Mediterranean diet could lengthen your life

Reuters has recently reported that “eating the Mediterranean way could help you live longer, according to the first study to look at how the dietary pattern relates to mortality in a US population.”

Researchers based at the University of Cambridge examined diet and mortality in 380,296 men and women between the ages of 50 to 71. They found that, for both men and women,

the risk of death from any cause over the five-year follow-up period was lower for those with the most Mediterranean-like diets. Deaths from cancer or cardiovascular disease were also significantly lower.

They also found that “the benefit was especially strong in smokers who were not overweight.”

So what exactly is a Mediterranean diet?

According to the American Heart Association,

There’s no one “Mediterranean” diet. At least 16 countries border the Mediterranean Sea. Diets vary between these countries and also between regions within a country. Many differences in culture, ethnic background, religion, economy and agricultural production result in different diets.

The organization states that the most common characteristics of a “Mediterranean diet” are:

• high consumption of fruits, vegetables, bread and other cereals, potatoes, beans, nuts and seeds
• olive oil is an important mono-unsaturated fat source
• dairy products, fish and poultry are consumed in low to moderate amounts, and little red meat is eaten
• eggs are consumed 0-4 times a week
• wine is consumed in low to moderate amounts

The AHA does warn, though, that “in general, the diets of Mediterranean peoples contain a relatively high percentage of calories from fat. This is thought to contribute to the increasing obesity in these countries, which is becoming a concern.”

Combat the Blues by Going Green?

Outdoor activities might be the key to lifting your spirits: English mental health charity Mind is claiming that “ecotherapy” will help those with mental health problems.

The chief executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, was quoted in a recent article as saying that ecotherapy is “a credible, clinically-valid treatment option and needs to be prescribed by GPs, especially when for many people access to treatments other than anti-depressants is extremely limited.”

Mind recently commissioned several studies on ecotherapy, and have released the results in conjunction with “Mind Week” (May 12-19).

One of the studies suggested that levels of depression and anxiety could be lowered with a 30-minute outdoor walk. Another suggested that “green activities” in general could be successful in lifting depression.

Mind said that antidepressant prescriptions are currently at an all-time high (over 31 million were written in 2006). The charity believes that ecotherapy could be and effective alternative to these medicinal treatments, which tend to be expensive and many of which come with a set of mild side effects. Ecotherapy, in contrast, is inexpensive, readily available, and has no negative side effects (…well, if you don’t count prolonged exposure to sunlight).

Cholesterol: 5 good foods, 5 bad foods

Trying to lower your cholesterol? Then stock up on these five foods:

Almonds
“Studies have found that eating just a quarter cup of almonds a day can lower your LDL by 4.4 percent.”

Oatmeal
“It doesn’t matter how you get your oats—those instant, just-add-water packets are just as good for you as traditional, slow-cooked versions.”

Fish
“Omega-3 fatty acids are widely considered to be the best of the “good” fats, and the best place to find them is in fish—especially fatty fishes like salmon, halibut and tuna.”

Red wine
“A glass of red wine, which contains flavanols, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties that may help lower cholesterol and stave off heart disease.”

Soy
“A little can go a long way—aim for about 25 grams of soy protein a day.”

…and avoid these five:

Whole-milk dairy products
Try low-fat dairy options instead.

Processed meats
This includes bacon, sausage, & liverwurst.

Fast-food fries

Tropical oils
Examples are palm kernel oil and coconut oil.

Baked goods
Always check the nutrition labels.

(based on “The Cholesterol Connection,” an article by Sally Wadyka)

Can fast food be healthy?

Yes!

…If you’re in Denmark, that is.

In a recent study, researchers compared meals from McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken in 20 countries around the world, concentrating on levels of trans fatty acids.

The study concluded that “fast food from McDonald’s is healthiest in Denmark and worst in the United States.”

A meal of nuggets and fries contained 10.1 grams of trans fatty acids in the US, but just 0.33 grams in Denmark.

The low Danish levels are the result of low-fat legislation introduced in the year 2004. Under the new law, no more than two per cent of fats in foods sold to customers can be industrially produced transfats (trans fatty acids).

The KFC results were a little different. For a meal of nuggets and potato wedges, Germany came out on top (just 0.4 grams), and Hungary took last place (with a whopping 24.1 grams).

Source: IBNlive

Healthy Eating at Home

Want to eat healthier meals at home? Put down those chips and check out these tips:

Cooking:

• Cook once, eat twice: Prepare larger meals to provide leftovers for another meal. For instance, today’s grilled chicken (if you make twice as much needed) can be tomorrow’s chicken fajitas.
• Cook like a pro by doing prep work ahead of time. “Make side dishes that can be reheated easily; marinate meat or poultry for the grill the night before; do any chopping the night before as you’re cleaning up the kitchen.

Shopping:

• For convenience’s sake, shop for pre-chopped vegetables and salad fixings, pre-cut fruit, bakery-fresh whole grain breads and prepared sauces and dressings. Also, remember the freezer section.
• Look for healthy, high-flavor ingredients and condiments that deliver great taste. (Think lemon juice, tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, herbs and spices.) And remember to utilize color: “A colorful array of vegetables is not only eye-appealing but also a healthy way to eat!”

Source: Williams Daily News

Are you taking sleeping pills?

If you are, check this out:

Strange behavior by insomniacs taking prescription drugs, ranging from binge eating to having sex while asleep, have raised safety questions about anti-insomnia medications like Sanofi-Aventis’ Ambien.

Apparently, these side effects “have been around for years, but the incidence is rising because of an explosion in the drugs’ use.”

