Health Front
News that's good for you
November 2009
Reprinted with permission from Taste For Life

Smart food choices may halt diabetes
Heart-healthy omega 3s
Fresh is best when choosing garlic
Want fewer colds? Get more sleep
Chocolate lovers, rejoice!
A healthy start with fiber
Foods for glowing skin
Did you know?

Smart food choices may halt diabetes

Do you aim to eat a well-balanced diet consisting of lots of fiber-rich whole grains, fruits, veggies, and lean pro-tein? Keep it up! recent guidelines from the harvard Medical school suggest that following this wholesome diet may help prevent type 2 diabetes (among other health benefits).

Fiber is especially important because it slows the digestion of food, making you feel fuller longer. this discourages overeating and overweight and therefore reduces the risk of diabetes. researchers found that adults who ate plenty of whole grains cut their risk by almost 40 percent compared to those who ate little or none.

Although the experts stressed that there is no magical diabetes diet, they emphasized a commonsense approach to avoiding the condition: Eat a balanced diet and keep weight, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol values at normal levels.

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• “Harvard Advises on Foods to Help Prevent Diabetes” by David Visick, www.nutraingredients-usa.com, 9/21/09

Heart-healthy omega 3s

now there’s more reason than ever to consume plenty of omega-3-rich foods, and your heart will thank you for it. two large clinical trials recently compared the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and a statin drug on more than 11,000 patients with chronic heart failure. The omega 3s showed beneficial results in terms of mortality and/or readmission to the hospital for heart-related problems. The statin drug showed no such advantages.

Do your heart good by eating foods that contain omega 3s: cold-water fish (sardines, salmon, mackerel, and swordfish), flaxseeds, soybeans, walnuts, olive oil, kidney and navy beans, tofu, winter and summer squash, raspberries and strawberries, broccoli, romaine lettuce, and collard greens.

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• “Effect of n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Rosuvastin in Patients with Heart Failure . . .” by R. Marchioli et al., Expert Rev Cardiovasc Ther, 7/09
• “Foods Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids” by Jennifer Murray, www.food-facts.suite101.com

Fresh is best when choosing garlic

When it comes to cardioprotection, freshly crushed garlic is preferable to processed garlic, according to a recent study. While both offer heart-protective properties, researchers found that only fresh garlic generates hydrogen sulfide, a chemical that relaxes blood vessels and enables more blood to pass through. Garlic that has been processed or cooked loses the ability to generate this important chemical messenger.

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• “Freshly Crushed Garlic Is a Superior Cardioprotective Agent Than Processed Garlic” by S. Mukherjee et al., J Agric Food Chem, 8/12/09

Want fewer colds? Get more sleep

Cold and flu season is here, but you may be able to bypass “bugs” by making sure you get plenty of sleep. That’s because sleep plays a critical role in preserving our body’s defenses and bolstering our immune systems. In one study, subjects’ quality and duration of sleep were tracked for two weeks. After being quarantined and exposed to cold viruses, those who slept an average of less than seven hours nightly had a threefold greater chance of getting sick than those sleeping a solid eight hours or more.

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• “The Claim: Lack of Sleep Increases the Risk of Catching a Cold” by Anahad O’Connor, New York Times, 9/22/09

Chocolate lovers, rejoice!

As if we needed further justification for enjoying chocolate, researchers have come up with a new one: It’s good for our hearts. In a population-based follow-up study in Sweden, over 1,100 nondiabetic patients who had survived their first heart attack were asked to report their chocolate consumption over the preceding 12 months. A standardized questionnaire distributed during hospitalization was used.

Study authors found that patients who ate chocolate twice or more per week reduced their risk of cardiac mortality, compared to patients who never ate chocolate. “Although our findings support increasing evidence that chocolate is a rich source of beneficial bioactive compounds,” authors said, they felt that other large-scale, observational trials would serve to confirm their assessment.

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• “Chocolate Consumption and Mortality Following a First Acute Myocardial Infarction: The Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program” by I. Janszky et al., J Intern Med, 9/09

A healthy start with fiber

Eating a high-fiber diet is important for all life stages, including childhood. The benefits of fiber are well documented: It helps the digestive system process food, decreases the risk of heart disease, and aids in keeping blood sugar levels normal. Just as important, fiber fills you up faster, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight since you take in fewer calories. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and increasing fiber intake is one way to prevent this serious medical condition.

Fiber is found in plant foods: fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables; dried and canned beans; nuts and seeds; hot and cold whole-grain cereals; and whole-grain breads, pastas, and crackers. Just be sure to drink plenty of fluids while slowly increasing fiber in the diet.

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• “Child Nutrition: Simple Shopping Tips for Busy Moms,” www.webmd.com, 2009
• “Fiber Recommendations for Kids” by Vincent Iannelli, MD, www.pediatrics.about.com, 11/26/08

Foods for glowing skin

Most Americans are still not eating enough fruits and vegetables, but recent research may motivate us. Just as these foods, along with fish, legumes, and olive oil, are known to protect the health of other organs and systems in the human body, it seems they can benefit our largest organ: the skin.

Several studies link nutrients from foods associated with the Mediterranean-style diet to younger-looking, smoother skin. One found that a diet higher in veggies, fruit, and olive oil may help protect against UV damage. Another study linked intake of vitamins C and A to less-wrinkled skin. For smooth skin, eat green, leafy vegetables, nuts, tea, prunes, apples, butternut squash, and kiwi.

Conversely, high intake of meats, butter, fats, and carbohydrates was associated with an increased chance of wrinkles.

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• “Dietary Nutrient Intakes and Skin-Aging Appearance Among Middle-Aged American Women” by Maeve C. Cosgrove et al., Am J Clin Nutr, 10/0
• “Skin Wrinkling: Can Food Make a Difference?” by M. B. Purba et al., J Am Coll Nutr, 2/01

Did you know?

Research suggests that adding oral probiotics (friendly bacteria found in yogurt, supplements, and other forms) to conventional acne care may result in clearer skin.

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• The Clear Skin Diet by Alan C. Logan, ND, FRSH and Valori Treloar, MD, CNS, FAAD ($22.95, Cumberland House, 2007)