In May 2009, a sample of 2,500 New Zealand women aged 40 to 50 years was randomly selected from the nationwide electoral rolls. After adjusting for age, smoking status, menopause status, thyroid condition, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and physical activity, BMI statistically significantly increased by 2.8% (95% confidence interval: 1.5% to 4.1%; P

Here’s a list worth review of the top 10 Back to School foods: 1. Organic Milk – the list comes from the Horizon Organic Milk company – what did you expect ;- ) but the calcium is important 2. Whole Grain Bread 3. Trail Mix Fixings (read the contents or make yourself – not all are healthy) 4. Nut Butter 5. Hummus 6. Granola Bars (again – read the contents carefully – some are just candy bars in disguise) 7. Turkey Breast 8. String Cheese 9. Fruit, Fruit, Fruit (and more fruit) 10. Veggies, Veggies, Veggies (and even more veggies!)

The Wall Street Journal today focused in on various studies today around “coffee breaks” and their benefit (or lack thereof) to performance. They found that performance on memory and attention tests improved by 20% after subjects paused for a walk through an arboretum. When the same people strolled down a busy street, no cognitive boost was found. Interestingly, a 10 minute break in a quiet room to look at pictures of a nature scene had similar (but not as significant) results, while looking at pictures of a city street in the same quiet room did not. And the coffee itself? Men who drank more than their usual amount of coffee actually performed worse when working on a group assignment.

When it comes to improving bone health in postmenopausal women (and people of all ages, actually) a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found a simple, proactive solution to help prevent fractures and osteoporosis: eating dried plums. “All fruits and vegetables have a positive effect on nutrition, but in terms of bone health, this particular food is exceptional,” said lead researcher Armjandi. Over a 12-month period, the first group was instructed to consume 100 grams of dried plums (about 10) each day, while the second was told to consume 100 grams of dried apples. The group that consumed dried plums had significantly higher bone mineral density in the ulna and spine, in comparison with the group that … MORE→

Are you one of the many, many individuals who must take an allergy into account when going out to eat? We stumbled across this new site that makes it much easier to find a restaurant nearby that will take good care of your needs. Check it out: http://www.allergyeats.com/

Aerobic exercise is your best bet when it comes to losing that dreaded belly fat, a new study finds. When Duke University Medical Center researchers conducted a head-to-head comparison of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and a combination of the two, they found aerobic exercise to be the most efficient and most effective way to lose the belly fat that’s most damaging to your health. This isn’t the fat that lies just under your skin and causes the dreaded muffin top. Belly or abdominal fat — known in scientific communities as visceral fat and liver fat — is located deep within the abdominal cavity and fills the spaces between internal organs. It’s been associated with increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, … MORE→

Exercise can be as effective as a second medication for as many as half of depressed patients whose condition have not been cured by a single antidepressant medication. As published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, it was found that both moderate and intense levels of daily exercise can work as well as administering a second antidepressant drug, which is often used when initial medications don’t move patients to remission. It is one of the first controlled investigations in the U.S. to suggest that adding a regular exercise routine, combined with targeted medications, actually can relieve fully the symptoms of major depressive disorder.

If you’ve ever made your own smoothie, packing it with fruit, spinach, flax seed oil, protein powder, coconut milk, chia seeds and all sorts of healthy items, then you know how easy it is to add a plethora of health to your daily fueling plan. In fact, there may be no better way to start off your day on a healthy note than to compliment your morning workout with a homemade (or office made) smoothie for breakfast. But it gets better! What if you were to make a little larger smoothie each morning and then set aside one glass or water bottle full in the refrigerator for your afternoon snack? Granted, it won’t be quite as tasty as it was … MORE→

Older adults who lead sedentary lifestyles and consume a lot of sodium in their diet may be putting themselves at risk for more than just heart disease. A study led by researchers at Baycrest in Toronto has found evidence that high-salt diets coupled with low physical activity can be detrimental to cognitive health in older adults. The finding, which appears online today in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, may have significant public health implications, emphasizing the importance of addressing multiple lifestyle factors that can impact brain health. While low sodium intake is associated with reduced blood pressure and risk of heart disease, this is believed to be the first study to extend the benefits of a low sodium diet to … MORE→

Symptoms of weight gain, mood swings, insomnia, vaginal dryness, hot flashes and achy joints tied to menopause? This article provides some specific steps to ease those through nutritional options. Sometimes hormone replacement therapy is appropriate, but the following tips may reduce the dependence on the hormones. The tips that follow are good for everyone, but this balanced diet is especially therapeutic for women with menopause symptoms: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/30392349.html?page=all&prepage=3&c=y#continue

