5 red foods for Valentine's

Few things are sexier than being healthy. These 5 red foods—which are packed with antioxidants and vitamins—will help keep you and your sweetie going strong on Valentine’s Day and all year long.

We're just mad about these healthy scarlet-hued foods!

Cherries

Rich in antioxidants, such as anthocyanin (believed to reduce pain and inflammation), cherries have been purported to fight myriad diseases, including diabetes, cancer, arthritis and gout. Cherries are also a good source of fiber, potassium and vitamin A.

Pomegranate

A near-icon of fertility in much of its native range (Iran to the Himalayas), the pomegranate also has come to represent good health. Studies have shown that the fruit may help to reduce the buildup of plaque in arteries and lower blood pressure. Other research hints that pomegranate juice may help manage prostate cancer, diabetes, arthritis and erectile dysfunction. Experts believe that pomegranate’s benefits come from its powerful punch of polyphenols—including anthocyanins (found in blue, purple and deep-red foods) and tannins (also found in wine and tea).

Beets

With an earthy flavor that gets supersweet when cooked, beets are very nutritious: 1⁄2 cup of cooked beets has just 29 calories but boasts 2 grams of fiber and provides 19 percent of the daily value for folate, a B vitamin needed for the growth of healthy new cells. Plus their beautiful color comes from betanin, a phytochemical that’s thought to bolster immunity. Roast them, pickle them or shred them raw and dress them with citrus for a refreshing salad in these 4 quick and easy beet recipes.

Chile Peppers

Capsaicin, an antioxidant in chiles, thwarts food spoilage and may protect blood vessels. It also makes peppers hot—in more ways than one (hence the spicy folklore that piquant peppers rev up sexual desires). Studies show that capsaicin increases the body’s metabolic rate and may stimulate brain chemicals that help us feel less hungry. In a 2005 study in the International Journal of Obesity, people ate 16 percent fewer calories at a meal if they sipped tomato juice spiked with hot-pepper extract (versus plain tomato juice) a half hour earlier.

Tomatoes

A terrific source of vitamin C with a touch of vitamin A, potassium and fiber thrown in for good measure, tomatoes don’t just taste great, they’re also good for you. (Hard to believe that at one time they were thought to be poisonous!) Tomatoes are also rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that fights skin aging and may be beneficial against cancer and heart disease.

Source: eatingwell.com

Healthy Valentine's Day Foods

Valentine's Day is approaching, so it's time to get a card, roses, and … your ORAC points?

What is ORAC

ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which is the USDA's method of measuring a food's capacity to fight harmful free radicals in our bodies. Free radicals are linked to heart disease, cancer, neuronal degeneration and aging.

Simply put, ORAC measures a food's antioxidant power. The higher a food's ORAC value, the greater the food's antioxidant-packed punch.

Consider these hot Valentine's Day foods and you'll see with just a little thought you can rack up these points, fight heart disease and aging (among others) and perhaps even boost the romance for the evening.

Best of all, eating antioxidant-rich foods may even increase your chances of having a more romantic evening. Strawberries and chocolate have both been known to boost libido. Consider these other heart-healthy foods known to have the same affect on libido when planning your Valentine's Day dinner: avocado, almonds, asparagus and salmon.

Hopefully, all of these heart-healthy libido-boosting foods will lead to sex, which increases antioxidant levels in the blood. Oxytocin, a hormone released in both men and women after orgasm, through cuddling, and simply by holding hands acts as a soothing antioxidant and may make it easier for people to stick to their diets. Looks like Cupid is really looking out for our hearts!

Dark chocolate: Rich in flavonoids that prevent the buildup of coronary arterial plaque, which can contribute to the development of heart disease, this decadent treat, also boosts your immune system and contains cancer-fighting enzymes. Look for products that have at least 60 percent (70 percent is better) cocoa and list cocoa beans or cocoa liquor as the first ingredient. One ounce has 5,900 ORAC points.

