Category: Health

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7 Signs You NEED Iron

Have you been pumping iron? I’m not talking about lifting weights or working on rock-hard abs, though those are great goals, too. Iron is an essential mineral for health, making sure cells receive plenty of oxygen.

So, has your heart has been pumping enough iron lately? These seven warning signs may mean that your body is running low.

1. Feeling Out of Breath

Do simple activities like walking up a flight of stairs leave you gasping for breath? I know what you’re thinking – “Yes, I’m probably out of shape.” Actually, that may not be the reason at all. Running out of breath constantly can actually be a sign you’re not getting enough iron.

Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, and hemoglobin is essential for producing red blood cells. In turn, red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to every muscle in the body.

If you don’t have enough iron, this cycle falls apart. Your lungs have to work much harder, which is why going for a short walk leaves you gasping for breath.

2. Feeling Tired or Sleepy All the Time

It’s normal to feel tired after a long day at the office, but people who are low in iron feel tired all day long. I’ve had this happen to me before; just getting out of my desk chair to refill my coffee cup feels like a monumental achievement. Sure enough, when I start taking an iron supplement, the tiredness goes away.

This all has to do with oxygen. Your body needs oxygen as fuel for everything. So, when levels drop because of anemia (iron deficiency), the effect is like a car running out of gas. The engine just sputters.

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3. Waking Up With Zero Energy

The lower your iron levels are, the more you notice a drop in energy. In fact, you may wake up feeling exhausted even before you get out bed. Your arms and legs feel like they weigh a ton. You have to push yourself to do the smallest tasks. And, to top it off, you probably feel irritable or depressed, too. All of these things can be caused by anemia.

4. Getting Frequent Headaches

Women notice this symptom more than men. Low iron levels can cause sore or swollen blood vessels, which triggers recurring headaches in some people. Having a headache every once in a while is normal, but if you’re suddenly getting them a lot, try upping your iron intake to see if it helps.

5. Feeling Dizzy Many Times in the Day

Have you been feeling strangely dizzy or lightheaded? There are many causes of dizziness, including side effects from medicine, but if it happens a lot, anemia is a likely culprit. When you don’t have enough hemoglobin, your brain doesn’t get sufficient oxygen, which can cause you to feel lightheaded.

6. Seeing Pale Skin in the Mirror

This is a surprisingly effective way to check for iron deficiency. Iron and hemoglobin are what give blood a deep red color. Normally, the inside of your eyelids, your gums and your lips should be bright red. When you’re low in iron, these areas may look pale instead of healthy.

7. Losing Your Beautiful Hair and Nails

When hair follicles aren’t getting enough oxygen, the strands become dry and fragile. Hair looks dull instead of vibrant. The same thing happens to fingernails; your prized nails may break easily. Fortunately, increasing your iron intake can help with both of these problems.

Tips for Getting More Iron

Obviously, the easiest way to boost your iron levels if you're low is to take a supplement. You can also add nutritious foods to your diet every week. Oysters, beef, chicken, turkey, tuna and salmon are rich sources. If you prefer vegan options, focus on spinach, lentils, beans and pumpkin seeds. 

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Beat the Summer Heat With Thirst-Quenching Refreshment Recipes

Staying hydrated when the temperature climbs requires a multi-layered approach. In addition to drinking plenty of water, try to choose foods that help replenish lost fluids. These are my personal favorite recipes for the hottest days of summer when I truly want to put the "refresh" in refreshment!

Watermelon Caprese

This spin on the classic Caprese salad swaps the tomatoes for watermelon, which contains about a half cup of water in every 1-cup serving.

  • Slice a small watermelon into approximately 3-inch by 3-inch squares, each about a half inch thick. 
  • Slice a ball of fresh mozzarella cheese into half-inch-thick slices.
  • Layer alternate slices of cheese and watermelon on a plate.
  • Top the salad with sea salt and ground pepper to taste, along with 2 T chopped fresh basil.
  • Drizzle the plate with balsamic glaze.

If you don't feel like chopping and assembling a salad, simply eat this melon by the wedge to take advantage of the 92% water content. 

