Nuts For Brain Health!

By Karen Merzenich on August 25, 2010

Many people think that eating nuts is good for your brain. This is true, but not all nuts are created equally. There is great variation in the health benefits to be found in different types of nuts, especially from a brain health perspective.

• Walnuts are the top nut for brain health. They have a significantly high concentration of DHA, a type of Omega-3 fatty acid. Among other things, DHA has been shown to protect brain health in newborns, improve cognitive performance in adults, and prevent or ameliorate age-related cognitive decline. One study even shows that mothers who get enough DHA have smarter kids. Just a quarter cup of walnuts provides nearly 100% of the recommended daily intake of DHA.
• Almonds and Hazelnuts are two of the most concentrated sources of vitamin E available, and vitamin E intake is generally associated with less age-related cognitive decline. In one study, participants who received vitamin E improved statistically and clinically in some memory and verbal measures, while participants who received a placebo did not. 1/4 cup of almonds or hazelnuts packs in nearly 50% of the RDA for vitamin E.
• Peanuts have not been extensively studied as a brain healthy food, but there is good reason to believe that they offer brain benefits. Peanuts are high in niacin (1/2 cup of peanuts offers about 50% of the RDA for niacin.) Studies have correlated niacin deficiencies with a higher incidence of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s. There has also been preliminary research that suggests that eating peanuts may help stave off Parkinson’s.

Other nuts like pecans, chestnuts, and cashews are often mentioned as having brain health benefits. However, there are little or no published scientific studies to back up those claims, so we’ll have to wait on further research to be sure.

Of course, nuts are high in calories. Many worry that the proven health benefits of eating nuts will be outweighed by the increase in caloric intake and potential weight gain. Interestingly, studies have shown that people who regularly eat nuts actually weigh less than their nut-free counterparts. This is a correlation, not a cause and effect, so I’m not suggesting that adding nuts to your diet will help you lose weight. However, I have found that when I’m hungry between meals, grabbing 6-10 roasted almonds helps stave off hunger better than most other snacks I’ve tried, and gives me those brain benefits at the same time.

REFERENCES

Here are links to the PubMed abstracts of studies referenced in this article:

1. Maternal docosahexaenoic acid-enriched diet prevents neonatal brain injury.
2. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and depression: a review of the evidence.
3. Serum phospholipid docosahexaenonic acid is associated with cognitive functioning during middle adulthood.
4. Maternal supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation augments children’s IQ at 4 years of age.
5. Essential fatty acids and the brain.
6. Grape juice, berries, and walnuts affect brain aging and behavior.
7. Vitamin E use is associated with improved survival in an Alzheimer’s disease cohort.
8. A vitamin/nutriceutical formulation improves memory and cognitive performance in community- dwelling adults without dementia.
9. Better cognitive performance in elderly taking antioxidantvitamins E and C supplements in combination with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: the Cache County Study.
10. Dietary niacin and the risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease and of cognitive decline.
11. Follow-up study of early-life protective and risk factors in Parkinson’s disease.
12. Nut Consumption and Weight Gain in a Mediterranean Cohort: The SUN Study.

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1. Bringing Brain Health To Your Thanksgiving Table
2. Move Aside, Drugs: Non-invasive Brain Therapies
3. Garlic, Onions, Rosemary, and Sage – Interesting Health Findings for Brain and Body
4. On Socializing and Brain Health

6 Best Foods You’re Not Eating

From watermelon to red cabbage, find out why these foods should be part of a healthy diet.

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Some foods are so healthy they star on every nutrition expert’s super food list. But often missing on those lists are some nutritional gems or underrated foods that don’t get the attention they deserve.

Sorting out the best foods to eat is not always easy because the choices can be daunting. Adding to the confusion are overrated foods like salads that are perceived to be good for you but can be health horrors.

Here are six foods not typically thought of as nutritional powerhouses that can definitely upgrade your diet. Getting to know them — and understanding more about the nutritional goodness of foods in general — will help you to make more informed choices that can impact your health, weight, and wallet.

Criteria for the Best Foods

In order to make our best list, foods had to be whole foods that are familiar, widely available, affordable, nutrient-rich — and most importantly, taste great. After all, what good is a super food if it isn’t a culinary delight?

