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Immune System Defense to Viruses

Immune System Defense to Viruses

March 16, 2020
There is great news to share when it comes to the Coronavirus! Your very best protection is not in a public policy, a quarantine or avoiding contact with the virus . Your best physical protection is actually something more intimate and personal. It’s your body’s own immune system. The advantage of a strong immune system is that it protects you from any acute contagious illness, and improves your chances of avoiding chronic disease. So be encouraged! The Corona Virus is a clarion call to an improved immune system and ultimately, to better health! And, you can work NOW to improve it! Let’s take...Read more

Week 4: Gut Microbiome

Week 4: Gut Microbiome

February 20, 2020
Last month I discussed the role of a robust gut microbiome in overall health. Evidence is accumulating that these friendly microorganisms help regulate blood pressure and affect other risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Anything we do to improve the neighborhood for our friendly bug buddies sends us down the road toward cardiovascular and overall health. In other words, how does your microbe garden grow? What are you feeding it? It doesn’t like sugar. It loves fiber and polyphenol rich foods (vegetables, fruit and olive oil). Feed it some new bug-recruits in the form of your own homemade...Read more

Week 3: Mediterranean Diet

Week 3: Mediterranean Diet

February 17, 2020
The Mediterranean diet is an anti-inflammatory way of eating observed in Greece and Italy. It is a popular recommendation for heart health, because of lower occurrences of cardiovascular disease in that part of the world. It is rich in vegetables and fruits which provide us with an endless number of nutrients that contribute to cardiovascular health. These phytonutrients, in combination with those in olive oil, are huge contributors to the anti-inflammatory effects of the Mediterranean Diet. Vegetables in particular are lower in carbohydrate and help to stabilize blood sugar. What should you...Read more

Week 2: Is Fat the Criminal?

Week 2: Is Fat the Criminal?

February 10, 2020
Last week we saw how the low-fat diet was popularized. Most importantly, how sugar and carbs increased to make the low-fat diet palatable. To make matters worse, the “criminalization” of fat meant that we ignored the important role it plays in health, and this is certainly true when it comes to heart disease. Recent research is reversing this thinking. In a large Spanish study a low fat diet was compared to two Mediterranean diets. One supplemented with walnuts and one supplemented with 1 liter of Olive Oil/week , which is 9.5 Tablespoons of olive oil/day! The Mediterranean diet plus nuts was...Read more

Week 1: The War Against Fat

Week 1: The War Against Fat

February 3, 2020
Who isn’t confused by nutrition related advice these days? In spite of oodles of nutrition research, conflicting recommendations seem to abound. If anything is clear, it is that even medical professionals disagree. Heart health recommendations are not exempt from this confusion. But before you throw your medical advisor overboard, bear in mind that we have had our medical worldview rocked in recent years by a real shift in thinking. We take our role in providing you with sound advice seriously, but at the risk of misleading you, we are slow to be confident of a new approach! Let’s hit the...Read more

Recent Research Detailed in the Journal of Affective Disorders Draws Interesting Connections Between Depression

Recent Research Detailed in the Journal of Affective Disorders Draws Interesting Connections Between Depression

January 27, 2020
By Mary Lou Block, RD at Gothenburg Health Find yourself with the Winter Blues? Eat some sauerkraut! Yep, you heard me right. Sauerkraut. If this doesn’t do much to tantalize your lunch pallet, yet you are one who struggles with depression, hear me out. Sauerkraut can do more for depression and general health than you think. Recent evidence links depression with a compromised gastrointestinal track (leaky gut). Stating this another way, anything you can do to prevent or improve a leaky gut, is good for depression. That being said, if you want to care for your gut, care for the host of...Read more

My Hat Goes Off To You

My Hat Goes Off To You

January 13, 2020
Health Matters in 2020 Everyone wants to be healthy in 2020! January begins our serious health-promoting efforts. At the top of the list for many is weight. Why? Because the doctor says so, the mirror says so, and we say so! Unfortunately, efforts to control weight, or bring it back into control, are difficult. The elusive 10-15 pound weight loss comes off with more effort than was required to gain it! The Complicating Factor and Winter Blues What complicates this for us in January is guilt! Yep, guilt. We are finished with the holidays, and many of us feel guilty. Why? Because while the...Read more

NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR GOALS IN HAND

NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR GOALS IN HAND

December 4, 2019
Now that you have your goals in hand, how do you negotiate the food choices this holiday season? Pleasure. As you go through the holidays, focus on things that bring you pleasure in relationships, activities, and the meaning of the season. When you do choose to eat food you would normally not eat, enjoy it, but limit the amount. Reign in your next selections to accommodate for the extra. You will be happy you did when the holidays come to an end. Push away. A very effective strategy for handling holiday meals, is to simply push away from: 1) Your plate. Very simply, this means you don’t have...Read more

I HEARD THE HOLIDAY QUESTION TODAY

I HEARD THE HOLIDAY QUESTION TODAY

December 4, 2019
I heard the question today! It caught me by surprise, but not really, because it’s one we all ask this time of year. “Are you ready for the holidays?” My answer was the same as it often is, “Well, they are here, so I had better be!”, but somewhere deep inside, the truthful answer was “not really.” Then I had the sinking feeling that I had forgotten something important in order to get ready. Can you relate? Ready or not, here come the holidays, but is there something you have forgotten? The something I am thinking about is health goals for the New Year. Does this sound out of place to you? If...Read more

Killer Mindsets

Killer Mindsets

November 8, 2019
Mary Lou Block RDN LMNT at Gothenburg Health Mindsets are hidden beliefs that affect how we view the world. They limit and direct our choices, determining the outcomes of our day. When mindsets intersect food choices, they can become a help or a hindrance to the achievement of our health goals. The epitome of a negative mindset is seen in the old adage about your drinking glass: Is it half full or half empty? A half-empty view tends to be subtly negative and leaves the door of our mind craving for some food we are avoiding. The craving leads us to feel deprived. As feelings of deprivation...Read more

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