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Simple Cucumber Salad

This perfect lunch or side dish takes seconds to prepare and provides an incredible hydration boost thanks to the nearly 97% water content of cucumber.

  • Thinly slice about 1 lb. seedless cucumbers.
  • Toss cucumbers with about 1 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt. Let sit for five minutes.
  • Add 1/2 of a small onion, sliced thin, and 2 1/2 T red wine vinegar.

Refrigerate this dish for 10 minutes before serving (or devouring on your own!)

Celery Soup

While we rarely allow celery to shine, it's an outstanding choice for enhanced hydration.

  • Chop a head of celery, a large potato and a medium onion.
  • Combine these veggies with 1/2 stick unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add sea salt to taste and cook for about 10 minutes or until onions soften. 
  • Add 3 cups of low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth and 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill.
  • Puree soup with an immersion blender or in a traditional blender.
  • Strain soup and top with olive oil if desired.

You can serve this unique soup either hot or chilled.

Strawberry and Tomato Panzanella Salad

Both strawberries and tomatoes are simply bursting with hydration, especially when you pick up fresh local summer produce. 

  • Tear two thick slices of rustic bread into bite-size pieces while preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Toss the bread with 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons each of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste along with 3 cups chopped strawberries, 2 large chopped tomatoes and 1/4 cup thin slices of red onion.
  • Toss the salad and let sit for 10 minutes. Add the bread and garnish with 1/2 cup chopped basil and crumbled feta if desired. Serve immediately at room temperature.

This salad is a delicious showcase for seasonal flavors. 

Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms

Did you know mushrooms are full of moisture? Try this simple dish as a light lunch or companion to your go-to main dish.

  • Wash and slice 1 lb. of your favorite mushrooms. If you're new to fungi, we like creminis for this recipe, but any white or brown mushroom will do.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons each of butter and olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
  • Toss the sliced mushrooms with 1 tablespoon soy sauce and add them to the pan.
  • Cook on one side for four to five minutes without stirring.
  • Stir in 1/4 cup white wine or veggie broth along with fresh herbs like thyme and garlic.
  • Cook for another three to four minutes.

With these healthy recipes, your body will have the necessary hydration for all your warm-weather adventures. 

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The Curious Case of Reiki Energy Healing

Life is full of stress and anxiety, so much so that mental health is becoming a growing concern in society. The goal, then, is to find ways to reduce stress and return to a state of relaxation and mental clarity.

Reiki is a centuries-old energy healing technique created in Japan. Today, there are Reiki practitioners worldwide and a growing number of patients. It is seeing a tremendous surge in interest and popularity in the United States alone, but why?

The potential health benefits of the energy healing practice are staggering. Practitioners claim everything from better sleep to pain management for terminal illnesses. However, with little scientific backing, why are people trusting this holistic approach to healing instead of going to medical professionals for prescriptive options to stress reduction?

There is a significant discord between the medical profession and society, especially following the opioid crisis. People do not want more pills. They want naturalistic options, regardless of how the sales pitch might sound.

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Reiki and Life Force Energy

Reiki is built on the idea that human beings have a life force energy constantly flowing through their bodies. When the flow of this healthy energy is interrupted, your body will respond with pain, sickness, discomfort, or stress.

A Reiki master uses a series of specialized movements to help realign the energy flow and heal the body. These movements and hand placements can occur over the body or directly touching the body, depending on the situation and the practitioner.

Because of the level of intimacy or interaction during a Reiki session, it is not for everyone. Some people will be uncomfortable with the practitioner touching them or standing over them, meaning the session could make anxiety or stress worse for some.

Potential Health Benefits

Reiki masters and some studies suggest the practice can promote better sleep, improved mood, and pain relief. In addition, according to research, Reiki sessions can help individuals achieve a state of relaxation, allowing relief and healing from persistent stress or anxiety.

Because of the relief that can occur during these sessions, Reiki can help promote pain relief and healing from injuries and diseases. Any damage to the body causes stress, and when the body is under constant pressure, it does not efficiently promote healing. Reiki techniques encourage relaxation and consequently faster recovery.

