By Sarah Richards

Can’t sleep? Got the PMS blues? Before you open your medicine cabinet, step into your kitchen. “Real, whole, fresh food is the most powerful drug on the planet,” says Mark Hyman, M.D., author of The Blood Sugar Solution. “It regulates every biological function of your body.” In fact, recent research suggests not only what to eat but when to eat it for maximum benefit. Check out the latest smart food fixes.

More from Health.com:
Our Healthy Summer Salad Guide
Surprising Health Uses for Everyday Foods
25 Healthy Recipes for A Vegetarian Feast

Problem: I’m Bloated
Food Fix 1: Dig In To Juicy Fruits And Vegetables
When you’re feeling puffy, you may not want to chow down on watery produce, but consuming foods like melon, cucumber and celery is an excellent way to flush out your system, says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of Food Mood. “We need sodium to survive,” she explains, “but because we often eat too much of it, our bodies retain water to dilute the blood down to a sodium concentration it can handle. Eating produce with high water content helps the dilution process, so your body can excrete excess sodium and water.”

Food Fix 2: Load Up On Enzymes
Bloating can also be a sign that your intestines are out of whack. “If you’re irregular or experience gas right after eating, papaya can help,” explains Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., author of Food As Medicine. “Eating 1 cup several times a week helps rejuvenate the gastrointestinal system, thanks to papaya’s digestive enzyme papain, which breaks down protein.” The fiber also helps push food through your intestines, improving regularity. Try a smoothie with papaya, pineapple (it also contains digestive enzymes), protein powder, ice and almond milk.

Problem: I’m On An Emotional Roller Coaster
Food Fix 1: Say Yes To Breakfast
“People who eat within an hour or two of waking up have a more even mood throughout the rest of the day and perform better at work,” Somer says. British researchers found that study participants who skipped their morning meal did worse on memory tests and were more tired by midday than those who had eaten. The optimal breakfast includes a whole grain to supply glucose for your brain to run on, protein to satisfy hunger and keep your blood sugar levels steady and one or two antioxidant-rich fruits or vegetables. Somer’s suggestion: a 100 percent whole-grain cereal that contains at least 4 grams of fiber and no more than 5 grams of sugar, eaten with fruit and low-fat milk.

Food Fix 2: Stock Up On Selenium
A lesser-known trace mineral, selenium — found in Brazil nuts, tuna, eggs and turkey — helps keep you on an even keel. Women whose diets are deficient in the mineral are more prone to feeling depressed. Why? Selenium is crucial for the production of thyroid hormones, which govern metabolism and mood. You don’t need much, though: The recommended daily allowance for selenium is 55 micrograms, and you can get that amount by eating one 3-ounce can of tuna.

Problem: My Skin Is Acting Up
The Food Fix: Eat Your Onions
Battling breakouts? The antioxidants in onions and other sulfur-rich veggies tamp down the inflammation that leads to acne, says Valori Treloar, M.D., a dermatologist in Newton, Mass., and co-author of The Clear Skin Diet. The sulfur in onions, leeks and scallions helps produce a detoxifying molecule called glutathione, which a 2011 study found to be lower in the skin of people who were prone to breakouts.

This antioxidant is most potent when eaten in raw or lightly cooked foods. Try adding chopped scallions to your salad or stirring diced onions into your salsa or stir-fry. Taking folate and vitamin B6 and B12 supplements may also boost glutathione levels.

Problem: I Get Crazy-Bad Jet Lag
The Food Fix: Don’t Snack On The Plane
It’s no fun spending the first days of your vacation trying to acclimate. One surprising secret to avoiding the headaches, irritability and upset stomach of jet lag is to fast for several hours before arriving at your destination. That’s because when you eat influences your circadian rhythms, in much the same way that exposure to light and dark does.

Let’s say you’re headed to France. On the plane, steer clear of most food (but drink plenty of water), set your watch to Paris time and eat a high-protein breakfast at 7 a.m., no matter where you are on your trip. “The fast depletes your body’s energy stores, so when you eat protein the next morning, you get an extra kick and help your body produce waking-up chemicals,” explains Dave Baurac, spokesperson for the Argonne National Laboratory, a research institute based in Illinois.

Problem: I’m Tossing And Turning
Food Fix 1: Have A Late-Night Morsel
We’ve all been told to avoid eating too close to bedtime, but applying this rule too strictly could actually contribute to sleep woes. As anyone who has tried a fast knows, hunger can make you feel edgy, and animal studies confirm this. “You need to be relaxed to fall asleep, and having a grumbling stomach is a distraction,” explains Kelly Glazer Baron, Ph.D., an instructor of neurology at Northwestern University and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “It makes it hard to get to sleep and wakes you up at night.”

