Recent Blog Posts

  AGE Issues: Why You Want to Reduce "Advanced Glycation End" Foods in Your Diet   When you eat too much sugar, your blood glucose becomes elevated, leading to a host of problems. Among them, the excess sugar in your bloodstream can react with proteins and lipids (fatty substances) in your body, leading to the formation of highly toxic Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs). High-fat, high-protein foods that are fried are among the worst foods you can eat from an AGE perspective. Although AGEs are formed constantly in your body even under normal circumstances (and accumulate with time), when there is extra glucose available in your bloodstream (which is the case if you have diabetes) it significantly accelerates AGE formation. This, researchers believe, is a key reason why diabetics are at a high risk of nerve, artery and kidney damage -- because the high blood sugar levels in their bodies significantly accelerate the formation of AGEs. AGEs are not only formed inside of your body, however; they're also created in certain foods, particularly those that are cooked at high temperatures. [...]

  How to Trim Your Tummy … And Why You Should   Most people are now well aware of the health benefits of keeping their weight within a certain ideal range. This is conventionally measured by BMI, or body mass index, a standard for measuring your weight-to-height ratio. But here’s something you may not know … Carrying extra weight around your middle may be increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, dementia and more … even if you weight is otherwise healthy. You may be carrying unhealthy excess pounds even if your BMI and weight are in the recommended ranges, and these pounds may be devastating to your health. Waist Size, Not Just Weight, Important for Your Health In order to get a thorough assessment of your health, it’s not as important to not only hop on the scale, as it is to measure your waist size. In a study of more than 100,000 people aged 50 and older, those with the largest waistlines had about twice the risk of dying during the nine-year study period than those with [...]

  Got Milk Causing Cancer? Which Milk May be Dangerous …   If you’re like most American families, you enjoy milk, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products on a regular basis. You probably perceive them to be healthy staples, full of calcium, protein and other nutrients to support your family’s health. You should know, however, that U.S. dairy products may not be as pure as they seem. Instead, they commonly contain a genetically modified ingredient -- Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) -- that has been linked to so many health hazards in humans and animals it’s banned in most other industrialized nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the European Union. Cancer Risks and More: What Does the Research Say About rBGH? Many U.S. dairy farmers use Monsanto’s rBGH because it boosts milk production by about 10 percent. But this increase in production does not come without a price. Dairy products from rBGH-treated cows may not be as pure and healthy as you think it is … As GMO expert Jeffrey Smith, international bestselling [...]

  Those Who Don't Diet are Better at Improving Health Than Those Who Do Diet   Though the thought of counting calories and measuring portions doesn't bring smiles to most people's faces, many people succumb to such dieting measures because they believe it will improve their health. However, according to a two-year study published in an issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, if you're looking to achieve long-term health improvements, behavior changes and self-acceptance are more effective than dieting any day of the week. Obsessing about your weight may be counterproductive when it comes to improving your health. In the study of 78 obese women, aged 30-45, half were assigned to a dieting group, which focused on counting calories and fat content, restricting food consumption and monitoring their weight. The other half were assigned to a non-dieting group that focused on paying attention to internal body cues about hunger, letting go of restrictive "diet-like" eating habits and working with negative self-image. After two years, the researchers found: 92 percent of the non-dieting group stayed with the study, [...]

  Depression: Some Astounding Statistics and What You Should do if You or a Loved One is Confronting It   Americans are becoming increasingly depressed, and have been since at least the 1950s. Back in 1905, for instance, just 1 percent of Americans suffered from depression by age 75. Fast-forward to 1955, and 6 percent were depressed -- by the age of 24, according to research by Dr. Myrna Weissman of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, likely because of hormonal factors. Meanwhile, a past study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found some revealing statistics. A study of over 39,000 people in several countries, including the United States, found that each successive generation was more likely to experience major depression at an earlier age, and a greater number of people overall experienced at least one episode of severe depression. Today, 9.5 percent of the U.S. population, nearly 30 million adults, suffers from depression in any given yearlong period, according to the National Institute of Mental Health [...]

  Back-to-School: Six Tips for Parents to Get Your Child Ready for a New School Year   With summer vacation wrapping up in the next couple of weeks, millions of U.S. children will make their yearly trek back to school. But before you breathe a sigh of relief, there’s some work to be done … namely getting your little ones or teenagers ready to hit the books with gusto. Help your kids transition back to school with ease by starting your school-time routine now. While you may not think preparing for back-to-school encompasses much more than a quick shopping trip for school supplies, putting in a bit of extra preparation now will make for a much smoother ride … for both you and your child. Six Back-to-School Tips for All Parents 1. Talk to Your Child About Their Emotions Some children feel nothing but excitement about going back to school and will look forward to the day with eager anticipation. Many others, however, will face first-day jitters. This is especially true for kindergartners who have never been to school before [...]