Better health starts with better facts (great infographs!)

Improving your health starts with improving your knowledge.

To that end, I discovered some cool and helpful infographics, revealing information about how, what and when we eat -- and how that affects our health. Designed by Column Five (under Creative Commons), sponsored by MassiveHealth, makers of the Eatery app for the iPhone.

Here are just a few snapshots from the wealth of data they've unraveled. Note: in all examples, there's more data than I'm showing here. Hit the original site if you're a data geek. Or infograph afficianado.

Think that bacon and eggs for breakfast will make you fatter than a bagel with low fat cream cheese? Think again; this chart explains what happens to fat and carbs inside your body:

You've heard that eating breakfast is important; this chart shows the difference in portion size for the rest of the day in breakfast eaters vs. breakfast skippers:

And I've had a theory that the reason any diet works in the beginning is because just about any diet is healthier that a no-holds-barred approach. Turns out the data agrees:

Other charts include:

- What effect your friends' eating habits have on your eating habits.

- What days of the week we tend to eat healthy -- or not.

- How eating at home compares to eating out.

In case you skipped the second paragraph, I'll say it again: There's more data than I'm showing here. Hit the original site if you're a data geek. Or infograph afficianado. Or you just want to improve your health.

Homemade olive oil butter spread

photo by Kitchen Simplicity

I recently got some not-so-great news about my cholesterol, so I'm trying to cut back on dairy fat. We use real butter -- I always trust a "whole food" more than a food full of man-made chemicals -- but still, it is dairy fat. So I was happy to see this recipe from Kitchen Simplicity, which replaces part of the butter with healthy, monounsaturated, Omega-3-rich olive oil! 

I tried this afternoon. It's quick and easy to whip up, and it is nice and spreadable straight out of the fridge, like margarine. She says it doesn't taste like olive oil once you spread it on toast. I disagree, so I wouldn't use it for cinnamon toast. But with the strong influence of Mediterranean tastes in Wichita restaurants (mostly Lebanese), it's not unusual to be served bread before a meal with a dipping sauce of olive oil and zahtar (or za'atar) seasoning, so when I tasted this spread on whole wheat toast, that's what I thought of. And I just happen to have some in the cabinet, so I sprinkled a little on. Mmm!

Olive Oil Butter Spread

• 1 cup softened (not melted) unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or half this, if using salted butter)

Whip butter until loose. Slowly beat in olive oil, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally, until fully incorporated and smooth (mixture will be runny). Beat in salt. Pour into storage container and refrigerate until set.

Here's the original post from Kitchen Simplicity.