Strawberries: These juicy, heart-shaped berries are a potent source of the antioxidant vitamin C, and keep you satisfied and hydrated with fiber and fluid. The source of their bright red color, compounds called anthocyanins, help to reduce inflammation. Biting into these body-friendly fruits can beautify your smile too: strawberries contain malic acid, which may act as an astringent to remove surface discoloration from your teeth. A 1-cup serving has 5,400 ORAC points.

Cherries: Researchers have found that the anthocyanins in cherries, especially the tart varieties, reduce inflammation and lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels; they pack 3,500 ORAC points per serving.

Red wine: This pourable ORAC powerhouse should be consumed as a "conscious indulgence" and has been shown to help lower LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels. Sipping the naturally occurring compounds in red wine, called polyphenols, may prevent the formation of toxic plaque that leads to Alzheimer's disease. A 5 oz serving of wine with dinner has 5,700 ORAC points.

Source: cbsnews.com

Poor sleep poor relationships

Lack of sleep needs to be treated as a major health issue, according to a report published by the Mental Health Foundation.

The report, Sleep Matters, suggests a link between insomnia and poor relationships, low energy levels and an inability to concentrate.
Poor sleep has already been linked to depression, immune deficiency and heart disease.
The report calls for GPs to have more training to recognize the symptoms.
The number of adults suffering from insomnia in the UK has previously been estimated at around 30%.
Nearly 6,800 people took part in an online survey, believed to be the largest of its type in the UK, for this report.

Source: bbc news

Yoga can help you lose weight

                                                                                     © Comstock/Thinkstock

It might surprise you to learn that yoga could help with weight control. Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle studied more than 300 people at gyms, yoga studios, and weight loss facilities and found that the yoga fans generally had a lower body mass index (a standard measure of fatness), even though more than half of all the participants got plenty of exercise. One possible explanation? Researchers found that they were more likely to report behaviors associated with “mindful eating,” such as being aware when they were full or eating out of boredom.

Source: Reader’s Digest

 

Order Seafood with a Clear Conscience

Nutritionists tell us we should eat more fish due to its healthy protein and high omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart and brain. Environmentalists tell us we should eat less because many of our favorites are on the fast track to extinction thanks to global overfishing. What’s a conscientious seafood lover to do? A recent report from the former chief scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service offers reason to rejoice: For the first time in over a century, fish stocks in our nation’s waters are at a sustainable level, and overfishing has ended here in the U.S.

Before rushing out to order one of everything at your favorite sushi joint, be sure to check out these tips on selecting fish that’s healthy for you and the planet:

Buy American
Right now, few countries besides the U.S. have made significant progress in curbing overfishing. But just buying your fish in the States isn’t enough—literally tons of seafood are shipped in from abroad each year, so be sure to ask your server or fish monger whether it’s domestic or imported.

Bone Up on the Best and Worst
Overfishing has hit certain species worse than others. Blue fin tuna, swordfish, grouper and orange roughy are all on the Don’t list when it comes to buying seafood. On the flipside, farmed rainbow trout, Alaskan wild salmon and certain varieties of domestic yellow fin tuna are definitely Do’s.

Keep the Experts in Your Pocket
When in doubt, consult one of these handy wallet-sized guides to sustainable seafood compiled by the folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Choose from the national guide to one specific to your region to a guide dedicated to sushi. Better yet, download all three.

Source: Reader’s Digest

Is Loneliness as Harmful as Smoking?

