When trying to live a healthy lifestyle, every day can feel like a battle. Forces are destroying our bodies and our minds. The standard American diet is making us sick; we are constantly bombarded by a fear-mongering news media; and we’re hypnotized by technical gadgets that keep us from our loved ones. Even our own genes can seem like they’re out to get us. But you can win the war. You can live your life to the fullest, be your best, and feel your greatest, and the key to victory rests between your ears. Your brain runs your life. When […]
New understanding of vitamin D’s manifold benefits continues to expand. In an investigation published in the October 25, 2016 issue of Cell Reports, a team from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging found that the vitamin extended median lifespan by a third in the roundworm C. elegans and helped support protein homeostasis: the ability of proteins to maintain shape and function. “Vitamin D3 reduced the age-dependent formation of insoluble proteins across a wide range of predicted functions and cellular compartments, supporting our hypothesis that decreasing protein insolubility can prolong lifespan,” reported research team leader Karla Mark, PhD. “Vitamin D […]
Elderly people who follow a Mediterranean-style diet may benefit from better brain health and a lower risk for cognitive impairment later in life, according to a new US study. “It suggests that a healthy dietary pattern and specific dietary components have impact on biomarkers of brain pathology,” senior researcher Rosebud Roberts of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, told Reuters Health by email. A Mediterranean-style diet includes fish, lean meat, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and healthy fats. The diet has been linked to better heart and bone health. Roberts and colleagues analyzed data from […]
Sometimes I like to have fun with my guests and serve them something a little out of the ordinary. I enjoy seeing skepticism turn to pleasure on their faces when I introduce them to a new food they’d never imagine eating, but once they try it, they enjoy. Prickly pears, also known as cactus pears, are one of those foods. It’s the fruit of the opuntia cactus, which is the one with the paddle-like leaves (also edible, but more on that later). Prickly pears are popular in Mexico, South and Central America, around the Mediterranean and South Africa. In this […]
This probably isn’t the first time you’ve seen information regarding foods and nutrients to support brain function. And if you Google this topic, you’re likely to wind up with a large number of suggestions. Are all of them accurate? Probably not. However, there is a common thread between of the types of foods that are recommended. Most suggestions include increasing plant-based foods, berries, and green leafy veggies while limiting animal foods and foods high in saturated fat. Since there are many foods that fall into the above categories, we won’t cover them all here. Instead, we’ll focus on a few […]
Dong quai is a root known as the “female ginseng.” Ginseng is well-known for its ability to support endurance, memory, sexual function (particularly for men), and heart health. Dong quai’s use in Chinese medicine has been documented for more than one thousand years, mainly for easing women’s menopausal symptoms, which is why it’s called the “female ginseng.” But it’s not just for women. It can actually benefit men and women alike with many other aspects of health including mood, bone, joints, lungs, brain, and heart. Female Ginseng Offers Relief from Female Hormone Issues Like ginseng, dong quai is used as a […]
The word “sage” brings to mind an elderly dispenser of wisdom, the fragrant brush of a desert landscape, or perhaps “smudging” — a Native American ritual involving burning dry, bundled herbs, which is said to benefit a location’s energy. However, sage is most commonly known as a seasoning used to flavor holiday stuffing or brewed on its own as tea. Sage (Salvia officinalis) takes its name from the Latin word salvere, which means “to save,” referring to the herb’s healing powers. Common sage has a number of documented beneficial properties, not limited to those of an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial. Sage […]
Blueberries are among the few blue foods found in nature. They owe their appealing color, as well as many of their health benefits, to their anthocyanin content. Anthocyanins are plant pigments with antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, and antidiabetic properties. In addition to these benefits, blueberries have, in a number of studies, demonstrated a remarkable effect on the brain. Blueberries Support Brain Health An article published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine explains that flavonoid-rich foods such as green tea, cocoa, and blueberry increase the expression of neuroprotective proteins in the brain. In addition, they increase the connections between neurons, improve cerebral blood […]
Over the centuries, the root-like stem of the Curcuma longa plant has been used to make yellow dyes and spike food with some tasty zing. But an ever-growing mountain of evidence shows that boldly colored turmeric with its earthy, bitter-gingery taste may offer a plethora of potential health benefits. Multiple studies — most originating in India, Europe and Australia — show that turmeric, and especially its color-rich constituent of curcumin, can help prevent or treat a wide spectrum of cancers, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune problems, neurological ailments including Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and diabetes neuropathy, among other metabolic diseases. Interest in turmeric and curcumin began […]
Research conducted in roundworms, described in the November 2014 issue of the journal Aging, indicates that iron, beyond accumulating with aging, could actually contribute to the condition. Gordon Lithgow, PhD, of the Buck Institute and his associates studied the effects of iron in Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode that has been the subject of numerous experiments in the field of gerontology. The research team discovered that the accumulation of calcium, copper, iron, and manganese increased with age, and that potassium and phosphorus levels tended to decline. Acting on the knowledge of iron’s role in neurodegenerative-associated protein aggregation, they investigated the effects of adding the […]