Eating For Health

Have you ever heard of brain food?   Foods you can eat for a healthier brain.     Researchers have found that the food we eat greatly affects our brain health.   Besides the food we eat, staying hydrated also affects our cognitive function.   Why is hydration important for brain health?   I always told my students that before an exam they should drink some water.   Why?   Because even being slightly dehydrated affects cognitive function.   A 1% dehydration level can lead to “a 5% decrease in cognitive function”.     A 2% level of dehydration “can result in short term memory loss”, what some people call “brain fog”.   Besides drinking plain water, many beverages are good for hydration including 100% juice and cow’s milk.   (See:   What beverage is most effective for staying hydrated? ) What researchers have found about diet and brain health. Researchers at the University of Warwick studied diet and brain heal...

So many people talk about “eating healthier” and then go on a fad diet thinking it is good for their health.   A TV personality said he avoids bread and cereal to eat healthier.   But is avoiding any food group a healthy choice?   What does “eating healthy” mean?   In the classes I taught, students always recommended we should “eat healthy”.   But when I asked them what this means they often struggle to come up with specifics.   Are there healthy diets to follow?   A diet not for weight loss or weight gain, but just a healthy eating pattern? Not a “diet” you go on for a week or two but a lifelong way of eating for a healthier you.         I was watching TV recently and saw the commercial for taking pills to get your fruit and veggies each day.   Rather than take pills, eat your fruit and veggies to eat healthier in 2025.   A popular quote from Hulk Hogan is “Train.   Say your prayers.   Eat your vitamins....

What is a topic you hear over and over again in January?   Everyone is talking about people going on diets to lose weight.   You hear a guy at the gym saying his doctor wants him to lose 60 pounds.   You hear a woman at the gym saying her daughter is going on the Whole30 diet to lose weight.   U.S. News & World Report notes the Whole30 program restricts food groups, can lead to short-term weight loss but watch out for the rebound when participants may start indulging in all the foods they had to give up.   Result?   They may regain the lost weight and even more.   Fad diets don’t work to help you change your lifestyle but usually offer some quick solutions that aren’t viable for the long term.   You may lose some weight but when you go “off” the fad diet, the weight can pile back on.   Anyone can go on a diet and lose some weight.   What most people want is to lose weight and keep it off.   This requires more than a diet, but...