Andrew Weil, PhD's Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Makeover Part 4: Simple Steps to Remember

As part of Nutrition Month, each Wednesday in March we are running a series of “kitchen makeover” tips, courtesy of Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging.

Now that you have cleaned out your cabinets, understand food labels, and re-stocked your refrigerator, remember these simple steps – each will help you stick to the anti-inflammatory diet when you are shopping, cooking or dining out.

Step One: Look at your carbs. The majority of carbohydrates in your diet should be in the form of less-refined, less-processed foods with a low glycemic load. You can do this by replacing your snack foods (made with wheat flour and sugar) with whole grains, beans, winter squashes and sweet potatoes.

Step Two: Replace your cooking oil. Instead of safflower and sunflower oils, corn oil, cottonseed oil, mixed vegetable oils, butter and margarine, use extra-virgin olive oil as your main cooking oil (for a neutral tasting oil, use expeller-pressed, organic canola oil).

Step Three: Decrease your consumption of animal protein. Except for fish (such as omega-3 rich salmon) and reduced-fat dairy products, animal-derived protein should be limited. You can easily replace meat with vegetable protein such as beans, legumes and whole soy foods.

Step Four: Eat more fiber. Try to eat 40 grams of fiber a day, simple to do if you increase your consumption of fruit, especially berries, vegetables and whole grains.

To learn more about the anti-inflammatory diet – and have access to anti-inflammatory eating guides and recipes - join Dr. Weil on Healthy Aging.

www.drweil.com

Diet May Help Rheumatoid Arthritis

http://news.aol.com/health/story/ar/_a/diet-may-help-rheumatoid-arthritis/20080319140409990001

Reuters
Posted: 2008-03-19 14:12:39

LONDON (March 19) - A gluten-free vegan diet full of nuts, sunflower seeds, fruit and vegetables appears to offer protection against heart attacks and strokes for people with rheumatoid arthritis, Swedish researchers said on Tuesday.The diet appeared to lower cholesterol and also affect the immune system, easing some symptoms associated with the painful joint condition, they said.The study suggested diet could play an important role for people with rheumatoid arthritis who are often more prone to heart attacks, strokes and clogged arteries, said a team from Sweden's Karolinska Institute."These findings are compatible with previous results of vegetarian/vegan dietary regimens in non-rheumatoid arthritis subjects which have shown lower blood pressure, lower body mass index and lower incidence of cardiovascular disease," the researchers wrote in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy.About 20 million people worldwide have rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease caused when the body confuses healthy tissues for foreign substances and attacks itself.In the study, Johan Frostegard of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and colleagues put 38 volunteers on gluten-free vegan foods and had the other 28 people eat a balanced but non-vegan diet for one year.The people on the diet excluding animal products and gluten, found in wheat, rye and barley, had lower levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the so-called "bad cholesterol" which can lead to clogged arteries. They also lost weight while the volunteers on the other diet showed no change.The researchers said further study was needed to determine the roles the different foods may play in offering protective benefits against heart attacks and strokes.Last week Finnish researchers said a once-a-week generic pill to treat the disease significantly reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes for people with the condition.Recent studies have also showed that newer drugs that block an inflammatory protein called tumor necrosis factor, or TNF, were also effective at reducing heart attack and stroke risk for people with the condition.Evidence suggests that LDL could be involved in improper immune system activation, the researchers said in the report, available freely online at http://arthritis-research.com/.They said the volunteers on the vegan diet had lower levels of C reactive protein, a compound that indicates levels of inflammation in the body and which is linked with heart disease.(Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox and Elizabeth Piper)

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-19 14:04:06

Beer Fights Cancer

The following article is from Newsmax.com Health Alerts:

1. Beer Fights Cancer

Researchers are always looking for the magic bullet to kill cancer, and now they may have found it in a surprising place — a glass of beer! (Who knew?) It turns out that hops, which is the flavor component of beer, contains a cancer-fighting compound called xanthohumol.
Xanthohumol turns out to be toxic to several kinds of human cancer, including prostate, ovarian, breast, and colon. Further, it inhibits enzymes that can activate the development of cancer, and also helps detoxify carcinogens. It even seems to slow down tumor growth in the early stages. Scientists are trying to produce hops that contain even more xanthohumol, and the Germans are racing to develop a “health” beer.

But wait – there’s more! Other compounds in hops are potent phytoestrogens which may help with post-menopausal hot flashes and also prevent osteoporosis.

Beers that provide the most benefits contain the most hops, and include strong brews such as ale, stout, and porter. In general, the darker the beer, the better. For those who can’t stand beer, herbal supplements made from hops contain the highest concentrations of beneficial elements.

A six pack anyone?

Love

Maru