(UPI) Women age 60 and older walking briskly three or four times a week improved blood flow to the brain by 15 percent in just three months, U.S. researchers say…

Improved blood flow to the brain boosts oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to the brain, which are vital for the brain's health. The blood also washes away brain metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein released into the brain's blood vessels.

Amyloid-beta protein has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Everyone knows that eating a low-fat, low-calorie diet and getting regular exercise helps shed pounds, but a new study … has found that when it comes to losing weight and body fat, diet and exercise are most effective when done together as compared to either strategy alone…

"This study shows that you get the biggest bang for your buck by combining a healthy weight-loss diet -- which in this case meant reducing calories by cutting fat intake and boosting the consumption of low-calorie foods -- with regular, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise," [Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D.,] said. "You don't need to be an athlete; walking, biking or gym cardio machines all work well. Start slowly and gradually increase to 45 minutes of activity a day, more if you are able."

In addition to promoting weight loss and preventing weight gain over time, regular exercise helps with balance, strength and fitness. "This helps older people keep active overall, which has been shown to prolong a healthy life," McTiernan said.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Diets that help protect against cancer are those that encourage long-term changes in eating habits and also provide a variety of options from all food groups, explained Daxaben Amin, a senior clinical dietitian in the clinical nutrition department at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

The Mediterranean-style diet promotes a life-long commitment to good nutrition and also meets many of the dietary guidelines for preventing cancer and heart disease, including:

·         Plenty of fruits, vegetables and other plant-based foods.

·         Using herbs and spices to flavor foods instead of salt.

·         Limiting consumption of red meat and alcohol.

·         Using healthy fats such as olive and canola oils instead of butter.

·         Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week…

"Diet plans that encourage short-term change usually don't provide the nutrients your body needs on a daily basis. These diets make our 'bad' list," Amin said in a cancer center news release.

Read more.

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(UPI) Non-smokers who followed recommendations for cancer prevention not only reduced their cancer risk but also reduced heart disease risk, U.S. researchers say…

The study participants were scored from 0 to 8 on how they adhered to the American Cancer Society cancer prevention guidelines regarding body mass index, physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption. Eight points indicated adherence to all of the recommendations simultaneously, McCullough says.

The study found that after 14 years, men and women with high compliance scores of 7 or 8 had a 42 percent lower risk of death compared to those with low scores of 0 to 2.

Read more.

Community: Well, isn’t that convenient? The same healthy lifestyle choices can prevent both cancer and heart disease--AND Alzheimer's.

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(Dr. Arthur Agatston, Everyday Health) Magnesium has hundreds of important functions in the body, from energy production and proper nerve function to muscle relaxation. Studies are mixed about whether its potential heart benefits come from the magnesium itself or from a combination of magnesium and other beneficial nutrients (such as potassium and fiber). Or perhaps it’s simply that people who eat a magnesium-rich diet are more health conscious in general. But there is no question that this important mineral plays a key role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Here’s a crash course in what magnesium can do to help your heart:

Regulate heart rhythm…

Prevent angina…

Control high blood pressure…

Limit complications of congestive heart failure…

Reduce incidence of prediabetes and diabetes and improve insulin resistance.

Read more.

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(RealAge.com) Potatoes sometimes get a bad health rap. But new research shows that certain varieties may help quiet inflammatory processes that set the stage for disease.

Specifically, researchers recently sang the praises of potatoes with yellow flesh -- like Yukon Gold. In a small study of men, eating a cup of yellow potatoes every day for 6 weeks helped lower blood levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), a compound that promotes inflammation…

Purple potatoes seemed to be beneficial, too. In the study, adult men up to age 40 ate a cup of boiled potatoes every day for 6 weeks. The men who ate yellow potatoes had lower levels of IL-6 and exhibited less DNA damage compared with the men who ate white potatoes. Purple-potato eaters had lower levels of a different inflammatory marker, C-reactive protein, compared with white-potato eaters. Researchers suspect the rich pigments in colored potatoes help protect cells, tissue, and DNA from the free radical injuries that initiate inflammation. Here are three more ways to fight inflammation:

Go green and leafy. These verdant veggies are high in inflammation-fighting vitamin K.

Keep stress under wraps. Find out how music helps reduce inflammation-spiking stress.

Eat like a Mediterranean. Here's how Mediterranean fare helps quell inflammation.

Read more.