The trick is to tame the munchies 30 minutes to an hour before bed with a small snack that includes complex carbohydrates. “Since you metabolize sugars more slowly at night, a complex carb like whole wheat is a better choice,” Baron says. “It keeps your blood sugar levels even.” Try cheese and whole-wheat crackers or almonds and a banana.

Food Fix 2: Add Cherries
You can boost your snack’s snooze power by washing it down with a glass of tart cherry juice. A recent study of folks with chronic insomnia found that those who downed 8 ounces of juice made from tart Montmorency cherries (available in most grocery stores) one to two hours before bedtime stayed asleep longer than those who drank a placebo juice.

These sour powerhouses — which you can eat fresh, dried or juiced — possess anti-inflammatory properties that may stimulate the production of cytokines, a type of immune-system molecule that helps regulate sleep. Tart cherries are also high in melatonin, a hormone that signals the body to go to sleep and stay that way.

Problem: I Have Wicked PMS
The Food Fix: Keep An Eye On Iron
You might be more susceptible to the monthly blahs if you have low levels of iron, according to a new study.

Researchers looked at the diets of 3,000 women over 10 years and found that those who consumed more than 20 milligrams of the mineral daily had about a 40 percent lower risk of PMS than those who ingested less than 10 milligrams.

You can get almost your full daily dose by eating 1 cup of an iron-fortified cereal; other great sources include white beans (4 milligrams per one-half cup) and sautéed fresh spinach (3 milligrams per one-half cup).

Problem: I’m So Sensitive To The Sun
The Food Fix: Pile On Protective Produce
While you still need the usual sun protection (SPF 30 sunscreen as well as a wide-brimmed hat), you may be able to bolster your skin’s own resistance to UV rays with what you eat. The details: Micronutrients called carotenoids in fruits and vegetables protect the skin against sunburn, recent science shows. “Most topical sunscreens work by filtering out the UV component from the solar light that reaches the skin,” explains researcher Wilhelm Stahl, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, Germany. “But these micronutrients, if you have enough in your system, actually absorb UV light and prevent damage.”

The most potent carotenoids are the beta-carotene found in carrots, endive and spinach, and the lycopene in watermelon and tomatoes. Keep in mind that the effect isn’t instantaneous; you would need to eat a carotenoid-rich diet for at least 10 to 12 weeks in order to get the full benefit, says Stahl. Still, there is a reward for your patience: skin fortified to fend off sun damage and wrinkles.

“Fix Your Health Problems With Food” originally appeared on Health.com

Also on HuffPost:

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• Broccoli And Broccoli Sprouts

  Cruciferous vegetables, but broccoli in particular, make for anti-cancer powerhouses thanks in part to a compound called sulforaphane that actually helps the body fight the spread of tumors.

  Recent research revealed the underlying reason: sulforaphane may inhibit an enzyme, called an HDAC, that a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/29/broccoli-cancer-sulforaphane_n_1310634.html”works to suppress the body’s tumor fighting ability/a, as we’ve previously reported.

  And sprouts are even more potent: three-day old broccoli sprouts have 20 to 50 times the sulforaphanes as mature broccoli, a href=”http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/1997/sept/970903.htm”according to Johns Hopkins research/a.

  For more about the cancer fighting properties of emall cruciferous vegetables, check HuffPost blogger Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-fuhrman-md/cancer-prevention_b_1624965.html”analysis of cabbage, brussels sprouts, bok choy and more/a.

• Garlic

  Garlic is considered a cancer-fighting food for several forms of the disease, a href=”http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/prevention/garlic-and-cancer-prevention#r12″according to the National Cancer Institute/a.

  One French study found that women who regularly ate garlic had a href=”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9928867″a significantly reduced risk of breast cancer/a. Garlic’s mild cousin, onions also had a protective effect, according to the study.

• Pomegranate

  Pomegranates are known for their anti-cancer properties, thanks to a richness in anti-inflammatory antioxidants, polyphenols. But they may offer a specific benefit against breast cancer: research shows that a phytochemical found in abundance in pomegranates, called ellagitannins, interfere in the production of aromatase, an enzyme that, as HuffPost blogger Dr. Nalini Chilkov explained, “a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nalini-chilkov/pomegranates-cancer-fighting-_b_1078343.html”increases hormone production in breast tissue/a.”

