JustCare

Tag: Diet

  • Can eating the right foods improve your sleep?

    Can eating the right foods improve your sleep?

    Americans too often struggle to get the sleep they need, which can lead to all sorts of chronic diseases. Not surprisingly, all sorts of sleep aids saturate the marketplace. But, what if eating the right foods improved your sleep without having to pop a pill?

    Today, the Centers for Disease Control reports that one in three Americans say they sleep less than recommended. Adults of all ages need at least seven hours of sleep. Without that sleep, some are not able to focus at work, get into traffic accidents, or suffer other injuries.

    Consumer Reports suggests that sometimes eating the right foods–foods that are plant-based–can improve your sleep, much as it can improve your mental and physical health. Plant-based foods don’t tend to affect your blood sugar. They have less saturated fat, less added sugar and more fiber.

    For better sleep, you should try eating more avocados, olive oil, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Legumes are also extremely beneficial, including lentils, beans, peas, soybeans, peanuts and whole grains. Legumes produce melatonin, a sleep hormone. Eating these foods puts you on the Mediterranean diet.

    What foods should you avoid? Avoid red meat, white flour and foods with added sugar. And, of course, caffeine and alcohol.

    Why do plant-based foods improve sleep? They contain a lot of fiber, which benefits the gut microbiome. That in turn regulates your circadian rhythm, your sleep cycle. A healthy gut also produces serotonin to improve mood and regulate sleep.

    Is there a single food to eat that will help with sleep? There’s no good data to suggest there is. It’s best to have a healthy balanced diet throughout the day.

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  • Should you take Vitamin C tablets?

    Should you take Vitamin C tablets?

    Many of my patients tell me that they are taking large doses of Vitamin C tablets to boost their immune system. If your diet is balanced, with all the food groups represented, you are likely getting enough Vitamin C without any reason to take additional tablets.

    According to the NIH, one medium orange contains more than enough vitamin C, around 117% of what you need daily. Adding oranges, grapefruits and lemons to your diet or broccoli and other fruits and vegetables that are high in Vitamin C, can help greatly. And, you can eat as much of these foods as you’d like without side effects.

    With Vitamin C supplements, in extremely high doses, there is a risk of developing kidney stones and severe diarrhea. Vitamin C supplements can potentially interact with your medications in harmful ways.  If you take iron pills or have an iron disorder, for example, a Vitamin C supplement could increase iron absorption and be really bad for you.

    What you may find hard to believe is that the scientific evidence shows that Vitamin C supplements are not as effective as you think. One reason people often take them is to prevent the common cold. The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database found that claim lacks evidence and it is possibly ineffective. Other systematic reviews of the Vitamin C supplement also show that it lacks the efficacy that the public believes it has. For example, in a systematic review of 29 studies released by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2013, Vitamin C supplements did not reduce the number of colds of participants in the studies. If you think the Vitamin C supplement keeps you from getting a cold or shortens it, think again.

    The one evidence-based reason to take Vitamin C supplements is that they can treat scurvy. Scurvy is a condition caused by an actual Vitamin C deficiency. In all of my years of practice, I have had ONE case of scurvy. You might have heard of scurvy in the past being an ailment of those sailing for long periods of time without a varied diet, but it is not limited to pirates and sailors. To read more about the history of scurvy click here.

    If you are worried about needing more Vitamin C, make sure you are eating enough Vitamin C-rich foods, including oranges, red peppers, kale, brussels sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, oranges and grapefruit. Changing your diet could be a simple non-supplement solution. If you still have concerns, discuss them with your doctor before taking any supplements. That’s the smartest way to protect your health and to save money.

    [N.B. This post was originally published on January 10, 2017.]

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  • Ultraprocessed foods are likely bad for your brain

    Ultraprocessed foods are likely bad for your brain

    It’s hard to avoid eating ultraprocessed foods. They can be very delicious. Who can resist a candy bar, french fries, ice cream, or doughnuts? But, Sandy LaMotte reports for CNN on the latest research study in JAMA Neurology showing that ultraprocessed foods are bad for your brain and might be increasing your risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

    Adults typically consume about 2,000 calories a day. If at least 400 of those calories (20 percent) are from ultraprocessed foods, you could be at greater risk of losing basic cognitive functions, including your ability to process information and make decisions.

