Last month, MSN Health and Fitness put together a list of 10 ways to painlessly upgrade your diet so that you help yourself out health-wise while eating well. To me, their tastiest and easiest tip was to switch out your typical white button mushrooms in your cooking and replace them with shiitake and maitake mushrooms. Research is beginning to show that these Japanese 'shrooms are full of antioxidants and contain selenium, which, according to Dr. Donald Abrams, director of clinical programs at UCSF's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, "lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, helps with anti-tumor activity, and possibly encourages better prostate health." Their more common cousins, including our button, crimini and portobello mushrooms, don't have the same benefits.

So next time you're looking to make a soup or stew, reach for the shiitake or maitake mushrooms at the grocery store and eat for your heart health.

When I go into a fast food place such as McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's (which I think I've done maybe 3 times in the past 3 years), I know beforehand that I have made a decision to eat badly that day. I don't care if these places have "salads" or "low-fat foods," it's still fast food to me, and I don't need anyone to tell me what I'm about to eat probably has a lot of fat and calories.

Having said that, I see no real problem with New York City restaurants having to show calorie info where customers can see it. The law took effect earlier this week. Some of the fast food companies argued that it "violated their First Amendment rights," which I still don't understand. Some places are putting the info in areas where they're not immediately accessible to customers, while other places, like Subway, have the info upfront.

Fines will start being issued October 1 for restaurants that violate the law.

Garlic is one of those foods to which a very high number of cures are attributed. A quick search reveals citations that it can cure asthma, back pain, yeast infections and even prevent cancer. An analysis undertaken by the researchers at the Stanford Prevention Research Center at Stanford University found that the studies that showed allicin, the ingredient in garlic said to lower cholesterol levels, were all sponsored by the supplement companies that used it and that many of the studies used poor methodology. They did their own test of the stuff and found that, while allicin does lower cholesterol in cells in test tubes and in rats, it does nothing for humans. Stanford says that theirs was the first independent, long-term study to look at both raw garlic and garlic supplements in relation to cholesterol levels and they feel very confident about their results.

Participants and garlic fans alike have reported disappointment on learning that garlic-heavy diets aren't always a medical fix. Fortunately, the study didn't find that it has a negative effect on health, so they can still eat all the garlic they want. And, from the comments of the researchers, it is clear that many of them will because they simply don't believe the study results. One researcher said, "They were such zealots. They were going to keep taking it [in spite of the conclusions found]."

Usually, we hear about how foods can help to prevent certain conditions and health problems, not about how they actually reverse them, but there is new evidence to support the claim that walnuts just might be able to do that. A study has demonstrated that some of the chemicals that naturally occur in walnuts can help to undo "some of the detrimental effects of a high-saturated-fat diet." The most important chemical seems to be arginine, which aids the body in producing nitric oxide, which in turn prevents the arteries from hardening as a result of the inflammation caused by a high saturated fat diet.

So, does this mean that you can eat all the supersized fast food meals, cheese and butter that you want to, as long as you chase them down with a handful of walnuts? Not yet, since scientists do not know how strong the protective effect of the nuts is. They recommend incorporating a few as a part of a low saturated-fat diet.

A study done by the USDA has shown that increasing the amount of whole grains in your diet can have multiple health benefits, including lowering the blood pressure of individuals who have slightly elevated cholesterol. The participants went on a controlled diet for a few weeks, then the refined carbohydrates they ate were all replaced with whole grains that had both soluble and insoluble fiber (barley, whole wheat and brown rice). Some diets had an equal amount of the two types of fiber, while others had more insoluble fiber. The blood pressure for all the study participants decreased on the whole grain diets, though women did better on the diet higher in soluble fiber (more barley).

One other interesting result of the study was that once whole grains were added to the diets from the controlled baseline diet, the number of calories that study participants also increased. Even so, they lost an average of 1 kg each (2.2 lbs) during the several-week program.

Nearly extinct at the turn of the twentieth century, buffalo currently number about 400,000 in the U.S. and Canada. Europeans were to blame: trophy hunting, sport hunting, plain slaughter. For Native Americans though, bison were the perfect compliment on the prey side of a predator/prey relationship as they provided not only nutritious meat and organs, but, as most people know, no part of the animal was wasted. Shelter, sewing material, weapons were all made from what wasn't eaten.

As to what was eaten and why you ought to consider buffalo now: it is lower in cholesterol than other meats, not to mention calories. Buffalo meat is also higher in protein than very lean beef, and pork, and nearly equal to skinless chicken breast; it is lowest in fat of all the common meats. Buffalo burgers, steaks, even prepared fajitas are now easy to find in most supermarkets. You can order from any number of sites online. I have eaten many a buff burger and even tried a buffalo pate. One thing I could never stomach was Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I've known folks with progressive palettes that savor these delicacies...

