Food and Diet. Find daily health food tips and ideas from Dr. David Samadi. Discover healthy food for healthy living. Explore major food issues and debates related to health such as buying and cooking with organic food, genetically modified food (GMO versus Non-GMO), nutrition, dieting epidemic, obesity, disease prevention, best digestion foods.
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.
Read MoreAthletes, 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreIt’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.
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreGrocery shopping – you either love it, hate it or maybe you are somewhere in between. No matter how you feel about it, we have to eat in order to live so we might as well be good at it.
Read MoreEach day, every one of us must make choices when it comes to eating. If there is one area all of us can do our health a favor is to reduce our intake of saturated fat.
Read MoreThere 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.”
Read MoreNext 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.
Read MoreAccording to a new study, it looks like there are 10 influential foods that could make or break your risk of heart disease. Ten foods that are attributed to almost half of all heart disease deaths in the United States. Research conducted at Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy came up with this list after reviewing 16,000 individual’s surveys from 1999-2012. During that time span, the participants kept food diaries of what they ate and then were followed during that time to assess their health.
Read MoreWhile men have been warned away from soy, there are new reasons to believe it can save women's lives. A recent study from Tufts University in Massachusetts investigated the link between dietary intake of the isoflavones found in soy products and breast cancer mortality, and unearthed some surprising data.
Read MoreIf you want to make sure every chamber is loaded and you're not shooting blanks, better crack open a walnut.
Read MoreHere is a look at the current and a few past presidents’ favorite foods and how they rate nutritionally on a grading scale:
Read MoreTwo major health conditions pomegranates may have a positive effect on are prostate cancer and heart disease. Here’s how pomegranates and its juice, appear to have promising health benefits:
Read MorePeople will do whatever it takes to get the weight off fast, even if it means trying diets that are not proven to work.
Read MoreThe key is focusing on “good” fats rather than “bad” ones. Let’s take a look at the monounsaturated fats and the polyunsaturated fats that are good for our body:
Read MoreBelow are some of the most potent herbal remedies to try in this battle against stress and anxiety:
Read MoreMen and women have one thing in common when it comes to weight loss – they will do whatever it takes to get the weight off fast. One method individuals commonly resort to for fast weight loss is fad diets. Fad diets promise dramatic weight loss results but their unfounded promises usually do not result in keeping the weight off long term and are not considered a healthy way to lose unwanted pounds.
Read MoreWe are sorry to be the bearers of bad news but the best way to boost your energy is to eat well. There are no real short cuts to boosting your energy in a consistent and healthy way. Doubling up on coffee, 5-Hour energy or energy drinks will give you a boost of initial energy but lead to a crash after a few hours. This caffeine crash can leave you feeling worse and more tired than before. So try these simple lifestyle changes to increase your energy level without the caffeine:
1. Drink more water: Even slight dehydration will cause a drop in energy level. You may be surprised to know that dehydration actually makes your blood thicker, making it harder for your heart to pump oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and organs. Ultimately, this will slow you down.
2. Don’t skip breakfast: Dubbed the most important meal of the day, skipping breakfast can often lead to fatigue throughout the rest of the day. Breakfast is the best way to boost the metabolism after a night of sleep. Why? Because the body burns food and nutrients even as we sleep, leaving our reserves depleted by morning. A meal shortly after waking up is important to replenish this depleted energy and energize the body.
3. Disconnect from your electronics: One of the most important ways to maximize your energy is to get a good night’s sleep. The light given off by our electronics – our phones, TVs and tablets - can actually throw off our sleep cycles. Your body works like this: ‘if it’s bright it’s time to get up, if it’s dark it’s time for sleep.’ Our body treats artificial light the same as it would natural sunlight. The glow from our tech devices can keep us awake for longer and make it difficult for our bodies to wind down.
4. Skip the drink before bed: It’s a common habit many adults enjoy, an alcoholic drink after a long day of work to unwind before bed. Seems like a great idea, except that alcohol can actually interrupt your sleep at night. Initially, alcohol will depress your nervous system and produce a tranquilizing effect helping you to fall asleep. However as it is broken down as you sleep, it gives the body a surge of energy, likely to wake you up at night.
5. Don’t change your sleep schedule because it’s the weekend: Altering your sleep cycle on the weekends can leave you feeling tired by the time Monday rolls around. Obviously, it is unrealistic to expect people to get to bed early on the weekends, but trying to stay close to your regular bed times can be helpful. If you can’t stay near your regular bedtime, sticking to the same wake time is essential for your body to feel regular and stay energetic throughout the day.
