I don’t know about you, but I can hardly keep up with which fats are good for you and which to avoid. Most of us have learned about the health benefits of olive oil and that the saturated fat in coconut oil, once a nutritional no-no, is now recognized as extremely healthful because of its antioxidants and ability to be easily turned into fuel by the body. The information on oils and their health properties is changing rapidly. Recently, health experts have been talking about unrefined red palm oil. I have to admit, I didn’t know anything about it, […]
By changing the bulgur wheat usually found in tabbouleh with quinoa, you are getting a nutrient-dense gluten-free grain that acts as a complete protein. It also has silica for building collagen, which helps boost your skin’s elasticity. The tomatoes provide heart-healthy lycopene, the parsley gives us detoxifying chlorophyll and antioxidants, and the olive oil helps lower inflammation. To make this a gluten-free appetizer, swap the pita rounds for flaxseed crackers or eat the tabbouleh alone as a salad. SERVES 2 Ingredients 1/2 cup quinoa 1/2 tsp. kosher salt dissolved in 1 cup water 2 cups finely chopped parsley 1/2 cup […]
Would you stay on a calorie/carbohydrate-controlled diet if I told you it would add decades of youthful living to your life? Not only would you live longer, but you’d live in good health without the typical diseases and conditions of aging. Or would you say, to heck with it, I don’t care if I live to 100, I want to have my cake and eat it too? I bet if I took a survey of my patients and my readers, most of them would opt for the latter. They’d want to eat their cake and enjoy it for as long […]
Vegetarians are onto something. Not only do they have lower rates of heart disease and cancer, but they also tend to be slimmer than their
We all love to indulge during the holidays. For many of us, eating healthy goes out the door from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. But there are so many delicious, festive foods that can add to your health and to the holiday spirit. I like to spoil my guests with foods that are festive and indulgent, but also contribute anti-aging benefits. Here are a few tips: Appetizers I like to start with an appetizer that help break the ice at a party, and encourage guests to interact. Quinoa Tabbouleh on Pita is a Mediterranean-inspired salad/dip that features high-protein quinoa; tomatoes that […]
Diabetics have long been known to age faster than healthy individuals. The mechanism behind the accelerated destruction of cells, tissues, and organs observed in diabetics is called glycation, the dangerous binding of sugars to proteins.1 The resulting sugar-protein complex is known as an advanced glycation end product or AGE. In the laboratory, glycation’s effect on living tissues was found to be identical to the process by which meat is browned when cooked at high temperatures. Healthy proteins also turn brown in the presence of excess glucose and become functionally impaired. Scientists have confirmed that this destructive process may also occur in healthy individuals when blood glucose levels are sustained above 85 mg/dL, […]
Be it work, finances, relationships, or health issues, most of us experience stressful events at some point in our lives. But today, researchers are witnessing levels of stress that are virtually unprecedented. A startling 80% of Americans now report experiencing intense, chronic stress over personal finances and the economy. And the problem is global: the World Health Organization estimates that stress-related disorders affect nearly 450 million individuals worldwide. The effects of this pandemic on the public health are profound. Researchers have linked the cumulative impact of stress to a host of age-accelerating conditions and degenerative diseases. These range from cardiovascular disease to diabetes to various […]
Every morning, many of us sip our coffee with no real thought given to the beans behind the brew. But coffee beans are extra-ordinarily complex fruits containing over 1,000 compounds – only a handful of which have ever been individually investigated by scientists. Not only is coffee packed with antioxidants, but it is the greatest source of antioxidants in the American diet. The average American coffee drinker consumes about 3.1 cups of coffee a day,5 but extensive research has found that higher volumes – as much as 4 to 12 cups daily – can help prevent most major killers, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, liver disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. […]
Now you might think with that title that I’m being ageist, and/or sexist, to all my older women readers. On the contrary, as a cardiologist, I want to help all of my older women readers to stay youthful and healthy for as long as possible. That’s why I’m giving you ladies the inside scoop on something you may be eating that’s upping your risk for brain damage. Ladies Over 50: Trans Fats Up Your Risk of Stroke and Memory Loss Are you a woman over 50? Are you post menopausal? Do you consume foods that contain trans fats? If […]
People who are obese may appear healthy for a while but their condition declines over time, said a study that followed more than 2,500 people for 20 years. The research by scientists at University College London is the longest of its kind, and its findings support previous research that has shown people who are overweight face a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and some kinds of cancer than thin people as the years go on. For the purposes of the research, “healthy obesity” was defined as not having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or other metabolic risk factors. A total […]