Fresh Bread, Fresh Start

Fresh Bread, Fresh StartAmity Bakery has a noble intention – to train those who are mentally challenged so that they can integrate into society and get a job. But they face an uphill task. Cang Wei and Song Wenwei visit their bakery in Nanjing to find out more about their challenges.

From the outside, Amity Bakery at 79 Huaqiao Road, Nanjing’s Gulou district, looks and smells like any other bakeries. But once you talk to the staff members, you will notice the difference – about one-third of them are mentally challenged. Founded by Amity Foundation, a Chinese Christian NGO established in 1985, it is the first organization in China to provide a workshop and career training to mentally challenged people.

Besides the Huaqiao Road branch, the brand has two other branches – one at 45 Youfu West Street, and the other in the basement of a building at 16 Dajianyin Alley. [Read more...]

Healthy Eating On A Budget Is All In The Choices

Healthy Eating On A Budget Is All In The ChoicesThe world would be a healthier place, or at least people would have the knowledge to eat healthier, if everyone could tour a grocery store at least once with a dietitian.

Registered dietitian Laura Stepp of Lexington Medical Center agreed to take us on just such a tour of a Lexington-area Publix. She starts with handouts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on making healthy choices, creating a comprehensive shopping list and adding more vegetables to a diet.

She also suggests picking up sales circulars from a kiosk near the store entrance and maybe even stopping by the customer desk to ask for any special store coupons. [Read more...]

New Culprit In Red Meat Linked With Heart Disease

New Culprit In Red Meat Linked With Heart DiseaseA nutrient called l-carnitine, which is found in red meat and is also popular as a dietary supplement, may play a role in the development of heart disease.

The high amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol in red meat have long been blamed for increasing people’s risk of heart disease. But now, new research points a finger at another culprit in meat that may be more closely tied to this leading killer.

A new study reveals that a nutrient called l-carnitine, which is found in red meat and is also popular as a dietary supplement, may also play a role in the development of heart disease. [Read more...]

Eating Fish Linked To Longer Life

Eating Fish Linked To Longer LifePeople age 65 and older who eat fish may live an average of two years longer than people who do not consume the omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in seafood, a US study suggested on Monday.

People with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids also had an overall risk of dying that was 27 percent lower, and a risk of dying from heart disease that was 35 percent lower than counterparts who had lower blood levels, said the study.

The research was led by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health and was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. [Read more...]

Eating Fish Cuts Death Risk In Elderly

Eating Fish Cuts Death Risk In ElderlyA new study has suggested that older adults who have higher levels of blood omega-3 levels—fatty acids found almost exclusively in fatty fish and seafood—may be able to lower their overall mortality risk by as much as 27 per cent and their mortality risk from heart disease by about 35 per cent.

Researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Washington found that older adults who had the highest blood levels of the fatty acids found in fish lived, on average, 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels.

“Although eating fish has long been considered part of a healthy diet, few studies have assessed blood omega-3 levels and total deaths in older adults,” said lead author Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH. [Read more...]

The Mind Matters, Everywhere

The Mind Matters, EverywhereThe new buzzword in the fitness industry is ‘Mind-Body’ exercise. This primarily refers to Yoga, Pilates and T’ai Chi where the Mind-Body connection is unmistakably evident. The instructions are directed to the breath and a very obvious connection is made between the breath and the movement. When taught properly, it can produce several health benefits like relief from and management of stress besides a certain inward thinking, body awareness and mindfulness.

This false differentiation, however, makes it appear as if any other form of fitness (running, aerobic dance, strength training) somehow does not involve the mind! [Read more...]

Calories, Not White Foods, Can Make You Obese

Calories, Not White Foods, Can Make You ObeseA lot of diet gurus would have you think so: Eliminate the white foods and watch the pounds melt away. White flour, sugar, salt, milk, white rice and potatoes are all on the avoid list. The Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet and the Zone are all based roughly on this premise. And every one of those foods are forbidden under the so-called Paleolithic Diet, the premise being that grains like wheat are such a recent addition to the human diet that we are not physiologically equipped to consume them. Pancakes and pasta simply were not on the menu for cavemen. [Read more...]