Meditteranean Diet: Promote Brain Health

So much has been said about the Mediterranean diet. Its health claims include fighting heart diseases to preventing cancer to fighting weight gain. A 2007 study done in the United States found that people who consumed a Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of death from both heart disease and cancer.

Now, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health, found that Mediterranean diet may improve brain health. How so? They found that people who enjoy a Mediterranean diet were less likely to develop brain infarcts, small areas of dead tissues linked to thinking and memory. In this particular study, three groups of people were divided according to how closely they followed the Mediterranean diet. MRI brain scans were taken six years later to determine their brain health. They found that those who were closely following the Mediterranean diet were 36 percent less likely to have areas of brain damage than those who were least following the diet.

The study author, Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, MSc of Columbia University Medical Center in New York makes this correlation, “The relationship between this type of brain damage and the Mediterranean diet was comparable with that of high blood pressure.” In other words, not eating a Mediterranean diet puts your brain at the same risk as having high blood pressure.
So, should you go Mediterranean? It certainly wouldn’t hurt.
The Mediterranean diet is easy on the palette—well-rounded, well-balanced meals that can potentially do wonders for your heart, brain and even skin. Here‘s to good health:

• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Residents of Greece are known to enjoy nine servings of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Why should we settle for 5 servings?

• Whole grain goodness.
Instead of skipping carbs, the Mediterranean diet embraces them—but not just any carbs—whole grain carbs that not help to lower bad (LDL) cholesterol but recent studies have also showed that whole grains are good at staving off hunger (thereby promoting weight control).

• Drizzle the oil.
Olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, grapeseed oil—these are healthy monounsaturated oils that promote heart health. Drizzle them on your salads, and dip your bread in them instead of using butter/margarine.

• Nuts
Tasty nutty treats that help to fight bad cholesterol. Because they are incredibly rich in fats (albeit the good kind), eat only a handful each day.

• Eat More Fish
Eating fish once or twice a week, in place of meat can help cut back on the intake of saturated fats that are so inherently present in red meats. Cold-water fish also boasts high levels of omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower triglycerides and improve health of blood vessels.

• Herbs and Spices
Instead of salt and butter to bring out the flavor of foods, herbs and spices are used generously to flavor foods.

• Red Wine
Red wine is celebrated in the Mediterranean diet. When consumed in moderation (no more than 5 ounces for women and 10 ounces for men), antioxidant-rich red wine has an aspirin-like effect, reducing the blood’s ability to clot.

What’s for dinner tonight? Some broiled salmon, a slice of whole-grain rosemary artisan baked bread, a side of greens seasoned with olive oil and spices, some slices of fresh fruit and a glass of red wine—doesn’t sound too shabby and a great way to stay healthy and alert.

Moderation: Key to Better Health

Are you constantly worried about your health? Do you beat yourself up because you couldn’t squeeze in the half an hour of workout? Are you constantly checking calories profile on the backs of boxes? Do you carry a journal detailing everything you eat? Or didn’t eat? Are you paranoid just because you have just enjoyed that delectable chocolate cheesecake? Do you lose sleep over your sleeping patterns? The list can go on and on…and on.

If you’re too hung up on health and the myriad of health solutions that have been dished out by health experts, books, the media and talk-show hosts, even your own berating voice—breathe! A new book out on the market, Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health, gives you permission to relax and take this health thing in your stride. The authors, Dr. Love, clinical professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and co-author, Alice D. Domar, a Harvard professor and senior staff psychologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center contend that perfect health is a myth and that attaining health is easier than you think.

Good health, even optimal health is within reach. In one simple all-compassing concept?—moderation. The happy M word sums up the new liberating concept to avoid extremes. Punishing yourself into shape or letting yourself go because you feel overwhelmed by your health conditions can backfire—both extremes carry inherent health problems. Dr. Love pointed out that people who are obese or underweight have higher mortality rates. She says, “The goal is to be healthy and have as good of a quality of life as you can have. It’s not to be thin.”