Beyond the obvious ‘health halo’ super foods like blueberries, nuts, and salmon, WebMD asked nutrition experts for their opinion of the best underrated foods that belong on your menus. Here are their top six picks:

1. Beans and Lentils

Make no beans about it, beans and lentils are among the most overlooked items in the grocery store. Beans really are nutrition superstars rich in protein, fiber, complex carbs, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

New York-based nutrition consultant and author of Read It Before You Eat It, Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD says healthy foods like beans and lentils defy the recommendation to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store. “There are hundreds of essential foods like beans and lentils lining the shelves in the center aisles that should not be overlooked.”

Versatile and easy on your wallet, Taub-Dix suggests lowering the sodium in canned beans by approximately 40% by thoroughly rinsing the beans in water.

Elisa Zied, MS, RD, author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips, says we don’t come close to eating the three cups a week recommended by the U.S. government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines. “Eating a diet rich in legumes can help promote weight loss and has been shown to lower LDL [low-density "bad" cholesterol] and raise HDL [high-density "good" cholesterol],” she says.

Toss these nuggets into soups, stews, salads, grain medleys, or greens or create a veggie dip by pureeing beans and adding your favorite seasoning, like hummus made from chickpeas.

2. Watermelon

Watermelon is everyone’s favorite summertime fruit. But because it is so naturally sweet, some people avoid it because they think it is high in sugar.

Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD and author of Expect the Best, says watermelon should be a staple in everyone’s diet. “It is fun to eat, sweet, juicy, low in calories, and chock full of vitamins C, A, potassium, and lycopene. Because it is so high in water, it helps meet fluid needs.”

A bonus is that the thick peel keeps pesticides far from the flesh, earning it a spot on the Environmental Working Groups ‘clean 15’ produce with least pesticide residue.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/best-foods-you-are-not-eating?page=2More good advise from WebMD. Just make sure the cans are not lined with plastic.

The Best Diet? That Depends on You From the multitude of weight-loss plans, pick one tailored to your traits. By Kathleen Doheny HealthDay Reporter

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THURSDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) — You know you need to lose weight. And you know you’re ready, which is more than half the battle. But you still have to pick from a seemingly endless array of weight-loss plans.

How to decide?

Experts who counsel overweight patients say there are two keys:

• Know yourself. That means being honest about what you will and won’t do, long-term.
• Evaluate and pick the diet that best suits you, watching out for key phrases or promises that are probably too good to be true.

Choosing a weight-loss plan that’s going to work “takes some self-reflection,” said Amy Jamieson-Petonic, a registered dietitian who directs wellness coaching at the Cleveland Clinic and is a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

“Are you an online type who likes to chat?” she said. “Or do you want a formal meeting?”

Some people find that plans that offer prepared meals help them stick to the plan because it takes the whole portion-control task out of their hands, said Suzanne Farrell, a registered dietitian in Denver who also is an association spokeswoman.

As far as accountability, Jamieson-Petonic said, it’s important to figure out if you’ll do all right by weighing yourself at home — and can be honest about it — or if you would do better by going somewhere where your weight would be charted by someone else.

“Think about and analyze how you currently eat,” said Judy Rodriguez, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Florida and author of The Diet Selector, in which she rates diets based on long-term flexibility and other factors.

“We are all unique in our food preferences, values, lifestyle, etc., so it seems like trying to ‘fit’ yourself into someone else’s plan is likely to have only short-term benefits, if any,” Rodriguez said.

Once you know what features you need in a weight-loss plan, look closely at the plans that seem to fit. And be sure that ones you are interested in are scientifically sound, Farrell said.

Key factors to look for, she said, include:

• Does the plan include a variety of foods?
• Does it include high-fiber foods?
• Does it educate you on the value of foods that are low in saturated fat?
• Does it tell you about “good” fats, such as olive oil?

In addition, Farrell said, “look for a plan that emphasizes physical activity and encourages eating regularly throughout the day.”

And watch out for claims and promises that sound too good to be true, Farrell added. A common one, she noted, is rapid weight loss. “It should be no greater than two pounds a week,” she said.

She’s also skeptical of plans that say no exercise is needed. Weight loss means a lifestyle change, she said, and maintaining the loss is best done by keeping an eye on food intake and on staying active.

Another red flag, Farrell said, is a plan that totally eliminates foods or food groups.

But whatever plan you choose, focus on making small changes to your eating and activity habits, Rodriguez said. Look at what you currently eat and then figure out how you could make small healthy changes.