1. High-carbohydrate diets lower HDL cholesterol and raise triglycerides, which greatly increases your risk of heart disease. 2. Carbohydrates raise insulin, which makes you fat and increases your risk of type II diabetes. 3. A high intake of carbohydrates and sweetened beverages is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. 4. Carbohydrates eaten in excess raise levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, which increases risk of heart attacks and strokes. 5. Eating too many carbohydrates makes LDL cholesterol smaller and denser, which in turn raises risk of heart and artery disease. Interested in the other five? Here you go: http://www.weightandwellness.com/id45.html

Reuters covered a large study from Taiwan’s National Health Research Institute (Wen, et al) today that shows dedicating even 15 minutes/day to a moderate form of exercise like brisk walking, will benefit anyone. Some people struggle to stick to the standard guideline of 30 minutes a day of exercise, five days a week. While that may be optimal, this study demonstrates consistency with just 15 min/day can make a significant difference. The study, which tracked 416,000 people over 13 years found an increase in life expectancy of three years compared with those who remained inactive.

While some past studies have shown that persons carrying a few extra pounds in their 70s live longer than their thinner counterparts, a new study that measured subjects’ weight at multiple points over a longer period of time reveals the opposite. Research recently published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society showed that men over 75 with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 22.3 had a 3.7-year shorter life expectancy, and women over 75 with a BMI greater than 27.4 had a 2.1-year shorter life expectancy. The study looked at 6,030 adults who never smoked and who were free of major chronic diseases at enrollment. It then examined only those adults who maintained a stable weight.

Let’s face facts: More than half of all nurses are fat. Obese even. There may be a medical reason why your workday sends you to the fridge. Psychologically, you may be the kind of person who cares for others too much, and that’s causing you to overeat to compensate for not caring for yourself. Physically, your heightened stress levels (hey, you’re a nurse…it’s a common problem) could be upsetting your biochemical balance, which is in turn making you fat. If you’re the kind of nurse who is overeating because you are an uber-caregiver, you’ll find solutions in this article to deal with that and more: http://scrubsmag.com/eatstress/

A new University of Colorado Boulder study shows that a small amount of physical exercise could profoundly protect the elderly from long-term memory loss that can happen suddenly following infection, illnesses or injury in old age. “Our research shows that a small amount of physical exercise by late middle-aged rats profoundly protects against exaggerated inflammation in the brain and long-lasting memory impairments that follow a serious bacterial infection,” said Ruth Barrientos of the psychology and neuroscience department. The results of the study will appear in the Aug. 10 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience. Past research has shown that exercise in humans protects against declines in cognitive function associated with aging and protects against dementia.

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to be the object of my own little case study. The topic? How fast can I complete the 13.1 mile run portion of a Half Ironman (Boulder 70.3) after not having run for 4 months due to a broken fibula and wearing an air cast on my leg. Going into the event, I planned to step off the course if the leg started feeling worse, and also wore the air cast during the 56 mi bike portion to provide the greatest possible stability going into the run itself. The outcome was interesting – and somewhat encouraging. I started off conservatively, going through the first 6 miles at about 7:05 pace/mile. At that point, the … MORE→

Chewing food 40 times instead of a typical 15 times caused study participants to eat nearly 12 percent fewer calories, according to results published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Jie Li and colleagues from Harbin Medical University in China gave a typical breakfast to 14 obese young men and 16 young men of normal weight to see if there were differences in how they chewed their food. The researchers also looked to see whether chewing more would lead subjects to eat less and would affect levels of blood sugar or certain hormones that regulate appetite. In the current study, the team found a connection between the amount of chewing and levels of several hormones that “tell the brain … MORE→

More individuals are learning the importance of reading food labels, but there is one key factor that cannot be forgotten – the serving size (which may not represent “your” actual serving size). Canned soup presents a dramatic example of how unrealistic the stated serving sizes are, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Labels for Campbell’s Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle soup indicate a serving is 1 cup (a little less than half a can) and has 790 milligrams of sodium—a hefty amount by any standard and about half the sodium most adults should consume in a whole day. But according to a national telephone survey commissioned by CSPI, 64 percent of consumers would eat the whole … MORE→

Even people who set aside time for exercise regularly but are otherwise sedentary, may not be active enough to combat chronic diseases such as diabetes. Inactivity, in addition to the availability of high-caloric food has led to an increased rate of metabolic dysfunction in Americans. “If people spend the majority of their time sitting, even with regular periods of exercise, they are still at greater risk for chronic diseases,” Thyfault said. “If people can add some regular movement into their routines throughout the day, they will feel better and be less susceptible to health problems. In the long term, they may not see big changes in the mirror, but they will prevent further weight gain.” 10,000 steps/day is a good … MORE→