Trends to Watch: Honey, Aerobic Exercise, Fiber, and Curcumin

Honey Linked to Healthy Lifestyle

People who eat honey are more likely to eat a healthy diet and are less likely to be overweight or have high cholesterol or diabetes, according to a survey of 13,000 American adults. Those who regularly eat honey are more likely to keeps tabs on their intake of calories, sugar, sodium, and gluten, while striving to eat plenty of fiber and protein. In short, they’re healthy eaters. Honey contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes that make it more nutritious and easier to digest than sugar.

59 Minutes to Heart Health

Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, has traditionally been the go-to type of exercise for heart health. But resistance exercise—using weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight—has surprising benefits. In a study of more than 12,000 people, resistance training for up to 59 minutes per week reduced risk for heart disease and stroke by 40–70 percent. That weekly 59 minutes could be broken down into shorter periods that are done twice or three times per week. Resistance training for a longer weekly period didn’t deliver extra benefits.

5%

That’s how many of us eat the recommended daily amount of fiber: 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men up to age 50, and 21 and 30 grams, respectively, after that. Fiber is nature’s cleanser and helps prevent digestive problems, weight gain, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. In addition to whole grains, here are some top sources of fiber:

• 1 cup raspberries: 8 grams
• 1 cup strawberries: 3 grams
• I medium pear, apple, banana, or orange: 3–5 grams
• ½ cup split peas, lentils, or black beans: 7–8 grams
• ½ oz. chia seeds: 5 grams
• 23 almonds (1 oz.): 3.5 grams
• 1 cup cooked broccoli, turnip greens, or Brussels sprouts: 4–5 grams
• 1 medium baked potato with skin: 4 grams

Curcumin Eases Asthma and Allergies

Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric root, can reduce asthma and allergy symptoms. A study of children in Brazil found that daily curcumin supplements, taken for six months, reduced the need for asthma medicine. Another study of 200 Chinese adults with seasonal allergies found that taking curcumin for two months reduced sneezing and congestion.