November is such a wonderful month full of cool days, crunchy leaves underfoot, and glorious colors all around! It's full of all good things to eat like pumpkins, cranberries, turkeys, and peanuts. Peanuts, harvested in the fall, are ready to make their way to our homes fresh for the Thanksgiving holidays. In the home, the peanuts are made in candies, cookies, and the famous peanut butter sandwiches. Are peanuts nutritional? You bet!  Peanut butter is a very high in calories, yet very healthy food. Most of the fats contained in peanut butter are monounsaturated which have been shown to improve the cholesterol profile by lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol. This, in turn, decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Peanut butter contains high quantities of dietary fiber, proteins, Vitamin E and B3 (which reduces cancer risks), together with Vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and calcium. So, does peanut butter benefit our body's health? Yes!

Read more »

BrainworX Health Tips

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may be important for brain activity involved with cognitive functions in healthy boys, investigators found in a new clinical trial. Previous research indicated that DHA is important for the development of cognitive function in the brain.

This study analyzed the effects of DHA supplementation on brain activity. In this study, 33 healthy boys, whose ages ranged from 8-10 years old, were supplemented with 400 mg per day, 1200mg per day of DHA or a placebo for 8 weeks. Brain activity was evaluated using fMRI at the beginning of the study and again after 8 weeks of supplementation. The subjects were also evaluated for DHA levels, which were measured in the red blood cells (erythrocytes) at the beginning of the study and again after 8 weeks.

The results showed that the red blood cell DHA levels were higher in the boys supplemented with DHA compared to the placebo group. The boys that received the higher dose of DHA experienced an increase of 70% in erythrocyte DHA, while the boys who received the lower dose of DHA experienced a 47% increase and the placebo group had an 11% reduction in levels of DHA in their red blood cells.

Read more »

Polyphenols are plant-based dietary compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These properties reduce the ongoing damage to the DNA in our cells. Polyphenols have, therefore, been the subject of intense research as potential prevention agents for a variety of human ailments, including cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cancer.

Rich sources of polyphenols are found naturally in most blue and red berries, grapes (including red wine), pomegranates, walnuts, peanuts, olive oil, green tea, dark chocolate and cocoa, coffee, and beer.

Read more »

The brain's memory area is called hippocampus. When there is destructive inflammation in the brain's memory center, memory loss is experienced. Over time, inflammation in the brain can cause significant memory loss. This can accelerate dementia or cause one to have magnified depressed feelings. All of this could play a roll in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Why is celery an important roll in prevention of memory loss?

Read more »