By Abra Pappa for NutritiousAmerica.com

Before you refill that coffee mug read this.

Last week a new research study from Harvard was released that stated drinking caffeinated coffee may help women fight depression. Women who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day had a 20% decreased risk of developing depression over the 10 year period compared with those that consumed one cup or less a week, according to a study released in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A holistic nutritionist weighs in:

I am concerned that this research is giving the green light to an extreme coffee habit, which in my opinion, can be ultimately detrimental to your health. When this study was released last week Twitter was filled with “tweets” of joy like, “coffee brews to beat the blues,” and this tweet from Arianna Huffington, “Caffeine can cure depression in women. One more reason for coffee addicts like me to celebrate our addiction.”  Don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy a cup of Joe from time to time, but it’s how people tend to misread research to reinforce an unhealthy habit that’s got me down. Researchers cautioned that more study is needed before they’d recommend adding several cups of coffee a day as therapy, but how many people skipped over that caution?

And what about the negative effects of 4-5 cups of coffee per day?
Read Full Post >

When was the last time you had a hard gut-busting belly laugh?

According to researchers at the European Society of Cardiology, laughter has a positive effect on vascular function and blood flow, and plays an important role in preventing cardiovascular disease, much like the benefits of aerobic exercise.

In an effort to induce more laughter into our lives, Madan Kataria, a doctor from India created the very first Laughter Yoga Social Club, gathering with just a handful of people at an outdoor park in Mumbai. Since its debut in 1995, Laughter Yoga has become a worldwide phenomenon with more than 6000 Social Laughter Clubs in 60 countries.

Jeffrey Briar is a master teacher and one of the leading American instructors of Laughter Yoga. As the director of the Laughter Yoga Institute of Laguna Beach, California, Jeffrey founded the first Laughter Yoga Club (outside of India) that meets seven days a week. The club has over 20,000 participants and has gained local and international press.

Read Full Post >

Episode three begins with Ruby and her friends getting ready for the big garage sale. Ruby is convinced that the sale will bring in loads of money, while the rest of the crew is skeptical.

Since the discovery of the forgotten letters in episode two, Ruby’s depression is escalating and her trainers, Drew and Shazi, are having trouble getting her to the gym. In an effort to keep Ruby active, her trainers are turning the garage sale into a fitness endeavor.

Making each step count, Drew and Shazi accompany Ruby to post signs for the garage sale. The group held small weights in their hands and did lunges down the street.

Depression is ruining Ruby’s motivation to workout but she admits that it helps elevate her mood when she does. “I’m a lot happier,” she says, “I’m energetic… it changes your whole mood.”

Read Full Post >

Katrina writes for the award winning website Fickle Feline which she founded in 2004. Her candid writing and bare bones honesty have won her accolades from both the Mental Health and Autism communities. She is an Autism advocate and is currently documenting her Autistic son Max’s journey for a book she is writing on how to achieve a best outcome for Autism through early intervention and intensive therapy.

Depression and I go way back, but it wasn’t until college that I started taking medication to treat it. Thus began my ride on the prescription drug roller coaster. People who don’t understand depression would say things like “you should exercise, you’ll feel better”. I resented those people and thought “yeah right, a run around the block will cure everything”. I could barely get out of bed, let alone go to the gym.

After a particularly rough 2010 resulting in a new medication regimen and considerable weight gain, I decided that I would give the “exercise will make you feel better” advice a shot. Nothing else was working so what the heck, right? Being the extreme person I am, I decided to do the P90X program. I started on December 26th and committed to working out every day for 90 days. I hate to admit it, but I have never felt better.

Read Full Post >

Are you feeling down in the dumps about all that junk food you’ve been eating lately? Well, it may literally be the junk food that is making you depressed.

The results of a six-year study out of Spain has come to the conclusion that people who eat food high in trans fats and saturated fats have an increased risk of depression. Trans fats are used in fried foods, shortening and all kinds of processed foods.

“Participants with an elevated consumption of trans fats presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats,” said Almudena Sanchez-Villegas, associate professor of preventive medicine at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Read Full Post >