Bringing wholesome healthy tips
Yogurt is my go-to food for a filling breakfast or a healthy snack. And I’m not talking about those fruit-flavored yogurts full of sugar. For me, it’s plain Greek yogurt – thick, creamy, and even better when mixed with a teaspoon of honey. Yogurt is packed with probiotics such as Bifidobacterium animalis that help keep the gut in tip-top shape. When the gut is healthy, your digestion, mood and cognition…
Opioids treat chronic pain by dulling its sensation in the brain and hijacking the brain’s reward system, which triggers the release of dopamine and feelings of pleasure. This is what makes the drugs so effective — and so addictive. An estimated 2.7 million people in the U.S. are hooked on opioids despite widespread public health warnings and media attention focused on the dangers of opioid addiction. In 2022, roughly 82,000…
Spring is the perfect time to re-up your commitment to better health, especially as farmers’ markets and grocery stores start filling up with fresh, seasonal produce. Eating with the seasons isn’t just good for variety — it also ensures access to the freshest, tastiest and most nutrient-packed produce typically at a lower price point. So, what should you keep on hand this spring? Here are the foods I turn to…
Insulin resistance is becoming a serious problem in the U.S., affecting up to 40 percent of U.S. adults ages 18 to 44. That’s two out of every five American adults in that age group! If you recognize the signs early enough, insulin resistance can be halted before you get labeled with a chronic disease. It usually precedes the onset of type 2 diabetes by 10 to 15 years, which is…
For older men, prostate cancer is a real concern. And no wonder. About 6 in 10 prostate cancers are diagnosed in men who are 65 or older. Luckily, there are things men can do to help lower their odds of being one of them… As is the case with most disease, diet is an essential component of any prostate cancer prevention plan. Specific foods have been the subject of research…
If the thought of an exercise routine seems daunting, this is for yor… VILPA stands for vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity. It’s a form of physical activity that involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise interspersed throughout the day. It’s a great way to sneak exercise into your daily routine, and it’s different from traditional exercise in that it doesn’t require a dedicated workout session. VILPA appeals to me because, instead…
Muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (how well your body takes in oxygen and delivers it to your muscles and organs during physical activity) are both significant predictors of your overall health. Muscle strength helps improve balance and prevent falls as we age. It also lowers the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which can include heart disease and diabetes. Good cardiorespiratory fitness (also called aerobic capacity) is connected with a lower…
If you’ve been on a rollercoaster of weight loss and gain, commonly known as yo-yo dieting, you might be surprised to know how big of an impact this body-weight cycling has on your health. In fact, not only can yo-yo dieting damage your heart, but it also comes with additional health warnings to be wary of, including: Increased risk of diabetes Higher risk of gallstones Poor gut health Depression Now,…
Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that pervade our environment. Worse, they pervade our bodies… Some are intentionally produced, like microbeads, plastic pellets and microfibers, and some result from the breakdown of larger plastics due to wear and tear. Regardless, microplastics have been found throughout the human body… breaching the blood-brain barrier in seconds, lodging in blood clots and arterial plaques and taking up residency in organs like the liver and…
For a long time, I thought that my oral and physical health were totally unrelated… that what happened in my dentist’s chair had nothing to do with how I felt in general. Then I started writing about health and discovered that I couldn’t have been more mistaken if I’d tried. It’s a confirmed fact that your mouth is the gateway to either health or disease in your body. Diabetes, kidney…