What does this advice translate to in practical terms? It’s alright to slip sometimes in your quest for good health, just as long as you don’t slide down the slippery slopes of letting yourself go. If that sounds too nebulous --let’s explore some practical ways.

Don’t be afraid to eat the full-cream ice-cream and the dark chocolate shavings on top. Instead of a full meal later, try some vegetable soup beefed up with whole grains like barley or red beans. It satisfies your need for food without a whole lot of calories. If you need some protein, opt for low-fat lean meat like fish or chicken. So, what’s the bottom line?—balance your food choices—offset your high-calorie foods with low-calorie foods. Foods like vegetables, whole grain, and fruits can fill you up without hefty calories count.

What about exercise? Exercising for long periods of time or pushing your body to accomplish great physical acts may produce a healthy body but what if you can’t put in the time or the effort? Again the above health experts say—relax and go for the middle ground. . If you miss your morning workout—don’t sweat it-- make up for it by parking your car a distance from where you are going and let your legs do the work. Many people equate exercise with equipment or gadget or even a building. Truth is, exercise can be done anywhere, anytime. Example: If you’re waiting for the water to heat up before a shower, do a few squats or jog in place. If you’re stuck in traffic—do some tummy crunches. These may be little attempts but they do add up.

Practice moderation and you will find that you’re happier. Good health is not a magic number or a perceived state of ideal. Good health is general well-being and it is more attainable through realistic goals and moderate measures. Not constantly stressing over your health conditions can produce another health benefit—less stress hormones and in the long run, more health dividends.

Cherry: Nature's Pain-Killer?

Cherries can be sweet or delightfully tart. They can be eaten fresh or used in cooking. If you enjoy cherries, you’re in luck. Various researches point to the many health benefits of the cherry fruit. These delicious treats are resplendent in antioxidants, well-known for capturing damaging free radicals to prevent cellular damage. They are famously low in saturated fats and sodium and high in dietary fiber. They also boost high levels of melatonin, another antioxidant often used as a sleeping aid and they also exert anti-inflammatory properties. With so many health qualities attached, what’s not to like about cherries?

Pain in any form or shape can be debilitating and compromise your quality of life. Often, people medicate pain with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs such as aspirin, Tylenol or ibuprofen). If you experience adverse effects from taking these synthetic pain-killers or found very little relief—consider cherries. Researchers from Michigan State University uncovered promising findings when they isolated the various components of cherries. They found that the antioxidant properties of tart cherry are more superior when compared to vitamin E, vitamin C and synthetic antioxidants. In addition they offer more anti-inflammatory effects than aspirin.

What makes cherries’ antioxidants so powerful? You can attribute it to the power of the bright color found in cherries, courtesy of a group of powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins. Muralee Nair, one of the lead professors involved in the research revealed this astounding finding: “Twenty cherries provide 25 milligrams of anthocyanins, which help to shut down the enzymes that cause tissue inflammation in the first place, so cherries can prevent and treat many kinds of pain.” This pain ameliorating effects of cherries has relief implication for other forms of rheumatoid and arthritic conditions. In addition, he pointed out that anthocyanins may also protect artery walls from plaque buildup and heart diseases.

Exactly what kind of pain relief? To begin with, researchers at the Baylor Research Institute found that cherries offer osteoarthritic pain relief. They found that more than half of the patients involved in the study reported significant improvement in pain and function of impacted joints after taking tart cherry pills for eight weeks. This is especially good news for the 21 millions of Americans grappling with osteoarthritis.

Mayo clinic also reported how cherries may be used to moderate pain caused by gout, another common form of arthritis, often associated with sudden, severe attacks of pain, redness and tenderness in joints, especially the joint at the base of the big toe. High level of uric acid is often blamed for gout and studies have shown that cherries can lower uric acid. Mayo clinic suggests that adding cherries together with other anthocyanin-infused fruits like blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and grapes may be a good way to supplement your gout treatment.

Cherries can be found in your local supermarkets—fresh, dried, frozen, in juice form or concentrate—they are very versatile and can be used in a variety of ways. Make them a part of your diet. Eat them as snacks, in trail mix, as desserts, in smoothies, in cereals or used them in baking. Taking cherry extract supplements is another alternative.

