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Jan 23rd 2024

The Biochemistry of Food Cravings, Part I -- Food Allergies and Food Addictions

. . . understanding the science puts you in control! Most people attribute food cravings and binges to emotional eating. But although strong emotions can certainly be a factor in uncontrolled or compulsive eating, cravings have a biochemical basis. The more you know about what's happening to your biochemistry when you experience an "uncontrollable" craving, the more freedom you have to get back into the driver's seat. This week, we'll look at the connection between food allergies and food addiction. Is there a particular food you eat just about every day, and, when it comes right down to it, you wouldn't give up without a fight? Sorry, but you're probably addicted to it. You may wake up in the morning with a headache or feeling grouchy "until you've had a good breakfast" of cereal with milk and sugar, or bagel or croissant and coffee, or eggs, toast and orange juice. What are the most common food allergens? Wheat (and especially the gluten in wheat, also found in barley and ry…

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Jan 23rd 2024

Stress Magnifies the Effect of Air Pollution

. . . don't underestimate the importance of stress-reduction strategies Here's an interesting study that bears witness to the role stress can play in making us more vulnerable to the bad effects of environmental pollution. Traffic pollutants like nitrogen oxides can damage lung tissue and make asthma worse. Researchers at the University of Southern California wanted to know how stress combined with higher nitrogen oxide levels would affect lung function in a group of almost 1,400 children. They assessed how stressful the children's living environments were, then measured nitrogen oxide levels in the air where the children lived as well as several indicators of lung function in the children. When nitrogen oxide levels went up by 22 parts per billion, lung function in the kids from high-stress homes got 5% worse. However the same increase in air pollution had no affect at all on the kids living in low-stress homes! An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that when…

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Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

Jan 23rd 2024

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

According to the National Institutes of Health the average American adult gains one pound every holiday season. Those who are already overweight tend to gain even more. Unfortunately that weight is usually there to stay; holiday weight gain is the primary reason weight creeps upwards with age. With so many reasons to overeat during the holidays, it’s surprising we don’t gain more. The holidays are traditionally a time for feasting and drinking. But historically, this occurred in the context of food scarcity; many pilgrims starved to death before food sources were established, and abundance was something to be celebrated. We hardly need to celebrate food abundance today, but that hasn’t stopped us from bringing out the cookies, cakes and pies for the holidays. We combine this with alcohol, which impairs inhibitions, stimulates appetite and intensifies the brain’s reward center in response to food! Then there’s stress. Our already challenging to-do lists expand during the holida…

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Magnesium and Weight Loss

Jan 23rd 2024

Magnesium and Weight Loss

Widespread magnesium deficiency has been implicated in a host of chronic diseases, including obesity. How would healthy levels of magnesium in our cells help us to attain and maintain a healthy weight, and how does magnesium deficiency sabotage those goals? Fatigue. The number one complaint patients bring to doctors is “feeling tired.” Being unable to lose weight probably ranks a close second.  The two concerns are related: It’s hard to eat less and exercise more when you’re already feeling tired all the time. Fatigue is one of the first signs of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium and the B vitamins are our main energy nutrients, involved in almost every step of energy creation in the cells’ energy factories, the mitochondria. Nutrient Deficiency. Magnesium and the B's activate enzymes that control digestion, absorption and utilization of all three macronutrients—fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—making the vitamins and minerals they contain available for our bodies to use.…

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Being More Present at Mealtime

Jan 23rd 2024

Being More Present at Mealtime

Do you find yourself eating most of your meals in front of a TV or computer screen? Do you grab food on the go, gulping it down with a beverage before you’ve had a chance to chew it? During meals, are you also talking on your smartphone, or is your mind preoccupied with your next project or concern so much that you barely notice what you’re eating?All of the above are examples of “mindless eating,” the opposite of “mindful eating.”“Mindful eating” is a concept that comes from Buddhism, a religion that cultivates mindfulness not just in eating but in all aspects of everyday life. Although books have been written about mindfulness, very simply it is noticing, in a relaxed, nonjudgmental way, what is happening in the present moment. Although it’s called mindfulness, it necessarily includes the senses, because it is through the senses that we experience the present—through what we see, smell, touch, hear and taste. The practice of mindfulness requires that we slow down, quiet ou…

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Balancing Activity with Rest

Jan 23rd 2024

Balancing Activity with Rest

Life tends to feel like you're always on the go: You're reaching for a new goal at work, attempting to squeeze in more time for your family or hobbies, and then you address your health by going to the gym or another form of physical activity. Even if you do it all, the hectic pace catches up to you, and you notice how exhausted you feel over time. But why should it be either-or? Rather than pull back or surge forward while ignoring your health, understand how to effectively balance rest and activity. This year, Beyond Health is focusing on maximizing energy in order to do all the wonderful and amazing things you want to do with your life. But to maximize energy, you first need to balance activity with deep rest and relaxation, to give your body a chance to settle and become quieter, and to heal and regenerate.Understanding Balance in the BodyIn Chinese medicine, there are two principles that govern all life, yang and yin. Yang is dynamic, active, hard, brilliant, quick, courageous and…

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In Search of a Healthy Relationship with Food

Jan 23rd 2024

In Search of a Healthy Relationship with Food

Do you eat to live or live to eat? Neither could be called a healthy relationship with food. Eating to live—using food simply as fuel—takes the joy out of one of life’s great pleasures. On the other hand, giving food too much importance, either by living only for our next meal or obsessing lest we eat too much or eat the wrong things, isn’t a joyful or healthy relationship either.In a healthy relationship, we would look forward to our encounters with food. We would respond appropriately to our hunger cues by supplying ourselves with nourishing and tasty food (in the words of nutrition expert Mark Hyman, MD, “foods we love that love us back”), and we would eat until satisfied and no more. We would trust our body cues to maintain a weight that is perfect for us (although it might not conform to the latest fashion). But according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), almost 10% of our population is struggling with one or more of the thre…

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Information contained in NewsClips articles should not be construed as personal medical advice or instruction. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.