Mark Sisson reports in his blog Mark Sisson’s Daily Apple that wine consumption is again good for your heatlh.  The latest: that wine is a potent warrior in the fight against cavities.

 A new study out today confirms the antibacterial power of both red and white wine. Apparently, researchers have proven that wine destroys the bacteria responsible for cavities and throat infections. Interestingly, it’s not the alcohol that kills the germs, but rather acids in the wine.

It’s also important to note that in the study, "the isolated acids were more effective against the bacteria than the wines." (Web MD)

It’s also been reported that drinking wine can actually kill viruses and other harmful bacteria.  In addition to wine’s germ killing properties, according to the American Heart Association’s web site:

Research is being done to find out what the apparent benefits of drinking wine or alcohol in some populations may be due to, including the role of antioxidants, an increase in HDL ("good") cholesterol or anti-clotting properties.  … The best-known effect of alcohol is a small increase in HDL cholesterol.

The AHA is careful to caution that there are OTHER ways to gain the heart healthy effects of moderate wine consumption.  But when you combine wine’s positive effects for your heart WITH it’s germ killing properties…. it’s reason enough to lift your glass at dinner up to three times a week!

Five years ago last April, I marched my then 15 year old daughter into my gynecologist’s office.  My incredibly active daughter, who was a three sport athlete (soccer, softball and basketball) was incredibly physically active yet was still 75 lbs over weight.  However, her weight was not what brought us to the gynecologist but rather the fact that she still hadn’t started menstruating despite the fact that her 16th birthday was only four months away.

My OB/GYN was wonderful and placed my daughter on a low carb diet to see if perhaps that wasn’t the key to solving not only her lack of periods but also the excess pounds which plagued her.  By her 16th birthday, my beautiful daughter had lost 50 pounds and had started her cycle.  From my perspective, it was nothing short of a miracle cure.

I had struggled right along with her for many years over her weight.  We tried EVERYTHING and nothing worked.  What was most frustrating was the fact that my daughter was VERY physically active.   Being 75 pounds overweight, meant she wasn’t the FASTEST on any team, but what she lacked in speed she made up for in heart.  Still, it was HEARTBREAKING to watch her struggle.  The unfairness of it all was almost more than I could bear.

Then, we started Atkins and if anything, my daughter began eating MORE than she had before yet she began dropping weight rapidly.  By the end of the softball season, she was not only thinner, she was also the fastest one on the team!  When she showed up for soccer practice that fall, her coach truly didn’t recognize her.  By Christmas of that year, my daugther had lost all of the 75 lbs that had plagued her since the 6th grade.

So when stumbled across the blog Carb Wire,  and read:

But believe it or not there are actually people who are scorning me and others for choosing the Kimkins low-carb approach to lose our weight.

I could TOTALLY relate.  After all, I’ve caught NOTHING but grief from medical professionals and dieticians when I share the secret to my daugther’s outstanding success.   It’s to the point where it’s almost kept as our family’s  "dirty little secret". 

Low carb dieting has worked INCREDIBLY well for my daughter but it’s not news we share readily.  The flame suit is on.  Let the flaming begin!

Brian Armstrong has written a thought provoking post over at Life Hack.org titled Eating For Energy Or For Stress Relief?

In the post, he talks about how a simple SHIFT in his way of viewing food has had an incredible impact upon his diet.  In a nutshell, Brian reports:

The way I used to eat: I associated unhealthy food with pleasure, and healthy foods with pain.

The way I eat now: I associate unhealthy food with pain and healthy food with pleasure.

He goes on to challenge the reader to PAY ATTENTION to how you FEEL after a fast food meal and compare that with how you feel after you’ve eaten a healthy, well balanced one.

The problem is that MANY of us just aren’t paying attention to make the connection. 

When I moved 1200 miles from my parents, I made quite a few trips "back home" during the first six months.  Each time, I arrived home from the journey completely and totally drained.  I began associating trips back "home" with feeling awful, drained and completely worn out.  During one trip home, my feet were so swollen, I couldn’t wear shoes and my oldest son was physically ill by the time we got home.  Needless to say, we didn’t look forward to going "home" and our trips became less and less frequent.

Then, I began working with a behavioral nutritionist. Fortunately, working with her made my last trip home a completely different experience.  Turns out, the REASON I was feeling awful, drained and completely worn out was that I was subsisting on a diet of fast food during the trip. My poor food choices were what made the trip miserable. 

During my last trip, I paid careful attention to what  we ate.  We were careful to make HEALTHY food choices  and I made sure EVERYONE drank plenty of WATER instead of fast food SODA.  I shouldn’t have been surprised that the trip was MUCH more pleasant.  When we arrived home my oldest son wasn’t ill and my feet weren’t swollen up like water balloons.

By putting healthy fuel into our bodies, they just function better.  We think more clearly, we sleep better and we have more energy.  When you start paying attention to the cause:effect, it’s MUCH easier to adopt a healthy diet.