IndiaWest runs my article on the research on turmeric and it's role in preventing and slowing down Alzheimer's dementia, which including a brief correspondence with one of the main researchers in this area, Dr. Gary Small of UCLA. 

Here's the article: http://www.indiawest.com/news/6084-Turmeric-May-Have-the-Key-to-Alzheimer-s-Disease.html.

One of the big fallacies in dieting is the belief that it's all about calories, that if one limits how many calories one eats, that he or she is dieting right. But as Mark Bittman writes recently in the NY Times ("Which Diet Works?", June 26, 2012), what matters more than the number of calories is where those calories come from. 

If you believe like many do that it's only calories that matter, then you'll believe this:

"Accept that, and you buy into the contention that consuming 100 calories’ worth of sugar water (like Coke or Gatorade), white bread or French fries is the same as eating 100 calories of broccoli or beans."

They are not the same thing. Yes 100 calories from soda is equal to 100 calories of broccoli. But eating them isn't the same thing. One, you'll get nutrition & fiber in 100 calories of broccoli, and almost nothing else than calories in 100 calories of soda. Two, the sugar in soda will quickly enter your bloodstream, causing a spike in insulin which has many effects, one of which is an increased storage of body fat in your cells. Meanwhile, the much of the sugar in broccoli won't make it to your bloodstream because the fiber from broccoli (which is missing in soda) holds onto it. In other words, the 100 calories from soda will give you more body fat due to metabolic processes under the hood than will 100 calories from broccoli.

Click "read on" to see more of Mr. Bittman's article to read his explanation of a clinical trial that studied the metabolic effects of different diets in a group of initially obese kids who all went on a crash diet and lost weight before the trial. The 3 diets were a low fat diet, a low glycemic index diet, and a very low carb diet. While the subjects on the very low carb diet had the greatest weight loss at the end of the trial, they also had the highest levels of inflammation and stress. (And if you read our book "The Healthy Indian Diet" or other health books like "AntiCancer," you'll know that chronic inflammation and stress are associated with heart disease, diabetes and cancers.)

I like how Mr. Bittman comes to the conclusion that the best kind of diet for people like you and me who are not on diets is a "low glycemic index" diet. What did people eat all over India and elsewhere over the world before modern times? Low glycemic index diets, which were based on meals made of whole grains, some meats and fresh vegetables, and where people ate fruits, nuts, and fermented dairies, and there were almost no refined or processed foods. From everything I've read, the low glycemic index diet is the best diet for a good quality of life and for a long life. 

The Vegan and the Paleo Diets, two forms of dieting which people label extreme, seem to be very popular nowadays. Naturally, many wonder: Which one is healthier?

The answer depends of course on what healthy means to you (for example, does it mean not being sick, or does it mean feeling at your optimal level?). An article in Experience Life magazine explores what the Vegan and Paleo Diets are, attempts to dispel myths, and features experts who weigh in on which diet is better for you.

After reading this artcle, my personal verdict is that both diets are healthy because both are based on eating plants (which may comes as a surprise to people who believe Paleo is all about eating meat) and eating whole foods (which many though not all vegans do) and eating little to no processed carbs.