Are you one of those people who dreads Valentine’s Day every year? According to a recent podcast by Sciencemag.org, that type of attitude may be making you sick.
Sciencemag.org writer Greg Miller reports on research that suggests social isolation may make people more prone to infections, heart disease, and depression. In fact, a recent study suggests “that being socially isolated gives you about the same risk, health risk, as being a smoker in terms of your longevity.”
Even if you have lots of friends, the simple practice of dwelling on the fact that you’re alone could be harmful to your health. The problem isn’t the “periodic bouts of loneliness that people experience,” such as a breakup or a friend moving away, writes Miller. What is most harmful is ” feeling like they have no one that they can turn to.”
What to do? Researchers at the University of Chicago suggest that people “remain open and available to the people around you. And it’s something that sounds really simple, but it’s not always easy.”
This Valentine’s Day:
1. Make plans to meet a good friend and remember how lucky you are to have caring people in your life.
2. If you’re feeling alone and your health is at stake, seek therapy.
3. Even if you’re attached, remember that someone else may need you and that they are reaching out for a reason. Don’t forget to be there.
A special note to parents:
Studies suggest college freshmen “are actually among the loneliest people that have been studied because, even though they’re surrounded by people their own age, they’ve left all of their high school friends and their parents and their family behind.” Be sure to check in with your child or loved one often. Let him know you are there to listen, even if he says he’s fine.

Source: Reader’s Digest

Common weed sap may treat non melanoma skin cancer

The British Journal of Dermatology experts are reporting that sap from the common garden weed petty spurge may treat your non-melanoma skin cancer.

But they tell patients that it is not wise to try this weed sap at home. Because the treatment is still experiment and it can irritate the skin.

Their study involved 36 patients with non-melanoma skin cancer Sap from the common garden weed petty spurge.

Although not the most serious form of skin cancer, non-melanoma lesions are very common, accounting for a third of all cancers detected in the UK.

They include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and usually occur in older people.

Most cases of non-melanoma skin cancer can be easily treated and cured with surgical removal or freezing, or using a special kind of light therapy that kills the cancer cells.

The plant weed petty spurge sap has been used for centuries as a traditional medicine, and it is native and common throughout Britain. The researchers wanted to put it through its paces in a proper clinical trial.

Source: BBC news

At a glance

What is Non melanoma ski?

Most skin cancers are classified as non-melanomas, usually starting in either basal cells or squamous cells. These cells are located at the base of the outer layer of the skin or cover the internal and external surfaces of the body.
Most non-melanoma skin cancers develop on sun-exposed areas of the body, like the face, ear, neck, lips, and the backs of the hands. Depending on the type, they can be fast or slow growing, but they rarely spread to other parts of the body.
Basal cell or squamous cell cancers are highly likely to be cured if detected and treated early.

What are the risk factors for skin cancer?

Risk factors for non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers include:

• Unprotected and/or excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation
• Fair complexion
• Occupational exposures to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium
• Family history
• Multiple or atypical moles
• Severe sunburns as a child

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

Skin cancer can be found early, and both doctors and patients play important roles in finding skin cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor.

• Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth
• Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule
• The spread of pigmentation beyond its border such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
• A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain

Source: American cancer society

Big Breakfast May plus your weight

Conventional wisdom says that eating a big breakfast might keep you full throughout the day and help prevent overeating at other meals, but a new German study debunks the idea.
Dr. Volker Schusdziarra, a researcher with the Else-Kroner-Fresenius Center of Nutritional Medicine in Munich, surveyed 380 people about their daily diets. Participants included 280 people who were obese and 100 who were of normal weight. Everyone kept track of what they ate over a period of 10 to 14 days.

The investigators found that breakfast habits varied. People sometimes skipping breakfast altogether and other times consuming either a big or small meal, according to the study, published online Jan. 17 in the Nutrition Journal.
However, those who ate a “big” breakfast — defined as being an average of 400 calories greater than a small breakfast — ended up with a net gain of 400 calories over the day.
“The results of the study showed that people ate the same at lunch and dinner, regardless of what they had for breakfast,” Schusdziarra said in a news release from BioMed Central, the journal’s publisher.
Some people skipped a mid-morning snack when they ate a big breakfast, but that didn’t offset the extra calories they took in earlier, the study noted.


