Eating For Health

Can you eat to improve your memory?   Apparently so.   A recent article in CommonHealth describes how one can eat to essentially clog up those brain pathways or how one can eat to unclog your brain and improve your memory.   Another article reviews 15 foods to eat for a healthy brain.   What food clog up your brain? We all know that eating high fat foods, especially those high in saturated fat, can clog up your arteries and are not good for your heart.   Another fat, trans fat, is especially bad as it builds up in our blood vessels and damages them.   So those French fries loaded with fat and foods high in saturated fat like bacon, are not only not good for your heart, they might not be good for your brain. The Diets high in cholesterol and fat might speed up the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain.   These sticky protein clusters are blamed for much of the damage that occurs in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Recommend...

Hello nutrition!   March is National Nutrition Month .   The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics theme for 2016 is Savor the Flavor of Eating Right .   What is National Nutrition Month?     It was created by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a campaign to promote nutrition education and information.   Its focuses on consumers making informed decisions about food and promoting good eating habits and physical activity.                 What can you do to improve your nutrition and physical activity?         In honor of National Nutrition Month, U.S. News and World Report is has come up with   30 simple health tips to try each day of March .   They recommend “making small changes that will lead to big improvements”.   Some easy health tips to try this week are:     “Sip while you sit” – drink wate...

Who hasn’t had an afternoon when they needed some extra energy, something to give their energy a boost?   Well rather than hit the snack machine for some high sugar, high salt food or grab a left over donut in the break room, what are some foods that can give you an afternoon pick me up?   Men’s Health has some good ideas on   Foods That FIght Off an Afternoon Slump .   Green Tea – Coffee is great in the morning and who doesn’t like their morning coffee?   But in the afternoon a good choice is a cup of green tea.   It contains theanine and some caffeine to help stimulate your reaction time and creativity.   The theanine will stimulate your brain cells without the jitteriness of coffee.   Keep some packets of green tea in your desk at work and be ready for an afternoon pick me up. Almonds – a handful of nuts a day is a great health habit.   Almonds are a great mix of heart healthy fat, protein and fiber.   A study from Purdue Unive...

Seeing as our next holiday is Valentine’s Day, I thought I would take a look at chocolate.   And who doesn’t like chocolate?   Everyone says candy is bad for you – at least that is what they used to say.   And yes, candy does have added sugar and that isn’t healthy.   But can chocolate have health benefits?   Yes, it can, dark chocolate that is.   When the manufacture dark chocolate they leave in more of the cocoa solids and add less sugar compared to milk chocolate.   This is what gives dark chocolate its stronger, rich flavor.   So what is the “healthy” ingredient in dark chocolate?   Flavenols, these are an antioxidant found in dark chocolate and cocoa.   Milk chocolate is not has healthy as it not only contains more added sugar but less of these healthy flavenols.   It is the flavenols that can help guard against heart disease, diabetes, dementia and stroke, quite a list of diseases. Heart benefits of dark chocolate: ...