The Starkel Nutrition Blog
The latest from the expert team of nutritionists at Starkel Nutrition to help you live healthier, vibrant, and fuller lives.
Protein Needs for the Elderly
There’s no denying that we get wiser with age. However, our bodies also go through less endearing changes including the loss of muscle mass which speeds up in our 60s and 70s. Reduced lean body mass during aging leads to decreases in total body protein and can...
Nuts About Nuts!
You can eat them plain, add them to a plenty of delicious dishes, use nut flour to make baked goods, or make your own nut milk and nut butters. When it comes to nuts, the possibilities are endless. These little fruits are amazingly versatile, and come in many...
When it snows, we’re still here! Starkel Nutrition is open on snow days
Eat the Seasons: February’s Finest Seasonal Produce from Washington
Throughout the year, fruits and vegetables go in and out of season, affecting their price, nutritional quality, and flavor. We Washingtonians are lucky enough to benefit from some of the best local winter produce available. This weekend, stock up on February’s finest...
Ashwagandha – What is an adaptogen?
Ashwagandha, an herbal supplement used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine, has been getting a lot of attention lately for its wide variety of health benefits. The ashwagandha plant grows natively in India, North Africa and the Middle East and its root is what is most...
Choose Dark Chocolate for a More Nutritious Treat
Hot or cold, bitter or sweet, crunchy or creamy, the universal allure of chocolate is undeniable. The cacao-obsession started with the Aztecs and Mayans who drank it hot for its revitalizing effects on the body. Today’s hot chocolate hardly resembles that pure, bitter...
Tips for Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions
January of 2017 is underway, New Year’s resolutions have been made, and now is the time to get down to the business of keeping them. Keeping resolutions is, of course, the most challenging part. Life can get busy and old habits die hard, but here are 6 tips to help...
New Foods for the New Year
In this first month of the year, our thoughts are often on improving ourselves and our health. These improvements tend to focus on the “bad” habits or foods that need to be eliminated. There are certainly things in our lives and diets that our bodies would be better...
Are Organic Apples Really Better?
The “organic” title is reserved for foods that have been produced through approved methods that foster the cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. While an organic product is not necessarily superior nutritionally over a...
“Spiralizing” Technique: Get Creative with Your Veggies
Are you looking for creative ways to get more vegetables in your diet? Are you eating Paleo or low carbohydrate, but missing eating your favorite pasta dishes? If you said yes to either of these questions then you may want to try “spiralizing” your vegetables....
A Burst of Citrus Recipe: Winter Citrus Salad with Mint
Winter meals are hearty and satisfying, but can leave a desire for something bright and fresh to balance out the flavors and textures. Citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, and grapefruits are juiciest, sweetest and freshest during the winter months. In the past,...
Tis the Season for Traveling
December has arrived and with it the season for good cheer, good friends, great food...and travel. AAA estimates that about 90 million Americans will be travelling more than 50 miles to celebrate the holiday season with loved ones. If you happen to be one of these...
Eating Fat for Health
When you hear the word fat, what do you think? For many people they might think, “It makes you fat!” “Fat is bad!” “My mom always bought non-fat because she was trying to lose weight…now I’m afraid of it!” But how accurate are these beliefs? Let’s talk a little bit...
Diet Soda’s Downfall
Unless you have had your head in the sand or living in major denial – you have heard that diet soda is purportedly bad for us. Perhaps as bad as its sugar-laden counterpart. How can this be? Why can’t we substitute diet soda for regular soda and reap the benefit of...
Nutrition Labels Getting a New Look
If the Nutrition Facts Panel is a place you’re accustomed to checking when making food choices, then watch out for some significant changes to nutrition labels in the near future, as companies have until Summer 2018 to adopt the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA)...
Boost Your Winter Wellness with Beets
Winter farmers markets in the Seattle area are brimming full of these beautiful, nutritious, vibrantly colored root vegetables - beets! Packed with potassium, magnesium, fiber, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B, C, beta carotene, folic acid, and antioxidants, eating...
Tips for Endurance Exercise Fueling
Many people enjoy long-distance endurance sports or exercise. At this time of year the crisp air sets the perfect tone for relishing the outdoors. Snowflakes may be drifting through the sky as well, but rain is more likely. Running, biking and cross-country skiing can...
Is it time to toss your microwave?
I live in a very small space and have an old Kenmore microwave/convection oven that I’ve been cooking in for years. This oven came with my home and I have no way of knowing if it is older than my adult children, but I suspect it may be. Over the years I’ve wondered...
Snack Smarter: Healthy Snack Ideas to Get You Through Your Day Plus, a recipe!
When three o’clock rolls around, I almost always find myself in need of a little pick me up. To avoid reaching for chips or cookies I try to keep plenty of healthy snack options on hand, and I also make sure to stay hydrated throughout the day so that I don’t mistake...
Visceral Fat: What is it and what does it mean for your health?
Fat may just seem like a harmless annoyance that we want to get rid of in order to look better in our clothing and swimsuits. However, it has proven to have a massive impact on our health, specifically the fat that we cannot see, called visceral fat. There is another...
Getting Through The Darker Days of Winter
In the Northwest, we face an especially dark (and usually damp) winter. From November through March the days are short and the sky is gray. Even if you are one who appreciates this season, it is hard not to feel the emotional and physical effects of the darkness....