Source:health.com

Eat less at night may Lose your weight

No doubt you already know that weight gain is a matter of calories eaten minus calories burned, but a new study of mice suggests calories add up faster if they’re eaten when you ought to be sleeping. When researchers at Northwestern University fed mice during the day—when they normally sleep—the rodents gained more weight than mice that ate a night, when they’re usually active. In fact, although the two groups ate about equal amounts of food and got the same amount of exercise, the day-fed mice ended up putting on two and a half times as much weight. Other studies hint that the effect holds true for humans, too. Still, if you regularly consume more calories than you burn, math will trump timing—you’re going to gain weight.

Source: Reader’s Digest

What You’re Eating When You Eat Out? : 3 secrets leak out

Here some waiters and waitresses across the country leaked out the secrets about what they serve to unwitting customers.

“If you order plain old coffee at a restaurant after 8 p.m., you may be getting decaf. Most stop making two pots late in the day because no one wants to clean them both.”

“Even the best breakfast buffets in the world often serve scrambled eggs made from powder rather than fresh, and fish served on Sunday has often been languishing for a day or two.”

“Waitresses know better than to ask for lemon in their drinks. Everybody touches them, nobody washes them. We just peel the stickers off, cut them up, and throw them in your iced tea.”

Source: Reader’s Digest

Are food colorings healthy for you?

Do you know about the safety regulations governing food colorings and preservatives? Are these   beneficial or harmful for our health?  Here are a few facts about the things that color our food.
1. Food colorings are safe, but nothing is absolute. Linda Katz, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors at the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), says that there is no such thing as absolute safety of any substance. “In the case of a new color additive, FDA determines if there is ‘a reasonable certainty of no harm’ under the color additive’s proposed conditions of use.”
2. No color additives have been approved for injection into the skin
“Tattoo parlors often claim that the pigments in their inks are “FDA-approved.” No color additives are approved for permanent makeup (a form of tattooing). And henna is approved for use on the hair, but not the skin.”
3. Hives? Check your additive list. “FD&C Yellow No. 5 may cause itching and hives in some people. This color additive is widely found in beverages, desserts, processed vegetables, drugs, makeup, and other products.” The law requires Yellow No. 5 to be clearly identified so if you experience a reaction to a food, check the label.
Source: Reader’s Digest

Top 10 anti cancer foods

Cancer is such a staggering epidemic–the sheer number of people affected by the disease is as heartbreaking as it is mystifying. As we are slowly learning more about the causes, we are beginning to learn more about preventive measures.
In terms of the relationship between diet and cancer, this leads us to lists of what not to eat (french fries, sigh), as well as the other side of the coin: What we should eat (artichokes and red wine, yay!).
In the book Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic (New Society Publishers, 2007) the authors Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey and Anne Wordsworth consider the importance of eating specific foods and drinks for cancer protection. Here’s what they suggest:
1. Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, bok choy and kale. These score high for containing many anti-cancer substances, such as isothiocyanates.
2. Globe artichoke for very high levels of salvestrols.
3. Dark greens, such as spinach and romaine lettuce, for their fiber, folate and a wide range of cancer-fighting carotenoids. Other dark colored veggies, too, such as beets and red cabbage.
4. Grapes and red wine, especially for the resveratrol.
5. Legumes: beans, peas and lentils, for the saponins, protease inhibitors and more.
6. Berries, particularly blueberries, for the ellagic acid and anthocyanosides.
7. Flaxseed, especially if you grind it yourself and consume when fresh, for the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid, lignans and other “good fats.”
8. Garlic, onions, scallions, leeks and chives, for many anti-cancer substances including allicin.
9. Green tea, for its anti-cancer catechins, a potent antioxidant.
10. Tomatoes, for the famous flavenoid lycopene.

Source: planetgreen.com

3 Reasons: Why men lose their weight faster than women

Some couples working to lose weight may notice that the man usually loses at a faster pace than the woman. What's going on? Do men really lose more weight faster or does it just appear that they do?

