Sara Rocks Nutrition

I watched a pharmaceutical commercial for a new anti-depressant that you take when your existing anti-depressant isn't working. This new pill is a supplement to the existing one, so two anti-depressants. As someone who has been on medication to regulate my brain, this doesn't jive with me. We know that food can be used to cure a lot of our physical ailments, such as a bowl of soup when we have a cold. But, there is emerging science about using food to help us with our  mental health .  Magnesium mmmm...Chocolate... Magnesium does a LOT. This mineral is responsible for ensuring that your heart beats normally, helps keep your immune system strong, and creates energy and protein. Over 100 years ago, it was discovered that it can also help with depression. Eat almonds, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and kale for an extra punch of magnesium in your diet.  Vitamin D 🎶You are my sunshine, my only sunshine! You make me happy when skies are gray!🎶  emojis IRL This

Do Soybeans have a feminist agenda? The title of this post is inspired by my brother-in-law, but the spirit behind the message is something that I have heard time and time again: Soy has estrogen and that makes it bad for you. This myth stops NOW. In reading an article from the Boston Globe about Impossible and Beyond Burgers, I found the sentence that perfectly sums up everything that we hear about soy: “Soy contains estrogen-like compounds called isoflavones that some findings say can promote the growth of some cancer cells, impair female fertility and mess with men’s hormones.”  That this article snuck this in without any backup shows their bias, and I hate to show mine, but this is nonsense. So, let's break this down and look at the fun part, science!  Yum! A bowl full of genistein and daidzein! Estrogen-like Compounds Soy contains phytoestrogens, genistein and daidzein, which act like estrogen, but very weak versions. What is interesting is that these phytoestrog

There is a great scene in Idiocracy where they admit to watering the plants with sports drinks, because it’s got electrolytes, it’s got what plants crave.” And Luke Wilson asks “what is an electrolyte anyway?” (Not a direct quote, just go watch the movie.) Electrolytes aren’t just what plants crave or an REM song, they are really important to keeping you alive. They help regulate hydration, pH balance (as we found out in a previous post ), and keep your muscles and nerves in check. If your levels get too low, you will die. We did an experiment in grade school where we connected a pickle to two pieces of copper and the pickle lit up. We couldn't figure out why at the time, but the key was the sodium in the pickling solution. Sodium can conduct electricity when mixed with water, an electrolyte. Some other examples include potassium, calcium, bicarbonate, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate. When you get a Charley Horse in your calf muscle, it's good to eat a banana becau