Just substitute low-fat crackers for the doughnut you usually eat, she said.

“Do this for one to two weeks, then go back and make another small change,” Farrell said. “Keep doing this. Continuing self-improvement is a great thing.”

Then do the same for physical activity, she said. Try tracking the steps you take in a day with a pedometer, and then increase them.

The bottom line? The experts agreed that if your diet plan is suited to you, chances are you’ll follow it longer, take the weight off at a slow but steady pace and maintain the loss.

More information

The American Dietetic Association has more on healthy eating.  

(SOURCES: Suzanne Farrell, R.D., Denver; Judith C. Rodriguez, Ph.D., R.D., professor, nutrition, Brooks College of Health, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Fla.; Amy Jamieson-Petonic, R.D., director, wellness coaching, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland)

Copyright © 2010 ScoutNews, LLC.

All rights reserved.

HealthDayNews articles are derived from various sources and do not reflect federal policy. healthfinder.gov does not endorse opinions, products, or services that may appear in news stories. For more information on health topics in the news, visit Health News on healthfinder.gov.

Spring has sprung, summer’s around the corner — it’s time to get outside and get in shape. We know your iPhone-owning counterparts have plenty of apps for tracking their calories and kilometers to stay in shape, but there are plenty of health-related apps in the Android Market, too.

Here are eight highly rated free and paid Android (

) apps that will help you get and stay in shape. If you’ve got recommendations — particularly for apps that will help folks get outdoors while the weather’s nice — please let us know about them in the comments.

1. CardioTrainer Racing

Rating (

): 5 stars
Price: $2.99
Downloads: 1,000-5,000

This app combines the free CardioTrainer with a racing application that challenges users to beat their own best times. Motivational features include a virtual race simulator, complete with a voice telling the user exactly how far behind or ahead he is. In addition to the racing module, the free CardioTrainer app can be enhanced with a weight loss module, which will cost you another $2.99 in the Android Market (

).

User comments:
“This works great since it’s so motivating! I’m easily beating my previous times. Well done on Droid!”
“The perfect running coach.”

2. Fast Food Calorie Counter

Rating: 4 stars
Price: $1.99
Downloads: 1,000-5,000

Even when you’re trying to watch your weight, it’s sometimes impossible to resist the allure of fast food. Whether you’re in a hurry or have a sudden craving for a Frosty, this app can help you mitigate the disastrous effects of too many fried, mayonnaise-drenched, delicious snacks. The app tracks and serves data for almost 9,000 items from 72 fast food restaurants. Data includes calories, fat grams, fiber, carbs and protein. There’s also a free version of this app, Fast Food Calorie Counter Lite.

User comments:
“Good resource, but needs to be updated more often.”
“Helps me stick to my diet since I eat out at times.”

3. Endomondo Sports Tracker

Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: FREE
Downloads: 10K-50K

This is a great application for runners, cyclists, joggers, rollerskaters/rollerbladers, or folks who simply like to take a walk from time to time. It helps you track your time, distance, speed and altitude, and keeps a history of your workouts. The app integrates with Google Maps (

) and your audio playlist in addition to the website, to allow for a more detailed analysis of your progress.

User comments:
“Works seamlessly. Excellent social integration. Highly recommended.”
“The best. I have tried so many other apps of this style and none compare to Endomondo’s accuracy and speed.”

4. Calorie Counter by FatSecret

Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: FREE
Downloads: >250K

Here’s a simple tool for those who’d like to keep track of their calories and other nutrition facts. This app also figures the recommended daily intake for a user to achieve his or her fitness and weight goals, and has a built-in barcode scanner to make finding foods a snap. As they say, “The more you know…”

User comments:
“Really helps me stick to my diet, and it has a lot of foods.”
“So handy, and scanner function rocks.”

5. AllSport GPS

Rating: 4 stars
Price: $9.99
Downloads: 500-1,000

This app is on the spendier side of the Android Market, but many users rave about its capabilities. AllSport GPS allows users to track routes, distance, time, speed and calories burned. Users get maps, virtual races, downloadable routes, elevation and speed graphs. The app also lets you share workouts online, including on Facebook (

).

User comments:
“Great app.”
“Sometimes you lose GPS signal and it will give you inaccurate data.”

