Q: With every change of seasons, the skin on my hands and around my nails gets really dry and cracks. It’s so painful. What can I do to prevent this? “Changes of season can bring about a lot of skin changes,” says Dr. Caroline A. Chang of Dermatology Professionals in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Temperatures rise or drop, and the air’s moisture content may change drastically. Irritants in the air can also cause skin dryness. Research published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology, for instance, shows that pollen may provoke both contact and atopic dermatitis. If you know which seasons […]
Knowledge is power when it comes to the leading women’s health issues, such as heart disease, breast cancer and infertility. When you understand the role of your diet and lifestyle and put recommendations into practice, you’re in a much better position to prevent or beat common health issues. Luckily, what’s good for one aspect of health—such as eating plenty of colorful vegetables, berries, healthy fats and high-quality, clean proteins—will likely help other aspects of your health, too. You’ll see that here as you read experts’ diet and lifestyle advice for common health concerns of women. Challenge: Heart Disease and Stroke […]
Obesity, autism, mental health problems, IBS, allergies, auto-immunity, cancer — Does the answer to the modern epidemic of ‘Western’ diseases lie in our gut? According to author and biologist Alanna Collen, you are only 10% human. For every one of your cells, there are nine impostors hitching a ride. You are not just flesh and bone, but also bacteria and fungi. And you are more ‘them’ than you are ‘you.’ Your gut alone hosts 100 trillion of them and until recently we thought that our microbes didn’t matter. This is all set to change as the latest scientific research tells […]
Over the past few years, what we know about gluten and our awareness concerning celiac and gluten-free eating has skyrocketed. According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, as many as 1 in 133 Americans have celiac, while upwards of 18 million have some non-celiac sensitivity to gluten. Research, awareness, products and resources are making leaps and bounds before our very eyes concerning celiac, gluten sensitivity and gluten-free dieting. Before you begin a gluten-free diet, you should know what you’re getting into. We’ve compiled a list of six important rules of thumb for anyone about to embark on a gluten-free […]
I remember years ago as a kid reading about people in Bulgaria who lived into their hundreds. Part of their secret (besides hard, physical work and a little alcohol each day) was eating yogurt and drinking kefir (KEE-fur). Back when I was a youngster in Southeast Asia, yogurt was still a pretty exotic food without the huge selection we see in the dairy case today. Yogurt has rightfully been recognized as a ‘super food,’ loaded with protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorous and beneficial bacteria. Yogurt Facts One cup (8 fl. oz.) of plain low fat yogurt contains about 154 calories, […]
“Estrogen is not just about reproductive health. It’s about life itself. And it’s about metabolism,” says Felice Gersh, M.D., who is the Medical Director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine Consultative Faculty. She was one of the expert speakers at the American Association of Anti-Aging Medicine’s (A4M) 26th World Congress, which was held in Las Vegas last December. The FoodTrients team and I attended the three-day event, which was loaded with speakers, workshops and exhibits presenting clinical education and advances in the most recent research and practices as they relate to wellness and aging. Many of the sessions were […]
What is a medium? One doesn’t really hear the word “medium” much anymore unless you’re watching 1950s horror movies. But it has a real definition. A medium is someone who claims to speak with spirits, non-existent entities that have been the subject of myths since humans could communicate with one another. Anthony Williams has made this claim. Since age four, when he shocked his family by announcing that his symptom-free grandmother had lung cancer (which medical testing soon confirmed), Anthony has been using his gift to “read” people’s conditions and tell them how to recover their health. He’s done this […]
Probiotics can help your stomach feel better, but can they “slim” your stomach too? It’s been hypothesized that gut bacteria influence weight. The overuse of antibiotics has been linked to weight gain, and studies have shown differences in the flora of obese and thin animals. Researchers in Quebec wanted to test this hypothesis by giving overweight people probiotics, and the results were somewhat of a surprise. Ready? Women Taking Probiotics Lost Weight Scientists recruited 125 obese people and randomly split them into two groups. One group was given a probiotic containing Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The other group received a placebo. All subjects participated […]
Pumpkin spice may be the seasonal flavor du jour (or du decade!), but there are several science-backed reasons why peppermint should top your flavor list this holiday. Not only does the fresh taste of peppermint offset and brighten many of the season’s more indulgent choices, but it also comes with compelling health benefits. An aromatic herb in the mint family, peppermint is a cross between water mint and spearmint, and it’s most often used as a flavoring in breath mints, candies and other foods, and brewed as a caffeine-free tea. The leaves of peppermint contain several essential oils, including menthol, […]
Inflammation in the body is a good thing … until it’s not. When you suffer an injury or an infection, your body’s immune system quickly dispatches healing cells straight to the source. If you sprain your ankle, for instance, you will almost instantly see and feel the symptoms of acute inflammation, which can be remembered with the acronym PRISH: pain, redness, immobility, swelling and heat. This type of inflammation is an essential part of a healthy immune system; it signals that the body is attempting to heal itself, and any pain and immobility you experience are a warning to you […]
