| Our hair can predict our risk of heart attack. In a | | | | In 2000 the government's goal was to get 75% |
| study published in the journal Stress, Canadian | | | | of Americans to eat 2 servings of fruit daily and |
| researchers discovered when the hormone | | | | 50% to eat 3 servings of vegetables. In 2009 |
| cortisol is released into the bloodstream during | | | | 32.5% of adults ate the recommended amount of |
| stress, it seeps into hair follicles. When the | | | | fruit and 26.3% ate the recommended amount of |
| researchers took hair samples from 120 men | | | | vegetables. According to a 2004 study, eating 5 |
| – 1.2 inches of hair closest to the scalp – | | | | servings of fruits and vegetables daily is linked to |
| approximately 3 months growth – the cortisol | | | | a 28% lower risk of heart disease and stroke |
| levels were significantly higher in the men who had | | | | compared to people eating fewer than 1.5 |
| had heart attacks. Hair thus could provide doctors | | | | servings. In a perfect world 2 servings of fruit |
| with a non-invasive test of heart attack risk. It | | | | loops and 3 servings of French fries would be |
| seems when someone "gets in your hair", cortisol | | | | healthy. |
| gets there too. | | | | Unfortunately, it's not a perfect world. Many |
| Our diet can predict our risk of early death. A | | | | Americans regain lost weight. In a study published |
| Harvard University study tracked the eating habits | | | | in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & |
| and health of 45,000 men and 85,000 women for | | | | Metabolism, 104 overweight or obese adults ate a |
| more than 20 years. The researchers found | | | | low-calorie diet for 8 weeks, losing about 5% of |
| those who had a diet low in carbohydrates and | | | | their body weight. When they were followed up 6 |
| high in animal protein were 23% more likely to die | | | | months later, 55 participants had maintained their |
| – particularly from cancer – during the | | | | weight loss and 49 had regained at least 10% of |
| study. However, the men and women who had a | | | | lost weight. Those with higher levels of leptin (the |
| low-carb diet that included lots of plant foods | | | | stop eating hormone) and lower levels of ghrelin |
| were 20% less likely to have an early death. It | | | | (the eat hormone) were likelier to regain. |
| seems a healthy diet requires a "meating" of the | | | | Researchers hypothesize some people are |
| minds. | | | | resistant to these hormones and need special |
| Yes, a healthy diet requires fruits and vegetables. | | | | diets that are "resistance fighters". |