How much salt do you eat? Most likely a lot more than you think. My readers should (hopefully!) remember my previous discussions on how a high-salt diet can raise blood pressure; now, a large study, just published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that if everyone in America consumed half a teaspoon less salt per day, there would be between 54,000 and 99,000 fewer heart attacks each year and between 44,000 and 92,000 fewer deaths.… Read the rest
Category Archives: Nutrition
Smokers, Eat Your Spinach! It May Fight Off Cancer
Here’s another fascinating new study which affirms yet again how important those leafy green veggies are. This time the focus was on smokers and their risks for cancers. This study followed a cohort of smokers and collected data on diet, then they analyzed their DNA for changes in 8 genes that are strongly connected to lung and other cancers.… Read the rest
Red Yeast Rice Can Lower Cholesterol
Those of you with high cholesterol will be happy to learn that there are some legitimate options to your statin pills. Many people cannot tolerate the extremely popular statin pills, especially from side effects of muscle aches. But there’s now some very strong evidence that herbal medicines, including red yeast rice, can be at least as effective as a statin, and without the side effects.… Read the rest
Can A Low-Acid Diet Protect Your Bones?
There’s a fascinating article in the New York Times called Exploring a Low-Acid Regimen for Bone Health, which may interest many readers. It discusses the research as to how thinning bones (osteoporosis) may in part be caused by a high-acid diet.… Read the rest
Coffee: Does it Harm or Help?
There’s been a lot of debate over the years over the health benefits of coffee. Now, the trend is towards the positive site, as some well-designed studies show benefit in some diseases.… Read the rest
Congee, Rice & Noodles: Which Are Healthiest?
Have you ever wondered just how healthy is a morning Chinese breakfast of zhou (congee, in Hong Kong)? What about most noodle and rice dishes? Yet again, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety has given us the data.
This issue is very relevant all over Asia, as these are major staples in a majority of diets, both for breakfast and for lunch.… Read the rest