  That’s important because breast cancer is hormone-dependent, meaning that it feeds off of hormones like estrogen to grow and spread.

  “Hormone dependent cancers such as breast cancer are commonly treated with aromatase inhibitors, which block this enzyme,” wrote Chilkov.

• Walnuts

  Although preliminary, research in mice has found that a href=”http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110901163921.htm”including walnuts in a healthful diet throughout the entire lifespan/a reduced the risk of developing breast cancer by emhalf/em.

• Turmeric

  Curcumin, the compound in turmeric, may play a role in blocking the expression of a molecule called RANKL, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nalini-chilkov/turmeric-health-benefits-_b_828856.html”which is found in the most deadly and aggressive breast cancer tumor cells/a.

• Flax Seeds

  Most research regarding flax’s anti-cancer properties has been done in mice or in-vitro cell cultures, but what it shows could be profound: in one study, according to the American Cancer Society, a href=”http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/flaxseed”the lignans found in flax slowed the movement and “stickiness” of breast cancer cells/a, causing it to spread more slowly in a cell culture simulation.

• Berries

  Berries have several powerful antioxidants, primarily anthocyanins and ellagic acid, which have been shown in cell culture studies to a href=”http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/blueberries.html#research”reduce free radical damage to healthy cells/a, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. In separate research, they were shown to slow the growth and shorten the lifespan of breast cancer (as well as mouth, colon and prostate cancer) cells.

• Green Tea

  Green tea is rich in the polyphenol EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), which has been shown to slow the spread of breast cancer cells, a href=”http://www.breastcancer.org/tips/nutrition/supplements/known/green_tea”according to breastcancer.org/a.

• Tomatoes

  Tomatoes are rich in the antioxidant lycopene, which is thought to a href=”http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39726407/ns/health-cancer/t/what-you-should-eat-avoid-beat-breast-cancer/#.UHNMJvmMG5M”slow breast cancer cell growth/a.

Article source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/fix-health-problems-food_n_3288398.html

Check out a great new resource on the Massachusetts health care system from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts: the Massachusetts Health Care Delivery System Map. As the state’s new Health Policy Commission seeks to get its mind and arms around the issue of market concentration, the Foundation’s new site boils the issue down to the key factors in an impressively accessible and compelling way.

For example, if you want to begin to understand why Partners Healthcare is so dominant in the state’s healthcare market, don’t go to this page, Hospital Systems by Size, on which Partners is #2 after Steward Health Care System.  Go this this page: Physician Networks and Major Medical Groups, where the size of Partners’ physician network (called Partners Community Healthcare Inc., PCHI, or “peachy”) is larger than #2 (Steward) or #3 (Atrius), combined. 

Or look at hospitals by Net Patient Service Revenue, and see that Partners total NPSR in 2010 ($4.2 billion) was the same as #s 2 (UMass Memorial), 3 (Steward), and 4 (Beth Israel Deaconess) combined.

Don’t forget this helpful page of Recent Changes in the Massachusetts health care market.    

I found the page on Inpatient Capacity helpful as well.  Yes, Partners dominates the Boston market, but no other, not even in the Greater Boston market.  Pretty much every region (except for Northeast Mass.) has a single dominant player.  The biggest is UMass Memorial which owns 54% of the inpatient capacity in Central Mass.  If anything, this page helps to understand why inpatient hospital capacity is no longer the essential feature of market dominance that it used to be.  It’s about the docs.

So much more to explore in this highly useful and accessible tool as the state debate over cost and market dominance continues.  Kudos to Massachusetts Health Quality Partners which did the legwork on this terrific resource.

And congratulations to the Foundation on choosing a new Executive Director to succeed Sarah Iselin.  Their choice is Audrey Shelto who has been a highly respected professional in government and non-profit health care in Massachusetts for three decades.  An excellent choice to ensure that the Foundation continues its useful and important work for the Massachusetts health system.

Article source: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/health_stew/2013/05/how_concentrated_is_mass_healt.html

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Legislative money committees approved $6.4 million for new mental health programs Saturday to fund a home visit pilot program, community interaction services and more beds for mentally ill inmates at a northern Nevada psychiatric hospital.

The late budget amendments proposed by Gov. Brian Sandoval will be paid for by a one-time infusion of $21 million in tobacco settlement money. They were approved during a joint meeting of the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees.

About $1.4 million will be used to re-establish a second Program for Assertive Community Treatment Team in southern Nevada that was eliminated in previous budget cuts. Another $2 million will create a mental health home visit program and $3 million will be used to add 10 beds to Lake’s Crossing in the Reno-Sparks area that serves criminal defendants and inmates.

