Health Benefits of Wakame

Some of the health benefits of wakame include its ability to aid in weight loss, lower cholesterol, boost heart health, prevent cancer, boost energy levels, maintains hormonal balance, build strong bones, increase circulation, improve skin health, and protects infant health.

Introduction to Wakame

Wakame is a variety of seaweed that is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. Its scientific name is Undaria pinnatifida and although it is considered one of the most invasive species of seaweed on the planet, it is healthy and beneficial when added to any diet. In Japan, wakame is commonly used in soups and salads, as well as in the form of a side dish, like tofu. The taste is briny and salty, with a slightly sweet taste mixed in that flavors other foods in such a delightful way. Japanese sea farmers have grown this seaweed for hundreds of years, and it is beginning to gain popularity in other parts of the world as well, particularly in France.

However, the best thing about wakame, besides its taste and versatility, is the enormous amount of health benefits that it contains. Most of these health benefits come from the rich supply of vitamins and minerals contained in these delicate green leaves, as well as certain organic compounds that have only recently begun to be studied.

Nutritional Facts of Wakame

Wakame is a very important source of vitamins and minerals, including iodine, calcium, iron, and magnesium, as well as folate, vitamin A, C, D, E, K, and B2. Wakame also contains lignans and fucoxanthin, which have their own unique health benefits. Let’s take a closer look at some of these health benefits.

Health Benefits of Wakame

Weight Control: The extremely small amount of calories, carbohydrates, and fats in wakame are one reason why it fills you up without adding too many calories to your diet, but that isn’t the only reason why people turn to wakame to control their obesity. Researchers have discovered a compound called fucoxanthin in wakame that actually inhibits the accumulation of fat in the cells and stimulates fat oxidation. This unique compound, rarely found in vegetables, is the reason that wakame has its unusual brown color, because it also helps in photosynthesis.

Cholesterol and Heart Health: Along with its inhibitory affects on fat accumulation, fucoxanthin also stimulates the liver to increase its production of DHA, which is a particularly kind of fatty acid that actually lowers the levels of “bad” cholesterol in your system. This is the type of cholesterol commonly associated with atherosclerosis and artery blockage, so you are able to protect yourself from various heart diseases, as well as heart attacks and strokes by adding this brittle, salty seaweed to your soups and salads!

Circulation: The high content of iron in wakame means that it increases your production of red blood cells. Iron is an essential part of red blood cells, and higher levels means increased circulation in your cardiovascular system, which provides additional oxygen to essential parts of the body, boosts energy, increases the health of your skin, and speeds up the healing process of all the tissues and organs in your body!

Cancer Prevention: Although it might seem like an insignificant addition to your diet, wakame can actually help to protect your body from developing cancer. Iodine, which is an essential part of any diet, is very high in all seaweeds, particularly wakame. Iodine has been connected to lower levels of breast cancer, evidenced by the notable increase in Japanese men and women who turn to a more Western diet. Furthermore, the lignans found in wakame have also been linked to lower levels of breast cancer!

Energy Booster: Magnesium is an extremely versatile and useful mineral in our body. The high levels in wakame mean that this variety of seaweed can help our body transfer energy efficiently, regulate hormones throughout the body, and help our body produce and utilize protein, which is essential for almost every bodily function related to growth or repair.

Infant Health: Folate, also known as Vitamin B9, is extremely vital for pregnant women, as it has been consistently connected with lowered chances of neural tube defects in infants. Wakame contains significant amounts of folate, so pregnant women should add some Japanese dishes to their pregnancy diet!

Bone Health: Calcium is one of the most important minerals when it comes to protecting the integrity and durability of our bones. The high levels of calcium found in wakame help your body increase bone growth and speeds up repair, thereby preventing early onset osteoporosis and keeping you fit and active well into your old age!

Hormonal Balance: Iodine is the most important component of the hormonal balance in our body. It is an integral aspect of creating the thyroid hormone, which controls a number of processes throughout the body, and it is also necessary for the production of energy in the body. High levels of iodine in wakame have been praised around the world as a healthy, delicious way to keep your energy levels up and your hormones balanced.

A Final Word of Caution: Although the vast majority of the components in wakame are beneficial for your health, it does have a relatively high level of sodium, which isn’t the best choice for people already suffering from obesity or blood pressure problems. Sodium works against potassium to lower blood pressure, so be careful not to overdo it on the wakame in your meals. Other than that, enjoy this delicious Japanese delicacy!

[via Organic Facts]

Beat the Holiday Blahs With These 5 Mood-Boosting Foods

"You're such a killjoy!" I chided my friend. Driving back from The Grove, a particular Christmas song came on the radio and she immediately changed stations.

