Eating For Health

Have you ever heard of brain food?   Foods you can eat for a healthier brain?   I always told my students that before an exam they should drink some water.   Why?   Because even being slightly dehydrated (1%-5%) can adversely affect brain function .   A 2% decrease in brain hydration can result in short term memory loss and have trouble with math computations. Besides staying hydrated, what foods can you eat for a healthier brain? My sister sent me an interesting article, “ People who eat magnesium-rich foods like spinach and almonds may have bigger, healthier brains” .    Why magnesium?   According to NIH , about half of Americans have diets deficient in magnesium.   It is known as a “silent deficiency” as most people are totally unaware that they are lacking in magnesium.   What are the health benefits of magnesium?   Magnesium is a mineral that has many roles to play in your body.         Heart ...

Who doesn’t like bananas?   One of my favorite fruits.   Such a fave, that I eat a banana every morning.   What are some health benefits and convenience of eating bananas? Easy and convenient Bananas are now available in grocery stores all year.   One doesn’t have to wait for them to be in season. Bananas are easy to store, don’t need refrigeration and easy to pack in a lunch. Kids find bananas easy to eat.   If you ever went to a school lunch room when apples are served, you would be shocked to see how many apples have a tiny bite in them and then the rest of the apple hits the garbage can.   But when bananas are served, the kids usually eat all of the banana.    What are the health benefits of bananas? Potassium:   Loaded with the mineral, potassium .   “A medium banana gives you 422 milligrams, which is 9% of what you need every day.”   Potassium helps you lower your blood pressure.   How?   Potassium helps yo...

Do you ever even think about the health of your joints or strength of your bones?   Younger people may not but   recent articles in Runner’s World and Bicycling.com brings these important topics to younger and older readers.   Why would younger people be interested in these topics?   My daughter recently was pleased to tell us she and her husband will be running a 10K this year.   This is quite the goal for her as she broke her ankle a few years ago.   I advised her to beef up her bone strength and sent her an article on boosting bone strength.   Older people are concerned about bone strength and joint health because of fear of broken bones and aching joints.    What are some foods and nutrients that promote bone strength and healthy joints? Calcium – Almost all the students I have taught know that calcium is needed for good bones.   But when they analyzed their diets, they were often low and sometimes really low in calcium. ...