Food and Health
Is Fruit Healthy for Diabetics?
May 01, 2022 by Sherra Aguirre
There is so much confusion about sugar that we end up eating foods we think are good for us but aren’t, or avoiding foods that are good for us in their natural whole form.
Preventing diabetes and controlling blood sugar levels for those who have it traditionally focused on restricting the amount of sugar that we consume. However, in recent years with more dietary studies and data on how diet impacts most chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and common cancers, that is changing. It turns out that it is not sugar, in general, that is the cause of diabetes. The data now show that it is too much saturated fat, processed sugar, and too little fiber in our diet that increases inflammation in our body. It is the inflammation that sets us up for diabetes or other chronic diseases.
Add Life to Your Years - And Years to Your Life!
Apr 01, 2022 by Sherra Aguirre
Are you 20 years old and want to add 10 to 13 years to your life? Or 60 years old and want to add up to 8.8 years? Or 80+ years old and want to add an extra 3.4 enjoyable years? I don’t know about you, but this got my attention. These results are based on new data showing how much we can gain by changing from a Standard American Diet to an “optimal diet” in which fresh produce, heart-healthy grains, and nuts outweigh the intake of processed foods and red meat. Americans, on average, get only 10% of their calories from whole plant foods, with 58% coming from ultra-processed foods and 32% from meat. This study on the impact of food choices on life expectancy, published in February 2022, did not require giving up meat altogether.
Nitric Oxide: Nature's Youth Serum?
Mar 01, 2022 by Sherra Aguirre
Nitric oxide is a chemical in our blood that relaxes the blood vessels and at the same time reduces the blood’s viscosity or stickiness, which lowers blood pressure, boosts athletic performance, and improves sexual performance. It is essential for the health of our heart and arteries; however, our ability to produce this chemical declines with age. This helps explain the increased risk for high blood pressure and other symptoms of heart disease as we get older. By the time we reach age 40, our body’s nitric oxide production drops by about 50%. And by the time we reach 60, it has dropped by about 85% percent! The discovery of nitric oxide’s function in the body is so significant that the three scientists who discovered its role received a Nobel prize in 1998.
Soy: Benefit or Risk?
Feb 01, 2022 by Sherra Aguirre
The verdict on soy is changing. Although “soy-free” is still advertised on many food labels, research on its risks and benefits has always been mixed and often contradictory. Most of us, as a result, were understandably skeptical.
6 Tips to Achieve Your Health Goals in the New Year!
Jan 01, 2022 by Sherra Aguirre
Many of us are making resolutions for the new year, and surveys find that the majority of us have a health goal we would like to achieve. Research also shows that eighty percent of those who set goals at the beginning of the year give up by February, and about twenty-five percent give up in seven days! Although we laugh at making resolutions that we usually don’t keep, here are some tips to boost your chances of achieving your goals.
Vegan Fast Food: Healthy or Not?
Oct 01, 2021 by Sherra Aguirre
As a vegan diet and lifestyle gain popularity in America and around the globe, plant-based eaters find themselves with more vegan products at the supermarket, restaurants, and even fast-food chains with versions that taste and look like any other fast food. The number of people choosing to eat less meat, eggs, and dairy is growing so fast that even giants like Burger King and Jack in the Box are cashing in. Although choosing a vegan diet is a step toward better health and less animal cruelty, is all vegan food healthy?
10 Heart-Healing Superfoods and Spices
Sep 01, 2021 by Sherra Aguirre
What if the most effective thing you could do to avoid heart disease or even reverse it is not an expensive drug or procedure and comes with no side effects? Would you be interested? And what if, over your lifetime, the very same thing would also protect you from diabetes, common cancers and lower your risk for other chronic illnesses? I’m pretty sure you know where I’m going with this. Simply eating a plant-based diet while restricting or eliminating meat and dairy does all of the above and more. And if you’re asking yourself, “Then what will I eat?” the answer is all the vegetables, fruits, beans, grains, nuts, spices, and seeds you already enjoy in new and exciting recipes that will leave you wanting more! And you can keep many of your favorite dishes made healthier by substituting plant-based ingredients for meat and dairy.
Break Up with Abusive Food Relationships!