The Science and the Placebo

The truth is, no one really knows how Reiki works or even if it really does. Scientifically speaking, there is no hard evidence to prove the existence of life force energy. However, people who attend Reiki sessions do experience lower blood pressure, less pain, reduced anxiety, and so much more.

For now, researchers are boggled by the effects of Reiki and chalk any success up to a potential placebo effect, with many experts explaining people feel better after a session because they believe it will work. However, regardless of your take, the practice was never intended as a solo treatment but rather a complementary one. Therefore, if you are still supposed to receive any traditional treatments, where is the harm in trying something that might be beneficial, whether the benefit is perceived or real.

Do you have any interest in trying a Reiki session? You surely wouldn't be alone. Hundreds of thousands of people practice and experience Reiki every year. Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

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The Possibility of Improving Cellular Fitness Through Exercise and Cellular Stress Tests

Who doesn’t want to get healthier, slow the aging process, and possibly live longer? Life is such a beautiful experience with so many possibilities. Still, to take advantage of the most it has to offer, it is crucial to look after individual health and wellness.

Recently, researchers have recognized the growing need for mental health, allowing for a shift in stigmas surrounding counseling and therapy. While the focus on mindfulness and mental health is encouraging, the primary goal is to reduce stress to limit its overreaching and adverse effects on health and wellness overall.

There is a growing trend linked to cellular fitness, specifically how cellular stress can result in rapid aging and declining muscle function. The idea is based on customizing exercises and nutritional practices based on individual physiology rather than generalizations.

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How Does Cellular Fitness Work?

According to practitioners, cellular fitness is a new way of looking at physical activity. For years, the focus of physical fitness has revolved around the ideas of high-intensity workouts or interval training. While each program has its advantages and works for most people, there are limitations and the potential for burnout and injury.

Researchers are beginning to understand how too much exercise or intensity during a workout can result in lasting damage. When your cells are placed under significant stress, they cannot perform optimally, meaning your body experiences greater wear and tear, weakened defenses, inflammation, possible health problems, and potential weight gain.

Cellular fitness programs use “cellular stress tests” to determine how your system reacts to the stress of specific workouts or routines. These tests measure the damaging by-products in your body to determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a workout on any given day. With accurate measurements, there is hope that an individual could tell which days are best for pushing themselves to get the extra rep and which are better for taking it easy.

While the process seems out there, several organizations are taking the open-mind approach. In fact, the NBA has been using similar technology and physiological insights for years, providing individualized goals and routines to suit each player by analyzing information from a wearable device.

Is There Any Truth To the Claims?

According to recent research published in the journal Nature Communications, the idea that exercise can improve cellular health is possible. During the study, scientists notice a direct link between exercise and the production or renewal of mitochondria, the cellular powerhouse. 

In essence, when workouts are effective, the body produces new and healthy mitochondria, replacing and forcing the old out of the muscles and bones. Ultimately, exercise contributes to better health and longevity, which people have known for a long time, but now researchers see the improvement on a cellular level.

Unfortunately, most research into cellular fitness is still fairly new, with limited studies expressing its true and proven advantages. However, there is a decent amount of circumstantial evidence to suggests a possible correlation between individualized exercise regimens and cellular health. What do you think of the ballooning trend and its potential for the fitness community? Leave a comment below.

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Is This Fish Oil Really Helping My Joints?

I never used to have problems with my joints, but that’s changed in a big way as I’ve grown older. In an effort to help my joints feel better, I’ve been taking fish oil supplements every day. It seems like I’ve always known that fish oil was good for joints in some way, but the other day I caught myself thinking, “Is this stuff really helping?”

I realized that I didn’t know much about fish oil at all, and my lack of knowledge started to make my confidence in the product wane. So I decided to do some research and find out exactly what it is about fish oil that can supposedly make my joints feel better. Here’s what I found out.

There’s Nothing “Fishy” About Fish Oil

Despite my worries that fish oil is just a great big fish tale, I discovered some impressive things about it during my research. I found out that the secret to fish oil’s ability to help aching joints lies within its content of omega-3 fatty acids. Though the name isn’t super appealing, omega-3 fatty acids are pretty powerful for joint health. Here’s how they work.

