San Diego Nutrition and Health

Merry Christmas! 
Over the course of the last few months, we’ve talked a lot about the foods that nourish us and provide the vitamins and minerals that bring good health.  And as important as these foods are, there is another group of “foods” that are just as important and if not more so, to our well-being and [...]

You may already know that beans are a great source of fiber and a low-fat form of protein, but did you also know they are a good source of antioxidants? 
In the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry (November 2003), we can find the results of a study conducted by a group of researchers at Michigan State [...]

Feeling like you need to include more exercise in your New Year’s Resolutions?  Maybe this interesting research study finding will help motivate you to move from thinking to doing. 
The Joslin Diabetes Center conducted a study in which they studied a group of obese adults.  Researchers found that regardless of whether the adults in the study [...]

Recently a group of researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine conducted a study on blood platelets and blood clots.  During the study, study participants were given a list of foods to avoid.  Chocolate was included on the list.   Going without chocolate was more than some of the participants could do though so [...]

Here’s a healthy version to a popular Christmas treat.
Peanut Butter Fudge
12 one-ounce 100% baking cacao squares (or baking dark chocolate)
1 C honey
2 C peanut butter (natural, without hydrogenated oil)
2 t vanilla
1 C sesame seeds
1 C shredded coconut
1/2 C chopped walnuts, optional
In a saucepan, heat honey, cacao pieces and peanut butter, stirring until cacao is melted.  Remove [...]

In a study conducted by Dr. Vivian Lewis, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, researches found that in their study group of infertile men, 83 percent of them were eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables each day.   The men who ate the least amount [...]

Here’s a statistic I found rather interesting.  According to a study in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 30% of the daily caloric intake for Americans comes from “junk food.” 
As we know, there is very little nutritional value in junk food.  Basically the calories in junk food are empty calories.  Thus, Americans may be eating, [...]

In the Journal of Holistic Nursing, a study was published in which patients were told “one liners,” (a humorous phrase or joke) after surgery or before a painful medication was administered.  The result?  When humor was combined with the procedure or the medication, patients reported less pain than when humor was left out. 
Maybe a good joke book [...]

Carrots are a fabulous source of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant as well as an important member of the carentoid family.  The body converts carentoids, beta-carotene being the most common one, into Vitamin A.   
A bag of baby carrots makes an easy and convenient way to eat carrots, but after awhile you may find yourself in a carrot stick rut.  [...]

For some people the word “exercise” brings up all sorts of negative connotations…boring, hard, not enough time, don’t like going to the gym, something I have to do, but really don’t want to, and so on.  While listening to a presentation a few weeks ago, the presenter, a health counselor, said he likes to call [...]