We’ve all heard that antioxidants provide numerous health benefits and in this article, I want to focus on one of them: chocolate. I have to single out chocolate because we hear so much about it in the news and because it is a pleasure-providing food: most everyone would rather indulge in a little chocolate than eat more broccoli if given the choice! There is a lot of research out there about the benefits of chocolate and recently a large meta-analysis concluded that chocolate can reduce the risk of developing cardiometabolic disorders which can lead to coronary heart disease, stroke and [Read More]

Recently, a study claimed that taking vitamins has no merit. It’s not new news: pharmaceutical-funded studies have been claiming this for some time (because vitamins can’t be patented and if you take them, you might not need their drugs.) While the study says vitamins in isolation don’t work (I agree), it also claims that multivitamins have no merit (I disagree: synthetic multivitamins have no merit, but whole food multi-vitamins have been shown to have health benefits.) The debate isn’t new. One of the most vehement arguments came a few years ago when Reader’s Digest called vitamins “a scam” and said [Read More]

We are a sleep-deprived nation. A recent study revealed that 70 million Americans do not get adequate sleep.  Experts say we need seven to nine hours a night consistently, but many of us get about five to seven. Furthermore, while our bodies were made to recover from one interrupted night’s sleep, studies now show that less than optimal sleep for a few nights in a row can change your sleep pattern, weaken your immune system and lead to an increased likelihood of weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, heart conditions, loss of long-term memory and more. Even one off night can [Read More]

This time of year, there are lots of cold and flu viruses going around and if you get one, you know that there isn’t much your doctor can do. While antibiotics can fight bacteria, there are no prescriptions for viruses. That doesn’t mean, however, that nature hasn’t supplied us with some great natural remedies instead. A few weeks ago, I woke up exhausted and feeling so tired and achy, I knew I was fighting off a flu. My immune system is pretty strong but I immediately went into attack mode to try to beat it and the next day, I [Read More]

An estimated 102.2 million Americans have cholesterol levels above 200, which is considered borderline high, according to the American Heart Association. About one-third of those have cholesterol levels over 240, which is considered by today’s test standard to be in the high-risk zone. And a new study just released showed 41% of Canadians have high cholesterol levels. We have been told that high cholesterol is bad, that it causes heart disease (the leading cause of death in the U.S.), that we should all be tested for it, and that high levels must be treated, usually with statin drugs. With those [Read More]