Community: According to the NIH, “Eating a wide variety of legumes, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables will help you meet your daily dietary need for magnesium.” Click here for a list of selected food sources of magnesium. It’s also available as a food supplement.

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EatingWell:

Healthy recipes for a flavorful Easter dinner
It’s easy to prepare a healthy Easter dinner full of spring flavor with our easy Easter dinner recipes and Easter side dish recipes. Enjoy Roast Leg of Lamb, Cauliflower & Shallots for a classic spring entree or try Roasted Spring Vegetables with Arugula Pesto for a quick and easy side dish to share.

Roast Leg of Lamb, Cauliflower & Shallots

Apricot-Espresso Glazed Roast Pork Loin

Almond-&-Lemon-Crusted Fish with Spinach

Peppercorn-Crusted Beef Tenderloin

Roasted Spring Vegetables with Arugula Pesto

Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Stuffed Artichokes

Couscous & Fruit Salad

Chorizo-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin
This mouthwatering pork tenderloin is stuffed with chorizo, cheese and spinach. Once you master stuffing a pork tenderloin—you just cut the tenderloin almost in half lengthwise, pound it, fill it and tie it closed with kitchen string—you won’t want it any other way. Serve with sautéed red peppers tossed with capers, parsley and sherry vinegar and roasted potatoes.

MyRecipes.com:

Celebrate Easter
Browse our collection of Easter recipes for elegant ways to create the traditional Easter Sunday menu–classic baked ham, asparagus, strawberry desserts, and of course, Easter eggs.

Egg Salad BLTs
To lighten this egg salad, yolks from two of the eight eggs are removed. A touch of lemon rind and sour cream add a piquant edge.

Bacon Deviled Eggs

Curried Egg Salad Sandwich

Roasted Asparagus with Chopped Egg Salad

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(HealthDay News) Meat and poultry sold in the United States is widely contaminated with drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can cause serious illnesses in humans, a new study contends…

At a Friday press briefing, [study senior author Lance B.] Price said: "These findings point to serious problems with the way food animals are raised in the U.S. today. It points directly to problems on the farm.

"The single most effective way to reduce antibiotic-resistant bacteria in food is to stop feeding millions of animals antibiotics," he added.

A group representing the U.S. meat industry took issue with the findings.

Read more.

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(Reuters Health) Diet soda and other artificially-sweetened drinks - previously implicated in raising the chance of developing diabetes - are not guilty, suggests a new study from Harvard University researchers.

In a large group of men followed for 20 years, drinking regular soda and other sugary drinks often meant a person was more likely to get diabetes, but that was not true of artificially-sweetened soft drinks, or coffee or tea.

Replacing sugary drinks with diet versions seems to be a safe and healthy alternative, the authors said in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Read more.

Community: However, some researchers found an association between diet soda consumption and stroke. The study didn’t prove causation, but it’s probably best not to overdo the consumption even of diet soda.

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(HealthDay News) Many women suffer from chronic urinary tract infections, but now a new treatment using a probiotic may provide lasting relief for some, a preliminary trial indicates…

It has been suggested that lack of L. crispatus is a risk factor for urinary tract infection, because it allows harmful bacteria to grow, [researcher Dr. Thomas M. Hooton explained].

"So if you could replace the Lactobacillus in women with recurrent urinary tract infections, you might normalize the vagina and prevent infections," Hooton said. "That's the theory of using a probiotic -- that you are trying to normalize, or at least change, the vaginal fauna."

And that's exactly what this new treatment does, he noted.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) The use of cognitive-behavioural therapy to treat tics in Tourette syndrome may be as effective as and even superior to medication in certain cases. According to a new study published in a special edition of theInternational Journal of Cognitive Therapy by researchers from the Fernand-Seguin Research Centre of the Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital affiliated with Université de Montréal, it was observed that therapy has an effect not only on tics, behaviour and thoughts, but also on brain activity.

"This discovery could have major repercussions on the treatment of this illness. In some cases, the physiological measures could allow for the improvement of the therapy in order to tailor it to a specific type of patient," states Dr. Marc Lavoie…

Tourette syndrome is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) A serendipitous discovery by academics at The University of Nottingham has shown that a simple illusion can significantly reduce -- and in some cases even temporarily eradicate -- arthritic pain in the hand.

By tricking the brain into believing that the painful part of the hand is being stretched or shrunk, the researchers were able to halve the pain felt by 85 per cent of sufferers they tested.

