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The following article is from Realage.com.

Slim Down with This Kind of Sweetener

The type of sweetener you use in your oatmeal and coffee could have quite an impact on your ability to trim down.

According to new research, you should grab the honey pot, not the sugar bowl. In a study, the effects that honey had on appetite hormones and blood sugar control were more favorable than those of table sugar. Which means choosing honey could help prevent weight gain.

Sweet As Honey
In the small study, young healthy women who had normal body mass indexes ate a 450-calorie baked good for breakfast, and it was made with either honey or sugar. Then, the women’s levels of an appetite-stimulation hormone called ghrelin were measured. The hunger-making hormone was lower after the honey-based baked good than after the sugar-based one. Not only that, but the honey-based baked good was associated with higher levels of appetite suppressing hormones, too. And honey-sweetened breakfast goods made the women feel more satisfied. Altogether, researchers think these beneficial effects on hunger hormones and satiety could have a really positive impact on people’s attempts to manage their weight.

Everything in Moderation
Of course, the recent honey study isn’t an excuse to start dipping your finger at will into the honey jar. Any type of sweetener — be it honey, sugar, molasses, or agave nectar — is going to add calories to your diet. To help reduce your risk of obesity, try to limit your intake of added sugars to no more than 100 calories a day if you’re a woman and no more than 150 calories a day if you’re a man. And when you just have to have a little something sweet, choose honey. A teaspoon has about 21 calories, so measure, and then add that number to your daily tally.

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The following information is by The Editors of Prevention and gives us all some great information on what foods we should and should not consume as they could be aging us!

What if the fountain of youth were in your own kitchen? While we’ve come to expect certain physical and mental changes as an inevitable part of getting older, the fact is that the foods we eat—or don’t—may speed those processes along, aging us before our time. The reason is simple: “We eat too many processed foods,” says David Katz, MD, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center. “They’re often high in calories and low in nutrients such as vitamin B12 and omega-3s, so we end up with islands of deficiencies in a sea of excess.” These inadequacies can result in symptoms we tend to assume are due to aging, such as the four below. Work with your doctor to determine whether adjusting your diet or adding a supplement can help you look—and feel—younger.

Mistake #1: You avoid all animal protein.
Why it’s aging you: You may lack of vitamin B12. which is essential for energy.

Found only in foods that are derived from animals, this nutrient helps regulate your metabolism and energy production and is key to maintaining a healthy brain and nervous system. “Fatigue is a classic sign of B12 deficiency, which usually occurs in people who don’t eat very much animal protein,” says Danine Fruge, MD, associate medical director of the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Miami. Chewing a lot of antacids to relieve heartburn can also lead to B12 deficiency because antacids interfere with B12 absorption.

Food Fix: Have two servings of nonfat dairy foods, such as fat-free milk or nonfat yogurt, and 3 to 4 ounces of lean protein daily. Good sources of B12 include seafood such as fish, clams, oysters, and mussels, as well as lean beef and pork, chicken, and fortified cereal.

Supplement Solution
Take 500 to 1,000 mcg of vitamin B12 in tablet form every day to raise and maintain your B12 levels.

Mistake #2: You avoid supplements.
Why it’s aging you: You miss manganese and copper, which help prevent joint pain.

Because manganese and copper are both essential for maintaining joint cartilage and flexibility, “in most cases, supplementing these nutrients reverses the joint deterioration and eliminates the pain,” says Dale Peterson, MD, director of the Comprehensive Wellness Center in Sapulpa, OK. “The body can actually repair a significant amount of damage if it’s given the proper support.”

Food Fix: Nuts, beef, and spinach are good sources of these nutrients, but you won’t be able to eat enough to get all your copper and manganese, so opt for a supplement, Dr. Peterson advises. Take 2 mg of copper and 5 mg of manganese each day. Within 2 to 3 months, your joints should feel less painful. (continue reading…)

The following article is from the San Francisco Chronicle:

By: Kathryn Roethel

Five of Nature’s Best Cancer-Fighting Foods 

As a veteran faculty member at the Stanford University Medical School, Dr. John Farquhar has seen thousands of patients try to beat cancer with aggressive chemotherapy treatments that “blast them with terrible side effects.” But, as the founder of Stanford’s Prevention Research Center, he believes he has helped other patients beat cancer before it starts using nature’s medicine: vegetables and fruits.

Farquhar has worked at the university for 30 years as a professor, a cardiologist and the co-founder of the Stanford Prevention Research Center. He co-teaches a popular course called “The Best Diet Ever,” (see box) in which he preaches the merits of five foods with strong anti-cancer agents: soy, onions, broccoli, tomatoes and blueberries.

“There’s still uncertainty about how important nutrition is in cancer prevention,” Farquhar said, “but I’ve found that if you deal with these specific foods, there’s evidence that they all have cancer-fighting nutrients. As opposed to genetics, nutrition is something that people can control.”

Joyce Hanna is the associate director of Stanford Prevention Research Center. A 19-year Stanford faculty member and former marathon runner, she teaches “The Best Diet Ever” class with Farquhar. Hanna also counsels clients who want to engage in healthier lifestyles and oversees a program that helps cancer patients exercise and eat well during and after treatments.

Beating disease back

“One of the biggest fears cancer patients have is that their cancers may come back,” Hanna said. “Other people haven’t been diagnosed with cancer, but they’re out of shape and their doctors have warned them about risk of disease. I try to help them take small steps to improve their lifestyles. Obesity increases cancer rates, and in a lot of these cases, lifestyles are more important than genetics.” (continue reading…)