I gave her a bewildered how could you hate the holidays? look. "Those songs just trigger unpleasant memories for me," she replied. "Compound those feelings with the pressure to buy perfect gifts and the stress of always being "on" for family, and well, I just feel exhausted. Is it January yet?"

While I love the holidays, I understand her frustration. Christmas dinner with your in-laws or standing in hours-long lines to buy gifts can challenge even the most optimistic, well-adjusted person. Never mind finding the perfect gift; can I get a parking spot, please?

More than just a blah feeling, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) diminishes the quality of life for many folks during the darker, colder, bleak winter months. Feeling depressed, sluggish, and wanting to bask in a deserted Hawaiian beach are typical symptoms.

If SAD or other depressive conditions hamper your quality of life, please visit your integrative physician, who can design a dietary and nutrient protocol for your situation. Depression can become a very real, debilitative situation that demands medical or other professional attention.

For most of us, optimal mood begins with the right foods. These mood-boosting foods can subtly but powerfully brighten your outlook, reduce stress, and boost feel-good hormones to help you not only cope but thrive during the hectic holiday season and beyond: 

1. Omega-3-rich foods. Among their numerous benefits, omega-3 fatty acids positively affect mood, and a meta-analysis found they could even treat depressive disorders. I'm a big fan of fish oil for therapeutic omega-3 amounts, and you can get those same fatty acids in wild-caught fish, flaxseed and chia seeds and walnuts. 
2. Higher-protein foods. Sure, carbs can potentially elevate your feel-good hormone serotonin, but you'll pay the price later. Ever eaten a big bowl of pasta and crashed about an hour later? A vicious cycle of craving and hunger ensues. Studies show you're twice as likely to choose less-healthy comfort foods when you feel low. Protein-rich foods like wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef and even quinoa, on the other hand, steady blood sugar levels for consistent mood and energy levels. 
3. Dark chocolate. A very recent study found cocoa polyphenols enhance a positive mood. Dark chocolate (70 percent or higher cacao) provides those and other benefits. One study with healthy overweight or obese women food found polyphenol-rich dark chocolate improves glucose metabolism and cardiovascular health. Dark chocolate also triggers feel-good endorphins and reduces your stress hormone cortisol. A little bit goes a long way, so if chocolate is among your weaknesses, break off a serving and give the rest to your coworker or friend. 
4. Raw nuts. I mentioned walnuts providing mood-enhancing omega-3s. Raw nuts provide other nutrients like tryptophan, a precursor to mood-brightening serotonin. Nuts and seeds are also rich in minerals like zinc, which boosts immunity, and magnesium, which helps you relax. One study found magnesium-deficient mice more prone to depression. There's more: nuts and seeds provide craving-busting, blood sugar-stabilizing protein, fiber and healthy fats. If you snack, make it nuts and portion them out because they're very easy to overeat. 
5. Berries. Organic fresh or frozen berries provide powerful brain-protecting anthocyanins and other antioxidants. One study found blueberries boosted memory and improved mood in older adults. I throw fiber- and nutrient-rich raspberries into my morning protein shake. Berries also make a sweet, satisfying dessert.

Incorporate these five foods and you might soon feel that extra oomph you've found missing during the winter months. Your turn: Is there a particular food you find enhances your mood?

[via Healthy Living]

The Sour Facts About Milk: What Every Parent Needs To Know

Over the past 40 years, the dairy industry has poured billions of dollars into advertising campaigns designed to mesmerize, lure, and frighten individuals into consuming their products. Their frosted fingers have steadily tightened their steely grip of influence over educational institutions, retirement homes, hospitals, and doctor’s offices; permeating magazines, books, journals, and commercials with biased information that promotes their agenda. After years of mind-numbing “mustaches” of manipulation, we now assume that dairy products are a natural and normal part of the human diet. However, this is far from the truth.

Like all female mammals (including humans) who produce milk for their young, a female cow secretes milk that is intended to nurse her baby calf for about one year. This fatty hormonal secretion (containing over 60 hormones and growth factors) is designed to take her 65 pound newborn calf and turn him into a 700-pound cow in less than one year — quite a feat!

During pregnancy, a cow's estrogen level skyrockets over 30 times higher than when she’s not carrying a calf. Since today's factory dairies pump milk from female cows continually to increase profits, higher hormone levels (both naturally occurring and those created by agribusiness) are found in dairy milk, which also happens to be disastrously high in fat; a critical factor further exacerbating increased estrogen levels in humans.

When children are handed this hormonal cocktail masquerading as a magical health elixir, their undeveloped bodies are flooded with milk's massive amount of estrogen, leading to an epidemic of precocious puberty. Additionally, children end up consuming sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in every glass of milk.

