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 ...

Growing up every kid and many adults enjoyed a glass of real dairy milk at every meal.   Then plant-based milks started to come on the market and many people switched to these milks thinking they were healthier.   Are they?   Teaching nutrition I often talked about the nutritional differences of real milk versus the fake plant-based milks.   Some students asked what “real milk” was.   Real milk is dairy – milk from a cow.   Plant-based milks can be made from almonds, oats, or soy.   Which is healthier?   Real dairy milk or plant-based milks?   Which milk does the United States Department of Agriculture count as a serving of milk?   Consumer Reports has a great article Which Milk Should You Drink?   that answers many of these questions.     Should you drink cow’s milk?   Good news for nutritionists is that 79% of 2,121 US adults polled are still buying cow’s milk.   Unfortunately, people are drinking less re...