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil contain high levels of these two fatty acids in particular:

  • Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)
  • Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

According to research, both of these fatty acids are effective at lowering inflammation. It’s their inflammation-curbing properties that make these fatty acids so valuable for people with joint conditions. Many conditions that cause joint pain are due to excess inflammation within the joints.

According to one study (published in the British Journal of Nutrition), DHA and EPA from marine sources (such as fish oil) provide help with the following:

  • Joint pain and swelling
  • The use of joint-related pain medication
  • Morning joint stiffness

These are all benefits I can stand behind! So I’ll continue my daily habit of taking fish oil pills so they can go to work reducing inflammation in my joints.

How Fish Oil Reduces Inflammation

I’m a naturally curious soul, so it wasn’t enough for me to learn that DHA and EPA can reduce inflammation. I wanted to know how they do it. So I decided to dive into the topic a lot more. Here’s what I discovered.

EPA and DHA work in tandem to lower inflammatory molecules in the body (such as C-reactive protein and tumour necrosis factor alpha). They’re a little bit like The Wonder Twins when it comes to protecting our bodies from the negative effects of systemic inflammation.

DHA seems to be more effective at reducing multiple pro-inflammatory proteins, while EPA seems to target primarily one type. But EPA does have the added benefit of boosting immune function regulation. So when you’re looking for a fish oil supplement, look for one that contains both of these important components. Like the old song goes, “some things just go better together and probably always will.”

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What To Look for in a Fish Oil Supplement

As with any nutritional or dietary supplement, fish oil supplements are not all created equal. Here are a few things to look for in a quality supplement:

  • Make sure the supplement you choose contains both EPA and DHA.
  • Look for good purity and authenticity standards.
  • Always check the date on the bottle and don’t use it after the printed date (fish oil goes rancid over time).
  • Look for free fatty acids (FFA), phospholipids (PLs) and triglycerides, and reformed triglycerides (TG and rTG) instead of ethyl esters (EE).

Keeping these things in mind when shopping will help you select a quality fish oil supplement that will give your joints (and your body in general) maximum anti-inflammatory benefits.

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5 Reasons Why Fiber Is So Important

I like to think I know the basics of good health. But periodically, I learn some new health fact that catches me by surprise. The importance of fiber is one of those health facts I didn’t really grasp until recently. Sure, I’ve always known fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, but I didn’t realize just how necessary it is for optimal health and digestive function. Here are five reasons why fiber is so important for all of us to consume regularly.

1. Helps Control Blood Sugar

If you struggle to keep your blood sugar under control, eating fiber may help. It’s especially helpful for people with diabetes to consume sufficient soluble fiber to slow down their body’s absorption of sugar. For those of us who don’t have diabetes, eating insoluble fiber may help us avoid developing it.

2. Promotes Normal Bowel Movements

Nobody likes to talk about their bowel movements (unless you’re my over-sharing Aunt Kathy), but how often you go is really important. The consistency of your poop is also really important. If it’s consistently runny, adding some fiber to your diet can give it a little bulk so you’re more regular and can pass your stools more easily.

Whew. Now that we got that topic over with, let’s move on to the next reason why fiber’s so important!

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3. May Decrease the Likelihood of Hemorrhoids

OK, so going from bowel movements to hemorrhoids isn’t exactly a step up. But it’s important to talk about how fiber can potentially help us avoid developing hemorrhoids. That reason alone is good enough for me to increase my daily intake of fiber!

In addition to decreasing your likelihood of getting hemorrhoids, studies show that a high-fiber diet may also lower your risk of developing colorectal cancer. Research is still being done to understand exactly how fiber helps prevent colorectal cancer, but it’s thought that it has something to do with how fiber ferments in the colon.

4. Assists With Healthy Weight Maintenance

It’s generally easy to put weight on, but difficult to take it off (unless you’re someone who can’t seem to gain weight no matter how hard you try). When you’re trying to let go of a few extra pounds, you probably think about exercising, cutting out sugary foods and drinks, and eating healthier. But if you’re neglecting to eat sufficient fiber, you could be making your weight-loss journey more difficult than it needs to be.