A cow's udders can become unnaturally distended from being forced to produce thousands of extra gallons of milk per year, making them drag on the ground. Most concrete dairy lots are paved with piles of bacteria-laden manure. The fecal matter contaminates her udders, causing infections (mastitis), and is one of the reasons antibiotics are routinely administered to dairy cows.

Another dangerous constituent in cow milk is insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). When humans consume this hormone, their IGF-1 levels also increase, accounting for the “growth” effects of cow’s milk. Unfortunately, if breast cancer cells or prostate cancer cells are exposed to IGF-1, they proliferate like weeds, leading to disease at an alarming rate. Curiously, this critical information is never included in dairy promotional literature.

Since the beginning of time, countless cultures have thrived without a drop of “ivory syrup.” How did the native populations of Hawaii survive without cow milk before the introduction of cattle in 1793? The same way that native people of Mexico did before cattle was introduced in 1521. Many people around the world have never seen a cow, let alone drank her hormonal secretions. Large populations worldwide have been flourishing without bovine milk for eons. Consuming cow milk is highly unnatural; there is no animal in nature (other than humans) that drinks the milk of another species naturally. Giraffes don’t hound lactating goats for a sip of milk, and horses don’t run to nurse on pigs' teats; the mere thought seems ludicrous.

Leading pediatricians such as Dr. Benjamin Spock (also an influential and best-selling author of parenting books) and Dr. Jay Gordon have been strong proponents of a dairy-free diet for children. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a non-profit organization whose members include 150,000 health professionals, has always been adamantly opposed to cow milk consumption.

When the Journal of Clinical Nutrition surveyed all accredited medical schools in the US in 2006 about their nutritional curriculums, they found that of the responding 106 schools, on average, medical students received close to 24 hours of nutrition education. Some received none. Their conclusion was that the amount of nutrition education in medical schools was “inadequate.” That’s quite an understatement. A hair dresser receives more training before cutting clients' hair professionally, yet parents are taking advice from individuals with hardly any unbiased nutritional education?

Medical schools are highly influenced by the agribusiness industry. Agribusiness continues to target pediatricians offices with marketing campaigns designed to push their highly manipulative ideology, so it’s hardly surprising that many well-meaning pediatricians are ill informed about the dangers of dairy products. Expecting to receive meaningful, objective, and impartial nutritional advice in an environment influenced by dairy and agribusiness interests leads to predictable recommendations to consume dairy at all health costs.

Thankfully, many parents are waking up to the truth about dairy products and seeking healthier alternatives. Rice, almond, hemp, and coconut milks are good choices for many kids and adults. These can be easily enjoyed with whole grain cereals, oatmeal, and creamy soups. One of my favorite methods of boosting kids' (and adults') nutrient consumption is to use nut or rice milks in smoothies; adding sweet, fresh, juicy whole fruits and greens such as kale, spinach, or leafy lettuce, and blending them for a tasty drink. Leafy greens are better sources of minerals than dairy products. The dietary fiber found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans also assists with escorting estrogen out of the body. Many greens contain not just generous amounts of calcium, but additional nutrients critical for building bone health, such as magnesium, boron and vitamin C. Being physically active is also important for building bones, and is one more reason to get the kids off the couch and on the playground.

Just as no loving parent would allow her small child to play on busy highways, dairy products should be approached with extreme caution given the amount of information readily available about their dangers. As parents, we have the responsibility to research and educate ourselves about the food choices we offer our children. They count on us wholeheartedly for looking out for their best interests. Helping children avoid dairy products is one of the most loving, caring, and responsible actions a parent can take for their child, themselves, and for building a healthier world.

[via Mind Body Green]

7 totally organic ways to beat fear and anxiety

Stress and Worry Are Human Creations

The best explanation of stress we’ve ever heard comes from Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky, PhD, the author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. “If you are a normal mammal,” he notes, “stress is the three minutes of screaming terror on the savanna after which either it’s over with or you’re over with.”

If you’re a human mammal, stress comes not from fear of being eaten but worry about somebody eating your lunch. Unlike other animals, we have a large brain relative to our body size—a brain that worries. And now our worry is triggered by the passive-aggressive boss, the weight of a 30-year mortgage, and the job of caring for children and ill parents at the same time.

No wildebeest would understand these fears, but the perceived threats spark the same bodily survival responses that crocodile attacks do. And they last way longer than a croc’s lunchtime. But you can do something about stress. Search and destroy. Here’s where stress typically strikes and how to strike back.