6. Beer Gut Fitness

Rating: 4.5 stars
Price: $0.99
Downloads: 100-500

If you’re worried about your intake of empty calories from all those frosty beers and caipirinhas you plan to drink this spring and summer, this might be the app for you. It tells you when you’re safe to have a drink — calorically speaking — and when you need to exercise. It even shows you what kinds of exercise you can do and for how long.

User comments:
“Walked 3 hours[...] and was happy to see I earned a crap load of beer.”
“Love (

) finishing a swim and having it tell me how many drinks I’ve banked.”

7. Absolute Fitness

Rating: 4 stars
Price: $4.99
Downloads: 1,000-5,000

If you want an all-in-one app to track your food intake, exercise regimen and fitness goals, check out Absolute Fitness. It includes features such as stats, charts, food analysis and online backup of your data.

User comments:
“I love it! You have to make time to use it, but you will if you’re committed to it.”
“Would be perfect if you could scan in barcodes.”

8. Backpacker GPS Trails

Rating: 4 stars
Price: $9.99
Downloads: 100-500

For the true outdoors lover, or for those who need a little mobile support to feel at home in the wild, Backpacker provides a portable trip database and personal navigation device. You can track yourself, geotag pics and vids, share your trips and download maps. Best of all, users can find nearby trails, including thousands of trips endorsed by the readers and editors of Backpacker magazine.

User comments:
“All the hikes I read about now I can get on my G1.”
“Great app, it’s amazing how you can search for hikes around you, save to the phone and use for navigation!”

For more mobile coverage, follow Mashable Mobile on Twitter (

) or become a fan on Facebook

More Android resources from Mashable:

- HOW TO: Turn Your Android Phone Into a Killer MP3 Player
- 5 Amazing Android Apps for Baseball Fans
- 6 Free Android Apps That Will Make You Drop Your iPhone
- 5 Free Android Apps for Web Developers
- 7 Mind-Blowing Free Android Apps

It keeps getting easier to get and stay healthy and harder to have excuses to not get healthy. Now it’s up to you.

How to Reverse Type 2 Diabetes

Learn the lifestyle changes that can get rid of your type 2 diabetes.

By Matt McMillen
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Type 2 diabetes can’t be cured, but it can be reversed by eating right and exercising regularly. Do what Karen Parrish, 53, did: Take control of your disease rather than letting your disease control you.

Parrish received her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes with little surprise. Both sides of her family have a history of the disease, and she knew the consequences of ignoring it.

Still, Parrish, didn’t fully commit to the lifestyle changes necessary to get her diabetes under control.

“Knowing what you have to do is not the problem,” says Parrish, an antiques seller in Sharpsville, Pa. “The problem is doing it.”

Is Your Type 2 Diabetes Under Control? Get Your Health Score

Fear Factor

In early April 2010, Parrish learned that her blood sugar levels were off the charts. The disease had begun to damage her eyes, threatening her with blindness, not to mention the heart problems, kidney failure, stroke, and other serious health concerns that come with diabetes.

“The blood work was so bad it scared me,” she says. “Now, I’m trying really hard.”

The payoff has been a big one. Significant changes to her diet, trips to the pool, and regular walks have helped put her diabetes in retreat. For people like Parrish with type 2 diabetes – the vast majority of the estimated 23.6 million people with diabetes in the U.S. – there’s no better prescription than eating right and exercising.

“If you take obesity out of the picture, your diabetes will improve dramatically,” says Osama Hamdy, MD, PhD, the medical director of the Obesity Clinical Program at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Watch What You Eat

Parrish began her new routine by eliminating many of her favorite foods from her diet: pizza, mashed potatoes, potato chips.

“I am really watching what I put it in my mouth,” she says. “Before, all I ate were carbs.”

Lowering carb intake is crucial, says Betul Hatipoglu, MD, an endocrinologist at the Cleveland Clinic, because too many carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar levels to spike. But dealing with diabetes requires paying attention to your whole diet.

Here are some quick tips from Hamdy and Hatipoglu:

• Pass on the peas, corn, carrots, and other starchy vegetables. Focus instead on leafy greens.
• Get most of your protein from poultry rather than red meat.
• Eat oily fish twice a week – it’s full of healthy fat.
• Pick breads that have a lot of fiber.
• Learn to read nutrition labels.
• Make an appointment with a dietitian or nutritionist. They are often covered by insurance.

