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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Filed under Carbohydrate, coronary heart disease, Fat in Diet, Prevention of T2 Diabetes, Weight Loss

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

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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

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Filed under Book Reviews, Carbohydrate, Causes of Diabetes, coronary heart disease, Overweight and Obesity

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

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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

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