    It’s easy to consume a lot of calories from ultraprocessed foods. If you’re a sucker for a McDonald’s cheeseburger sand small fries, for example, together they total 530 calories! As it turns out, ultraprocessed foods represent 58 percent of the typical American’s diet.

    How serious is the cognitive decay from eating a lot of ultraprocessed foods? The JAMA observational study found that people who ate a lot of ultraprocessed foods lost the ability to process information 25 percent faster than those who ate the least amount of ultraprocessed foods. Overall, cognitive impairment for those who ate the most ultraprocessed food came 28 percent faster than for those who ate the least.

    This all said, if you generally eat a healthy diet but combine healthy foods with ultraprocessed foods, you could be in luck when it comes to your mental health. The study found no cognitive decay associated with people who ate a lot of whole fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and whole grains, along with ultraprocessed foods.

    While it’s an observational study that cannot directly tie eating ultraprocessed foods with cognitive decay, the findings should be taken seriously. The study involved 10,000 participants for as long as ten years. Compelling evidence!

    Participants’ average age was 51. The researchers defined ultraprocessed foods as “industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives.” Ultraprocessed foods tend to have a lot of sugar, salt and fat, which cause inflammation in the body and jeopardize healthy aging.

    Putting aside cognitive decay, ultraprocessed foods should be avoided for many reasons. Among others, they increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and death.

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  • How to keep healthy this flu and Covid season

    How to keep healthy this flu and Covid season

    It’s getting colder outside and that means that you are more likely to get sick with a virus. The cold weather won’t make you sick. But, viruses spread more easily when it’s cold out. Hannah Seo reports for the New York Times on four ways to strengthen your immune system and reduce your risk of getting sick this flu and Covid season.

    1. Believe it or not, exercise and other activities that get you moving, such as walking and dancing, help ward off sickness. One study found that people who exercise at least five times a week got sick less often from an upper respiratory tract infection than people who exercised rarely. That said, overall, people who did a little exercise were less likely to get sick than people who did not exercise at all.
    2. Enough sleep and good quality sleep also give your body what it needs to ward off viruses. You should sleep more than seven hours a night.
    3. Eating healthy, particularly different colored fruits and vegetables, gives your body flavonoids, which fight inflammation and illness.
    4. Make sure you get this year’s flu shot and the Covid-19 bivalent booster. If you have Medicare, you should pay nothing for them.

    Why is exercise helpful in warding off sickness? It stimulates immune cells to wipe out cells infected with a virus.

    Why is proper sleep helpful? It regulates stress, lowering inflammation, strengthening your immune system and allowing your body to fight off infection.

    Why is a proper diet helpful? Processed foods, cigarette smoke, excessive alcohol intake can keep your immune system from working well. Supplements also are of no help, based on the evidence, and often contain ingredients that can be harmful to your health. It’s better to eat a good diet.

    Why are vaccines helpful? They give your body the antibodies needed to fight off flus and Covid-19 infections. And, even if you catch the flu or get Covid-19, if you’ve been vaccinated, you will increase your chances of having only a mild case.

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  • How sweet is your diet?

    How sweet is your diet?

    Our brains are programmed to love sugar. And, sugar is in all foods with carbohydrates, including fruits, vegetables, grains, and dairy. Eating these whole foods is good for your health because your body digests them slowly, and they provide energy to your cells. But, foods with added sugars are another story and are best to avoid. How sweet is your diet?

    If your diet is like the typical American’s, you’re eating way too much sugar every day. The food industry adds sugar to practically every processed food we eat, including ketchup, hot dogs and salad dressing. That helps explain why we eat so much sugar.

    It’s best to try to avoid eating and drinking foods with added sugar. You can get your carbohydrates elsewhere. We get most of our unhealthy sugar from sugary beverages, including sports drinks. Four grams of sugar is a teaspoon. One can of cola has 39 grams of sugar, 10 teaspoons!

    Even fruit juice has a lot of natural sugar and some fruit juice has added sugar. Fruit juice also contains vitamins and other nutrients, but those benefits are offset by all the sugar. Breakfast cereal and yogurt (except plain yogurt) also generally contain a lot of sugar.

    Our body needs sugar to survive. But our body can get all the sugar it needs from glucose. Our body makes glucose by breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and fats we eat. We do not need to eat foods with added sugar to feed our brains. Those foods can cause heart disease, fatty liver disease, diabetes; they can also raise blood pressure.