High-fiber foods are typically more filling than foods with little to no fiber. That means the more high-fiber foods you eat, the easier it will be for you to manage your appetite and keep your weight in check. Additionally, foods high in fiber typically require more chewing, which means you’re expending more calories to eat them.

5. Reduces the Risk of Some Diseases

One of the most surprising things I have learned about fiber is that it may reduce your risk of developing some diseases. According to studies, there is a link between increased dietary fiber intake and reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. So if you have a family history of cancer, make sure you add fiber to your daily healthy eating plan!

Though fiber has a lot of great benefits, it’s possible to eat too much of it. If you feel like your fiber intake is clogging you up and messing with your regularity, it may be time to cut back a little bit. The Institute of Medicine recommends that men aged 50 or younger consume 38 grams of fiber daily. Women aged 50 0r younger should aim to consume 25 grams of fiber per day.

Some good sources of fiber include vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits, whole-grain products and legumes. Figure out how to incorporate these foods into your daily meals and you’ll start reaping the benefits of a high-fiber diet.

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A New Approach To Healthcare: Lifestyle Medicine

Typically, when people go to the doctor, it is to assess a variety of ailments. Lifestyle medicine goes beyond the ailment detection of medical practices and focuses on sustaining and perpetuating continued health and wellbeing through a more holistic approach.

The 7 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine

While classified as a holistic approach, the theory of lifestyle medicine is a practice most medical professionals can get behind; the concept of balance in seven core areas of life. Lifestyle medicine focuses on the seven habits for a healthy life, and those habits contribute to reduced risks of chronic conditions.

1. Exercise

Movement or physical activity is vital to lifestyle medicine. A sedentary lifestyle can lead to many complications, including cardiovascular. By practicing at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, you can find it easier to maintain or control your weight, strengthen muscles and bones, and promote mental wellbeing.

2. Nutrition

The dreaded nutrition pillar can seem problematic. Many people look at nutrition like rocket science, something complex and hard to grasp, but it is not as challenging as it looks. On a fundamental level, making a few minor adjustments to your diet can drastically improve your health. For example, eat out less than twice per week and swap a can of soda for water. Additionally, add more fruits and vegetables to your diet.

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3. Outdoor Activity

The outdoors is nature’s gift to humanity. Spending even 30 minutes outside can increase your well-being. According to lifestyle medicine experts, you should spend a minimum of 120 minutes outside every week. Exposure to the outdoors is proven to reduce stress, limit inflammation, and improve sleep.

4. Sleep

Most adults know they need between seven and eight hours of sleep per night, but few get it. Many things affect your sleep, from noise to stress and diet. Lifestyle medicine highlights sleep as critical to overall health. To get a better night’s rest, consider sleeping in a quiet environment without tech or television. Additionally, avoid eating too late and do not consume caffeine after midday.

5. Emotional Wellbeing

Stress relief is vital to mental and physical health. Anxiety, worry, and fear all lead to problems with sleep, diet, and relationships. Finding a way to deal with stress is necessary and pivotal to lifestyle medicine. Practicing mindfulness is one way to combat the effects of stress.

6. Hydration

Dehydration leads to a variety of health issues: headaches, fatigue, dizziness, etc. While the rule is often stated as eight glasses of water per day, the Mayo Clinic would disagree. According to the clinic, men need a minimum of 15 cups of water per day and women need at least 11.

7. Substance Avoidance

Lifestyle medicine also encourages a substance-free life, meaning no smoking or drugs. Cigarettes, alcohol, and other substances can lead to significant consequences and impaired thinking. Lifestyle medicine is all about clarity and purity.

New Focus Equals New Hope

While people understand the benefits of adopting healthy habits, they often overcomplicate the process, getting bogged down in the details. By restricting your attention to the above seven areas, you can increase your health and mental wellbeing in stages. There is no need to embrace all the habits at once; instead, take on one practice at a time and master it. By working methodically, you limit the potential of becoming overwhelmed, allowing you to embrace the changes.

Do you have any experience with the practice? leave a comment below and keep the conversation going.