About 30 million people in the United States take sleep medications, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. By some counts that is a 50 percent jump since the beginning of the decade.

“Some of the most serious side effects are short-term memory loss, and accidents involving patients who drive the next day while still feeling drugged.”

Other sleep medications (besides Ambien) include Lunesta from Sepracor Inc. and Sonata made by King Pharmaceuticals Inc.

[This information is from a Reuters article by Kim Dixon dated March 14, 2006.]

Avoiding the Red Wine Headache

We all know about the benefits of drinking red wine–but we don’t know just what causes some people to experience those miserable ‘red wine’ headaches. A recent MSN article offered three theories:

1. Sulfites

Sulfites are possibly to blame. They are compounds that contain sulfur and a less-than-optimal number of oxygen atoms. Consequently, they “grab� oxygen before it can react with food and spoil it. In wine, sulfites also control bacteria that might otherwise digest the alcohol content, turning a $50 bottle into some very expensive vinegar. Some sulfites are created naturally during fermentation, as the yeast breaks down sugars in the grape juice into alcohol and carbon dioxide. But wine makers often add more as a preservative.

Sulfites were once considered harmless, but in the 1980s, studies started to show that a small number of people (about 1%, according to the FDA) are sensitive to them. The FDA, therefore, prohibits the use of sulfites on fruit and vegetables intended to be eaten raw, so salad bars and your supermarket’s produce section should be sulfite-free. Depending on their concentration levels and other factors, the sulfite compounds must be included in a food’s list of ingredients. Most wines are emblazoned with a “contains sulfites� warning.

But many experts question whether sulfites are the source of red wine headaches for several reasons. First, breathing problems (including asthma attacks), not headaches, are the more typical reaction to sulfites. Second, red wine is typically the trigger, yet many sweet whites contain more sulfites than reds because they have a higher sugar content. Third, plenty of other foods contain sulfites, so these headaches shouldn’t be particular to red wine.

This doesn’t mean that sulfites in red wine can’t be a problem. For example, red wine has been known to trigger asthma attacks, presumably because of the sulfite content.

2. Histamine

White wine is made using only the grape’s juice, or must. Red wines use the entire crushed fruit, including the skins, which contain the biologically active compound histamine. As a result, red wine contains 20–200 times more histamine than white wine.

Some people are histamine-intolerant because of a deficiency in diamine oxidase, an enzyme that breaks down histamine in the small intestine. Alcohol also inhibits the enzyme, so some experts believe that red wine headaches are caused by a combination of wine’s alcohol content and a diamine oxidase shortage. But this theory is contradicted by some studies. For example, a French study in the February 2001 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of 16 people with “wine intolerance� found no difference in reactions to low- and high-histamine wines. The researchers didn’t dismiss the possibility that histamine plays a role, but suggested that some other ingredient in red wine might boost levels of it in the blood.

3. Tannins

Tannins, another constituent of grape skins, give red wine its distinctive pleasant but slightly bitter flavor. They may also explain why red wine is so healthful, because they’re flavonoids, antioxidants found in plant-based food. But here’s proof that there’s no such thing as a free lunch: tannins may cause headaches. Several carefully controlled lab experiments have shown that they provoke blood platelets into releasing serotonin, and high serotonin levels can cause headaches.

Finally, for some people, it may simply be the alcohol. Alcohol, in any drink, is a well-known precipitant of migraine, and some of the headaches set off by wine are migraines.

So what can you do to prevent red wine headaches? Depends on which theory you like best. If you think sulfates are causing your headaches, stick to “no sufates added” wines. If you think it’s histamine, try taking a nonsedating antihistamine. If you think it’s tannins, try wines with lower levels of tannin.

The Five Foods You Should Never Eat

Some foods you should eat regularly, some you should eat occasionally, and some you should eat only rarely… but are there any foods you should never eat at all?

Dr. Joseph Mercola and Rachael Droege think so. Here are excerpts from an article they wrote entitled “The Five Absolute Worst Foods You Can Eat,� which lists foods that are not only nutritionally deficient, but downright toxic for the human body.

1. Doughnuts

Why are they bad? “Doughnuts are fried, full of sugar and white flour and most all varieties contain trans fat. Store-bought doughnuts are made up of about 35 percent to 40 percent trans fat. An average doughnut will give you about 200 to 300 calories, mostly from sugar, and few other nutrients.�

2. Soda

Why is it bad? “One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, and is loaded with artificial food colors and sulphites.� “Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease. Plus, drinking all that sugar will likely suppress your appetite for healthy foods, which pave the way for nutrient deficiencies.�

3. French Fries

Why are they bad? “Potatoes are bad enough when consumed in their raw state, as their simple sugars are rapidly converted to glucose that raises insulin levels and can devastate your health.â€? “Foods that are fried in vegetable oils like canola, soybean, safflower, corn, and other seed and nut oils are particularly problematic. …These oils can actually cause aging, clotting, inflammation, cancer and weight gain.â€?

4. Chips

Why are they bad? “Most commercial chips, and this includes corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips, you name it, are high in trans fat. …The high temperatures used to cook them will potentially cause the formation of carcinogenic substances like acrylamide.â€?

5. Fried Non-Fish Seafood

Why is it bad? “Fried shrimp, clams, oysters, lobsters, and so on have all the issues of trans fat and acrylamide mentioned above, plus an added risk of mercury.� And it’s possible that “shellfish like shrimp and lobsters can be contaminated with parasites and resistant viruses that may not even be killed with high heat.�

Soda and french fries make sense–but who knew fried shellfish would make a list like this? Wow…