General Health

Your Brain on Berries

Photo: Fresh Berries

There’s something delightfully sweet about a fresh-picked strawberry, still warm from the sun, or a summer picnic with blueberry cobbler and ice-cold raspberry lemonade… However you use them, the summer season is the time to shine for berries of all varieties! If it isn’t enough that these juicy jewels of summer taste great alone and in all kinds of dishes, berries are also nutritional powerhouses, full of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals. The latest research focuses on the role of berries in slowing cognitive decline in older adults.

Kale to Care for Your Heart

Photo: Strainer with Fresh Kale

It’s no secret that leafy green vegetables are at the head of the class when it comes to nutrition. No matter what your health goals, you will benefit by including more of them in your diet. The more common varieties, such as spinach, broccoli and bok choy, although highly nutritious, take a back seat when compared to what some refer to as “The King of Greens”: Kale.

Foods to Help Balance Blood Sugar

Scale Balancing Fresh Fruit and a Person

A plant-based diet rich in whole grains, healthy fats, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds is the ideal way to help balance blood sugar levels and may help reduce your risk of diabetes. Specific foods within these categories are especially beneficial in keeping your blood sugar in check. Read on for some ideas about how to incorporate these healthful foods into your diet.

Reduce Heart Aches Through Plant-Based Diet

Illustration Showing the Human Heart

This February, in honor of American Heart month, numerous health organizations around the country are doing their part to raise awareness about the danger of and prevalence of heart disease.

Improve Your Health While Enjoying Summer Fruits

Photo: Tropical Fruits

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of juicy delicious fruits. In Hawaii, we are fortunate to have many of our favorite summer fruits ripening in our back yard. Fruits provide important vitamins and minerals, antioxidants and enzymes.

Vegetarian Athletes

Photo: People Running

It’s a commonly held belief that a vegetarian diet lacks protein and nutrients, that vegetarians are weak and skinny, and that a meat-based diet is a necessity if one wishes to become a successful athlete. This is of course, a complete misconception. In fact, a balanced vegetarian diet is the ideal means for achieving peak performance in any field. It provides all the necessary nutrients and offers a plethora of benefits such as low amounts of fat, high amounts of fiber, plenty of protein, as well as disease -fighting nutrients such as enzymes, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.

The Fight Against Heart Disease: A Plant-based Solution

Photo: Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Time and again we see news reports on studies that remind us of the health benefits of a plant-based diet in reversing coronary heart disease (CHD). In 2010, a study was published in the World Health Organization’s weekly journal, the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. According to the study, nearly 400,000 people were expected to die of coronary heart disease in the United States in 2010.

Move Slowly Towards a Healthy Vegetarian Diet: Best New Year’s Resolution

Photo: Fresh Greek Salad

January is a time of the year when people think about shedding weight and making resolutions to get healthy. However well-meaning, most people who make such resolutions don’t stick with their "new" healthy commitments for very long. For many, it’s too difficult to keep up. Others grow impatient when the results they seek take longer than they want. Unfortunately, becoming truly healthy is not a quick fix. We need to go beyond New Year's resolutions.

Get Sun Protection-Savvy!

Photo: Person Using Sunscreen

With summertime in full swing and Independence Day right around the corner, now is the time to get sun-protection-savvy! While you are indulging in a “Guiltless Grilling” barbeque, don’t forget about those UV rays shining down on your skin – and into your eyes.

Your Skin: It Absorbs!

Photo: Woman Applying Sunscreen on Her Face

When it comes to living a healthy and natural lifestyle, what you put on your body is just as significant as what you put in your body. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and since it is porous, it absorbs whatever you put on it.