According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), potassium is a very important mineral in the human body. It is involved in both electrical and cellular functions, and is necessary for healthy heart activity, proper carbohydrate metabolism, building muscle and much more. Here are some potassium-rich foods that you can easily add to your diet:

Vegetables. Healthy amounts of potassium can be found in broccoli, peas, winter squashes, potatoes (especially the skins), sweet potatoes and lima beans. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) notes that eating potassium-rich vegetables may lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and decrease bone loss.
Fruits.Not only is fruit delicious, it gives your body important doses of potassium. Try citrus fruits, bananas, prunes, kiwi and cantaloupe. Interestingly, dried apricots contain more potassium than fresh apricots, and they make great snacks at school, work or on the go.
Milk and yogurt. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) lists an eight-ounce container of plain, non-fat yogurt as having 579 mg of potassium and only 127 calories. One cup of non-fat milk has 83 calories and 382 mg of potassium. Both are what the NLM and NIH describe as “excellent sources” of potassium.
Nuts and seeds. According to the Mayo Clinic, nuts are good sources of potassium and they contain valuable magnesium, fiber, protein and healthy fats. Almonds and sunflower seeds both offer good amounts of potassium.

It’s important to note that the human body can have too much (hyperkalemia) or too little (hypokalemia) potassium. These imbalances can be caused by a variety of diseases, medications, conditions and more, so talk to your doctor before increasing your potassium levels or drastically changing your diet in any way. For more information about potassium and other nutrients, visit the USDA at www.choosemyplate.gov.

If you have high cholesterol, could your morning cup of Joe be at least partly to blame? Maybe, depending on how your coffee is brewed and how much you drink.

Most research has found that coffee drinking in general does not increase blood cholesterol or cardiovascular risk. But since the mid-1980s, studies have consistently linked unfiltered coffee to increases in cholesterol. Much of the evidence comes from Scandinavia, where coffee typically is made by boiling the grounds in hot water and is not filtered.

What’s in your cup of coffee?

Diterpene compounds in coffee beans—notably cafestol—are responsible for the cholesterol-raising effect. The longer the coffee grounds come in contact with the brewing water, and the hotter the water, the greater the amount of diterpenes released. Scandinavian-style boiled coffee has the most diterpenes, studies have shown—followed by Turkish/Greek coffee, French-press (cafetière or plunger-pot) coffee and then espresso. American-style “drip” coffee has virtually none because the paper filters trap the compounds. Percolated and instant coffees also have negligible amounts. Decaffeinating coffee does not reduce diterpenes.

Still, it takes a fair amount of unfiltered coffee to have a significant effect on cholesterol. Daily consumption of 10 milligrams of cafestol—the amount in about four 5-ounce cups of French-press coffee—has been shown to raise cholesterol by 8 to 10 percent in four weeks, mostly due to increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Some people are affected more than others, and the effects may be greater in those who have higher cholesterol to begin with.

The sunny side of coffee

All coffee, no matter how it’s brewed, contains a complex mix of phytochemicals, many of which are potentially beneficial. In fact, coffee is the No. 1 source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet, because we drink so much of it. Coffee has been shown to guard against oxidation of LDL cholesterol, which makes LDL less harmful. And it’s been linked to reduced risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and some other disorders. Cafestol may even have anti-cancer properties, at least in lab studies.

Bottoms up

An occasional cup of unfiltered coffee won’t raise your cholesterol significantly, if at all. But you may be consuming more unfiltered coffee than you realize because many coffee drinks—cappuccinos or lattes, for instance—are made with espresso, sometimes more than one shot. If your cholesterol is high, you might want to limit espresso to one or two a day and not go overboard with French-press coffee.

I get a monthly subscription to UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. I would like to share some quick facts that may be interesting to people regarding your health.

* Prehypertension is when your blood pressure is between 120-139/80-89. Compared with people who have normal blood pressure, those with prehypertension are 2x as likely to develop full-blown hypertension, and 3.5x more likely to suffer heart attacks. Fortunately, lifestyle measures can make a real impact on lowering blood pressure.

* Since the early 1970′s American men have increased their daily calorie intake by an average of 179 calories, and women by 199 calories. Nearly all of those added calories came from carbohydrates, according to a recent study in the “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition”.During this time, the obesity rate more than doubled.

* People with high HDL (“good”) cholesterol are more likely to live to age 85 and are less likely to develop colon cancer, according to 2 recent studies.

* Frequent business travelers are at higher risk for health problems, suggests a large new study from Columbia University. It found that people who travel 14 days or more a month for work were more likely to be obese and report their health as poor or fair than those who travel less often, after controlling for age, sex, race and ethnicity.

* If you can’t multitask as well as you used to, it’s not your imagination. The ability to switch between tasks decreases with age.

* Not only are smoking rates in the U.S. half what they were 45 years ago, but the remaining smokers light up much less- especially in California, according to a recent study in the “Journal of the American Medical Association”.

* Keeping blood pressure, cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors under control may slow memory loss.

I hope you thought these were interesting facts. If you would like to hear more updated facts in the future, please let me know. I would like to thank UCB Wellness Letter for supplying the facts for this article.

Lactose intolerance—the reduced ability to digest milk sugar (lactose)—is not as hard to cope with as many people think.
Lactose can be digested only with the aid of lactase, an intestinal enzyme that virtually all human infants produce. That’s how babies digest breast milk. Many people, usually those whose ancestors came from northern Europe, around the Mediterranean, and some parts of Africa, manufacture sufficient lactase all their lives. Generally they are the descendants of herders, for whom milk and milk products were staples of the diet.
But the majority of other people gradually lose the ability to make lactase starting at about age two. This is called “lactase nonpersistence” and can lead to lactose intolerance, which is characterized by gas, cramps, bloating, and diarrhea after consuming dairy products. It’s estimated that 15% of white Americans, 70% of black Americans, 90% of Asian Americans, and almost all Native Americans have trouble digesting lactose. People may begin noticing symptoms early or late in life; there is no way to predict when and how much lactase production will be reduced.
Keep these points in mind:
• There are at least two fairly simple tests for lactose intolerance, one a blood test, the other a breath test. A few people have an allergy to milk, which is different from lactose intolerance.
• If you are lactose intolerant, you may still be able to consume some dairy. Studies have shown that most lactose “maldigesters” can drink a cup or two of milk daily without symptoms, particularly if they drink a small amount at a time and drink it with meals. They can also eat ice cream, cheese, and other dairy products in small amounts with other foods. It’s a myth, by the way, that goat’s milk is lactose-free.
• Yogurt usually causes no symptoms. Buy brands with live cultures, since the bacteria help digest lactose.
• Severe lactose intolerance is rare, but people with severe symptoms may need to watch for small amounts of lactose hidden in many foods. Check labels for words like whey, curds, and dry milk solids. A few prescription drugs, including some birth control pills and heartburn drugs, contain tiny amounts of lactose.
• The marketers of lactose-reduced milk have convinced a lot of people that they need these products, which can be expensive. Generic lactase drops, which you add to milk in advance, and lactase pills, taken just before eating dairy, cost less.
• Dairy foods are good sources of calcium, vitamin D, and other nutrients important for health, especially bone health and blood pressure. If you don’t eat any dairy, you will need to make up for shortfalls of these nutrients. Calcium and vitamin D supplements are a good idea for many people, even those who do consume dairy.