Healthy World Digest, #14, May 2010

"Healthy nuggets of information to keep your motor humming."

Welcome to the 14th issue of our newsletter.

In this issue:

May, 2010

* More herbal remedy benefits

* Sleep more, play better

* Hypertension? Exercise later in the day

* Bottled water, healthy water & pollution

* Quercetin supplement boosts endurance

* Health care we can really believe in

Following are some simple nuggets to help you along.

* Exercise to better thinking

Researchers at the University of Virginia found brain capacity - reasoning, speed, memory - to begin to descend at as early as 27 years old.

Their advice? Be sure to workout with vigor. Such physical exertion helps to heighten brain power.

Our site, Healthy Exercise World has explored the connection between the mind and exercise fairly extensively. Click for our umbrella page on brain exercises

* Asthma is helped with coffee

Yet another herbal benefit attributed to coffee. You remember java? That drink that research supposedly found to result in to all kinds of health ailments only a few short years ago. Well, the tide has turned.

Indiana University researchers found that taking a few cups of java before exercising, reduces exercise-induced asthma attack as well as a prescription inhaler.

But don't head for decaf. It's the caffeine in coffee that provides the benefit.

* Better choice to fish oil supplements

Natural krill oil supplements are proving to have superior benefits to regular fish oil supplements.

Two discrete advantages to NKO supplements -> About 1/7 of serving of NKO has same to better health benefits as full dose of standard fish oils supplements and NKO has no after taste or that fish burp we all love.

* Interval exercise rules

More on the benefits of exercise...

Another piece of research on interval exercise shows it is better than the usual cardio workouts. Canada's McMaster University found that 4 - 7, thirty second bursts, followed by 4 minutes recovery improved endurance better than run of the mill cardio sessions.

Healthy Exercise World has endorsed the benefits of interval exercise. Visit our page in Healthy Exercise World for more on interval training

* Best recovery drink

If you exercise pretty hard and wonder how to improve recovery, here's a good strategy.

Immediately after a workout have an easy to absorb drink that includes antioxidants, vitamins, carbs and protein. Yep, don't neglect the protein. That's the key.

I normally combine a scoop of protein powder, with some fresh fruit, some low sugar ice cream, in around twelve ounces of cold water.

My favorite is a scoop of banana flavored protein powder, a banana, a scoop of sugarless vanilla ice cream in twelve ounces of water.

Another fave is a scoop of strawberry flavored protein powder, about 1/2 dozen strawberries, low sugar strawberry ice cream in a little less than twelve ounces of cold water. (Remember that strawberries are mostly water and don't provide the creaminess that a banana does, so you don't need as much water here.)

Oh, remember to blend protein powder into water first, before adding other ingredients to blend in or powder may not dissolve properly.

Anyway, immediately after drinking my yummy shake, my mild brain fog from a good workout session clears up and I often feel like working out some more. Try some combination that appeals to you.

* Healthy, 'meaty' salads

This is your lucky month. I remembered to include a recipe, sort of.

If you like munching on greenery, well good for you. There's no denying that salads are healthy unless you choose to do something to them to subtract their health quotient.

But, I have to admit that they just don't appeal to me as much as a good casserole, or hot sandwich with plenty of marinara sauce. As for a side dish, to me a cold salad just interferes with a chicken curry, brisket or good lasagna.

Well here are some suggestions that might help those of you who feel similarly but still feel you should get a daily salad into your diet.

To your cucumber, celery, pepper, lettuce, tomato and onion ensemble, you can just add some meat, like chicken maybe some cubed cheese.

But my traditional Sicilian family liked adding artichoke hearts (quartered, marinated) and olives, especially sauteed black ones. Green olives are good too.

Artichoke hearts and olives are low carb, great as a medley in a good salad. But they contrast with the crunchy or mealy, high water content of the other ingredients giving the salad a level of satisfaction that's not there without them.

After eating this, I don't usually instantly crave bread, pasta or potatoes.

Well, that's all she wrote for now. Really, all I wrote for now but be sure to read next months' special summer issue of Healthy World Digest.

Comments? Ideas? Feedback? I'd love to hear from you. Just reply to Healthy World Digest and tell me what you think.

See you next month!

Sal

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