New Study: Eating Walnuts can help curb Type 2 Diabetes risks.

Eating walnuts may reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes in women, a large new study concludes.

Previous studies have suggested an inverse relationship between tree nut consumption and diabetes. Though the findings are correlational, walnuts are uniquely high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which may be of particular value in Type 2 diabetes prevention.

The scientists, writing in the April issue of The Journal of Nutrition, used dietary and health data on 138,000 women participating in a large continuing study of women’s health. Beginning in 1999 they collected data on walnut consumption, and followed the women for the next 10 years. They found 5,930 cases of Type 2 diabetes.

Women who ate walnuts tended to weigh less, consume more fish and exercise more than those who did not. But researchers controlled for these and many other factors, and found that compared with women who ate no walnuts, those who consumed 8 ounces of walnuts or more a month reduced their risk for Type 2 diabetes by 24 percent.

Read more here: 

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/walnuts-for-diabetes/?ref=health

Consumption of Red Meat in diet linked to shortened life span.

 Recently featured on the Dianne Rheme show, and also mainstream media such as CNN and the New York Times, consumption of Red Meat has been linked to heart disease, and other significant causes of illness and death in humans.  

 With Processed Meats such as hotdogs and lunchmeats already linked with certainty to colon cancers and stomach cancer, this news, while alarming can serve to help individuals choose their diets more wisely and decrease the likelyhood of serious ailments later in life. 

From the Dianne Rheme Show 

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. An estimated 80 million Americans have one or more types of the deadly disease. For many years, numerous studies stressed the link between a diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol with hardening of the arteries. But critics of these studies doubted they had found the true dietary cause. Now, new research from doctors at the Cleveland Clinic finds that a compound in red meat and supplements leads to higher heart disease risk. For our Mind and Body Series: the latest research on red meat and what it might mean for heart disease treatment and prevention.

From CNN 

Using data from two long-running studies of health professionals, researchers tracked the diets of more than 121,000 middle-aged men and women for up to 28 years. Roughly 20% of the participants died during that period.

On average, each additional serving of red meat the participants ate per day was associated with a 13% higher risk of dying during the study. Processed red meat products -- such as hot dogs, bacon, and salami -- appeared to be even more dangerous: Each additional daily serving was associated with a 20% higher risk of dying.

Based on these findings, the researchers estimate that substituting one daily serving of red meat with fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, whole grains, or low-fat dairy products would reduce the risk of dying in this stage of life by 7% to 19%. If everyone in the study had slashed their average red-meat intake to less than half a serving per day, the researchers say, 9% of deaths among men and 8% of deaths among women could have been prevented.

Step behind the closed doors of the junk food industry: Addictive sickening food by design.

Food that makes you feel hungry after eating it, consistencies that make you crave the feeling of eating more and more of a product, and empty calories and chemicals that are artificial added just for the sake of psychological appeal ... a bag of chips and a cheap can of soda all have millions of dollars of scientific investment in them. 

But this investment is not to make you healthy, rather it's an investement by the manufactureres to make you consume more, at all costs, even your health. 

From the New York Times, this excerpt sets up a must read article. Links below. 

A chemist by training with a doctoral degree in food science, Behnke became Pillsbury’s chief technical officer in 1979 and was instrumental in creating a long line of hit products, including microwaveable popcorn. He deeply admired Pillsbury but in recent years had grown troubled by pictures of obese children suffering from diabetes and the earliest signs of hypertension and heart disease. In the months leading up to the C.E.O. meeting, he was engaged in conversation with a group of food-science experts who were painting an increasingly grim picture of the public’s ability to cope with the industry’s formulations — from the body’s fragile controls on overeating to the hidden power of some processed foods to make people feel hungrier still. It was time, he and a handful of others felt, to warn the C.E.O.’s that their companies may have gone too far in creating and marketing products that posed the greatest health concerns.

The discussion took place in Pillsbury’s auditorium. The first speaker was a vice president of Kraft named Michael Mudd. “I very much appreciate this opportunity to talk to you about childhood obesity and the growing challenge it presents for us all,” Mudd began. “Let me say right at the start, this is not an easy subject. There are no easy answers — for what the public health community must do to bring this problem under control or for what the industry should do as others seek to hold it accountable for what has happened. But this much is clear: For those of us who’ve looked hard at this issue, whether they’re public health professionals or staff specialists in your own companies, we feel sure that the one thing we shouldn’t do is nothing.”