    How much added sugar is ok to eat each day? The Harvard School of Public Health says that you can have about 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of sugar a day or 200 calories from sugar, ten percent of a typical adult’s recommended calorie intake. The American Heart Association recommends even less: Women should have no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day and men nine teaspoons in order to reduce risk of heart disease and obesity.

    There are many types of sugars: Sucrose (table sugar), corn sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit-juice concentrates, nectars, raw sugar, malt syrup, maple syrup, fructose sweeteners, liquid fructose, honey, molasses, anhydrous dextrose are all types of sugar. In fact, you can pretty much assume that any word ending in “-ose,” the chemical suffix for sugars, is a type of sugar. If any sugar is listed on a food label, you should assume that the product has a lot of sugar. You can look at the nutrition facts label of most foods for the amount of “total carbohydrates.”

    To learn more about the risks of too much sugar, read this post on foods with added sugar. To get John Oliver’s ever smart take, watch this:

     

  • Eating food high in fiber delivers many benefits

    Eating food high in fiber delivers many benefits

    Carbohydrates are your primary source of energy. And, many complex carbohydrates provide fiber. Eating food high in fiber delivers a variety of health benefits, especially for older people. A study in Journals of Gerontology reports that, of all food categories, fiber makes the biggest difference to “successful aging.”

    The study found that older adults who eat fiber-rich diets are far more likely to avoid disability and disease as they age as well as to live longer. They are also less likely to have symptoms of depression, cognitive impairments, diabetes, high blood pressure, breathing problems and chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. But, the authors caution that the study results are not strong enough to be a source of dietary advice. They also make clear that the 1,600 study participants did not consume a lot of sugary drinks, which can be harmful to health.

    The National Institutes of Health reports that fiber can prevent stomach and intestinal problems, including constipation. Fiber is important for a heart healthy diet. And, there is substantial evidence that fiber can lower your cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

    Fiber can also help you maintain a healthy weight. Eating foods with fiber fills you up faster than eating other foods, keeping you from over-eating.

    Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and whole grains all provide you with fiber. To increase your supply of fiber, eat whole fruits and vegetables and leave the skins on. Whole fruits and vegetables have far higher fiber content than fruit and vegetable juice. Raspberries, artichokes, green peas, lentils, barley, pears and split peas are particularly rich in fiber. The Mayo Clinic advises that to maximize the benefits of fiber, drink a good amount of water. (Processed foods are lower in fiber than whole foods.)

    Keep in mind that if you want to increase the amount of fiber in your diet, you should do it slowly–over a period of a few weeks–so that the bacteria in your digestive system adapt to this diet change. Otherwise, you may end up with intestinal gas, stomach bloating and cramping.

    [This article was originally published on August 15, 2018]

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  • To live longer, you must both eat well and exercise

    To live longer, you must both eat well and exercise

    New research suggests that if you want to prevent chronic disease and live longer, you need to eat well and exercise. Doing one or the other apparently is not enough to extend your life, both are important, reports Dani Blum for The New York Times.

    You might think that you can counter the health consequences of eating a bag of oreos by going on a long run, and you wouldn’t be alone. But, exercise won’t undo the ugly toll those oreos take on your body. Similarly, eating lots of kale, spinach, nuts and fish, while good for your health, can’t make up for the fact that you’re a couch potato and not moving your muscles every day. Without exercise, you increase your risk of cardiovascular disease.

    A study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine says to forget about thinking you can eat whatever you want if you work out. The bad fats will not go away no matter how many crunches and pushups you do. The researchers analyzed data on 350,000 healthy people with a median age of 57.

    The researchers put people who had high-quality diets in one box. These people ate an average of 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables every day, at least two fish meals a week, less than two servings of processed meat each week and five or fewer servings of meat each week.

    The researchers put people who spent a lot of time walking and doing other physical activity, including vigorous exercise that makes you sweat, in another box. Apparently, however much exercise you do can be helpful, as little as 10 minutes a week.

    The researchers found that the people who fell into both boxes had the lowest likelihood of chronic disease and premature death.

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  • Skip the keto diet, go Mediterranean

    Skip the keto diet, go Mediterranean

    As you get older, it’s especially important to maintain a healthy weight. But, there are better and worse ways to do so. If you’re looking to lose weight, the Mediterranean diet is likely a better way to go than the ketogenic or “keto” diet. The keto diet comes with several risks.

