The need in humans to lose weight from time to time is an age-old problem.
Several of my patients have rheumatoid arthritis. Most of them also have a little extra poundage than I would like them to have. Many of them feel that it’s been their aching joints that have kept them from exercising more and so they have gained weight. However, looking back at their records, in many cases their overweight preceded the onset of their RA by a few years. It had always been my suspicion that, like other diseases, their obesity had somehow contributed to the development of their condition. Now, researchers at the Mayo Clinic have backed up my suspicions. I’d […]
When I ask my patients how many ORACs they take in a day, they give me a kind of lost look. One patient humorously asked me once, “Is that some kind of fruit?” Well, yes and no. ORACs are in fruit – but they’re not a food per se. Let me share with you what I tell my patients about the ORAC value of foods and its importance to your health. What’s ORAC and Why Is It In My Food? ORAC is the acronym for Oxygen Radical Absorbency Capacity – an antioxidant measurement system developed by researchers at the National […]
One of the concerning issues faced by people over-age 50 is the gradual loss of muscle mass that starts to speed up past this age. The big medical term for this muscle mass loss is sarcopenia and it only gets worse if you don’t take measures to fight it. One of these measures is a naturally occurring acid that I’d like to tell you about. Causes of Muscle Loss Did you know that people over the age of 30 begin to lose muscle mass? They can lose between 3% and 5% per decade. It speeds up after age 50 and people can lose between […]
What’s So Special About The Mediterranean Diet? Health researchers have known for a while
With a little planning and a few minutes for assembly, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy
We’ve all come across a few people who look nowhere near their age—and we’d love to know their secret. In a bid to look great and keep ourselves healthy, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so much “stuff” out there. In order to help you make sense of what’s being sold, we decided to look at five of the more realistic and expert-backed helpful hints. 1. Stock up on wine and chocolate. Most of us have heard news about red wine being good for us in moderation—very encouraging for wine lovers! Red wine has resveratrol. According to some research, resveratrol […]
Author Jonathon Goldstein once said, “Everyone runs around trying to find a place where they still serve breakfast because eating breakfast, even if it’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon, is a sign that the day has just begun and good things can still happen. Having lunch is like throwing in the towel.” Maybe for many of us breakfast represents that “new day dawning” attitude, but is there really something more to it — physiologically speaking? There’s no doubt that one of the most popular statements ever made in nutrition and medicine is that breakfast is the most important meal of […]
I’ve always counseled my patients about the need to keep a healthy weight. It not only makes you look and feel better but it decreases your risk for serious diseases. Many doctors, though, have shied away from telling their patients that they need to lose weight. Why? For one reason, patients tend to take comments about their weight very personally instead of seeing it as the health risk that it is. Many doctors don’t want to insult their patients and/or make them feel bad about themselves in any way. For another reason, some doctors feel that nutrition and weight loss counseling is […]
Like myself, and most of my patients, you probably have insurance policies on many things – your house, your car, your health, and, most importantly, your life. Why? Because they give you peace of mind. They cover, and perhaps even prevent, possible problems that might occur that could cost you a fortune to solve – even cause you to go bankrupt. In the same way, taking supplements – vitamins, minerals, certain herbs on occasion – are like taking out a nutritional insurance policy for yourself. Like all your other insurances, I feel that supplements offer additional peace of mind that […]