Nutrition Wonderland

Turmeric and Curcumin Show Major Health Benefits

Thursday, August 13, 2009

July was a big month for the herb tumeric, as a host of different studies and articles were published linking the bright yellow flavonoid found in the herb called curcumin to pain relief, protection against Alzheimer's and lowered risk of breast cancer. This new information adds to mounting evidence of the powerful role this herb can play as an anti-inflammatory agent in the body. Image thanks to _william @ flickr.

New Study Connects Leptin to Dopamine

Monday, August 10, 2009

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As I've been writing the "Understanding Our Bodies: The Physiology of Nutrition" series, I've tried to explain how the various chemical systems in our bodies relate to how and what we eat. For example, two of the biggest hormones that affect our eating habits - Leptin, the fullness hormone, and Dopamine, the brain's reward hormone - seem to have very different and unrelated effects on our bodies. But every day science is discovering just how interwoven and related our bodies different systems are. Just this week, for example, after explaining everything I could find about how dopamine relates to eating, scientists from the University of Michigan have discovered a new way that leptin regulates dopamine levels.

Understanding Our Bodies: Serotonin, The Connection Between Food and Mood

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

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Continuing the series on The Physiology of Nutrition, I present to you the connection between food and mood - serotonin.

Brain Food: Berries and Greens! (Part 2)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

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We all know that we should be eating our 5-7 servings a day of fruits and vegetables. But there's good reason to make quite a few of those servings berries and greens.

Brain Food: Nuts! (Part 1)

Thursday, June 4, 2009

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Many foods are packed with compounds that help boost memory, concentration, motor skills, and mental clarity but nuts are special. All kinds of nuts have been shown to be great brain boosters and here we review the science behind those claims. Thanks to flickr user Noël Zia Lee for the great shot.

There Is Something Fishy About Intelligence

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

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Some fresh-caught research from Sweden found that a fish-laden diet improved the cognitive performance of teenage boys even when a whole slew of other variables were taken into account. [Great photo thanks to Jacob Bøtter's generous licensing over at Flickr]