As he spoke, Mudd clicked through a deck of slides — 114 in all — projected on a large screen behind him. The figures were staggering. More than half of American adults were now considered overweight, with nearly one-quarter of the adult population — 40 million people — clinically defined as obese. Among children, the rates had more than doubled since 1980, and the number of kids considered obese had shot past 12 million. (This was still only 1999; the nation’s obesity rates would climb much higher.) Food manufacturers were now being blamed for the problem from all sides — academia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. The secretary of agriculture, over whom the industry had long held sway, had recently called obesity a “national epidemic.”

Mudd then did the unthinkable. He drew a connection to the last thing in the world the C.E.O.’s wanted linked to their products: cigarettes. First came a quote from a Yale University professor of psychology and public health, Kelly Brownell, who was an especially vocal proponent of the view that the processed-food industry should be seen as a public health menace: “As a culture, we’ve become upset by the tobacco companies advertising to children, but we sit idly by while the food companies do the very same thing. And we could make a claim that the toll taken on the public health by a poor diet rivals that taken by tobacco.”

“If anyone in the food industry ever doubted there was a slippery slope out there,” Mudd said, “I imagine they are beginning to experience a distinct sliding sensation right about now.”

Read more: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Food: More nutrients in the peel than in the fruit?

 Disclaimer: Certain foods that are mass producted or farmed can have very high concentrations of toxins or pesticides in the peels themselves, specificially apples and other fruits that are generally treated very heavily. CMJ reccomends organic foods; and surprisingly organic apples and oranges often are just a pocketfull of change more than the alternative, but allow someone to eat the full fruit without worry, which as the article below shows, can be very good for you! 

Fruit and vegetables should always be eaten unpeeled if possible to give you the full nutrients. For example, 100 grams of unpeeled apples have about 16 mg of vitamin C and 12 microgram of folate while the same amount of peeled apples only has 8 mg and 5 micrograms.

If foods must be chopped up then they should be washed beforehand. Washing afterwards means that the nutrients are washed away.

Foods should best be processed directly after cutting them as the chopping destroys the cell structure, which fosters the loss of vitamins. For example, chopped cabbage or grated apples sit around for two hours, they lose up to 62 per cent of their vitamin C compared to the uncut product.

A way of at least slowing the loss of vitamin C is drizzling the cut pieces with vinegar or lemon juice and storing them in a cool place. And to maintain as much vitamin C as possible, stewing vegetables in recommended. Stewing means cooking the food with very little water. 

Diet and weight loss reduce affects of "Hot Flashes", Menopause.

Weight loss that occurs in conjunction with a low-fat, high fruit and vegetable diet may help to reduce or eliminate hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause, according to a Kaiser Permanente Division of Research study that appears in the current issue of Menopause.

This Women's Health Initiative study of 17,473 women found that women on a diet low in fat and high in whole grains, fruit and vegetables, who had menopausal symptoms, who were not taking hormone replacement therapy, and who lost weight (10 or more pounds or 10 or more percent of their baseline body weight), were more likely to reduce or eliminate hot flashes and night sweats after one year, compared to those in a control group who maintained their weight.

Many women experience hot flashes at some point before or after menopause, when their estrogen levels are declining, explain the researchers.

"While the mechanism is not completely understood, hot flashes and night sweats are thought to be caused by a complex interaction that involves fluctuating hormone levels, the hypothalamus region of the brain that regulates body temperature, brain chemicals and receptors, and the body's blood vessels and sweat glands," said Candyce Kroenke, ScD, MPH, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and lead author of the study.

Although previous research has shown that high body weight and weight gain are associated with hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause, this study is the among the first -- and the largest to date -- to analyze whether weight loss on a diet designed to reduce fat and increase whole grains, fruit and vegetable intake might ameliorate symptoms. It is also among the first to examine the influence of a dietary change on symptoms that include hot flashes and night sweats, said Kroenke.

