The next time you put together your grocery list, remind yourself that the foods you include and omit can have a profound affect on your well being. Here are several, recent examples of how you can use food to improve you and your family’s health. If you’re obese and on a hypocaloric diet, make sure to consume optimal levels of dietary calcium (1,600 mg/day) and protein (30% of calories/day). A study appearing in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reports that higher protein diets rich in dairy products may reduce the risk of dieting-induced bone loss in overweight women. The importance of dietary protein was further bolstered in the October 12th edition of the journal PLoS One. In that research, lowering protein intake by as little as 5% was found to increase overall caloric intake by 12% due to increased appetite.
Overweight is far from the only condition that is affected by dietary choices. Many of the leading causes of health care spending, lost productivity and patient suffering are prime targets for food interventions. The growing problem of metabolic syndrome (MetS), a combination of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, is one example. Thankfully, a new analysis of over 2,000 adolescents determined that MetS incidence could be minimized dramatically by eating a nutrient dense diet that is rich in fiber. There’s good news for adults concerned about heart health as well. French researchers report that even short term consumption of small dosages of red wine ...
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