Crazy about Vitamin C!

The benefits that come from you morning glass of orange juice may be profound. Vitamin C may protect against heart disease, cancer, memory loss and wrinkles. Vitamin C, long championed for its cold fighting attributes (and ability to protect sailors and pirates from scurvy), has a wealth of other positives.

Here is a page from vitamin C’s resume, as well as a few suggestions how you can up your dose, without overdoing the citrus aisle.

Smile! How to Keep your Teeth Happy and Healthy

Ever wonder, halfway through your sister’s famous cashew double caramel popcorn crunch, how much damage you’re causing your teeth? Let’s just say your dentist would not be proud. So what are the noshing and flossing habits of the toothy grinned and fabulous? You might be able to prolong oral hygiene by your diet, and keep tooth decay and periodontal disease at bay by not only your brushing and flossing habits, but also by your eating and post-eating habits.

What Mice & Worms Know About Eating That Could Help You Longer

What do mice, round worms and people have in common?
The FoxA 1, 2, 3, genome sequence, which could be responsible for appetite response and consequently, longevity. In a recent study, scientists identified that this gene significantly promoted the longevity of roundworms by prompting them to eat less. Scientists are now working hard to see if this finding can lead to a drug that promotes human longevity by restricting caloric consumption. What can we learn from these worms and mice, and how were they studied?

Need help with helpings?

You’re not alone!

Is it what you eat or how you eat it, that makes the biggest dent on weight, health and longevity? In a recent survey, more than half the participants believed that what you eat makes a bigger difference than how you eat. Blue Zones research proves otherwise. It’s not what, but how, that might positively affect weight, health and longevity.

Okinawans eat on small dishes to remind themselves to stop eating when they are 80% full. The problem for me is I have a inner fat man that won’t let me stop until he’s had his full. And he prefers to eat to 110% percent satiety. So what to do if you, like me, aren’t as disciplined as Okinawan elders? Here are three simple tricks to downsize servings without loosing your mind.

 

How to Create a Healthier Pantry

Given the option between chocolate cake and broccoli I'd opt for cake of course.

Working from home, when hunger pangs strike I will turn to my kitchen with all the relish of a cat nip crazed kitten. Fridge beware, I must have your contents. That is why it's especially helpful to remember your not going to eat it unless you buy it at the grocery store. All our meal choices start at the same place. What to do next time you venture into the land of fresh, fish and chocolaty delicious? Here are five tips for stocking up and staying healthy. One brown bag at a time.

 

 

Beet Salad Recipe

I'm pretty into beets right now.

It started at the grocery store when I encountered my first yellow beet salad in the deli aisle. Did you know they made yellow beets? Much like discovering Jessica Alba was pregnant way after the trend broke, I am sure this is nothing new to anyone (except me).

In honor of this newfangled favorite food of mine, I’ve included a simple, spring beet salad.

Ingredients
4 large yellow beets
1 large shallot
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh, minced rosemary and thyme
1/4 cup goat cheese

Directions
Put the yellow beets in a shallow, ceramic roasting pan and add a small amount of water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. The beets will be slightly soft but still firm. Remove from the oven; remove foil and let the beets cool. When cool, peel and cut into 1/2" cubes.
Put the beets in a big bowl. Mix in the remaining ingredients and serve.

It’s goodness from the Earth: Okinawan sweet potatoes

Want to eat like the long-lived Okinawans? Sweet potatoes made up a core part of their diet, and the hearty crop helped stave off starvation. Dieticians know that potatoes offer many health benefits, including fiber and antioxidants. The purple color of the Okinawan sweet potato’s flesh makes it easy to create visually stunning dishes.

The magazine Asiance featured the Okinawan variety, with its purple flesh. To broaden your dessert options, check out their recipe for Okinawan sweet potato pie. The article also breaks down the differences between yams and sweet potatoes. Happy eating!

The sustainability of Blue Zone diets

If you have been following the posts on Blue Zones populations, you know that their diets are heavy on fruits and vegetables and light on animal protein. We know that’s good for your health, and it turns out to also be good for the Earth.

Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute has published their 2008 “State of the World” report, and it highlights the ecological costs of eating animal protein. Science News covered the report, noting:

 

Industrial meat production and fish harvests have dropped the economic cost of animal proteins in recent decades. But much of that fiscal savings has come at the expense of the environment. Wastes are not captured and destroyed or recycled. They're allowed to run into the ground or waterways, degrading ecosystems all along the way. These are costs that are not captured in traditional accounting.

Meat also carries an environmental cost when you compare eating it to eating grains or beans. It takes more energy to create 100 calories of chicken or beef than it does to grow 100 calories of soybeans. Keep eating a plant-based diet. Our Earth will thank you.

 

FEATURE: Auditioning for Jeopardy? Eat your veggies!

	A Sardinian elder: daily activity and a plant-based diet help keep him sharp.

Think upping your veggie intake has no bearing on your mental health and cognitive functioning? Wrong!

A plant-based diet may be linked to more than a slim waistline and a great way to get much needed vitamins and nutrients. There is convincing scientific evidence that eating a well balanced diet filled with fruits and vegetables might prevent against age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia. An article in the Annals of the New York Academy of Science highlights how a diet high in fruits, vegetables, fiber rich cereals and omega-3 rich fish may reduce dementia risk.

Diabetic?
Diabetic adults are especially sensitive to foods with respect to cognitive function. An article on the website Science Daily explains “Specifically, an adult with diabetes will experience a decline in memory function after a meal, especially if simple carbohydrate foods are consumed. While the precise physiological mechanisms underlying these dietary influences are not completely understood, the modulation of brain insulin levels likely contributes.” What may prevent this decline? Healthy eating choices are a good way to moderate brain insulin levels and also a great way to maintain a healthy weight and decrease the risk of obesity-associated disorders.

The dollars and sense of eating well

Two things here, which may seem unrelated but really are closely connected. First: it isn’t your imagination – healthy foods tend to cost more. When researchers went to Seattle-area groceries to test that hypothesis, what they found surprised them.

But when the researchers checked prices at numerous stores around the Seattle area, they found that the good, healthy foods had soared in price over a two-year period, jumping by nearly 20 percent compared to a 5 percent increase in the overall food price inflation. And during that same period, high-calorie foods had remained about the same price, and in some cases had actually dropped.

So it isn’t your imagination that a cart full of healthy produce will cost more than one full of soda and snacks.

Second: it may help to carefully analyze our thoughts about spending money. Here is an interesting rundown of why we spend money and what influences our decisions at this PsyBlog site on the psychology of money. If you think of your grocery bill as an investment (in health, happiness) and not as a way to bargain shop, it may help it to reduce the sticker shock.