    Harvard Health recommends that you not try the keto diet because it’s not clear that it’s safe. The idea behind the keto diet is that you will get your energy from fat rather than carbohydrates, which leads to a state of “ketosis.”

    The keto diet has you eating three-quarters of your calories from fat, including a lot of saturated fat. It does not distinguish between lean proteins and fatty ones from bacon, beef and pork. You can eat protein from meat as well as saturated fat from palm and coconut oils and butter. You can also eat unsaturated fats such as almonds, walnuts, seeds, tofu, olive oil and avocados.

    Eating too much saturated fat is linked to heart disease and high LDL cholesterol. It also reduces your fiber intake which can lead to constipation. With the keto diet, you could end up with low blood pressure and kidney stones. 

    The keto diet deprives your brain of healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, which are rich in a wide range of nutrients. Your body needs healthy carbohydrates to operate well, regulate your mood and keep you clear-headed.

    You can eat Swiss chard, spinach and other leafy vegetables. You can also eat bell peppers, mushrooms, cauliflower, garlic, onions, celery, Brussels sprouts and cucumber. But, you are not getting key micronutrients from these vegetables, such as vitamins B and C, phosphorus, selenium, and magnesium.

    The keto diet is fundamentally different from the Paleo, South Beach and Atkins diets. Eating a balanced diet is all about not having too many saturated fats and proteins in your diet or too few carbohydrates. You want to strike a healthy balance.

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  • Adding salt to your diet could be bad for your health. . . unless you also eat fruits and vegetables

    Adding salt to your diet could be bad for your health. . . unless you also eat fruits and vegetables

    A new study published in the European Heart Journal finds that adding salt to your food, as distinct from using salt in a recipe, could be bad for your health, leading to a greater risk of a lower life expectancy and premature death. However, people who eat lots of fruits and vegetables rich in potassium, along with added salt, should have no greater risk to their life expectancy.

    Nicole Lou writes in MedPageToday that this study, over nine years, found that people who add salt to their diet often ended up more likely to die of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer. People eating more salt did not see a heightened risk of death from dementia.

    In the US, the salt that people add to their meals, before digging in, represents between six and 20 percent of the total amount of sodium chloride they consume. So, if you are healthy, and you eat fruits and vegetables rich in potassium, you likely do not need to give another thought to the salt you add to your meals. Focus more on the fruits and vegetables!

    No one knows how much salt is the “right amount” to use. But, if you are not healthy, there is every reason for you to reduce the amount of salt you add to your meals at the table. It should help to lower your blood pressure and your risk of premature death.

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  • How to boost your brainpower

    How to boost your brainpower

    Ready to boost your brainpower? Consumer Reports advises that you keep your weight normal and eat foods rich in nutrients. Whether or not the advice works to improve your memory and thinking, you can’t go wrong trying it.

    Eat foods rich in flavonoids. Flavonoids decrease the likelihood of inflammation and damage to cells. They also help blood flow. One long-term study found that people who eat apples, berries, pears and other foods rich in flavonoids had a greater likelihood of not having their thinking slip than people who did not.

    Avoid supplements. As a general rule, supplements offer no benefit to people who are otherwise healthy. Some supplements contain ingredients that are dangerous or otherwise not good for you. At the same time, be sure you have enough vitamin B12, D and folate.

    Eat salad. Some experts say that eating one cup of salad or a half cup of cooked leafy greens can keep your mind from slipping as fast as it otherwise might. One study found that people who ate leafy greens daily had brains that worked at the same level as people more than a decade younger.

    Eat lots of fatty fish. Studies find a lower risk of dementia among people who eat tuna, sardines and salmon several times a week. These fish contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids which reduce the likelihood of inflammation in the brain. Eating a lot of these fish also reduces intake of red meat which has a lot of saturated fat and is bad for your health. Note: Tuna, swordfish and halibut can have high mercury levels, so you might want to avoid eating too much of these fish.

    Follow a DASH, MIND or Mediterranean diet. You should eat a diet rich in whole grains, less fatty proteins and produce. For example, you might eat lots of green vegetables, avocados, nuts, grains, fatty fish and olive oil. Berries and greens could be particularly helpful to your brain function.

    Drink coffee and tea. Coffee and tea contain a lot of flavonoids. Studies show a 30 percent reduced risk of dementia and stroke among people who drink two or three cups of coffee daily as well as tea.

    And, don’t forget to exercise!

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