Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

Doesn’t it seem that every year we are asked to believe that “researchers” have uncovered THE superfood? And this year really does seem to be the year of the Chia seed.

The Chia seed, as an excellent source of nutrition may well retain its reputation beyond that of many of its predecessors – is anyone still sprinkling oat bran on their cereal?

In the previous blog post on Chia, I summarized the main characteristics of Chia seeds and also detailed the nutritional components of the seed.    This time we look at claims associated with these characteristics.

Did you ever look at the cute Chia Pets and wonder of the sprouting vegetation was edible…. Me neither.  In fact I think the closest I came to a Chia Pet was the commercial on TV – and I never thought of them as food.  The seed on the other hand IS food.

(I rarely get on a soapbox – but this is important.)   A while back I wrote about – and linked to – an article in the LA Times that raised the alarm on  a specific clinic with dubious credentials that offered (and offers) Lap Band surgery.   February 22nd 2010.   Sadly someone had died. 

From and article on WebMD (Oct 2008) and a more recent article in the IDEA magazine it would seem that studies show that a vegan diet may do a better job of reducing cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients than a diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

In the 2008 study, participants followed either a low-fat, low-glycemic vegan diet or guidelines prescribed by the ADA – for 22 weeks. All 99 participants had Type 2 Diabetes . Both men and women participated.

The study focused on two primary measures:

In the LA Times Business section last weekend, Michael Hiltzik had a really interesting article, that anyone considering lap-band surgery should read.  A cautionary tale about selecting your surgeon/clinic carefully.  Read More