The research could point to new technologies of the future which could assist patients in improving mobility in their hand by reducing the amount of pain they experience while undergoing physiotherapy.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Repeated unnecessary 911 calls are a common drain on the personnel and finances of emergency medical services, but a pilot program that identified Baltimore City's top 911 callers and coupled them with a case worker has succeeded in drastically cutting the number of such calls while helping callers get proper care…

"The original idea was to help these frequent callers get better access to medical and other care and, in doing so, Baltimore City ended up saving money and resources, a welcome side effect," says lead author Michael Rinke, M.D.

Read more.

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(Reuters) For-profit ambulance companies present American communities with an offer that's hard to refuse these days.

They will take over 911 emergency rescue service at little or no charge to cash-short cities and counties and promise to bring down labor costs spent on public employees…

Last month, the U.S. government sued Rural/Metro, joining an Alabama lawsuit brought by a former company employee who contends the company filed bogus reimbursement claims with U.S. healthcare programs Medicare and Medicaid for transporting dialysis patients when it was not medically necessary.

Such accusations raise questions about whether some private ambulance fleets could cost taxpayers in other, less obvious ways.

Read more.

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(Reuters) President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill changing his signature healthcare legislation to repeal a tax measure that business groups said would cause an avalanche of paperwork…

The law repeals a requirement in last year's healthcare overhaul for businesses and landlords to file a Form 1099 document with the Internal Revenue Service for purchases of goods and services exceeding $600 a year.

The tax reporting provision was meant to improve tax compliance and help pay for the healthcare law, but small firms and the self-employed complained it would bury them in paperwork.

Read more.

Community: That provision was meant to pave the way for taxing employees on the amount of money paid for their health insurance. The idea is that it represents income to employees, since they don’t have to buy their own insurance out of their taxable income.

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(Reuters) Virus samples will be shared globally in exchange for vaccines produced from them under a landmark deal to improve preparedness for a flu pandemic, diplomats at the World Health Organization said Saturday…

Countries would share virus samples with the WHO's network of laboratories in return for affordable vaccines derived from them. The industry has pledged to donate drugs and know-how, covering half of the $58 million annual cost of boosting defenses in the poorest nations, according to senior envoys.

Read more.

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(Reuters) Suicides in the United States ebb and flow with the economy, rising in bad times and falling in good, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Their study, published online in the American Journal of Public Health, is the first to look at suicide trends by age and business cycles, and it found that working Americans -- people aged 25 to 64 -- are significantly more prone to suicide in tough economic times.

Researchers looked at the impact of business cycles on U.S. suicide rates from 1928 through 2007. They found a general correlation among suicide rates and major shifts in the U.S. economy.

Read more.

Community: Not only that, the rate of suicides increases when conservative governments are in power, as found in Australia and Britain.

Conservative Truths is no longer an active website, but it retained an archive of the misery-causing conditions in conservative U.S. states, including more suicides (click here and search the page for the word “suicide,” there are several applicable sections) than in liberal states. And here’s more recent evidence: “Suicide Risk Linked to Rates of Gun Ownership, Political Conservatism.” Yet for all their anti-government rhetoric, conservative states tend to be net takers from the federal trough.

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(HealthDay News) Trying to make the best of the situation and being open to change can help older managers cope with losing their jobs, a new United Kingdom study finds.

The researchers found that the people most successful at coping with their job loss were able to see the event as a new era in their lives that included self-employment, part-time work, volunteering and study.

They also took a contemplative view of their job loss and accepted that life might or might not return to what it had been. Overall, they were able to redefine and separate themselves from their former career status and the pain and shock of their layoff.

Read more.

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(RealAge.com) Positive affirmations … may be key to stress-free health, according to Dr. Maoshing Ni, author of Second Spring. These affirmations can help offset the soaring levels of stress hormones produced by tens of thousands of other negative thoughts we have on a daily basis.

In his book, Ni writes that the average woman has 60,000 thoughts a day and that 80 percent of those thoughts are negative. Ouch. And negative thoughts are bad news for the body, since stress causes wear and tear on many physical health systems. But Ni recommends offsetting that stress by repeating calming, soothing positive affirmations to ourselves because the thoughts that bubble up from our consciousness affect our health, just as our diets and exercise habits do. Positive thoughts feed the body nourishing mental energy.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Seniors living in neighborhoods where they have a lot of interaction with their neighbors stand a much better chance of surviving a stroke, a new study suggests.

