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Showing posts from May, 2017

How to eat for healthier skin?

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     Who doesn’t want healthy, glowing skin that isn’t dry and flaky?   And, is there a way to halt some of the signs of aging?   Well, a number of foods have nutrients and substances like antioxidants that can promote healthier skin.   A recent article in Environmental Nutrition, Eat Your Way to Better Skin , highlights some foods you may want to consider adding to your day.   WebMD also offers some guidance on, Foods for Healthy Supple Skin .   What are some of their suggestions?             1.   Add vitamin A to your day – not only should you eat carrots for better vision, but also for healthier skin.   Since summer is here, vitamin A also helps protect the skin from damage from sun exposure     .   Who wants skin that is dry or flaky?   Vitamin A foods help prevent this.   So add some foods rich in vitamin A.   A good way to choose foods high in vitamin A are to look for foods dark orange or dark green.   Thus, lettuce would have little vitamin A, but spinach greens woul

Caffeine – how much is too much?

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Caffeine – who doesn’t enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning? Whether a K-cup, Starbucks or Mr. Coffee, most people enjoy starting their day with a cup of coffee.  But in the news recently is the story of the teen who died, according to the coroner, from drinking too much caffeine.   So how much caffeine is safe to drink? Are there any health benefits to drinking coffee and other beverages that provide caffeine? How much caffeine is safe to drink? The teenager who died drank three caffeine drinks over a two-hour period, a large Mountain Dew, a latte and an energy drink. According to some reports, it is estimated that this was about 300 mg of caffeine – which should be safe for most people. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most adults can safely consume 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, which is about four 8-ounce cups of coffee. According to WebMD , drinking more than this can lead to some symptoms, such as insomnia, nervousness, increased heart ra

Berries for Brain and Heart Health

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Are there foods that “feed” the brain?   Well, berries have been found to promote brain health as well as heart health.   Which berries and what health effects do they have? Our doorbell rang at 9 this morning.   Our neighbor was standing there with 2 quarts of strawberries he had just purchased at the Farmer’s Market.   Strawberries are not only loaded with many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, there are also one of the berries known to promote healthy brains. Why are berries so healthy? Berries are rich in antioxidants – in fact they have found that berries have some of the highest antioxidant levels of any fresh fruits.    Antioxidants aren’t vitamins or minerals but plant chemicals that protect the plant and have been found to have many health benefits when we eat these plants.     The differing color of the berries means they provide different antioxidants.   Berries that are red, blue or purple provide anthocyanin,   a strong antioxidant.   It is associated w