the fatty cream and sugar of the dessert. That’s how it works, right? 🙂 ).

P.S. I was kind of hoping that the swag bag would include a puppy. Alas, it did not. Would’ve been the perfect excuse to come home with one (I’ve been trying to convince G. for years that we need to add a pup to our abode).

P.P.S. The food photography is courtesy of food writer/stylist/chef Signe Langford. Check out her blog An Eater’s Digest.

2 Comments February 8, 2010

When superfoods aren’t so super

Antioxidants may not be the miracle they’re being made out to be and they may sometimes even impair your muscle function, according to new findings from Kansas State University. The study found that an overdose of antioxidants can throw off the balance of pro-oxidants in the body — pro-oxidants that actually help blood cells flow properly, which will affect how well the blood transports oxygen to the muscles. Which, in terms of symptoms may have older folks feeling out of breath quickly when exercising and experiencing stiff, sore muscles.

Leave a Comment January 28, 2010

Make it mango

Consider regularly picking up a few mangoes on your grocery trips — a study by Texas Agrilife Research examined the five most common varieties in the U.S. (Kent, Francine, Ataulfo, Tommy/Atkins and Haden) and found that mango polyphenol extracts prevented or stopped cancer growth in certain breast and colon cell lines.

Curious about the pesticide load of mangoes (I was wondering whether it’s a fruit I should consider buying the organic version of), I just checked the Enviromental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides and mangoes rank low on the list: #43 of 47 fruits and veggies.

4 Comments January 13, 2010