Healthy Diet Questions

I'm wondering what the best diet would be for me. I need to make major lifestyle changes such as more exercise and a change in diet, or I will die a premature death!

Medical researchers in Germany are finding that a diet rich in fruits and veggies, especially fresh ones, can help prevent cancer in those genetically predisposed to the disease. Think what we will do is to eliminate all the bread and cheese (which contains bovine growth hormone) in favor of fresh veggies and fruits.

There is an extract sold by herbs of light which is made from fresh broccoli. This is supposed to have the ability to shrink breast lumps. Think I will try it!

ADHD

Flavay is being used among people suffering from a lack of concentration and attention. It use to be taken for allergies but people found it was also helping the with attention and mental focus, which are the classic symptoms of attention deficit disorder.

Flavay readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and enters into the regions of the brain where it provides superior antioxidant protection and improves circulatory efficiency through enhanced vascular strength and elasticity. This is significant as recent studies have established a connection between free radical damage and cognitive impairment.

After reading about this time and time again. I decided to try it on myself (which i am adhd). After about 2 wks of trying this , I felt more alert and focused than ever. I would not take the medication I was suppose to be taking cause it made me felt doped up. Alavay didn't. It make me fell normal. I could focus a lot better and I was not so drugged. And it helped me to deal with the hyperness on my own.

I now have been taking it steadily for the last 2 months and feel better than ever. Thanks.

Choose Olive Oil as a Healthy Alternative

Cook as the Mediterraneans Do

-- By Laura Bofinger, Staff Writer

Would you be surprised to learn that you CAN feel good about fat in your food? Here’s a refresher on one source of fat – olive oil – the healthier oil of all oils and the natural juice of the olive fruit. Its most talked about benefit may be its ability to reduce the risk of heart disease by controlling LDLs (the bad cholesterol) and raising HDLs (the good cholesterol). But the list of benefits continues, and it just may prompt you to replace your use of margarine, butter, and vegetable oils with the favorite flavor of the Mediterranean.

The people of the Mediterranean have enjoyed the benefits of olive oil in their diets for thousands of years. Today, researchers have found evidence to support many of the healing claims assumed since ancient times. In addition to preventing heart disease (due to cholesterol control), olive oil is tolerated well by the stomach and has a positive effect on constipation. Olive oil activates the secretion of bile and pancreatic hormones and lowers the incidence of gallstones. It may be linked to reducing the risk of colon cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as with lowering high blood pressure.

Olive oil is also rich in essential vitamins such as vitamins A, B-1, B-2, C, D, E, and K, as well as iron. Its high content of antioxidant substances not only discourages artery clogging and chronic disease, it also prevents damage to blood vessels and cells by attacking free radicals. This effect may also play a role in slowing down the aging process of cells and tissue. The “beauty oil,” as it’s been called, can also claim to soften and firm skin tissue, giving it more luster.

There are so many types of oils, even among the olive variety. What is the difference? Oil from animal fat contains saturated fatty acids, which increase blood cholesterol levels. Oil from plants, seeds, nuts, and vegetables contains polyunsaturated fatty acids, which lower both LDLs and HDLs in the blood. Olive oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids that control LDL levels while raising HDL (the good cholesterol) levels.

When it comes to the breakdown of olive oils specifically, here is what you should know. Extra virgin is touted as the best of olive oils because it is the least processed. It comes from the first pressing of the olives. Virgin olive oil adds a second pressing of the olives; pure olive oil is more processed through filtering and refining; and extra light olive oil is the most processed with only a mild olive flavor. Anything called light olive oil may contain other vegetable oils.

If you think you might be an olive oil convert, congratulations! But a few words of caution are in order. Always keep your bottle of oil out of light and away from heat to prevent it from becoming rancid. Perhaps more importantly, remember that although olive oil can be a healthy ingredient, it is still a fat containing 9 calories/gram. So as with all fats, watch your intake.

If you want to try any variety of olive oil as a substitute for margarine or butter in your own recipes, here is a convenient conversion chart to help you figure out the proper measurements:

Butter	Olive oil
1 tsp	3/4 tsp
1 Tbsp	2-1/4 tsp
2 Tbsp	1-1/2 Tbsp
1/4 cup	3 Tbsp
1/3 cup	1/4 cup
1/2 cup	1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp
2/3 cup	1/2 cup
3/4 cup	1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp
1 cup	3/4 cup

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE LINK

DHEA Seen Without Effect on Aging Markers. A widely used antiaging supplement has no effect on aging markers such as muscle strength, peak endurance, muscle mass, fat mass and glucose tolerance in elderly men and women, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. The findings from their two-year study appear in the Oct. 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings serve to dispel the belief that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), sold extensively as an antiaging supplement in health and grocery stores, can reverse age-related alterations in body composition and function, says the study’s lead author K. Sreekumaran Nair, M.D., Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.

“For almost two years we restored DHEA in older men and women to the high normal levels that are usually observed in young people, but found no beneficial effects on age-related changes in body composition and function,”

Dr. Nair says. “No beneficial effects on quality of life were observed. There’s no evidence based on this study that DHEA has an antiaging effect.”

The double blind study involved 87 men and 57 women who were followed for two years. Participants showed no change in several markers of aging -- body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity or quality of life. Mayo Clinic’s findings contradict some of the previous reports on DHEA.

Dr. Nair says many former studies were done over shorter periods of time and didn’t involve a large enough group of subjects. Mayo’s study also was strengthened because it was a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. DHEA was administered only to people with low DHEA and testosterone levels.

Dr. Nair calls DHEA use a controversial issue, as antiaging supplements drive sales in the health food industry. He advises elderly people to stop using DHEA because it is unlikely to offer any antiaging effect.

DHEA has been promoted as an antiaging supplement, say the study’s authors, in part because high levels of DHEA have been associated with longevity in humans and nonhuman primates. But studies involving rodents aren’t applicable to humans, as rodents have very low levels of DHEA, the authors say.

The study also involved administering low-dose testosterone to elderly men who had low testosterone.

The authors found testosterone offered minimal beneficial effects on bone density, and far less than those offered by many current accepted therapies. Investigators found no negative side effects, although they caution that the study was conducted only in men without prostate problems.

The New England Journal of Medicine published an accompanying editorial to Mayo’s study, with Paul Stewart, M.D., of the University of Birmingham, Ala., saying the search for eternal youth will continue. But in light of the Mayo findings, he suggests DHEA should no longer be accepted as a food supplement and should instead be treated as a regulated drug.

“Appropriate regulation would dispel much of the quackery associated with this elusive hormone,” Dr. Stewart writes. Mayo’s study was conducted by the study team without industry support.

The study’s other authors are Robert Rizza, M.D.; Peter O’Brien, Ph.D.; Ketan Dhatariya, M.D.; Kevin Short, Ph.D.; Ajay Nehra, M.D.; Janet Vittone, M.D.; George Klee, M.D., Ph.D.; Ananda Basu, M.B.B.S.; Rita Basu, M.D.; Claudio Cobelli, Ph.D.; Gianna Toffolo, Ph.D.; Chiara Dalla Man, Ph.D.; Donald Tindall, Ph.D.; L.J. Melton, III, M.D.; Glenn Smith, Ph.D.; Sundeep Khosla, M.D.; and Michael Jensen, M.D.