Nature’s brain foods

Nature’s brain foods

It’s the little things like forgetting someone’s name or needing to constantly write yourself reminder notes.  For the time being most of us just chalk it up to getting older but those common lapses of memory we all tend to share could also signal a future cognitive decline.  What most of us fear is dementia, a catch-all term for a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to perform everyday activities.  We fear the cognitive decline could be a symptom of the worst of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease.

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Heart attacks, stroke reduced after banning trans fats

Heart attacks, stroke reduced after banning trans fats

It appears the ban on trans fats that began in July 2007 in certain areas of the nation are doing what it was meant to do – reduce heart disease.  A new study led by a team at Yale University and published in the journal of JAMA Cardiology, has found since that ban, heart attacks and stroke have fallen by more than 6 percent three years after New York City and some counties within the state banned them.

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Anorexia and Celiac Disease: A Link?

Anorexia and Celiac Disease: A Link?

Many young women struggle with anorexia nervosa for reasons that remain unclear. Biological, psychological and even environmental factors – Western culture's unhealthy obsession with being thin – all have their own camps and adherents. But new findings that link anorexia to celiac disease may finally shed some definitive light on the eating disorder which affects 1 in 200 American women.

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Be kind to your heart and stop ‘yo-yo’ dieting

Be kind to your heart and stop ‘yo-yo’ dieting

If only weight loss was easy.  For some it can be but for most it can be a perplexing conundrum of lose weight, gain it back, repeat – lose weight, gain it back, repeat.  This rhythmic pattern of weight cycling is affectionately referred to as ‘yo-yo’ dieting.  We’ve all heard of the term and some of us may have experienced the up and down weight scale ride where we lose weight only to quickly and expectedly regain it back.

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7 best food eats for athletes

7 best food eats for athletes

Athletes, whether weekend or pro, what to know what foods are best for enhancing athletic performance, help speed up recovery and build muscle mass.  There are certain foods that have scientifically been shown to appear to have that athletic enhancing ability helping a person reach their peak performance. 

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Mediterranean diet linked to less brain shrinkage with age

Mediterranean diet linked to less brain shrinkage with age

One more reason to follow a Mediterranean diet – it could prevent the brain from shrinking in old age thus helping to slow down or prevent cognitive decline.    A new study published in the journal Neurology suggests there is an association between consuming foods typically consumed within a Mediterranean dietary pattern and a reduced amount of brain shrinkage.  Several studies have already demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet can result in having better thinking skills, a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.  

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The truth behind 5 common food myths

The truth behind 5 common food myths

Discerning between food truths and food myths is really hard sometimes.  There is a multitude of some excellent nutrition advice to extremely bad to downright dangerous nutrition advice.  As a consumer and partaker of food (we all are), knowing the truth of how to follow a healthy, nutritious diet can get lost in the shuffle of nutrition myths that have grown exponentially over the years. 

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Walk on the wild side with funky fruits

Walk on the wild side with funky fruits

The saying goes “variety is the spice of life” and boy, are they not kidding when it comes to fruits.  When we look beyond bananas, apples, and oranges, we’ll find there is a wide world of weird and wonderful fruit just waiting to be discovered.  These exotic and unique-looking produce may not be found in all grocery stores but they often are more widely available at Asian, Latin and gourmet supermarkets or from online specialty produce purveyors. 

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7 foods perfect for creating satiety

7 foods perfect for creating satiety

It’s a commonality we all share – finding healthy foods that create a full but not a stuffed feeling.  What we are really looking for are foods giving us a feeling of satiety - the perception of fullness that lingers in the hours after a meal and keeps us from eating until the next mealtime.

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Get good gut health with prebiotics and probiotics

Get good gut health with prebiotics and probiotics

We all want our gut to feel good.  No one wants a gut that is in constant turmoil possibly leading to serious conditions of Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, obesity or rheumatoid arthritis.  What our gut is trying to tell us when these diseases arise is that the gut’s microbiome, partly inherited from your mother at birth and partly determined by your lifestyle, have a great deal of influence on our health. 

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6 foods that are belly bloating instigators

6 foods that are belly bloating instigators

Nothing is more annoying than experiencing belly bloat.  Even though bloating is capable of making you feel puffy and uncomfortable plus making it just about impossible to zip up your skinny jeans, it usually is not serious.  It can be due to a variety of things – eating too fast or too much or drinking through a straw.  All of these actions can lead to gas buildup in the tummy and that can spell trouble.

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Quiz – what do you really know about protein?

Quiz – what do you really know about protein?

High protein diets continue to ride high their reign as a super nutrient.  Yes, protein is an invaluable nutrient as it does a ton of various functions within our body.  But how much do you really know about protein and if you were to take a quiz on your knowledge about it, would you pass?  Let’s find out:

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Foods that may be triggering your migraine

Foods that may be triggering your migraine

There is no mistaking if you are having a migraine. The excruciating, throbbing head pain usually occurring on one side, extreme sensitivity to light, touch, sounds or smells, blurred vision along with nausea or vomiting can go on for hours.  The draining experience of one can be so exhausting that after the migraine has passed, a person may suffer from a “migraine hangover.”

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25 ideas to fill your plate with more fruits and veggies

25 ideas to fill your plate with more fruits and veggies

Next time you sit down to a meal notice how many fruits and veggies you have on your plate.  Is half of it filled with these disease fighting foods?  That’s what more of us need to do according to MyPlate.gov and they are right.  If you want to be a healthy person getting in the various vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals our bodies need for nourishment and protection against chronic illness, the answer is staring you right in the face every time you walk by the produce aisle at the grocery store. 

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