January 31, 2011
Brain Food
The Mediterranean Diet may be a brain saver after all, according to a large study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In some of the best evidence to date, researchers analyzed data from a continuing study of 3,790 Chicago residents 65 and older that began in 1993 and found that the brains of those who best adhered to a Mediterranean-style diet—rich in fish, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil, with moderate amounts of wine—functioned two years younger than those who adhered to it the worst. Although this study did not establish a cause and effect, some researchers credit the foods’ anti-inflammatory effects.
Read: The New York Times
January 21, 2010
Focus on Your Food
Eating at your desk again? You may be putting away more food than you think, according to a new study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found that adults who ate lunch while playing computer solitaire had more trouble remembering what they ate, felt less full immediately afterward and downed twice as many cookies a half hour later than those who lunched without playing games. “Memory plays an important role in the regulation of food intake and distractions during eating disrupt that,” said senior author Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, PhD, a researcher in behavioral nutrition at the University of Bristol in England. “If you can avoid eating in front of a computer screen or any other activity that distracts you, that might temper the tendency to snack later in the day.”
Read: The New York Times
December 29, 2010
The Health Risk in Nature’s Healthiest Drink
A probable carcinogen made famous by the movie Erin Brockovich is in tap (and possibly bottled) water across the country, according to a new report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The advocacy group found hexavalent chromium—a chemical that causes cancer in laboratory animals—in the tap water of 31 of the 35 cities they tested. Twenty-five of those communities, including Norman, Oklahoma; Riverside, California and Madison, Wisconsin, had contamination levels that were higher than the .06 parts per billion health goal proposed by the state of California. Industrial dependence on hexavalent chromium declined in the early 1990s, however it’s still used in some industries, such as chrome plating and the manufacturing of plastics, and can exist naturally in groundwater. The federal government hasn’t set a limit for hexavalent chromium in drinking water but is reexamining the chemical to determine whether such a restriction is necessary. If your city is on the EWG’s list or you’re worried about the safety of your tap water, don’t depend on your Brita or bottled water: Neither protects you from hexavalent chromium. Instead, invest in a reverse-osmosis water filtration system, which is available for about $200 online and at hardware stores, such as The Home Depot.
Read: The Washington Post
December 21, 2010
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