In fact, for each increase in what researchers call neighborhood "cohesion," such as seeing and talking with neighbors or being able to call on a neighbor for help, the odds of survival after a stroke increased 53 percent…

"Cohesive neighborhoods are potentially good for your health, particularly your risk of dying from stroke," [lead researcher Cari Jo Clark said]. The effect is limited to helping to prevent mortality from stroke, not its occurrence in the first place, Clark said.

"But the protective effect of neighborhood cohesion was found only for whites, and not for blacks," she added.

Read more.

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(SouthBeachDiet.com) Here are small lifestyle changes you can make today that may help lower your risk of developing cancer in the future:

·         Limit or avoid fried foods.

·         Choose whole grains over refined-flour products.

·         Cut down on sweets.

·         Avoid fatty meats and poultry with the skin on.

·         Eat a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids from such foods as salmon and other-cold water fish and olive oil.

·         Limit consumption of alcoholic beverages to no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman or two if you’re a man.

·         Quit smoking.

·         Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.

Taking control of your health by following these tips will help lower your risk of developing many kinds of cancer.

Read more.

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Cooking Light:

Pavlovas for Passover
Learn how to make these simple, elegant treats featuring fresh berries and lemon curd in our step-by-step guide.

Lighter Fried Chicken
This pan-fried recipe cuts calories in half and reduces saturated fat by a whopping 92%. Trust us—you won't miss any of it.

Feed 4 for less than $10
Eating inexpensively doesn't mean being deprived. You'll feel good about feeding your family these creatively delectable recipes, even at tax time.

MyRecipes.com:

Blackened Cumin-Cayenne Tilapia
Use your broiler to make already quick-cooking fish fillets an even speedier dinner option.

EatingWell:

Honey-Soy Broiled Salmon
A sweet, tangy and salty mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar and honey does double-duty as marinade and sauce. Toasted sesame seeds provide a nutty and attractive accent. Make it a meal: Serve with brown rice and sautéed red peppers and zucchini slices.

SoutnBeachDiet.com:

Add Flavor to Foods With Basil
Looking for a way to boost the flavor of your meals without adding fat? Basil might be the answer. This delicious herb is rich in calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C… Fresh basil is used whole, torn, or chopped in salads, egg dishes, and in sauces for pastas. Dried basil, on the other hand, is perfect for baked chicken or fish and in soups.

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(HealthDay News) A hormone called ghrelin enhances the nose's ability to sniff out food, researchers report.

It was already known that ghrelin promotes hunger and fat storage. The new study suggests that the hormone may increase the ability to use smell to detect food and link that input with the body's natural regulation of metabolism and body weight, said University of Cincinnati scientists…

"Smell is an integral part of feeding, and mammals frequently rely on smell to locate food and discriminate among food sources. Sniffing is the first stage of the smell process and can enhance odor detection and discrimination," [Dr. Jenny] Tong said in a university news release.

Read more.

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(UPI) Vegetarians have lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome -- a precursor to heart disease and diabetes -- than non-vegetarians, U.S. researchers say…

The study examined more than 700 adults -- 35 percent were vegetarians -- randomly selected from Loma Linda University's long-term study of the lifestyle and health of almost 100,000 Seventh-day Adventists across the United States and Canada.

On average, the vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were 3 years older than non-vegetarians, but despite the older age, the vegetarians had lower triglycerides, glucose levels, blood pressure, waist circumference and body mass index.

In addition, semi-vegetarians had a significantly lower body mass index and waist circumference compared to those who ate meat more regularly.

Read more.

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(UPI) Omega-3 fatty acids consumed during pregnancy may reduce the risk of postpartum depression, but a larger study is needed, U.S. researchers say…

Although larger-scale intervention studies will be needed to better understand how fish oil consumption can improve postpartum mental health, women would be wise to eat at least a serving of high-omega-3 fish two to three days per week, [Dr. Michelle Price] Judge says.

Read more.

Community: Omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce all depression, not just the post-partum kind.

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(Reuters Health) Swallowing ginseng root extract has no effect on blood sugar regulation among people with diabetes or prediabetic symptoms, a new study concludes.

Despite prior evidence that the herb might help treat problems processing blood sugar, the researchers were unable to even detect ginseng compounds in the participants' bloodstream after they took it. They also saw no differences in the subjects' blood sugar.