Budget Director Jeff Mohlenkamp said the new beds at Lake’s Crossing are intended to cut down wait times and avoid federal litigation or possible sanctions stemming from a 2005 lawsuit and ultimate settlement over mental health evaluations of inmates.

A federal appeals court determined inmates should not spend more than seven to 10 days in jail waiting for an evaluation ordered by a court, but current wait times are 30-60 days.

Lake’s Crossing is licensed for 66 beds. The budget amendment will allow conversion of a wing at the nearby Dini Townsend Hospital to house in-custody patients. Dini Townsend already has a 10-bed medium security annex.

In southern Nevada, restoring a second, 10-member PACT team will help mental health patients who are living in the community and have frequent encounters with law enforcement. Teams provide intense services and oversight to help patients stay on medication and treatment programs. Typically people are assigned to a PACT team for six months but they can remain in the program for up to two years.

The Mental Health Home Visiting program is designed to assist people recently released from outpatient or in-patient facilities and their families. Clinicians will visit the homes to help alleviate any possible dangers such as weapons. Funding will be split between northern and southern Nevada.

Mohlenkamp said the governor will introduce another bill seeking $1.4 million to add 10 long-term care beds at a now closed facility next to the Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas.

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Amendments-add-money-for-Nevada-mental-health-4528378.php

BROWNSVILLE, Tex. — Becoming an American can be bad for your health.

A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in this country, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. And while their American-born children may have more money, they tend to live shorter lives than the parents.

The pattern goes against any notion that moving to America improves every aspect of life. It also demonstrates that at least in terms of health, worries about assimilation for the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants are mistaken. In fact, it is happening all too quickly.

“There’s something about life in the United States that is not conducive to good health across generations,” said Robert A. Hummer, a social demographer at the University of Texas at Austin.

For Hispanics, now the nation’s largest immigrant group, the foreign-born live about three years longer than their American-born counterparts, several studies have found.

Why does life in the United States — despite its sophisticated health care system and high per capita wages — lead to worse health? New research is showing that the immigrant advantage wears off with the adoption of American behaviors — smoking, drinking, high-calorie diets and sedentary lifestyles.

Here in Brownsville, a worn border city studded with fast-food restaurants, immigrants say that happens slowly, almost imperceptibly. In America, foods like ham and bread that are not supposed to be sweet are. And children lose their taste for traditional Mexican foods like cactus and beans.

For the recently arrived, the quantity and accessibility of food speaks to the boundless promise of the United States. Esther Angeles remembers being amazed at the size of hamburgers — as big as dinner plates — when she first came to the United States from Mexico 15 years ago.

“I thought, this is really a country of opportunity,” she said. “Look at the size of the food!”

Fast-food fare not only tasted good, but was also a sign of success, a family treat that new earnings put in reach.

“The crispiness was delicious,” said Juan Muniz, 62, recalling his first visit to Church’s Chicken with his family in the late 1970s. “I was proud and excited to eat out. I’d tell them: ‘Let’s go eat. We can afford it now.’ ”

For others, supersize deals appealed.

“You work so hard, you want to use your money in a smart way,” said Aris Ramirez, a community health worker in Brownsville, explaining the thinking. “So when they hear ‘twice the fries for an extra 49 cents,’ people think, ‘That’s economical.’ ”

For Ms. Angeles, the excitement of big food eventually wore off, and the frantic pace of the modern American workplace took over. She found herself eating hamburgers more because they were convenient and she was busy in her 78-hour-a-week job as a housekeeper. What is more, she lost control over her daughter’s diet because, as a single mother, she was rarely with her at mealtimes.

Robert O. Valdez, a professor of family and community medicine and economics at the University of New Mexico, said, “All the things we tell people to do from a clinical perspective today — a lot of fiber and less meat — were exactly the lifestyle habits that immigrants were normally keeping.”

As early as the 1970s, researchers found that immigrants lived several years longer than American-born whites even though they tended to have less education and lower income, factors usually associated with worse health. That gap has grown since 1980. Less clear, however, was what happened to immigrants and their American-born offspring after a lifetime in the United States.

Evidence is mounting that the second generation does worse. Elizabeth Arias, a demographer at the National Center for Health Statistics, has made exploratory estimates based on data from 2007 to 2009, which show that Hispanic immigrants live 2.9 years longer than American-born Hispanics. The finding, which has not yet been published, is similar to those in earlier studies.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/health/the-health-toll-of-immigration.html?pagewanted=all