"Since most women tend to gain weight with age, weight loss or weight gain prevention may offer a viable strategy to help eliminate hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause," said Bette Caan, DrPH, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research and the senior author of the study.

She explained that greater body fat provides insulation that may hinder heat loss, and hot flashes and night sweats provide a way to dissipate that heat.

"Weight loss, especially loss of fat mass but not lean mass, might also help alleviate hot flashes and night sweats," added Kroenke.

Better fed with red? Red fruits and vegetables have more than just color.

Red fruit and vegetables are always popular for Valentine's Day but a U.S. food expert said they are also some of the healthiest produce to eat all year long.

Phil Lempert, a food industry analyst, trend watcher and creator of the Web site supermarketguru.com, said the red color in fruit and vegetables reveals phytonutrients that reduce the risk of prostate cancer, lower blood pressure, reduce tumor growth, lower low-density lipoprotein -- the "bad" cholesterol -- scavenge harmful free-radicals and support joint tissue.

Tomatoes and watermelon contain lycopene, considered a powerful anti-carcinogenic that is also good for eye and prostate health. Heating tomatoes in tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and ketchup increases the levels of lycopene.

Cranberry juice, known to help prevent urinary infections also increase levels of high-density lipoprotein -- "good" cholesterol -- and antioxidants. Apples are great source of vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants.

Strawberries contain vitamin C and manganese. Manganese help reduce free radicals, keep bones strong, promote optimal thyroid function, regulate blood sugar and are high in fiber, iodine, potassium, folate and vitamin K.

Cherries, tangy and sweet, contain melatonin, an antioxidant that helps regulate the body's natural sleep patterns, prevent memory loss, decrease inflammation and lowers cancer and diabetes risk.

Raspberries reduce inflammation, pain, cancer risk, heart disease risk, diabetes risk, allergies and age-related macular degeneration.

Red bell pepper is packed with vitamin A, vitamin B6 and improves mood and sleep.

Mounting Evidence: Diet Soda Linked to Heart Disease.

"...studies have suggested that consumption of diet soft drinks may be associated with Type 2 diabetes and development of the condition known as metabolic syndrome — high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and other risk factors. Now a 10-year epidemiological study has found a link between diet soft drinks and cardiovascular disease." 

Read full article here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/health/research/diet-soft-drinks-linked-to-risk-of-heart-disease.html?ref=science

How to stay healthy after 16 seasons in the NFL ?

Meet Ray Lewis, star middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, and read how at 36 what he attests his longevity in the NFL to. 

Ray Lewis reaches into the black leather briefcase on the floor in front of his locker and pulls out a clear plastic bag.

It is show-and-tell time.

Stamped "P.M.," the bag is filled with multicolored vitamin supplements. Before noon, the iconic Baltimore Ravens linebacker already had consumed a protein shake, egg whites, an apple, 2 gallons of water and a similar bag of "A.M." supplements.

Lewis, 36, is explaining why he believes he has survived 16 NFL seasons -- and still is playing at a Pro Bowl level as the Ravens prepare for Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans -- in such a physically demanding sport.

In addition to a relentless year-round conditioning regimen and aggressive therapy for the toe injury that sidelined him for four games this season, Lewis estimates he swallows 50 pills a day.

Then the veteran, hardly ready to declare this playoff run a prelude to retirement, reaches into the briefcase to show off his afternoon snack -- another apple.

"I'm watching these guys, with their cheeseburgers and stuff," he says. "And you're going to compete against me? Even if you're younger and faster, your fuel won't let you beat me."

His obsession for healthy eating is notorious in the locker room.

"His diet is so ridiculous, even the people around him have to adjust," linebacker Terrell Suggs says. "It's crazy. Last week, I'm eating a bag of chips, and he throws 'em away."

Lewis is a fish-and-vegetable man who hasn't touched pork in 12 years and has eaten beef twice during that span. He also doesn't drink soda or eat bread or sugar -- except for scant exceptions. Like his cheat snacks, Twizzlers and Gummy Bears.

Conversations with Lewis -- a passionate, spiritual man and maybe the greatest middle linebacker ever -- can branch into myriad directions...