For a lot of people, myself included, meal planning is a big effort, and all too often, when you’ve run out of ideas or simply too tired, you end up fixing something quick and easy, not necessarily tasty or healthy. Or worse, ordering fastfood. If you suffer from some illness, it becomes doubly hard to prepare healthy meals and keeping in mind what foods you should avoid and what you should be eating.
If you’re dealing with Type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease or prostate cancer, or simply too busy to prepare healthy meals yourself, here’s an option: the …read more

In a previous entry I wrote about a year ago, we’ve already learned how cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections:
A specific type of tannin found only in cranberries and blueberries interacts with the little projections on the Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria (the most common cause of UTI), preventing them from sticking to the walls of the bladder and causing infection.
A new study published in the journal Colloids and Surfaces: B looks into the effect of cranberry juice on the bugs in the urinary tract in closer detail. Apparently, cranberry juice changes the thermodynamic properties of bacteria in the urinary …read more

I discovered the joy of eating artichokes just a few years ago. I like it best simply boiled whole, and each shell peeled off and dipped in garlicky creme fraiche. Yeah, I know, not exactly the healthiest dip, but as I ony seldom have it, I allow myself such rare indulgences.
Did you know that artichokes are nutrient dense?
Artichokes are an excellent source of dietary magnesium, fiber, and the trace mineral chromium. They are also a very good source of vitamins A and C, folic acid, biotin, niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, potassium, the trace mineral manganese, and a carbohydrate that …read more

Now that summer’s almost here, take advantage of the abundance of fruits and veggies and top up your dietary fiber intake. The daily recommended intake is 25 to 35 grams a day. What’s fiber good for? Aside from keeping you “regular”, fiber intake has also been documented to help

prevent cancer
lower blood cholesterol
improve blood sugar control

Your best sources of fiber? Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains.

There are so many benefits to drinking green tea, there probably should be a blog dedicated to just this one drink (or maybe there is one already?). The latest study indicates that compounds found in green tea may protect from bladder inflammation.
“We discovered that catechins found in green tea protected both normal and cancerous bladder cells from inflammation when we exposed the cells to hydrogen peroxide,” said Michael B. Chancellor, M.D., professor of urology and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “Although further studies are needed, these results indicate herbal supplements from green tea could be a …read more

No matter how fabulous your turkey turns up, you’ll need an equally savory sauce to go with it. The perfect fit? Cranberry sauce.
Cranberries are not just rich in vitamin C, they also help fight bacterial infections, particularly in the bladder.
While searching for recipes, I’ve come across a website that sounds remarkably similar to mine: Fabulous Foods. A fabulous website, with fabulous resources and articles! Back to recipes, though, here are some cranberry sauce recipes you can try. The tangerine-apricot-cranberry combo makes me salivate! And when Thanksgiving is over, you may try these other cranberry recipes, too!
Of course, for those that …read more

Orange juice is a healthy beverage. Not only is it a wonderfully refreshing and rich source of Vitamin C, it’s also been shown to effectively prevent the formation of kidney stones.
Well some people even made it healthier… by fortifying OJ with plant sterols, and thus coming up with a heart-healthy drink.

I found a wonderful blog about herbs, focusing on their medicinal, rather than culinary, properties: Herbs I Have Known and Loved. The entries do not provide scientific references to claims of health benefits, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are myriads of publications in PubMed that will back them up. One post in particular enumerates the 15 most powerful healing herbs in your kitchen (assuming you have a well-stocked spice rack):

Cranberry juice can help fight bladder infections and other bacterial infections. Yes, I know I’ve sung that tune before. But there’s still the question of how.
A new study presented by researchers from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during the the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in San Francisco last week suggests that a group of tannins called proanthocyanidins found primarily in cranberries may affect potentially pathogenic bacteria in three ways:

They change the shape of the bacteria from rods to spheres.
They alter their cell membranes.
They make it difficult for bacteria to make contact with cells, or from latching …read more

Slowly, I am getting a picture of what a fabulously healthy breakfast should be:
Coffee, strawberry probiotic yoghurt, cereals with cranberries, and… orange juice.
Coffee for your brain, strawberries too, probiotic yoghurt for your gut, cranberries for a healthy bladder, and orange juice to prevent kidney stones.
Orange juice, researchers found, boosted the levels of citrate in the urine and reduced the crystallization of uric acid and calcium oxalate – the most frequently found ingredient in kidney stones.
According to their study, lemonade, another citrus juice with comparable citrate content, did not have the same effect. The researchers think the form in which the …read more