The truth is, men have two major weight-loss advantages over women: One involves their body composition, which enables them to burn calories at a faster rate than women; the second revolves around the fact that men tend to be more active than their female counterparts. These two major factors—more calories burned at rest and more calories burned in activity—translates into faster weight loss for guys

1.Men Have Faster Metabolisms
Men are biologically programmed to have higher amounts of lean body mass, or muscle, than women. Lean body mass is the key factor that determines the rate of one's metabolism, the body's calorie-burning system. Since men have more muscle, their metabolisms are higher, and they burn more calories even when they're resting, so the final result is a more rapid weight loss.

How much faster are men's metabolisms than women's? Research has found that on average the metabolism of a man is 5 to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same weight and height.¹

2.Men Are More Active
Another reason men often lose weight faster then women is that they tend to be more physically active. In fact, a study reported in the American Journal of Physiology found that women burn an average of 16 percent fewer daily calories than men.² The researchers looked into that difference, finding that the women's resting metabolic rate was 6 percent lower than that of men (e.g., a slower metabolism) and that the calories burned in physical activity was 37 percent lower than that of men. In other words, the women were simply not moving as much as the guys so were burning fewer calories.

3.Women Also Have an Edge
Women do have an edge, however, over men in other critical areas of weight management. For example, women tend to be more attentive to what's going on with their weight (e.g., they know why they should work to lose weight), and are better able to make the connection between food and emotions.

Bottom Line - At the end of the day, the differences in terms of total weight loss between men and women are modest. Both sexes can be successful in achieving a lasting weight loss with a comprehensive lifestyle approach.

Source: Reader’s Deigest

It’s Easiar for Men to Loss their Weight: 3 Reasons

Why does it seem easier for men to lose weight? It may be all in our heads.
1. Women simply obsess about food more. According to a recent survey, “25% of women think about food every half-hour, only 10% think about sex that often. When it comes to men, 5% think about sex once a minute and 36% find their minds wandering to it every 30 minutes.”
Source: Newser.com
2. Women tend to relate emotionally to food while men do not. The book Conquering Heart Attack & Stroke references a brain-scan study in which “researchers flashed tempting foods in front of men and women who hadn’t eaten for a day, then told them to fight their hunger. The men’s brains showed far less activity in areas of emotional regulation, memory, and motivation than the women’s – as if men were more easily able to ‘switch off’ their cravings for favorite foods, which included fried chicken, lasagna, ice cream, and pizza.”
Source: Conquering Heart Attack & Stroke
3. To top it all off, men also have faster metabolisms. According to Weight Watchers, “Research has found that on average the metabolism of a man is 5 to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same weight and height.”
Source: Weight Watchers
Advice: “If you are trying to lose weight and you have just had a difficult day at the office, don’t walk home past a bakery.”
Plus:
19 Weight Loss Secrets From Around the World
8 Kitchen Cabinet Makeovers for Weight Loss

Source: Reaser’s Deigest.

You can make your pet’s food

Would your dog or cat benefit from a healthier diet more like your own? The pet owners profiled in a recent New York Times’ story on home cooking for pets say yes, illustrating a growing trend that, like anything else, has its pros and cons. Here’s what you should know.
It’s a business with a conscience. Barbara Laino feeds her pets a diet comparable to her own, full of unprocessed, organic meats and produce. She’s one of many people behind the growing number of workshops and classes designed to teach people how to cook unprocessed organic food for their pets.

If you’re already buying organic pet food (the article reports sales have grown tenfold since 2002), the DIY method Laino advocates may interest you, especially once you learn a 3-week batch costs about the same as commercial food. Check out one of Laino’s standard recipes here.

Home cooking could mean better health for your pet, but the bottom line is that if you don’t get it right, it’s really not worth it at all. Pets who don’t receive the right balance of nutrients can acquire serious health problems, and suffer the same conditions their human caretakers would if malnourished (read: anemia and calcium-related bone disorders).
To hear about other pet chefs and what experts are saying about homemade pet food, read: A Sniff of Home Cooking for Dogs and Cats.

Source: Reader’s Digest