Drinking coffee reduces the risk of death from any cause. Do not drink more than 3-5 cups per day. Caffeine is also found in black and green tea. Song-Yi Park, PhD; Neal D. Freedman, PhD; Christopher A. Haiman, ScD; Loïc Le Marchand, MD, PhD; Lynne R. Wilkens, DrPH; Veronica Wendy Setiawan, PhD. Association of Coffee […]
Good bacteria in the gut comes about from a healthy high fibre diet, avoiding sugars and eating more prebiotic and probiotic foods. Intestinal flora plays an important role in the appropriate development of the metabolic system in humans. Disturbances in the composition and functionality of the intestinal flora can disrupt gut barrier function, causing low-grade […]
Another good reason to enjoy eating more nuts [walnuts, almonds, pistachio, pecan nuts]. Eating more nuts reduces the risk of stroke later in life. Chuan Shao, Hui Tang, Wei Zhao & Jianquan He. Nut intake and stroke risk: A dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 30394 (2016) doi:10.1038/srep30394 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep30394 In Need of a […]
Eating a healthy Mediterranean diet high in fruit, vegetables, good oils and nuts helps improve moods. Nguyen B, Ding D, Mihrshahi S. Fruit and vegetable consumption and psychological distress: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses based on a large Australian sample. BMJ Open. 2017;7:e014201. http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/7/3/e014201 Liu X, Yan Y, Li F, Zhang D. Fruit and vegetable consumption […]
Supplementation with green tea extract significantly reduced total cholesterol and the “bad” LDL- cholesterol concentrations, especially in post-menopausal women with raised cholesterol levels. Samavat H, Newman AR, Wang R, Yuan JM, Wu AH, Kurzer MS. Effects of green tea catechin extract on serum lipids in postmenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Am J Clin […]
The natural substance Resveratrol (1,500 mg daily) significantly reduced androgen [testosterone] levels in women with PCOS. The beneficial effect may be due to reduced insulin levels. Banaszewska B, Wrotyńska-Barczyńska J, Spaczynski RZ, Pawelczyk L, Duleba AJ. Effects of Resveratrol on Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Nov;101(11):4322-4328. Epub […]
Nearly 20,000 men over 40 years of age, were followed up for a 12 year period and were found to have a lower risk of major cardiovascular disease if they took multivitamin supplements for 20 or more years. Dietary sources of vitamins should always be our first priority. Rautiainen S, Rist PM, Glynn RJ, Buring […]
Research demonstrates regular meditation can help reduce pain. For the first time, this study identified the mechanism to explain how meditation works to alleviate pain. It involves natural stimulation of opioid pathways in the body mediating analgesic effects and increasing resilience through regular practice. Sharon H, Maron-Katz A, Ben Simon E, Flusser Y, Hendler T, […]
Vitamin D supplementation may benefit atopic dermatitis [allergic skin rash]. We produce vitamin D naturally from direct sun exposure but living in Melbourne or the lower latitudes of Australia, being dark skin or spending more time indoors increases the risk of Vitamin D deficiency and a supplement might be necessary. Kim MJ, Kim SN, Lee […]
Dampness at home [e.g. leaky gutters into rooftops] increases the risk of moulds in the environment. This may lead to a number of respiratory illnesses such as chronic blocked nose, sinus congestion, allergies, bronchitis, asthma, wheeze, night time cough and/or shortness of breath. Ahlroth Pind C, Gunnbjörnsdottír M, Bjerg A, et al. Patient-reported signs of […]