Soy: The Superfood

Content provided by Psychology Today

Asian cuisine has long relied on soy protein for its taste—and its health benefits. Now the soybean is finally on the verge of becoming an American staple, too. With a growing number of studies pointing to soy as a superfood, it's getting harder to find a reason not to add it to your diet.

In the fall of 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed makers of soy products to claim that eating the protein as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. The FDA recommends eating 25 grams of soy protein a day to achieve that effect (an 8-ounce glass of soy milk contains roughly 7 grams). Consuming soy may also reduce your risk of osteoporosis and menopausal symptoms, Alzheimer's, certain cancers and kidney disease, says James Anderson, M.D., professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

Soy protein is packed with isoflavones, a type of antioxidant which combats cellular damage. Soy also contains plant hormones, or phytoestrogens, that mimic the human hormone estrogen. A study suggests that eating 20 grams of soy protein daily for six weeks reduces women's hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. These estrogenic properties may also help ward off prostate cancer in men by balancing out the hormone, testosterone, which fuels that cancer.

Good sources of soy protein include soy milk, tofu, soy burgers and protein powders, which can be stirred into shakes and juices.

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Garlic supplements help lower high blood pressure

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Garlic supplements may lower blood pressure just as effectively as some drugs used to treat hypertension can, according to a new research review.

"Supplementation with garlic preparations may provide an acceptable alternative or complementary treatment option for hypertension," Dr. Karin Ried and colleagues from The University of Adelaide in South Australia write.

Research to date on garlic and blood pressure has had "inconclusive" results, they note, while the last meta-analysis - in which the results of several studies are analyzed collectively -- only included studies done up until 1994.

To provide an updated perspective, Ried and her team included more recently published studies in their analysis, identifying 11 studies in which the patients were randomly assigned to garlic or placebo. In most studies, participants given garlic took it in powdered form, as a standardized supplement. Doses ranged from 600 mg to 900 mg daily, which study participants took for 12 to 23 weeks.

When the researchers pooled the data from the trials, they found that garlic reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) by 4.6 mm Hg, on average. An analysis limited to people with high blood pressure showed garlic reduced systolic blood pressure by 8.4 mm Hg, on average, and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by 7.3 mm Hg. The higher a person's blood pressure -was at the beginning of the study, the more it was reduced by taking garlic.

The effects were similar to those of widely used drugs for treating hypertension, for example beta blockers, which reduce systolic blood pressure by 5 mm Hg, and ACE inhibitors, which produce an 8 mm Hg average drop in systolic blood pressure, the researchers note.

The 600 mg to 900 mg dosage used in the studies is equivalent to 3.6 mg to 5.4 mg of garlic's active ingredient, allicin, Ried and her team point out. A fresh clove of garlic contains 5 mg to 9 mg of allicin.

In the population as a whole, they note, reducing systolic blood pressure by an average of 4 to 5 points and diastolic blood pressure by 2 to 3 points could cut the risk of heart disease and heart disease-related death by up to 20 percent.

More research is needed to determine whether garlic supplementation might have a long-term effect on heart disease risk, the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, published online June 16, 2008.

6 Top Eye Care Tips for Healthy Vision

Date updated: April 30, 2007
By Lisette Hilton
Content provided by Revolution Health Group We go to the dentist to take care of our teeth and get screenings to catch cancer and heart disease, but many of us are much less likely to take a proactive approach when it comes to eye health.

These 6 simple steps can help prevent common eye diseases and preserve vision, experts say.

1. Nutrition makes a difference
Howard B. Goldman, M.D., an ophthalmologist with Eye Associates of Boca Raton in Florida, says people should focus on an “anti-inflammatory diet”: avoiding red meats; eating more foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, including cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel and halibut; and avoiding saturated fats. Instead, they should use monounsaturated fats like olive oil.