Spices that Burn Fat

Spices that Burn Fat

Spice and all things nice—now, how about a nice waistline? Fighting the bulge can be daunting and at times, frustrating. But what if there are foods that are on your side, fighting the bulge for you, making it easier for you to lose weight? Spices that burn fat? Sounds like a pipe dream for weight watchers. A dash here, a dash there and viola, fat will not stand its ground against these fat-busters. Is that myth? Or is it something spice companies love to claim to push their products? How can we prove the fallacy or truth behind this bold claim? Let’s look to some solid scientific evidence and put this claim to the test.

Chili Power
The red stuff that makes your food spicy—chili is a powerful fat burner. You can eat it fresh or you can use chili powder—it doesn’t matter because either way, you’re tapping into its active ingredient, capsaicin, capable of raising metabolic rate or helping you to burn unwanted calories. So, add a dash of chili powder to your food—use it to marinate meat, fish or to make sauces, condiments or marinades. Fresh chili peppers can be used to spice up any dish—from salsa to stir fry to salads.

Ginger
Ginger adds zing, ginger adds zest. Engage ginger in your food preparation and allow this feisty rhizome to rev up your metabolic rate. According to an Australian study, when biochemists apply both fresh and dried ginger extracts to the tissue of animals, they found that the spice induced tissues to use up more than 20% more energy than usual. Go ahead—indulge—ginger snaps, ginger tea, ginger chicken, ginger pickles.

Turmeric
Hailed as “holy powder,” in India, this vibrant yellow root of the ginger family is one health miracle. It is commonly used in Asian countries to make curry and to season foods. Now, a new animal model study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) theorized that turmeric’s active ingredient, curcumin, may stall the spread of fat-tissue by inhibiting blood vessel growth, necessary in building fat tissue. The group treated with curcumin had lower blood glucose, triglycerides, and fatty acid, cholesterol and liver fat levels.

Garlic
This familiar bulb, aptly nicknamed "stinking rose" is anything but stinky when it comes to promoting weight loss. Use garlic, preferably chopped, bruised to release allicin (its active ingredient) in your food preparation—allicin fights fat accumulation.

Parsley
Parsley is famous for its role as a breath freshener. In ancient times, the Greek use it as an aphrodisiac and to promote beauty and youthfulness. Now, we can add more benefits: parsley can also stimulate the circulatory system, increase energy and fight water retention. Parsley looks pretty as an edible garnish and it can also be added to food to enhance flavor. Fresh is better than dried.

You can easily find these fat-fighters when you go grocery shopping. Can you put them together in one simple dish? Why not?:

Here is one really simple dish you can whip up in no time:

2 pieces of fish fillet (tilapia, salmon)

Seasoning:
1 tb of curry powder (has turmeric)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 thumb of ginger, grated
A sprinkling of chili powder
Sea salt

Chopped parsley for garnishing.

Marinate fish with all the seasoning mentioned.
Coat pan with enough oil to pan-fry the fish—about 5 minutes each side.
Dish out and garnish with chopped parsley. And if you feel like a squeeze of lemon—by all means—I’ve heard it’s a fat buster too.

Have You Had Your Vinegar Today?

About 90% f the American household have vinegar in the house. After all, vinegar is very versatile. We all know that vinegar can soothe a bee sting or take the sting out of sunburn pain. It is supposed to make water-stained windows sparkling clean and remove odors in your kitchen. In fact, somebody listed 74 uses for vinegar--not bad for a bottle that costs a couple of dollars (or less).

If you enjoy vinegar in your food--pickles, hot and sour soup, sweet and sour pork, barbecue ribs, dressings on your salad--anyone? If you do, you have made some good food choices. Researchers in Japan revealed new evidence that vinegar can prevent accumulation of body fat and weight gain. They found that rats given a high-fat diet and vinegar have less body fats (up to 10% less) than other mice.

