Creamy Snacks

Here is the latest email from Dr. Jacobs.

Creamy Snacks That Boost Your Health

Next time you're yearning for something rich and creamy, your health is in luck. Three treats that satisfy creamy cravings actually help the rest of your body, too:

• The smooth, tangy, always-ready snack: yogurt. A diet rich in low-fat dairy foods, such as yogurt (no sugar added, please!), curbs the risk of high blood pressure by as much as 31%. That's likely due to the blood-pressure-friendly minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Aim for a little low-fat dairy at every meal. Maximum blood pressure protection is achieved with 4 1/2 servings of low-fat dairy daily.

• The creamy treat everyone loves: peanut butter. Women with type 2 diabetes who eat at least five servings of peanut butter and mixed nuts each week have a dramatically lower risk for cardiovascular disease than other women. In fact, a 45% lower risk, according to researchers. Those five weekly 1-ounce helpings (weekly; not daily!) seem to help knock down total and lousy LDL cholesterol levels, too. Nutrients in peanuts and other nuts may help hearts by reducing inflammation. They may also help your body use insulin better.

• The freezer treat we love to eat: mashed frozen bananas. Bananas have a bonanza of nutrients that help keep your blood pressure in the ideal zone, strengthen your bones, dim your risk of certain cancers, and may even help your mood. When bananas start getting overripe, freeze them (whole in their skins; peeled and sealed in plastic wrap; or peeled and chunked up into air-tight plastic bags). When you need a creamy-sweet treat, mash and slurp. We YOU Docs would snack on these all the time (along with frozen grapes) if we could just remember to freeze them.