"We think you don't absorb enough of it to have an effect," said Dr. Samuel Klein, a professor at the Washington University School of Medicine and the study's senior author.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Eight genes which control levels of the main steroid produced by the adrenal gland, believed to play a role in aging and longevity, have been uncovered by an international consortium of scientists…

Crucially, some of these eight genetic regions are also associated with important diseases of aging, including type 2 diabetes and lymphoma. Researchers say that these findings … provide the first genetic evidence for the aging role of the steroid, and therefore highlights it as a marker of biological aging.

Lead author, Dr Guangju Zhai from King's College London, said: … ''The findings provide us with the basis for future studies to look into potential mechanisms of exactly how the DHEAS is involved in aging. The next important question to try and answer is whether sustained high levels of DHEAS can in fact delay the aging process and prevent age-related diseases.''

Read more.

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(Reuters Health) DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands that is converted into other steroid hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. People's levels of DHEA naturally peak during their 20s, then taper off as they age. Because of this, over-the-counter synthetic DHEA supplements are marketed as an anti-aging weapon.

The supplement is claimed to sharpen memory and other cognitive skills, boost libido and sexual function, and enhance overall feelings of "well-being." It's also said to help protect against heart disease by improving cholesterol levels, and against diabetes by improving the body's use of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin.

But none of those claims hold up in longer-term studies, according to [a] new review.

Read more.

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(Reuters Health) After a heart attack, waiting at least 2 months before an elective surgery is linked to a lower risk of dying or having a second heart attack, a new study of Californians says…

In an analysis of outcomes for more than half a million people in a California hospital database, 16 out of 50 who had surgery less than a month after a heart attack had a second heart attack within 30 days, compared to 4 in 50 that waited at least 2 months.

The risk of a second heart attack declined dramatically the longer a patient waited before having one of five non-cardiac elective surgeries, such as hip replacement or gallbladder removal.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) New research from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Kent State University shows that salt intake raises blood pressure because it makes it harder for the cardiovascular system to simultaneously juggle the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature…

"It appears that salt sensitive individuals maintain core body temperature equilibrium more effectively than salt resistant individuals, but experience increased blood pressure in the process," [ Robert P. Blankfield, MD, MS,] says. "Conversely, salt resistant individuals maintain blood pressure equilibrium more effectively than salt sensitive individuals following salt and water intake, but experience a greater temperature reduction in the process."

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other vascular risk factors may help lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease in people who already show signs of declining thinking skills or memory problems. ..

"Although this was not a controlled trial, patients who were treated for their high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes had less progression of their memory or thinking impairment and were less likely to develop dementia," said study author Yan-Jiang Wang, MD, PhD.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Studies of the small sea squirt may ultimately help solve the problem of rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants in humans, according to scientists…

[Anthony W. De Tomaso] hopes to understand the process of rejection or acceptance. "If we could manipulate that process," said Tomaso, "then we could basically teach the immune system to simply ignore certain things. We could say, 'Just don't respond to this. We're going to transfer this bone marrow, just don't kill this bone marrow.' Bone marrow could get in and start making new blood, and it would be fine. To me, that's the most exciting thing long-term for the work."

Read more.

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(UPI) In a study involving bariatric surgery patients, U.S. researchers found weight loss helped improve memory and concentration…

The researchers said 12 weeks after surgery they discovered bariatric surgery patients demonstrated improved memory and concentration from the slightly impaired range to the normal range.

"The primary motivation for looking at surgery patients is that we know they lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time, so it was a good group to study," Gunstad said in a statement. "This is the first evidence to show that by going through this surgery, individuals might improve their memory, concentration and problem solving."

Read more.

Community: I still don't see why surgery is seen as an acceptable way to lose weight.

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(HealthDay News) In most people, plaque formation in arteries occurs during a relatively short period of time later in life, according to a new study…

In addition, the age of plaques was associated with the level of insulin in people's blood, and plaques that were formed more recently were more unstable than older plaques and, therefore, more likely to cause clinical complications such as stroke, the researchers said.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Aerobic exercise may slow the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese people, finds a new study.

This type of workout appears to benefit these patients by increasing their metabolism and easing the oxidative damage caused by the liver disease, said the Cleveland Clinic researchers.

Their study included 15 obese people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease who walked on a treadmill at 85 percent of their maximum heart rate for one hour a day for seven consecutive days. The exercise increased the participants' insulin sensitivity and improved the liver's polyunsaturated lipid index (PUI)-- believed to be a marker of liver health -- by 84 percent.