Aug 01, 2021 by Sherra Aguirre
What do we do when we’re in a one-way relationship? When do we know something or someone is not good for us? When the love we feel is not mutual and moments of enjoyment are almost always followed by pain?
Soul Food Liberation!
Jul 01, 2021 by Sherra Aguirre
The popular Netflix series High on the Hog explores African influences on American food and how slavery shaped our “soul food.” Fresh fruit and vegetables were a significant part of the agriculture and diet of the Africans who were brought here as slaves. With their labor, they built an economy based on cotton that would propel the US into one of the world’s leading economies. Their farming and culinary skills were also at the service of their owners, and they were given for their own use whatever the plantation owner did not want or could not sell for a profit. Despite living off the parts of farm animals that owners did not want to eat and plantation crops likely not fit for sale, African slaves and their descendants created dishes that are still celebrated today. Foods like cornbread, collard greens, and even mac and cheese had their beginnings in black American food culture.
Heart Disease: Start a New Chapter in Your Family History
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Jun 01, 2021 by Sherra Aguirre
How many times have we heard someone say, “Heart disease runs in my family?” It sounds like it’s inevitable and that the odds are against us. I know the feeling because that’s just what I used to say. And if we believe that it’s just a matter of time, there is not much motivation to make healthy changes. And we usually don’t until we hit a wall and we no longer have a choice. At some point, our doctor may give us a diagnosis that will force a change depending on the seriousness. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S. and worldwide.
Pandemic and Beyond: Fresh Food Access
Nov 17, 2020 by Sherra Aguirre
Many of our communities exist in food deserts, where fresh wholesome produce of any kind may be hard to come by. With the uncertainty of the current pandemic, an economy that was headed for trouble even before COVID-19, the effects of climate change, and the political environment that could further change aspects of life as we once knew it, it is important to take heed.
Health Care is Self-Care: Thriving Beyond Covid-19
Mar 30, 2020 by Sherra Aguirre
The message that "health care is self-care" has never been more timely or fundamental than now, as we battle Coronovirus-19 around the globe. Each of us is our own first line of defense for ourselves, families and communities. Here are some tips to help us thrive during and beyond the pandemic, by envisioning what this experience can teach us.
Book Review of The Alzheimer's Solution: A Breakthrough Program to Prevent and Reverse the Symptoms of Cognitive Decline at Every Age
Oct 18, 2019 by Sherra Aguirre
This book by neurologists Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai has good news for anyone concerned about mild memory loss or “brain fog” either personally or for a friend or family member. That can be the beginning of a decline into Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia or cognitive loss. Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai are neurological researchers and physicians specializing in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and the reversal of its early to moderate symptoms. They are co-directors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California and have dedicated their medical careers to public education, prevention and early stage reversal of this disease.
How I Reversed My Heart Disease Symptoms with Food - Video
Sep 23, 2019 by Sherra Aguirre
Please check out my video on preventing and reversing heart disease naturally with a plant-based diet. For those without high blood pressure or other signs of heart disease you need never have them! For those who do it's not too late. Consult your physician to develop a plan that includes a plant-based diet in your treatment plan.
Vegan World Podcast
Jul 09, 2019 by Sherra Aguirre
I sat down with Michael Battey host of Vegan World Radio show on KPFT in Houston to talk about how a plant based diet can prevent and reverse heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
Book Review: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, Caldwell B. Esselstyn MD
Feb 14, 2019 by Sherra Aguirre
What does the research on food as the cure for diseases like diabetes, stroke and heart attack have in common with climate change research? The science for both was ignored or suppressed for decades because of the potential to disrupt big business. Diet as the cure for the most common and costly diseases is more effective than drugs, and is a threat to the pharmaceutical industry. Here's "food for thought" as we celebrate the heart in February and especially today! 
Eat Your Way to a Healthy Heart!
Dec 06, 2018 by Sherra Aguirre
As I reached my mid to late 40’s, my blood pressure crept up year by year until I had to go on medication to control it, even after limiting meat, eliminating fried foods and moving to a mostly vegetarian diet. I read everything I could about various supplements, herbs, teas, etc., which helped but I still could not get my blood pressure to consistently healthy levels without medication. Then I had the good luck to get referred to a cardiologist who also happened to be a vegan...