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Understanding How Air Quality Can Affect Your Health and Wellbeing

In the fight to remain healthy, people focus primarily on nutrition and exercise — both critical aspects of a healthy lifestyle — but what often flies under the radar of the health-conscious is air quality. Air pollution can lead to many problems, not only environmental, especially among people who are particularly vulnerable, like those with asthma or COPD. Pollutants from vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, smoke, road dust, and even pollen can make it more challenging for these individuals to breathe, leading to wheezing, coughing, or worse. 

Pollutants can also make their way into the food supply. With a rise in pollution, comes an increased risk of respiratory infections, lung cancer, and heart disease. It is crucial to understand the potential pollution and air quality risks in your environment, so you know best how to protect yourself.

Air Pollution and Outdoor Exposure

The effects of air pollution vary based on location because exposure and air quality vary from place to place, often disproportionately. Minorities and people living in low-income areas are more likely to suffer the consequences of air pollution because housing is often within more industrialized districts, meaning plant and vehicular emissions are in abundance. Proximity is the main contributor to negative health effects. 

Beyond proximity, the time and season, temperature, and weather play a role in pollution and air quality. While fine particles are typically most present in the mornings, high levels of ozone typically occur in the summertime, late afternoon. Unseasonably warm days or when temperatures reach levels above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, unhealthy levels of ozone can accumulate in the air. Finally, weather conditions, like fog, can often trap unhealthy levels of pollution in an area, especially when combined with little to no wind.

Air Pollution and Indoor Exposure

Did you know the air quality inside your home can be two to five times more polluted than the outdoors, sometimes even more? While people tend to discuss pollution as an outdoor issue, most Americans spend more than 90% of their time indoors, meaning the priority should be indoor air quality. Some of the most common indoor pollutants include:

  • Smoke
  • Radon
  • Lead dust
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Mold
  • VOCs
  • Animal dander
  • Pollen
  • Dust mites

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Protecting Your Health

While it can be challenging to avoid air pollutants, especially in an industrialized society, it is not impossible to improve the air quality you breathe. The key is to avoid as much pollution as possible; for example, when stuck in traffic, keep your windows closed and set the ventilation system to recirculate the air in the cabin. You can also avoid vehicle exhaust by choosing a less-traveled route. You should also avoid being around smoke and other sources of airborne pollutants.

If you are concerned about the air quality in your area, you can sign up for alerts. Many states provide air quality updates and warnings, and in most cases, you can find an app or email signup that will tell you when you should avoid outdoor activities and when the city or state is under an ozone advisory.

Air quality plays a vital role in overall health. When the air is heavily polluted, it can lead to increased risks of disease and infection. Do you know of any other tips or techniques to reduce your exposure level, or do you have any other interesting facts you would like to share? Leave a comment below and keep the conversation going.

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Examining the Truth About Wine and Health

Who doesn’t love to sit down after a long day’s work and relax with a good glass of red? It seems like every day there is a new study or article praising wine as the miracle elixir of health. However, for every piece of research praising the sultry libation, there is another discounting the claims. The constant back and forth, like most findings in health, is confusing to the average consumer looking for applicable solutions. Therefore, to ease the burden, this article aims to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding wine and health.

Wine and Burning Fat

Many wine enthusiasts praise and permit their habit as a way to combat weight gain. The argument is often based on the findings of a 2015 Oregon State University study that linked a specific wine acid to weight loss. The wine in question was a rare red wine, and the acid is only produced by the Red Muscadine grape, grown in the southeastern US state of Georgia, mostly. However, while the particular acid from that single grape species can possibly promote weight loss, it is typically only used in sweet wine, negating most weight loss benefits. The research is promising, and with further study might will out broader benefits, but don’t base your entire weight loss journey on a daily glass of wine.

Wine and Heart Health

Another study shows potential promise for heart health. While the European Society of Cardiology conducted a study in 2014 to find a link between wine consumption and the production of good cholesterol, the findings initially seemed discouraging. The study proved no direct correlation between wine consumption and the production of HDL. However, within the study and upon closer inspection of the results, researchers noted that individuals who drank wine and worked out at least twice weekly showed signs of increased HDL and decreased LDL or bad cholesterol. Unfortunately, as testing the correlation of exercise with wine consumption was not the intent of the initial study, more research is needed.

