Athletes training in their 40s and 50s are “100 times” better than sedentary people in their 20s according to Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. That is a very bold statement. Other research corroborates the advantages that physically fit people have over those who are sedentary. […]

Public agencies concerned with cardiovascular health always stress the importance of diet and lifestyle as the primary means of lowering fats in the blood and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. But if your cholesterol goes over the danger line, it’s fairly likely that your doctor will prescribe statins (Lipitor, Crestor or Zocor) and a low […]

Mary Ireland discusses new research on habits to stay healthy and how the different systems of the body works together.

I remember the word ‘roughage’ being a funny word, at least is seemed so when I was a girl. My grandmother would chide us with, “eat your roughage.” Since Grandma didn’t teach us the benefits of roughage, we really had no clue about why she was so adamant about eating it. To us, it somehow […]

Summer can be an ideal time to drop some unwanted pounds. First, our appetites are often diminished in hot weather, making a smaller volume of food perfectly satisfactory. Many of us have learned that heavy foods can contribute to feeling too warm. In addition, there is such a wonderful variety of low-calorie spring and summer […]

My last post recounted the research, and explained the confusion about how little of the cholesterol in our blood comes from cholesterol found naturally in our foods, and how much (75%), is created within our bodies, stimulated negatively by saturated and trans fats and other factors. The problem with high total and LDL (bad/Mr. Hyde) […]

Mary Ireland discusses the importance of stress reduction in a healthy lifestyle.

In this blog we frequently talk about the importance of nutrition and exercise in leading a healthy life and controlling weight. Another importance lifestyle component to weight management is getting an adequate amount of sleep. There are a number of studies that identify the negative impact of sleep deprivation on health: Researchers from the University […]

Dr. Grandma’s Newsletter for May, 2011, notes that health-related observances in May include Osteoporosis Prevention and Arthritis Awareness. In researching information about these diseases, I found a common thread: exercise can help prevent or help in the management of these diseases. This isn’t surprising since exercise is a prescription for the diseases we write about […]

Dr. Grandma encourages eating fish and discusses issues of mercury, fish as related to the food budget and fish and AMD. In addition, she shares a healthy recipe that she developed to replace traditional tuna noodle casserole.