Having healthy levels of cholesterol to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke is a lifetime commitment. It takes effort and it takes time. To lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides with diet and lifestyle changes may take 12 weeks or longer. There is no magic number since everybody has … Read More
Fatty liver disease is just what it sounds like, the buildup of fat inside your liver cells. Fatty liver disease can be caused by alcohol abuse, especially binge drinking. If alcohol is the main cause, it is called alcoholic fatty liver disease. More commonly, fatty liver is caused by metabolic … Read More
Kristen N. Smith, PhD, RDN, LD
Sugar is not so sweet in the health and wellness world, now more than ever. Its bad reputation stems from research on added sugars, fructose in particular, in foods and beverages, linking it with chronic illness and disease, such as heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. But even so, … Read More
While the debate rages on about whether or not sodas should be banned in schools and major cities, one thing is for certain: Each individual can make a personal choice to limit or quit drinking sodas altogether. What about you? Are you ready to kick the colas and discover how to … Read More
Liquid vegetables oils—for example, olive oil and soybean oil—are celebrated as healthy unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fatty acids, when substituted for saturated fats, support general heart health. But for cooking, baking, or dressing salads, what is the healthiest cooking oil? Many people would probably give the answer that olive oil is … Read More
Leptin is a hormone that was only discovered in 1994. A hormone is a chemical messenger that carries instructions from one part of your body to another. It is produced in fat cells. Fat cells release this hormone when they have gathered enough energy from calories in your diet. Leptin … Read More
Gout in foot, instep, and ankle areas is common, affecting up to 8 million Americans today. The condition has been recorded throughout history, affecting many famous people—the most notorious of whom was Henry VIII, renowned for his lavish diet of rich food and copious amounts of alcohol. What is gout? … Read More
Leptin is a hormone product by body fat and it controls whether or not you feel full after eating. If you find yourself asking "Why am I always hungry?", even after eating a meal, you could be experiencing leptin resistance. Effects of Leptin Resistance Someone with normal leptin function will … Read More
Late-night meals and midnight snacks aren’t uncommon. Whether you get home late from work and have to eat dinner when you're usually going to bed, watch a movie late and snack on popcorn, or feel the need to graze on food to stay awake on a late study night, there's … Read More
If you want to lower LDL naturally, the answer may lie in your spice rack. Turmeric is the Indian spice that gives curry its golden color. While it may not be the first thing that comes to mind for cholesterol health, research indicates turmeric's benefits include that it is one … Read More
