Bringing wholesome healthy tips
One of the first posts I ever wrote here was all about how bad sugar is for your heart, and about the sneaky ways the sugar industry was trying to hide this. They still do. The fact is, if you’re getting more than 25 percent of your daily calories from sugar, you’re a heart attack waiting to happen. But more recent research is telling us that what really matters is…
Whether or not drinking wine is good for your heart has been the focus of a mountain of research over the past decade — with confusing findings. While numerous studies have reported that consuming wine in moderation can reduce the risk of heart disease, almost as many have reported the opposite — that even small amounts of alcohol increase cardiovascular risks. That’s left us all in the uncomfortable position of…
When my elderly friend first started having digestive problems, she told her doctor about them. He dismissed them as “stress” and told her to work on ways of calming herself down. Two years went by. Despite adopting a regimen of yoga and meditation and switching to a gluten-free diet, her digestive problems got worse. She lost too much weight and could barely leave the house. So, she went to a…
I’ve had two friends die of stomach cancer in the past five years. Both were barely past 50 years old. Sadly, they are not the exception. The number of people in their fifties and younger who are falling victim to gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, particularly bowel cancer, has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Two large studies, however, indicate simple changes can help any of us avoid becoming another statistic……
Autoimmune conditions or diseases are the result of an immune system gone haywire. Instead of your immune system engaging to protect you from a threat, it begins attacking the body, as if it can no longer differentiate between an invader, like a pathogen, or your body’s tissues or organs. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a painful autoimmune disease that attacks the joints. People with RA experience joint stiffness, swelling and pain.…
I confess I have a sweet tooth, one that I try to manage by sticking with healthy treats like fruit. But once or twice a week I allow myself to have a serving (or two) of one of my favorite sweets — dark chocolate. One reason is that research has uncovered a host of health benefits related to dark chocolate— like reducing heart disease and stroke risks. It also lowers blood pressure,…
Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD and Helen Kollias, PhD It’s like my thoughts were under a pile of garbage. On a Friday night, as my husband and I tried to figure out where to eat, a typical conversation would go like this: Me: Do you want to go to that restaurant? Him: What restaurant? Me: I can’t think of the name. We’ve eaten there before. It’s that place…
Like many people, I start my day with a hot cup of antioxidant-rich coffee. It helps me warm up, wake up and get my engine revved for the day ahead. In fact, my husband jokes that without my coffee I wouldn’t be able to survive. As it turns out, his little joke might not be too far off the mark… That’s because a comprehensive review of coffee research has revealed…
If you’ve been a health nut for any length of time, you certainly know about the benefits of omega-3 essential fatty acids. You may hear less about them, but omega-6’s have their benefits as well, although with a few caveats. In any event, it won’t surprise you to hear that research has uncovered a way that both of these fatty acids may protect us from the most dreaded disease of…
Drink eight cups of water a day. You’ve probably heard the mantra and may even follow it. But what is all that water doing, other than improving hydration and increasing bathroom trips? Some research has indicated it can help us lose weight, live longer and maintain good heart health. But there hasn’t really been one study that’s looked specifically at the impact of water on health — until now. Their…