Diet matters (particularly not eating too much) but it’s not the whole story. Author Dan Buettner does the hard work of visiting Okinawa, Sardinia, Costa Rica and Seventh Day Adventists in the U.S., and reports back on the secrets of a long and apparently happy life.
Archive for May, 2008
Places Where People Live Longest
Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2008 |
Ten Tips for Eating Healthy at Work and School
Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2008 |
Recently a student asked me one of those broad, open-ended questions that calls for more than a quick answer. He said that he and his wife want to eat whole foods but don’t know where to start. Here’s an excellent column by one of my favorite nutrition writers, Dr. Elson Haas. I highly recommend his book, Staying [...]
A Positive Side of Aging
Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2008 |
From the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, hopeful news for anyone who aims to live long.
Cooked Food, Raw Food
Posted in Uncategorized on May 20, 2008 |
An article in today’s New York Times cites studies showing that the way vegetables and fruits are prepared strongly influences their nutrient content. The question is not just raw versus cooked, but whether to steam, boil, fry, bake or use some other method of preparation. This is not a “one size fits all” situation. It [...]
Ten Facts You Should Know
Posted in Uncategorized on May 18, 2008 |
Today’s Washington Post health section has an eye-popping list of 10 health facts that should serve as a wake-up call for anyone not yet concerned about the current and future health of the American people. Read the whole list here. A few of the highlights: 4. Children and teens consumed 110 to 165 more calories than [...]
Cow’s Milk and Type I Diabetes
Posted in Uncategorized on May 18, 2008 |
The benefits and risks associated with including milk and dairy products in the human diet are an ongoing source of debate in the health community. As someone who had a milk allergy from early childhood (and whose son had the same problem), I speak with some first-hand experience, which has led me to keep a watchful eye on [...]
The Healing Effects of Laughter
Posted in Uncategorized on May 16, 2008 |
This week, a physician who practices in New York and Mumbai, India, presented at the American Society of Hypertension meeting in New Orleans the results of a study in which a yoga-based laughter exercise helped to lower blood pressure. The subjects were IT call center workers in Mumbai, who presumably experience at least as much stress from [...]
Positive News on Breastfeeding
Posted in Uncategorized on May 15, 2008 |
I’ve come across two stories this week with positive news about breastfeeding, one reporting that more new mothers in the U.S. are breastfeeding their infants (current levels have reached 77%) and the other that breastfeeding appears to confer protective effects on mothers as well as their children, in this case cutting by half the mothers’ [...]
Long-term Prescription Drug Use Continues to Rise
Posted in health, health policy, health promotion, nutrition, prevention, Uncategorized on May 14, 2008 |
Few recent stories summarize our society’s declining health status more strikingly than this one, a sobering report from researchers who calculated from health insurance records that, for the first time, more than half of insured American adults take medications on an ongoing basis for chronic diseases. Amidst a host of disturbing statistics, these stand out: Medication use [...]
Air Pollution Affects More Than Your Lungs
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged air pollution, deep vein thrombosis, environment and health, health policy on May 13, 2008 |
A new study published in the May 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine finds that breathing polluted air increases the risk of deep vein thrombosis, a potentially life threatening condition involving blood clots that can travel to the lungs. In some cases, this can cause a heart attack or stroke. No one is surprised to hear that air [...]