Stress spot: The brain

Chronic secretion of the stress hormone cortisol damages memory centers, including the hippocampus. When dendrites in the hippocampus shrivel excessively, we can be caught in perpetual stress, triggering anxiety disorders, depression, and margaritas at lunchtime.

The Fix: Don’t be so damned conscientious. A Canadian study of 2,737 workers found that when people thought their poor job performance could have a serious impact on their coworkers, their company, or the environment, job stress increased. Responsible workers who saw their jobs as careers tended to say their jobs were highly stressful, while people who were satisfied with their jobs or who didn’t think of them as careers were less likely to report stress. The lesson: Take a day off. The company won’t go under if you’re out for nine hours. (Note: This does not apply to air-traffic controllers.)

Bonus Instant Feel-Good Fix: Swear. Researchers at England’s University of East Anglia Norwich looked into leadership styles and found that using swear words can reduce stress and boost camaraderie among coworkers.

Stress spot: The neck, head, and back

Pituitary, hypothalamic, and adrenal hormones flood the body, focusing your attention and alertness, sharpening vision, and preparing muscles to take action against a threat. When the perceived danger does not go away, you lose the ability to return to equilibrium.

The Fix: Create a three-legged life. Add balance to your home, your work, and yourself to create a buffer against stress. “If one leg of the stool goes down, you have others to hold you up,” says Munir Soliman, MD, director of the Center for Wellness & Personal Growth at the University of California, San Diego.

Stress spot: The hair

Researchers from the University of Western Ontario may have found a biomarker to measure chronic stress. It’s hair. They took follicle samples from about 100 men, half of whom where hospitalized for heart attacks, and found that hair cortisol was highest in the heart patients. Since hair grows about 1 centimeter a month, researchers used 3-centimeter samples to provide a record of stress levels over the previous three months. Scientists believe the findings bolster the theory that chronic stress may contribute to heart attack just as acute stress does.

The Fix: Focus on somebody besides numero uno. “People who have a problem with anxiety often get lost in measuring and judging themselves,” says Mel Schwartz, a Connecticut-based psychotherapist. “The critical voice is enslaving.” Try focusing on others. Showing respect and appreciation for others has an amazing ability to diffuse obsessive thoughts and behavior caused by preoccupation with the self.

Stress spot: The sympathetic nervous system

A release of norepinephrine causes the heart to beat faster, blood pressure to rise, sweat to stain your shirt, and breathing to quicken to deliver more oxygen and glucose to muscles and tissues. Endorphins make blood vessels constrict to reduce bleeding in case of attack. This is what causes the hairs on the back of your neck and skull to stand on end. While stress hormones help us cope with danger, prolonged pressure can harm the heart and suppress the immune system, which may make us more vulnerable to everything from colds and flu to cancer.

The Fix: Twist yourself into a pretzel and laugh. Laughter Yoga practitioners swear that combining yogic breathing and stretching techniques and forced laughter helps them cope better with life stress. Studies show that, separately, yoga and laughter do stifle stress. For example: Two studies presented at the 2009 American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting found that the blood vessels of people who watched comedy films were more pliable and experienced improved blood flow for up to 24 hours after the chuckles started.

Stress spot: The gut

Increased acids from stress churn your stomach and loosen your bowels (hence the soiling-yourself stress reaction). It can even alter the way the body processes fat, causing you to store more of it in your abdomen.

The Fix: Give yourself a hand. Try acupressure for a quick stress release. Massage the fleshy part between the thumb and index finger of one hand for 30 seconds with the thumb and first two fingers of your other hand. A study at Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that acupressure with lavender oil can reduce stress by up to 39 percent. Two other reports in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine identified 58 clinical trials showing that massage therapy and tai chi practice significantly reduce salivary cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure, and depression.

Stress spot: Your DNA

Yes, stress can screw with your DNA, too! Chronically flooding your body with stress hormones can cause telomeres to shorten. Telomeres are genetic structures that protect the ends of our chromosomes from deterioration, and, if they shorten to a critical length, cells will no longer be able to multiply.

The Fix: Meditate. A recent Harvard Medical School study found that the physiological response from mindful meditation, yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, or even repetitive prayer can counteract cellular damage from chronic stress. Breathing lesson: When you feel anxious, disengage your mind by focusing on breathing deeply through your nose so your belly rises before your chest does, then exhale through your mouth. Do this for 5 minutes, concentrating only on your breath.

Stress spot: Your sex life

Women who are distracted and stressed out often can’t orgasm or even enjoy sex. Men may suffer erectile dysfunction when under stress.

The Fix: Unleash the oxytocin. Kissing, hugging, even holding hands can reduce stress because it raises levels of oxytocin, the hormone associated with bonding and love, say researchers at the University of North Carolina.

(via Rodale)