HEALTH HUB Latest Articles
Chocolate – your favourite vegetable!
The number of health benefits now associated with the cocoa bean are really quite impressive, including benefits to your heart and blood vessels, brain and nervous system, improved insulin sensitivity, and even possibly slowing down the rate at which you age. Cacao's benefits are related to compounds naturally occurring in the bean, including epicatechin and resveratrol- both powerful antioxidants. Epicatechin is thought to help shield your nerve cells from damage. Besides epicatechin, cacao is also high in resveratrol, a potent antioxidant found in red wine, known for its ability to cross your blood-brain barrier to help protect your nervous system. [...]
Do we really need to drink milk to get strong bones?
We all want strong bones, but do we really need to drink milk to achieve them? There is an initiative called Healthy Bones week; a campaign designed to increase public awareness about bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis. You may have noticed advertising campaigns encouraging Australians to consume more dairy products. Dairy products do contain calcium, but they are not the only source of calcium. Plenty of other foods contain high levels of calcium, and it’s certainly possible to maintain strong bones even if you consume no dairy products at all. In some people, dairy products can cause more [...]
Are gluten free diets just a fad to make wealthy people feel special?
by Margaret Jasinska This was the message in a recent news article appearing on The Age website titled “Wealthy developing taste for gluten free food”. You can read the article here. Officially around one percent of Australians have been diagnosed with coeliac disease, yet the recent boom in sales of gluten free foods indicates far more people are following a gluten free diet for other reasons. People are demanding more gluten free foods in restaurants and supermarkets, and they are asking their doctor to test them for gluten sensitivity. This behaviour is particularly prevalent in some of Melbourne’s wealthier suburbs. [...]
Type 2 diabetes: Why is it continually on the rise?
by Margaret Jasinska, Naturopath Did you know that one Australian is diagnosed with diabetes every 5 minutes? Diabetes is Australia’s fastest growing chronic disease and it’s hard to comprehend how quickly the problem is growing. It is estimated there are 2.4 million Australians with pre-diabetes. In a few years they will probably develop type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes is also known as Syndrome X, insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. The Australian Diabetes Council will tell you that maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly will help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. That is true, but the problem is they [...]
What’s so Super about Super Foods anyway?
Super foods are highly nutritious foods with many potential health benefits coming from their remarkably higher levels of anti oxidants, vitamins and minerals than your average foods. Specifically, super foods include foods that have a dozen or more unique properties, not just the one or two properties that regular foods contain. A great example of a food that you may not realize has such super powers is the Goji berry. This tiny little berry is exploding with super nutrition, not only a source of complete protein, 21 trace minerals, Vitamins B1 B2 B6 and Vitamin E, this mild mannered super [...]
Time to commit to yourself
How are your new commitments going? This time the blog will be about committing to starting an exercise routine. With only 5 weeks to go until spring, we need to bring back or build those beach bodies! Nothing better than an exercise routine joined with a clean diet and Cabot Health supplements. Slow exercise will focus on fat burning and fast pacing on calorie burning. You can easily burn 750 calorie per hour if you run hard for 60 minutes. That is one third of your recommended daily calorie intake! Exciting but too early to be talking about fast pacing. [...]
What Has The Liver Got To Do With Fat Loss?
If you want to lose weight this year there is no better way than to get your liver in shape. A healthy liver regulates fat metabolism and can pump excess fat out of your body via the bile. A healthy liver is the furnace of the body and generates heat and energy, so little wonder you will suffer fatigue if you have a sluggish liver. People with an overworked liver commonly perspire excessively and are very sensitive to high temperatures. Lack of energy is a common problem and takes away your desire to exercise, leading to more weight gain. Many [...]
Why Do You Need Thin Blood?
We know that people with thick sticky blood have a much higher chance of strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. These things often happen when you are still relatively young, say in your forties and fifties. This is a well known fact and has lead to the widespread use of daily aspirin to thin the blood. However, recently this practice has been called into question by the results of a studay published in the Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA 2012; 307:2286-94. This study of over 370,000 patients found that those taking low dose daily aspirin were 55% [...]
Turmeric – The Miracle Spice
Turmeric is a plant which is part of the ginger family. This orange coloured spice is considered by many in the know to be one of the best foods (or supplements) that you can consume for good health. Common in Middle Eastern and South Asia, turmeric has been used as a staple in many recipes for thousands of years. It is the rhizome (underground stem) of the plant that has therapeutic benefits. The rhizomes are boiled for several hours, and then dried in hot ovens and ground into a bright yellow powder - it is the key ingredient in curry [...]
The Dangers of Gluten
Why you should think about eliminating gluten from your diet We are all hearing the word 'gluten' more and more these days - ever wondered why? What's so important about gluten and how would you know if it's compromising your health? If you were to eat hamburgers, deep fried food and chips and then wash it down with lashings of soft drink, you would more than likely realise that you are shortening your life. What if you were to eat a sandwich made from fresh sourdough wholemeal bread? You would probably think that you are making a healthier choice, wouldn't [...]