Eating the right foods is essential, but so is eating the right amount. Hamdy says that people with diabetes who are overweight – and most are – should expect to cut 700 to 1,000 calories from their daily diet. He recommends healthy meal replacements because portion control is built in.

“That’s a jump-start to weight loss,” Hamdy says. “It’s very good for beginners.”

Keep on Moving

“The best prescription is exercise,” Hatipoglu says.  ”That is the No. 1 thing you can do.”

Aside from helping you lose weight and build muscle, exercise stimulates insulin sensitivity, enabling the body to better manage its blood sugar.

Hatipoglu recognizes that many, if not most, of her patients have never exercised. She tells them to start slowly.

“The goal is 150 minutes of exercise per week, but that is a big mountain to climb at first,” she says. “Start with five minutes a day, and work slowly up from there. … You don’t have to run a marathon.”

The key is to keep your routine simple and varied, says Hamdy. He recommends:

• 10 minutes of stretching and aerobics (climbing the stairs at home, for example) in the morning
• 10 minutes of walking at lunchtime
• 10 minutes with resistance bands or dumbbells in the evening

Whatever you decide to do, know your limits.

If you are quite overweight, you might find cardio exercises too difficult. In that case, start with strength training, advises Hamdy. Better still, start with a visit to your doctor and talk to her about what you can and can’t do.

More Motivation, Less Medication

“Remission,” says Hamdy, “can be prolonged by maintaining a good diet and regular exercise.”

People with type 2 diabetes who eat right and keep fit can often hold the disease at bay without the aid of medication or insulin. But having a plan and sticking with it are two different things.

Tracking her progress motivates Parrish.

“I write down every single calorie and carb gram and add them up at the end of the day,” she says. “It was when I stopped doing that that I began to gain weight.”

Motivation is a key to long-term success, and the best way to maintain motivation, says Hamdy, is to set achievable goals.

“Patients are motivated when they see the effects immediately,” he says. “And when they see improvement, they become even more motivated.”

That’s been Parrish’s experience. So far, she has shed 10 pounds through diet and exercise. And she says she is just getting started.

“I feel like I’m getting in control now,” she says. “I have a tendency to let things get so bad that it scares me, but once I get jolted, I have the willpower to change.”

Decide what is most important to you, arm yourself with knowledge, make a plan and DO IT!

Foods That Fight Alzheimer’s Disease

Salad Dressing, Nuts, Fish, Poultry, and Some Fruits and Veggies May Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

April 9, 2010 — A low-fat diet with a lot of salad dressing, nuts, poultry, and certain fruits and vegetables may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.

Researchers say evidence is mounting on which foods may prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But because foods are not eaten in isolation and may work together to prevent disease, more information is needed on dietary patterns that reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

In the study, published in the Archives of Neurology, researchers analyzed the dietary patterns of 2,148 people aged 65 and older living in New York. The participants gave information about their diets and were evaluated for signs of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia every year and a half over a four-year period.

Researchers analyzed dietary intake for seven nutrients that have been shown in previous studies to be associated with dementia risk: saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids, vitamin E, vitamin B12, and folate.

By the end of the study, 253 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, the study showed one particular dietary pattern was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The diet included low amounts of high-fat dairy products, red meat, organ meat, and butter. Foods in this diet that appeared to fight Alzheimer’s disease were salad dressing, nuts, fish, poultry, tomatoes, fruits, and cruciferous and dark and green vegetables.

Researchers say the combination of nutrients and foods in this particular dietary pattern may fight Alzheimer’s in a variety of ways.

“For example, vitamin B12 and folate are homocysteine-related vitamins that may have an impact on Alzheimer’s disease via their ability of reducing circulating homocysteine levels, vitamin E might prevent Alzheimer’s disease via its strong antioxidant effect, and fatty acids may be related to dementia and cognitive function through atherosclerosis, thrombosis, or inflammation via an effect on brain development and membrane functioning or via accumulation of beta-amyloid,” write researcher Yian Gu, PhD, of Columbia University and colleagues.

Slideshow: When a Loved One Has Alzheimer’s Disease

The natural (from food vs. from supplements) is the best way to get these nutrients. Excessive supplementation is starting to show detrimental effects, i.e. folic acid.

Finally, we have the start of a new beginning for health. Now if we from health repair to health maintenance.