“It seems that inflammation is at the base of a lot of diseases, including macular degeneration. Eating anti-inflammatory foods and watching your dietary intake of antioxidants [substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals] are important and do seem to help prevent some of the age-related disease processes like macular degeneration and cataracts,” Goldman says.

Eat lots of green, leafy veggies, says Lylas Mogk, M.D., an ophthalmologist who practices in Livonia, Mich. These include kale, collard greens and spinach, which are rich in lutein, an antioxidant that research shows may help preserve eye health and deter the risk of macular degeneration. Wolfberries, which are rich in zeaxanthin, also may be beneficial.

Mogk also recommends taking flaxseed, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and avoiding artificial fats in low-fat baked goods. Diets rich in omega-3 fatty acid foods might also help with dry eyes, he says.

Diet is at the root of many diseases that can affect the eyes, according to James Banta, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist and assistant professor of clinical ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida.

“High blood pressure has been linked to a multitude of eye problems, including macular degeneration and hypertensive retinopathy. Diabetes can cause severe problems in the eyes. High cholesterol can cause problems in the blood supply of the eyes. That all comes down to diet,” Banta says.

2. Protect your eyes from the sun
Sun exposure has been linked to cataract formation and, possibly, macular degeneration. And not just any old tinted glasses will help, according to Banta.

To protect the eyes from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, you need to make sure your regular glasses and sunglasses have 100% UV protection. “That is completely separate from any tint. The fact is that you can have clear lenses with UV coating that will protect you from the harmful rays of the sun,” Banta says.

Goldman uses the term “ultraviolet absorbing lenses” and writes on all his glasses prescriptions that patients should receive lenses with UV 400, which blocks rays shorter than 400 nanometers.

“UV 400 reduces the exposure of the eye, and surface of the eye, and the lens and the retina from UV light,” Goldman says. “If you buy over-the-counter sunglasses, look for the words ‘UV absorbing.’ ”

UV protective glasses do more than protect against cataracts and other eye diseases. UV rays can also cause growths on the eye’s surface that are called pterygium). This sun damage, which can appear as yellow bumps on the eye’s surface, can decrease vision and require surgery, Banta says.

3. Exercise
While there is controversy about whether exercising the eyes with eye movements helps preserve vision or prevent disease, there is research that suggests aerobic exercise, in general, reduces eye pressure — which can be beneficial in the case of glaucoma, according to Goldman.

4. Of course, don’t smoke!
Smoking increases the risk for eye diseases and vision problems, according to research. Smoking damages blood vessels, causing them to constrict and form atherosclerotic plaques — which can deprive the eye tissue of oxygen.

5. Consider eye health at work
While computer use won’t harm your eyes in the long term, experts say, working at a computer can cause eye fatigue and symptoms such as tired, dry, itchy or burning eyes.
People can prevent eye stress by sitting correctly at the computer with the screen positioned slightly below the line of sight, according to optometrist Mary Bartuccio, O.D., assistant professor of optometry at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The screen shouldn’t be inches away (too close) or so far that you cannot see the print, easily, she says. “People who need bifocal or trifocal lenses have to talk to their eye care doctors to determine what that distance [from the computer should be].”

Glare can create eye strain. People can combat glare at work with antireflective coatings on their computer screens as well as antireflective coatings on their glasses, Bartuccio says.

To help with the strain that artificial lighting can cause on the eyes, Bartuccio recommends that people convert to incandescent light from a regular soft white lightbulb or have lamps on their desks with incandescent light that illuminates the work area evenly.

6. Have thorough eye exams
Banta says one of the most proactive steps that people can take to protect their vision is to have a complete eye exam early in adulthood and then periodic exams as they get older, depending on their family history and individual risk of eye disease. People 65 and older should have annual eye exams because their risk for eye diseases rises dramatically.

“That’s really my best advice,” Banta says. “Don’t wait until a problem has cropped up.”

Adds Goldman: Basic eye care includes “all the stuff that your grandma told you to do.”