What is the magic, you ask? They explained that the main ingredient, acetic acid, in vinegar has fat-busting capabilities. Acetic acid is what makes vinegar sour and it turns on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes, thereby suppressing fat accumulation in the body. But that's not all vinegar can do. Other scientific researches can uncover other benefits of vinegar: it helps to control blood pressure, blood sugar levels and fights cancer.

So, have you had your vinegar today? That doesn't sound like such a weird question, if you consider the health benefits of this common household item.

Turns out it's easy to include vinegar into your diet. You can use it in your salad dressings, use it as a cooking ingredient, use it to pickle vegetables or make a healthy drink.

I've include a simple recipe for making cabbage pickle. Cabbage contains quercetin, a fat-whittling active ingredient and if you pickle it with vinegar, you get double the weight loss mileage. Here's how:

1 small head of cabbage, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of organic sugar
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of roasted sesame seeds

1. Sprinkle salt on cut cabbage and let it sit for a couple of hours
2. Wring out water from cabbage and put it in a big bowl
3. Add vinegar, sugar and sesame seeds.
4. Toss well and enjoy.

To make a vinegar slimming drink:

Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to a glass of water and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey to make it taste less acidic.

D.C. Jarvis, M.D., author of the book, Folk Medicine, advocates drinking this vinegar concoction before every meal to induce weight loss. He believes that weight loss with this method is gradual but permanent.

Basic Vinegar dressings:

Mix 1 part vinegar with 3 parts healthy oils (olive, canola or safflower oil), salt and pepper and herbs or spice.

If the basic vinegar bored you, try gourmet fruit vinegar. A study from the Memorial University of Newfoundland shows that fermenting fruits into vinegar produces more potent disease-fighting phytochemicals.

However, gourmet fruit vinegar can be expensive. Don't sweat it, though--you can make you very own fruit vinegar and it's a snap:

Bring store-bought white vinegar to just below boiling point, toss in your favorite fruit (raspberries, grapes, key limes, peach), refrigerate for a few weeks and strain.

Resistant Starch: Why You Can Have Your Carbs and Eat It Too

Carbs have a bad reputation and they have taken a beating for as long as diet became a science and a weight loss program. They are supposedly evil, capable of padding your middle, increasing your thigh size and adding layers of unwanted, unsightly inches to your otherwise could-be thin frame. If not for carbs, the world would thinner and healthier. Now, is that so?

I've been raised on carbs. We have rice and often, noodles for lunch and dinner and more carbs for mid-day snack and supper. Granted that our snacks are sweet potatoes and bowls of bean dessert, still--I subsisted heavily on carbs. By all reasoning and reckoning, I should tip the scale at an unmentionable number but...thanks to my mother's nutritional intuition, I remain a size 0. How is that so?

Turns out that not all carbs are bad. There is a group of carbs that are high in resistant starch and more and more researches are showing the upside of eating resistant starch. What are they--these new found stars of weight loss? They are a type of fiber that delivers some of the health benefits of soluble and insoluble fiber. They are tightly packed chains of sugar molecules that amylase (the enzyme that breaks down starch) finds difficulty breaking down. Resistant starch resists digestion (hence the name) and continues through the digestive tract to the large intestine, where bacteria can then feed on them, fermenting them and producing fatty acids. These fatty acids make the environment more acidic and therefore less friendly to bacteria, thereby promoting colon health.

But perhaps, the better news is that resistant starch helps weight control. A small study conducted at the University of Colorado, published in Nutrition and Metabolism, showed how fat burning was 23% higher in those who ate 5 grams of resistant starch in a meal than those who didn't. In other words, more fat is burned and less is available to store away. Less fat stored away means a leaner you. In addition, resistant starch makes you feel full sooner and the feeling of satiation stays longer. A winning solution.

Ok, where can you find these good samaritans of weight control? You have choices: beans, bananas (especially under-ripes ones), potatoes, sweet potatoes and whole-grain breads and products.

So, don't be afraid to include carbs in your diet. Picking the right kind of carbs (and enjoying them too) may be the way to a trimmer, healthier you.