Posts Tagged ‘Plant-based nutrition’
Sunday, December 19th, 2010
Both smoking and animal foods can damage your heart and the arteries that feed it. Whole plant foods nourish your heart. Should be a simple choice.
And Two Important Ways They Are Different
The Surgeon General’s December 2010 report, How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease, is a gift for anyone interested in health. Of course, everyone knows that smoking is “bad.” This 727 page masterpiece vividly describes exactly how and why.
The Surgeon General has yet to release a report on the perils of animal foods. Yet compelling evidence shows striking similarities between smoking and eating meat, fish, dairy, and eggs. Here are twelve parallels between these dangerous habits.
1. Both smoking and animal foods damage your body through multiple mechanisms, including causing genetic changes, inflammation, and an increase in the free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Chronic illnesses, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, reproductive problems, and aggravation of diabetes are (more…)
Tags: cardiovascular disease, cigarettes, getting healthy, inflammation, nutrition facts, Plant-based nutrition, reverse chronic disease, Surgeon General's report, tobacco, whole foods
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
Sunday, December 5th, 2010
A Well-Known Study Gives Unexpected Insight
Colds, flu, and all manner of upper respiratory infections blossom in winter. Modern medicine has no effective cure for the patient’s misery. Some drugs can temporarily help with symptoms, but may have unwanted side effects that make things worse in the long-run.
So what is a desperate sufferer or their family member to do? Folk cures abound. Chicken soup is reputed to be useful in alleviating cold symptoms. In fact, a scientific study published in 2000 in the peer-reviewed medical journal Chest is often cited to support the idea that chicken soup has real clinical effects. The action the study authors see as most beneficial in helping with cold misery was the demonstrated (more…)
Tags: cold, flu, getting healthy, Janice Stanger, Plant-based nutrition, respiratory infection, soup, vegetables, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | 2 Comments »
Friday, November 26th, 2010
Nuts for Nutrition and Health: It’s All In How Much You Eat
Few foods are as simple, delicious, and filling as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Be sure to enjoy yours on whole wheat bread. Peanuts are not really tree nuts, but have very similar nutritional properties.
Are you looking for a tasty snack that won’t boost your weight? How about a recipe ingredient that will add crunch and flavor? What if only a handful of this food could diminish your risk of having a heart attack?
Nuts were once thought to be fattening and unhealthy due to their high fat content. In 1992, researchers were intrigued when a large-scale study found that adults who regularly ate small amounts of nuts actually had lower risk of coronary heart disease than those who did not eat this food.
Since then, dozens of additional studies strongly support the conclusion that nuts boost heart health. The research is consistent. Nuts lower total and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and this is (more…)
Tags: cardiovascular disease, getting healthy, Janice Stanger, lose weight, nutrition facts, nuts, Perfect Formula Diet, Plant-based nutrition, weight loss, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | 1 Comment »
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
This Colorful Fruit Has Unique Health Benefits
A cranberry bog at harvest is stunning, with deep red fruit contrasting with a watery background.
Cranberries are a holiday season tradition. Their tart taste, dark red hue, and versatility underlie their popularity. Americans are consuming more cranberries, with 40,000 acres devoted to this crop. Farmers grow cranberries in bogs or marshes, taking advantage of a natural habitat for plants and animals. Long-lived cranberry vines can bear fruit for more than 150 years!
Here are 10 benefits of enjoying cranberries fresh in season, and dried or frozen year-round.
1. Of all fruits, cranberries rank near the top in both number and amount of phytochemicals, beneficial plant substances that help protect your cells in many ways. Scientists have identified over 150 phytochemicals in this berry, (more…)
Tags: cranberries, cranberry sauce, getting healthy, inflammation, Janice Stanger, phytochemicals, Plant-based nutrition, reverse chronic disease, urinary tract infections, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | Comments Off on 10 Reasons to Eat More Cranberries
Saturday, November 13th, 2010
You Don’t Need Fat From Dead Fish to Be Healthy
Every fish taken out of the sea by people can disrupt ecosystems. Dolphins and other animals and birds that must eat fish may then starve. Modern fishing practices are simply not sustainable.
Fish and fish oil hype is everywhere, inundating news stories, ads, and doctors’ offices. The fatty component of dead fish is touted as the magic bullet for just about any health concern, from cardiovascular disease to poor memory.
There’s only one problem with these claims – they are not true. However, the fish and fish oil ballyhoo does hold a core of important information. If you want to benefit, it’s critical to sort the fact from the fiction.
Here’s the deal. You need two types of essential fatty acids: omega-6s and omega-3s. These substances are called “essential” because they are necessary for health and you can get them only from food.
