Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important things you can do to slow down the aging process. This includes eating whole foods, exercising daily, not smoking, and keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum. Maintaining a healthy weight is right up there too for protecting your body against the threat of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardio vascular disease. When I advise my patients to be mindful of the foods they eat in order to keep them looking and feeling good, I am often asked the same question: “ What are the best foods for me to […]
Like my patients, you often hear me talk about the importance of including optimal levels of antioxidants into your diet. So far, we’ve talked about Vitamin A, C, Vitamin E, selenium, resveratrol, garlic, to name a few, and the incredible health benefits they confer like fighting heart disease, diabetes and cancer. We’ve talked about certain natural foods that contain high amounts of these powerful antioxidants like blueberries,dark blue-purple grapes, strawberries, yams, Brazil nuts, and almonds for starters. Now, I’d like to tell you about another, new (to health research that is) superfood antioxidant that we haven’t talked about before. When I say the name of […]
Dear Health-Minded Readers, Lately, several of my patients have asked me about adding flaxseed to their diets. They’ve heard a lot about the important health benefits of Omega-3 fats and that flaxseeds are high in these good fats. While I agree that adding Omega-3 fats by adding flaxseeds to your diet is highly beneficial, you also need to exercise a little caution in doing so. Let me explain. The Health Benefits of Flax Seeds Flaxseed is truly a miraculous food with many health benefits that are varied and include the following: Rich in alpha linoleic acid. A rich Omega-3 fat, which […]
We hear about inflammation a lot, but what does it really mean? Put very simply, inflammation is our body’s immune system response when something is wrong, whether it’s infection, stress, or injury. Unfortunately, more studies are showing that inflammation plays a significant role in most of the diseases plaguing our society, including arthritis, heart disease, irritable bowel disorders, Alzheimer’s, Type 2 diabetes and even cancer. So what can we do to fight it? The good news is that there are many foods that calm inflammation in a variety of ways. They’re anti-inflammatories and they keep our arteries young and less […]
When pomegranates arrive on produce shelves, they remind me that fall is here and the holidays are upon us. Pomegranates are in season during fall and winter, and they deserve a place on every holiday table because of their beautiful color and cranberry-like flavor. In my AGE GRACEFULLY COOKBOOK, I have a recipe for Pomegranate Iced Tea that utilizes the juice of this amazing fruit along with its beautiful red seeds. It’s a festive drink for any occasion. In my AGE BEAUTIFULLY COOKBOOK, I have a delicious recipe for Guacamole with Pomegranate Seeds, and if you love Brussels sprouts like I do, […]
While artichokes may not be the easiest food to consume, the sheer volume of nutrients, minerals, and phytochemicals found in this extraordinary vegetable make eating them well worth it. Most people’s favorite part of the artichoke is the heart, but the leaves are actually the source of a vast majority of its health benefits. In fact, artichoke leaf extract has proven to be an extremely beneficial food with a host of illness-fighting, age-extending properties. Artichokes are packed with phytonutrients such as quercetin, rutin, gallic acid, and cynarin, all working to protect against many health risks including cancer, heart disease, liver […]
Some of the most frequent complaints I hear from my patients, especially those older than 50, involves muscle cramps and spasms, notably those leg zingers that make them jump out of bed in the middle of the night; trouble sleeping; and daytime stiffness or pain in their muscles. Most of my patients laugh these symptoms off as just “getting old,” but they’re surprised when I tell them these are more likely symptoms of a magnesium deficiency, which can easily be corrected. Read on and see if you have any of the common symptoms of low magnesium and what I recommend. […]
I have a retired 64 year-old patient, I’ll call him Bob, who tells me that he never sleeps more than 5-6 hours a night and that he’s always up with the sun, full of energy for his active retiree day and never gets that mid-afternoon sleepy slump. He’s doing well, has no major health concerns, and this amount of sleep seems to be working well for him. Another patient I have, I’ll call her Ellen, 46 years-old, working full-time every day as a busy legal secretary, tells me she’s a zombie unless she has at least 9 hours of sleep a […]
Can you add years to your life? If you want to extend life beyond the current lifespan of 70 years,
As sure as there will be another year, there will be New Year’s resolutions. They usually go something like this: Pay off all debt. Finally quit smoking. Shed those pesky 25 pounds that don’t seem to budge. Despite the wide array of ways we can feel, look and live better, one thing rings true. Most of these resolutions are so extreme that they have very little staying power. “People easily become discouraged when they set big goals because they are too overwhelming,” said Sarah Zangerle, registered dietitian at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Weight Loss Center. “In […]