Monthly Archives: December 2009
New Year’s Traditions and Superstitions
Eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year, at least if you live in the southern U.S. where I grew up. In the Deep South, add pork and collard greens. In some parts of … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Mea Culpa: Average Holiday Weight Gain Not as High as I Thought
Travis Saunders at the Obesity Panacea blog notes that average weight gain in adults over the Thanksgiving (U.S.)–Christmas–New Years’ season seems to be on the order of 0.8 pounds or 0.37 kg. Data are from a 2000 article in the New England Journal … Continue reading
Filed under Overweight and Obesity
Mediterranean Diet Linked to Lower Stomach Cancer Risk
The Mediterranean diet is associated with a 33% reduction in stomach cancer, according to a study just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Stomach cancer (aka gastric cancer) is uncommon in the U.S. Most cases are advanced and incurable at … Continue reading
Filed under Health Benefits
Top 10 Diabetes Superfoods
The American Diabetes Association has published a list of Top 10 Diabetes Superfoods. They share a low glycemic index and provide key nutrients, according to the ADA. Click the link for details. Here they are in no particular order: beans dark green … Continue reading
Filed under Dairy Products, Fish, Fruits, Glycemic Index and Load, Grains, Health Benefits, legumes, Mediterranean Diet, nuts, Vegetables
Mediterranean Cookbooks for Health and Longevity
Here are some Christmas gift book suggestions for someone trying to eat healthier via the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean Heart Diet: How It Works and How to Reap the Health Benefits, with Recipes to Get You Started by Helen V. Fisher. … Continue reading
Filed under Book Reviews
Low-Carb Killing Spree Continues
Low-fat and low-carb diets produce equal weight loss and improvements in insulin resistance but the low-carb diet may be detrimental to vascular health, according to a new study in Diabetes. Methodology Researchers in the the UK studied 24 obese subjects—15 female and 9 male—randomized to … Continue reading
More Coffee, Less Diabetes
Coffee drinking is associated with lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Tea and decaffeinated coffee seem to have the same effect. Each additional daily cup of coffee reduced the risk by seven … Continue reading
Filed under Prevention of T2 Diabetes
Book Review: Good Calories, Bad Calories
Here’s my review of good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease, by Gary Taubes, 2007. I give it five stars on Amazon.com’s five-star system (“I love it”). ♦ ♦ ♦ This brilliant book deserves … Continue reading
Saturated Fat is Bad – If You’re a Mouse!
I was excited to see an article, “A Look at the Low-Carbohydrate Diet,” in the December 3, 2009, New England Journal of Medicine. I was quickly disappointed. Expecting a scholarly review of low-carb eating in humans, I found an exposition … Continue reading
Filed under Carbohydrate, Fat in Diet
Healthy Eating Guide from Darya Pino
Darya Pino, founder of Summer Tomato, has generously offered her new guide, “How to Get Started Eating Healthy,” to anyone who wants it, gratis. I’ve not read the guide yet, but I’m very familiar with Darya’s work at Summer Tomato. I’m sure her … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