Read more.

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(Gary Taube, author of “Why We Get Fat”, New York Times Magazine) On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed well over 800,000 times…

The viral success of his lecture … has little to do with Lustig’s impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a “toxin” or a “poison”… And by “sugar,” Lustig means not only the white granulated stuff that we put in coffee and sprinkle on cereal — technically known as sucrose — but also high-fructose corn syrup…

If Lustig is right, then our excessive consumption of sugar is the primary reason that the numbers of obese and diabetic Americans have skyrocketed in the past 30 years. But his argument implies more than that. If Lustig is right, it would mean that sugar is also the likely dietary cause of several other chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them…

Lustig’s argument … is not about the consumption of empty calories… It is that sugar has unique characteristics, specifically in the way the human body metabolizes the fructose in it, that may make it singularly harmful, at least if consumed in sufficient quantities…

[M]ost researchers will agree that the link between Western diet or lifestyle and cancer manifests itself through [the] association with obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome — i.e., insulin resistance.

Read more.

Community: Do we need cancer warnings on cookie and candy packages?

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(EatingWell) The right foods can keep your brain young. Start with these colorful veggies.

Carrots for memory. Carrots—along with bell peppers, celery, rosemary and thyme—contain luteolin, a flavonoid believed to reduce inflammation that can lead to cognitive decline…

Beets to beat dementia. Beets, plus cabbages and radishes, are rich in naturally occurring nitrates—which, unlike unhealthy artificial nitrates found in processed meat, may be beneficial. In a study…, older adults who ate a nitrate-rich diet got a boost in blood flow to the frontal lobe of their brains—an area commonly associated with dementia…

Think quickly with asparagus. Like leafy greens, this vegetable delivers folate, which works with vitamin B12 (in fish, poultry and meat) to help prevent cognitive impairment.

Read more.

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(RealAge) Your standard shopping run should include a can of this each week to help your eyes: tuna…

New research in women showed that those with a high intake of fish fat -- specifically docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) -- were about 35 percent less likely to develop AMD over a 10-year period. And the women who ate one or more servings per week of canned tuna or dark-meat fish (such as salmon or sardines) were 45 percent less likely to develop the sight-stealing condition. Although the recent study involved only women, previous research has shown eating fish to be protective in both genders. Other ways to reduce AMD: Control your blood pressure, manage your weight, and don't smoke. A nutritious heart-healthy diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and zinc may help, too.

Read more.

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MyRecipes.com:

Roasted Chicken and Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Use rotisserie chicken from the deli to cut preparation time on this chicken pasta salad recipe. Serve it for dinner tonight, and then pack the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Roasted Herb Chicken with Morels and Watercress Salad

Roasted Filet of Beef with Stilton and Crispy Shallots

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Chili Sauce

EatingWell:

10 Spring Dinners in 30 Minutes
For a quick spring dinner, light and easy is the name of the game. These fresh recipes can be pulled together quickly for a light family meal or an easy dinner with friends.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Aquavit Seasonings
Spinach & Frisée Salad with Tangerines & Coriander-Crusted Scallops
Wok-Seared Chicken Tenders with Asparagus & Pistachios
Fragrant Fish Soup
Green Eggs & Ham Frittata
Turkey Cutlets with Rhubarb Chutney
Black Bean & Salmon Tostadas
Lamb Burgers Topped with Mâche Salad
Sugar Snap Pea & Shrimp Curry
Asian Tofu Salad

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(Science Daily) Coffee made in espresso makers, above all that made from capsules, contains more furan -- a toxic, carcinogenic compound -- than that made in traditional drip coffee makers, although the levels are still within safe health limits…

Concern has risen over recent years about the presence of this compound in foods, because of its toxic and carcinogenic effects in animals, as well as the fact that the International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed it as a possible carcinogen in humans.

Read more.

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(Reuters Health) In another blow to the notion that B vitamins ward off heart problems, a new clinical trial finds that folic acid supplements may not slow plaque buildup in healthy older adults' arteries…

Over 3 years, daily folic acid cut study participants' homocysteine levels by an average of 26 percent, but it showed no effect on the thickness of the inner wall of the carotid artery, or on the "stiffness" of the arteries -- which are both considered markers of atherosclerosis.

Read more.

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