Diet

According to recent statistics, heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for both men and women in the United States--yet adding one simple food to your diet may reverse that. According to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, people who ate nuts everyday were 20 percent less likely to die from heart disease or cancer. This, say researchers, could be "groundbreaking." "Nuts used to be demonized because they're high in fat," says…
read more

For years, it's seemed like nothing has stopped people from getting Alzheimer's disease--statistics even say it's expected to triple in the near future. Surprisingly, though, new research presented at Neuroscience 2013, a science conference, says there may be a potential new treatment on the way--a special extract made from rosemary and spearmint. Susan Farr, Ph.D., a research professor of geriatrics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, made the new treatment by drawing out antioxidants from spearmint and rosemary leaves.…
read more

According to recent statistics, Americans eat out on an average of four to five times a week--and chances are that doesn't include healthy food, according to registered dietitian Katie Bogue. "For many of us, grabbing a burger or pizza is part of our everyday routine," says Bogue. "Fast food can be inexpensive, easy, and good tasting. You can be satisfying your hunger within ten minutes or less." But when it comes to your diabetes though, opting for fast food isn't…
read more

As the use of the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, picked up in the 1950s, scientists soon began noticing a troubling trend: Rates of diabetes, miscarriages, and certain types of cancers increased. And while DDT has fallen out of use in the United States, researchers now say there's another consequence all Americans should watch out for: An increased risk of obesity. But this effect first showed up in the grandchildren of those exposed to DDT. "Interestingly, in the first generation, we…
read more

At risk for depression? It's not a mind over matter issue anymore, according to researchers from Harvard University--it may have to do with your diet. Published in the latest issue of the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, their newest study reveals that women who ate foods that increased inflammation were 41 percent more likely to develop clinical depression. Researchers initially made this discovery after giving middle to senior aged women a food frequency questionnaire. "We used a strict definition of…
read more

Experts say that women who follow a Mediterranean diet are more likely to have a healthier heart--but now there may be another incentive to stick with this diet. A new study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine shows that women who followed a Mediterranean diet were 40 percent more likely to live longer than 70 years. This has led some experts to believe this diet could be the next fountain of youth. "We found that greater quality of…
read more

For many of us, losing weight is the biggest part of our journey--but for those who have already lost weight, keeping that weight off is just as important. And now a new study from Karolinska Institutet's Clinical Epidemiology Unit and Obesity Center in Sweden says there may be two new ways to do it. "The body has several defence [sic] mechanisms against weight loss, such as increased hunger, lower energy metabolism and relapse back to old habits," says Dr. Erik…
read more

For those losing weight on-the-go, they need all the help they need to stay on track--and with smartphone weight loss apps, that journey couldn't be easier. But now a study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine says these apps may offer little incentive to desperate dieters. "Apps do include evidence-based behavioral strategies, but only a narrow range," says Sherry Pagoto, Ph.D., a University of Massachusetts Medical School behavior psychologist and lead author of the study. "Strategies that often…
read more

For many people, it's a dream come true: Eat as much as you like while losing weight. And while researchers in the past may have brushed off these ideations as nothing more than wishful thinking, a surprising new study from The Scripps Research Institute says there finally may be a way to do this. "Boosting serotonin signaling has been seen as a viable strategy for weight loss in people, but our results hint that boosting serotonin plus adrenaline should produce…
read more

Regardless of the season, fad diets are always abound, but it's only recently that one diet has drawn major controversy for its pseudoscience. Called the Alkaline Diet, proponents of this plan claim your body's health doesn’t simply rely on eating a healthy diet--it's all about ensuring your body's pH is balanced. "According to some alternative practitioners, the shift to an acid-producing diet is the cause of a number of chronic diseases," says Cathy Wong, an alternative health expert for About.com.…
read more