Omega-6s are generally pro-inflammatory. Inflammation is a normal body function necessary for survival. Acute inflammation fights off (more…)
Tags: essential fatty acids, fish, fish oil, getting healthy, hype, Janice Stanger, marine algae supplements, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, phytochemicals, Plant-based nutrition, whole foods
Posted in Health | Comments Off on Seven Reasons Omega-3s From Plants Clobber Fish and Fish Oil
Sunday, November 7th, 2010
Spur-Of-The-Moment Cooking Can Be Healthy and Fun
You can make delicious soup with a prepared base plus your own fresh vegetables and spices
Cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients is the gold standard for healthy plant-based eating. Tips to make cooking more enjoyable simplify this process. But some nights even the most undemanding recipes are out-of-reach. You are running late at work and get home tired and distracted. Traffic was a hassle. Maybe you have less than an hour to make dinner, eat, clean up, and run out for another commitment. Even on weekends, you can be squeezed for time as you bounce from one commitment to the next.
Don’t despair. Even in these stressful situations, you can have healthy, satisfying food. You do not need to (more…)
Tags: cooking lite, fast cooking, getting healthy, Janice Stanger, Plant-based nutrition, vegetables, whole foods
Posted in Recipes | Comments Off on Not-Recipes for Not-Meals
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
Miguel Villarreal’s Passion for Gleaning Blazes the Path
Miguel Villarreal holds a box of tomatoes that will be the next day's lunch for these lucky students who helped glean the vegetables. Their classmates benefit as well from the local organic goodness.
Now in his ninth year as Food Services Director at Novato Unified School District, Miguel Villarreal muses about the kids under his watch. The students who were first graders when he started are now high school students with one big advantage over many of their peers.
These kids never had candy and soda at school. Miguel got rid of that junk food right away. He has also phased out red meat, and believes Novato Unified is the only school district in the country that does not serve it. Instead, Novato students have nourished (more…)
Tags: family, Farm to School, getting healthy, gleaning, Green spaces, Janice Stanger, making a difference now, Marin Organic, Miguel Villarreal, Novato Unified School District, organic, Plant-based nutrition, vegetables, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | Comments Off on How To Make Kids Love Their Veggies
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
The Land of Sandy Autos: A Fable
If you pour sand in your engine, expect to spend a lot of time and money on car repair
People in the Land of Sandy Autos (LSA) start each morning taking care of their cars. The usual routine, which 99% of men and women embrace, is to mix a teaspoon of sand into a car’s fluids.
Each person has their own opinion of the best method to use, and the media buzz with experts. Some pour the sand directly into engine oil. Others swear it’s better to put the sand into the fuel tank, the brake fluid, transmission fluid, or some other target. A common strategy is to vary each day where to put the sand.
Car repair costs in LSA are out-of-control, increasing at a rate far higher than salary increases. As you are reading this, (more…)
Tags: getting healthy, Janice Stanger, Plant-based nutrition, reverse chronic disease, whole foods
Posted in Health | 1 Comment »
Saturday, October 16th, 2010
Vivid Orange Food that Is Fun to Play With
Pumpkins have a strong association with the supernatural. Yes,they are supernaturally healthful.
The traditional instruction from parents to “eat your food, don’t play with it” was not meant for pumpkins. These giant fruits, each with its own distinct form and personality, light up October with fun.
It’s hard to look at a pumpkin without smiling. These special plants give you something to smile about, because pumpkins are healthy in at least three ways.
First, pumpkins fascinate with their vivid color, intriguing forms, and range of possibilities. The idea of carving a jack-o-lantern brings out the kid in people of all ages. So pumpkins stimulate creativity.
Often the carving is a family project, an innocent way for parents, kids, siblings, and friends to work together cooperatively. The whole process ignites active engagement, fine motor skills, artistic talents, and joy. Contrast this with the passive and sedentary ways so many kids now spend much of their time. So pumpkins enhance (more…)
Tags: gardening, getting healthy, Halloween nostalgia, healthy Halloween, jack-o-lantern, Janice Stanger, nutrition facts, phytochemicals, Plant-based nutrition, pumpkins, vegetables, weight loss, whole foods
Posted in Health | Comments Off on Three Ways to Enjoy Healthy Pumpkins
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
Dr. Neal Barnard Shares a Winning Weight Loss Strategy
The range of delicious, healthy foods to enjoy while losing weight is motivating. Try all these whole foods and many more.
Dr. Neal Barnard, President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), noticed his conversations on airplanes have taken a new direction recently. In the days when airlines routinely served meals, he would get his vegetarian choice before the other dinners were brought out. When other passengers found out he was vegetarian, they questioned his health and motives. Not eating meat was a strange concept to them.
Now, when he tells fellow passengers – or just about anyone else – that he is vegan, people respond (more…)
Tags: Dr. Neal Barnard, getting healthy, Janice Stanger, lose weight, PCRM, Plant-based nutrition, Power Plate, weight loss, whole foods
Posted in Plant-based nutrition | 1 Comment »