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Wine and Cancer

Like weight loss, more research is needed to determine the cancer-fighting properties of wine. While most wines contain several antioxidants, the primary compound known for its anti-carcinogenic properties is ellagic acid. Unfortunately, EA is not found in most wines because it is only found in red muscadine grapes. A study conducted in the Journal of Cancer Biology and Medicine did discuss EA as a preventative and therapeutic tool against specific forms of cancer. However, because of the limited supply of wines and grapes with EA, it is unclear the overall advantages of wine consumption in the fight against cancer.

Wine and Blood Pressure

If you want a solution to your blood pressure or hypertension woes, do not drink a glass of red wine. While touted as a tool to lower blood pressure for nearly three decades, it is a myth that wine can correct blood pressure problems, at least when containing alcohol. A recent study of the effects of red wine on blood pressure found that non-alcoholic red didi significantly reduce blood pressure levels in men.

The bottom line is that wine can provide some health benefits in moderation, but most of the drink's so-called miracle benefits are myth or without significant merit. If you like wine, drink it in moderation, but if you don't, leave it. Wine is not a miracle cure for weight loss or disease, but it is delicious, at least to this writer.

What are your thoughts on the great wine debate? Leave a comment and keep this conversation going.

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Can a Healthy Gut Really Help With Arthritis, Depression and Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Do you have problems with inflammation, anxiety or depression? Do you get sick a lot? It turns out that the real solution is to fix your gut, not to take endless pills.

Your Body Has a “Second Brain” — And It’s in Your Gut!

The expression “going with your gut” is more accurate than scientists ever suspected. Your digestive system has a staggering network of over 100 million nerve cells! This “second brain” is called the enteric nervous system (ENS) and it surrounds your entire gastrointestinal tract.

The ENS doesn’t help you play chess or calculate your taxes, but it does play a large role in emotional health. If something makes your digestive system feel bad, scientists believe the ENS triggers mood changes, such as depression, anxiety or irritability.

This is a huge discovery; it explains why so many people who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) also have depression. Protecting your gut health may go a long way towards helping you feel happier, and lowering stress may help you avoid digestive problems.

The Key to a Stronger Immune System? That’s Right — Excellent Gut Health!

Have you ever thought of taking probiotics to boost your immune system? That’s exactly what you should be doing, according to many experts.

Healthy gut bacteria can improve immune cells throughout the body, increasing the amount of natural antibodies you have and strengthening mucus membranes that help trap invaders. One study found that Lactobacillus, a type of probiotic found in yogurt, helped reduce the amount of respiratory infections in children by almost 20%!

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The Connection Between a "Leaky Gut" and Inflammation

In a healthy gut, positive microorganisms form a kind of protective wall over the lining of your GI tract. This helps in two big ways: lowering levels of inflammation-causing bacteria and preventing them from getting into your blood stream.

When your gut is out of whack — sometimes called “leaky gut syndrome” — unhealthy bacteria travel places they shouldn’t, provoking your immune system to attack. The problem appears to be even worse for people who have rheumatoid arthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis. The combination makes inflammation much more severe than normal.

The opposite is also true. A balanced gut microbiome is good for fighting inflammation. It can make arthritis less painful and give you back a lot of your flexibility and mobility. And for the rest of us, good digestive health reduces the number of aches and pains we wake up with in the morning.

Your Shopping List for Amazing Gut Health

How can you take good care of your gut microbiome? The secret is to increase the amount of probiotics and prebiotics in your diet.

Probiotics are good bacteria. Probiotics add soldiers directly to your gut’s army of healthy microbes. Greek yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi and other fermented foods have lots of probiotics. I like to take probiotic supplements, too, especially after finishing any kind of antibiotics.

Prebiotics are plant fibers that help good bacteria grow. They support your intestinal soldiers, promoting good digestion and providing food for hungry microbes. My favorite prebiotics are apples, bananas, leafy greens and whole grains.

A healthy gut helps you fight off harmful bacteria, viruses and allergies. It can help you get sick less often, and make symptoms less severe when you do catch a bug. Probiotics may even make vaccines more effective. Make great gut health a priority!

 

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11387176/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006993/

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-brain-gut-connection