I encourage my 50-and-older patients to get a bone density test every year. As this test tells me if they’re losing or maintaining their bone density and strength. The pelvis and femur bones of the hips and upper thighs are especially significant as we get older because they support our body walking and standing and, really, with any activity we do.
It’s spring and, like many of my patients, you may be trying to get some extra weight off before summer and swimsuit season arrives. I’ve recently been asked about those expanding fiber diet products many have seen advertised on television and the Internet. The ads claim they cause you to effortlessly lose weight without changing your diet or exercise routine. I’d like to explain the pros and cons of using some of these products and let you be the judge of whether you want to use them or not.
In the last several years, researchers have learned unequivocally that the process we normally think of as “aging” is really a process of disease-states taking hold on the body. The typical diseases of aging – diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, and even cancer – can all be outgrowths of free radical damage that sets cellular aging in place.
As I’ve been telling my story these past few years about how I developed an anti-aging cookbook based on the food-is-medicine principle, I’ve expanded my method for creating delicious, comforting recipes designed to keep you young and healthy. It’s a lot easier than I imagined. I start with classic dishes, many of which I learned how to make from my mother, and I amp up their nutrient value with anti-aging super foods, some of them quite exotic but easy to obtain. I research new ingredients constantly, always learning about antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables from all over the world. I have […]
The April, 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology published the
Eating healthy is one of the ways in which to ward off the effects of aging for as long as possible. Towards that goal, you’re buying more fruits, vegetables, and less red meat. Yet, you may be unaware that certain foods you eat, or even the way you prepare them, can be unhealthy, cause you to age faster, and put you at risk for serious diseases.
Recently, I was asked to appear in the Rustic Crust (www.rusticcrust.com) booth at the Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Actress and natural-food advocate Jamie Luner appeared alongside me, and the FoodTrients team passed out samples of four dips and spreads I created specifically for Rustic Crust ciabatta (see recipes).
As you get older, it’s typical to have sporadic incidents of misplacing your keys, forgetting someone’s name, or where you left your glasses. Yet, persistent memory loss that’s also accompanied by depression can be early warning signs that you may be developing brain changes than can result in dementia in the coming years.
Researchers at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology have received a $1 million grant to study how exercise and other therapies might work differently in lean and obese individuals (see also Obesity).
Dr. William Davis in his book, Wheat Belly, claims that wheat products in the American diet parallel the expansion of our waistlines. This is because wheat today is not the same wheat eaten by ancient people, or even people just a few decades ago. Wheat today is hybridized and crossbred to make the wheat plant resistant to environmental conditions, such as drought, or pathogens, such as fungi. But most of all, genetic changes have been induced to increase yield per acre. Such enormous strides in yield have required drastic changes in the wheat’s genetic code. Such fundamental genetic changes have also come at a […]