YAMS

Yams are a good source of both potassium and vitamin B6, two nutrients that your body needs every day. Vitamin B6 helps your body break down a substance called homocysteine, which can cause damage to blood vessel walls. High intakes of vitamin B6 have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Potassium is a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. In the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) study, one group ate servings of fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy food in place of snacks and sweets. This approach offered more potassium, magnesium and calcium. After eight weeks, this group lowered their blood pressure by an average of 5.5 points (systolic) over 3.0 points (diastolic). Yams also contain a storage protein called Dioscorin. Preliminary research suggests that Dioscorin can help you body to achieve increased kidney blood flow thereby reducing blood pressure.

In addition, yams’ complex carbohydrates and fiber deliver the goods gradually, slowing the rate at which their sugars are released and absorbed into the bloodstream. Because they are rich in fiber, yams fill you up without causing you to gain weight. Yams are also a good source of manganese, a trace mineral that helps with carbohydrate metabolism and is a cofactor in a number of enzymes important in energy production and antioxidant defenses.

STRETCHING

Stretching is something you can easily do anytime, anywhere – in your home, your office, or even when you are traveling. Aim to stretch at least three times a week. If you can’t get a full work out in, you can still benefit from stretching at least that often.

Many experts believe that stretching may also reduce your risk of injury in sports. “The more prepared your muscles and joints are for an activity, the more protected you are against injury,” says Edward Laskowski, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist and co-director of the Sports Medicine Center at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Laskowski explains, “If your joints are not able to go through their full range of motion because of muscle tightness, sports and exercise activities may put an excessive load on the tissue and contribute to injury.”

The many benefits of stretching include:

· Increased flexibility and better range of motion of your joints.

· Improved circulation.

· Better posture.

· Stress relief.

How to stretch.

· Warm up first by walking while pumping your arms.

· Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds.

· Don’t bounce.

· Focus on a pain free-stretch.

“Stretch as often as you exercise,” Dr. Laskowski recommends. “Most experts recommend a cool-down period anyway after exercises. Going into your stretches after your workout is a good way to cool down.”

So get moving!

WHOLE FOODS & MALE FERTILITY

At a recent American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting, new research revealed that eating more fruits and vegetables can help men boost their fertility. These new findings indicate that the more produce a man consumes, the healthier his sperm will be. In a study group of infertile men, 83% of them were found to be eating less than five servings of fruits and veggies a day. Overall, the men who ate the fewest fruits and vegetables had the lowest sperm motility.

“We think that sperm quality is affected by dietary antioxidant intake,” said study author Dr. Vivian Lewis, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. “Antioxidants, like those found in fruits and vegetables, may help prevent damage to sperm that causes them to become sluggish and lose the ability to fertilize an egg.”

In particular, the antioxidants glutathione and cryptoxanthin, which are prevalent in brightly colored produce such as leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers and oranges, were associated with strong, healthy sperm, Lewis said. She recommended that men hoping to father children eat “a variety of fruits and vegetables, at least five servings a day.”

The modern day researches continue to confirm what the ancients knew. Focus on giving your body what it needs – it knows how to do the rest.

BLACK BEANS

Black beans are a wonderful source of dietary fiber which has been shown to naturally help lower cholesterol. The high fiber content in black beans helps keep blood sugar from rising too rapidly after a meal, making them a wise choice for people with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

When black beans are prepared with whole grains such as barley or brown rice, the black beans provide a virtually fat-free, high quality source of protein. Recent research also shows that black beans are rich in antioxidants as well. Antioxidants destroy free radicals, and when eaten regularly, have been shown to offer protection against heart disease, cancer and aging.

Black beans have more antioxidant activity, gram for gram, than other beans, followed by red, brown, yellow and white beans. In general, darker colored coats were associated with higher levels of flavonoids, and therefore, higher antioxidant activity.

Recent studies show that one class of compounds in particular, anthocyanins, were the most active antioxidants in the beans. They discovered that the levels of anthocyanins per 100 gram serving of black beans was about 10 times the amount of overall antioxidants in an equivalent serving size of oranges and similar to the amount found in grapes, apples and cranberries.

AVOCADOS

Avocados are enjoyed around the world by people from all walks of life. Research published in the January 2005 issue of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry indicate that nutrients in avocados can work together to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.

The analysis was conducted at UCLA where researchers discovered that avocados are the richest source of lutein among commonly eaten fruits. Lutein is a carotenoid that acts as an antioxidant and has been linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer in previous studies.

According to Dr. David Heber, the study focused on inhibition of human prostate cancer cell growth when exposed to an extract of whole avocado fruit versus treatment with pure lutein. Cancer cell growth was inhibited up to 60% when exposed to the whole fruit but no improvement was seen when exposed to pure lutein.

Dr.Heber commented, “What’s really exciting about this study is that the results indicate that the cartenoids, vitamins and diverse compounds in avocados have a synergistic effect against prostate cancer compared to pure lutein alone.”

The moral of this story seems to be that whole foods, in their original whole form, offer the best nutrition possible for the human body.

VIGOROUS EXERCISE HELPS ACADEMICS

Middle school students who perform more vigorous physical activity than their more sedentary peers tend to do better in school according to a new study done by researchers from Michigan State University. The research is published in the August issue of Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.

For one academic year two hundred Sixth graders were tracked for six months doing PE classes, which did not raise their academic scores, and six months doing more vigorous exercise like swimming, football and soccer. During the time doing these exercises their scores improved by 10%. The students who performed better academically in this study were the most active, meaning those who participated in a sport or other vigorous activity at least three times a week.

The difference between vigorous activity and moderate activity is heart rate. Moderate activities, such as walking or raking leaves, don’t get the heart rate up or make the person breathe harder. Vigorous activities, such as running or swimming for exercise, increase heart rate, causing the exerciser to breathe harder and increasing oxygen to the brain.

The take away message for all of us is: exercise hard enough to cause deep breathing to get oxygen flowing better to the brain. This helps academically and in other ways to keep us healthy!