Bringing wholesome healthy tips
If you’re one of the 34 million people in the U.S. living with diabetes, it can be challenging to figure out what kind of diet works best for you. You already know you should avoid sugar-laden foods like soda, flavored yogurt, candy, cookies, pastries, frozen desserts and most packaged cereals. But there are foods long touted as healthier versions of their simple-carb cousins — like sweet potatoes, brown rice and…
There’s no question that physical activity has a huge impact on our health. From keeping our hearts healthy and cholesterol in check to controlling blood sugar, staying active makes it more likely we’ll live better, healthier and longer. And possibly best of all, exercise has been shown to have powerful cancer-fighting properties. However, while the recommendation has been to get up and get moving to keep cancer at bay, the…
Carrying that proverbial “spare tire” around makes you a heart attack or stroke just waiting to happen. But did you know it also sets you up for Alzheimer’s disease? Past research has shown us that carrying too much weight around the middle, that proverbial “spare tire,” is a warning sign that dementia could be in your future. Well, now we know why. It turns out that the type of fat…
Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve learned that COVID-19 isn’t just another respiratory disease. Every step of the way, researchers and frontline healthcare workers discovered new and frightening surprises about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, how it attacks and how it sickens and wreaks havoc on the body. And it didn’t end there… Perhaps one of the most unique and worrisome aspects of a COVID-19 infection is the realization that once…
As an adult, I’ve been coming around to the idea of leaving the skin on fruits and vegetables I would normally peel, like carrots, apples, potatoes, pears, beets and certain types of squash. It saves on prep time and gives the vegetables an appealingly rustic look. Plus, leaving the skins on adds a nice shot of fiber to my meals. Fiber is a disease-prevention powerhouse that benefits the bowel by…
Essential oils have long been used to help us feel better both physically and emotionally. In fact, certain oils have been used to speed wound healing, while others have been found to help lower blood pressure. Some essential oils have even demonstrated the ability to attack the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. And of course, we probably all know someone who has used an essential oil, like lavender, to help…
Of all the vitamins in the “vitamin alphabet,” vitamin K is a relative newcomer. It wasn’t discovered until the 1920s and 1930s. It’s also not a vitamin we talk about a lot. But a vitamin K deficiency, while rare, puts us at risk for some life-threatening conditions. Vitamin K is needed to produce prothrombin, a protein that makes our blood clot. Without prothrombin, we’d bleed to death from a simple…
Years of exposure to the ultra-violet (UV) rays from the sun can leave dark spots on your skin, especially if you have a pale complexion. They are often referred to as age spots, sun spots or liver spots. But their cause is the same: UV ray exposure speeds up the production of the natural pigment melanin, which provides color to your skin. It’s also known as hyperpigmentation. If you have…
It can be upsetting to find out you’ve inherited a genetic mutation that makes developing certain types of cancer much more likely. Taking steps to help prevent cancer suddenly seems futile — after all, you can’t alter your genes (although science is working on that). But as we’ve noted in earlier issues, there’s mounting evidence that following a healthy lifestyle can offer those genetically predisposed to specific cancers such as…
Are potatoes a healthy food? I wish I could simply answer yes or no, but potatoes are a bit complicated. This is mainly because potatoes have one of the highest glycemic index values of any food — higher than both table sugar and high fructose corn syrup. So, when you eat them, your blood sugar levels jump, which in turn causes your blood insulin concentrations to increase. When that happens…