Category Archives: Ask the Expert

Diet for a Healthy Heart

Posted on by | 6 Replies

A Healthy Heart of Fruits and VegetablesYou’ve probably heard it before, but it’s worth repeating:

  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women
  • Diet and lifestyle choices can have a dramatic effect on the development of heart disease and other conditions affecting the cardiovascular system

It’s never too late to start taking measures to prevent the onset or progression of cardiovascular disease—the more changes you make now, the healthier you’ll be in years to come. In addition to getting regular physical activity and not smoking, what you eat makes a big difference.

Continue reading →

2016: The Year of the Bean?

Posted on by | Leave a reply
2016: the International Year of the Pulse (including bean)
Credit: Cookbookman17 // Flickr

When Gerd Bobe, a principal investigator with the Linus Pauling Institute, makes lentils he serves them with a dash of lemon vinegar and sugar.

“It’s the traditional German style,” he says, “and it makes this delicious sweet/tart flavor.” His favorite dish is lentil soup, with a bit of chopped Polish sausage, carrots, onions, and potatoes thrown in.

Continue reading →

Taking multivitamins – still a good idea.

Posted on by | 5 Replies

MultivitaminsA recent report from the US Preventive Services Task Force in the Annals of Internal Medicine focused on the use of vitamin, mineral, or multivitamin supplements. Their conclusions are that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the benefits and harms of these supplements with respect to prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, they did issue caution for high doses of vitamin E and beta carotene supplements.

For the most part, experts at the Linus Pauling Institute agree with these findings, as they are supported by an evidence-based review of the scientific literature on vitamin and mineral supplements.

But LPI wants to make this clear: you shouldn’t stop taking your multivitamins.

Continue reading →