Buffalo meat is quite lean, so be aware to baste often and cook at low heat when roasting or BBQing a large cut. I recommend thin tenderloin steaks with garlic, onion, dill, and olive oil. You can even find organically raised buffalo to boot.

Fabe's All Natural Bakery supports healthy living and says that their products are "good for you" because they are free from refined sugar, artificial ingredients and preservatives. While that is certainly an aspect of foods that are "good for you," it seems like they are exaggerating the healthy qualities of their food. After all, a block of organic butter is still not health food, despite being organic.

The most glaring example of this might be their Healthy Dieter Blueberry Muffins. The low-carb muffins are low in sugar, but have 250 calories each (2.5-oz) and 18g fat, including a whopping 41% of the daily maximum intake of saturated fat and 41% of the daily maximum intake of cholesterol. The first ingredient in the muffins is cream cheese - and that doesn't make them sound very muffin-like. The only redeeming feature is that they don't appear to contain any gluten, though the site gives no indication as to whether they are prepared in a gluten-free environment.

Healthy to some? Perhaps, but to say that it is a muffin for more than a handful of "healthy dieters" is an overstatement.

Even though there has been a lot of press about how trans-fats are bad for you, there are no official recommended limits as so how much you can eat. The FDA's guidelines are something along the lines of a warning that "the less consumed... the better" - but less than what? Is 2 grams that hazardous? 5 grams?

The American Heart Association just released guidelines proposing a specific limit for the amount of trans-fats that you should eat: less than 1% of the total calories consumed in a day. A single fat gram has 9 calories, so for a person on a 2000 calorie/day diet, this guide would suggest eating no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. The recommendation was made after a panel of doctors and specialists reviewed more than 90 studies relating to the issue

Bearing this new standard in mind, it is important to note that the FDA says that a product with .5 or fewer grams of trans fats can still claim to have 0g per serving - so read the list of ingredients to find out if food is really trans-fat free. And extra half-gram per serving of trans-fat in a favorite treat can add up quickly.

 

Just when you thought that they had lowered the fat and calories (and taste) in just about every product there is, increasing "good" fats and vitamins in an effort to give even the worst foods some nutritional benefit, along comes a product that surprises you. A new study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a simple addition of Stanol, a substance known to lower cholesterol, to cheese gave the cheese a cholesterol-lowering effect.

At first glance, it may seem like a rather obvious conclusion because stanol is in other supplements and drugs, where it has been successfully shown to lowerer LDL cholesterol levels. It has never before been combined with a food product and its success when combined with cheese means that the risks associated with eating high-cholesterol foods could be mitigated simply by fortifying them.

More studies are needed, but it looks like we could be seeing a new wave of cholesterol-lowering foods in the future.

Eggland's Best Eggs have been around for more than a decade, but consumers' ever-increasing awareness of health issues and interest in specialty products is giving the company that produces them a definite sales boost. The reason that the interest in Eggland's Best is growing is that their eggs have some impressive nutritional statistics. They contain 25% less saturated fat, almost 20% less cholesterol and seven times more vitamin E than there is in an ordinary egg. They also have triple the amount of the heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids, at 100 mg per egg. These differences from ordinary eggs start by feeding Eggland chickens, which are antibiotic and hormone-free, a patented, natural, all-vegetarian feed.

Eggland's eggs can be used in recipes just like ordinary eggs and are recognizable by an "EB" stamped on each egg. If you want to give them a try, check to see if there is a retailer near you.

Fiber is often cited as being a crucial part of a healthy diet. "Fiber" refers to carbohydrates that cannot be digested and comes primarily from plant sources. A high fiber diet can help lower cholesterol, prevent heart disease and manage weight. Fiber reduces the risk of developing many digestive disorders and diabetes. Fiber is found in foods such as oatmeal, nuts, legumes, apples, blueberries, whole grains, brown rice, barley, zucchini celery and tomatoes.

It seems that many people, though they know that fiber is important, do not know precisely why. In a study last month done by the National Fiber Council (NFC), half of respondents could identify that fiber could help lower cholesterol, but 19%believed that it contributed to strong bones and 10% thought that fiber could improve vision. Neither of the latter is true, but this shows that fiber is a misunderstood part of the diet. Most study participants did not know how much fiber they should be consuming daily (32 grams or more, according to the NFC), nor did they know what types of food fiber could be found in. Foods like berries, nuts and whole grain breads were frequently listed as not being a significant source of dietary fiber, while more than half of all the respondents in the study said that steak was a good source of fiber. In reality, meat is very low in fiber.

On a less serious note, the participants were also asked what celebrities looked as though they consumed a high fiber diet. 34% of people said that Oprah looks most like she has a high fiber diet, followed by Brad Pitt at 21%.