Make the most of your farmers market bounty with fast salads that highlight end-of-summer’s best produce, like a filling Cobb salad with tomatoes, corn, and green and red lettuces. Some simple prep tips make it an easy lunch or dinner, and smart swaps help streamline the traditional version’s calorie count. Start by prepping your greens the right way. Carefully wash the lettuce leaves, shake them dry by hand or with a salad spinner, and then wrap them in paper towels to crisp for about 15 minutes in the fridge. When you’re ready to use them, roll them up like a cigar and use a serrated knife to slice them into ribbons. This makes lettuce a lot easier to eat. Adding fresh corn to a salad is a snap. If the corn is really fresh and the kernels are tender, there’s no need to cook it. If you’re unsure, bring a large pot of water to boil, drop in the shucked cobs, cover and turn off the heat. In about seven minutes, they’ll be ready. Once cool, use a serrated knife to slice off the kernels. Traditional Cobb salad contains bacon and cheese — and that can add up to too much fat. Make a leaner swap for the bacon by using prosciutto, which is cured so no cooking is required. In place of the usual…  read on >

Intensive treatment to lower high blood pressure can decrease older adults’ risk of sharp blood pressure drops that can cause dizziness and increase the likelihood of falling, a new study says. It included more than 2,800 patients, average age 63, who had recently suffered a stroke. Half received more aggressive treatment to lower their blood pressure to below 130/80 mm Hg. The others got less intensive therapy with a target of between 130-149/80-90 mm Hg or more. Blood pressure levels and symptoms were monitored over an average 15 visits per patient. During each visit, blood pressure was measured three times while a patient was seated and one time after two minutes of standing. This was done to detect any changes and symptoms of orthostatic hypotension (OH), a sudden drop in blood pressure that can occur when a person goes from sitting to standing. OH is associated with dizziness and increased risk of falling. More aggressive blood pressure treatment and systolic blood pressure of 130 mm/Hg or under was associated with a lower risk of OH. Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a reading and represents the force of blood flow against the arteries when the heart contracts. The study was presented Saturday at an American Heart Association meeting, in New Orleans. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a…  read on >

When made at home, smoothies can be delicious and nutritious (store-bought versions often contain lots of sugar and an abundance of calories). But when it comes to feeling satisfied, a rich, thick soup has them beat. There’s science behind the diet tip to eat filling soup when the soup is a thick, blended puree. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that you’ll feel fuller for an hour longer than you would if you ate the same ingredients in their whole form while sipping a glass of water. Think of a pureed soup as a savory smoothie, perfect for cool weather. It’s fast and easy to turn a cooked vegetable like squash, carrots, peas or sweet potatoes into a hearty meal with a traditional or immersion blender, or a food processor. Cauliflower is particularly versatile because, as a soup base, it will take on the taste of whatever herbs, spices or other ingredients you flavor it with. If you’re short on time, you can use frozen vegetables. If you want to start from scratch, bring out the most flavor by roasting the vegetables in the oven. Alternatively, you can sweat them on the stovetop in a small amount of oil to soften them before adding enough water to just barely cover them and simmering until tender before you puree. Try to always include…  read on >

To the many ways in which coffee seems to confer unexpected health benefits, add a lowered risk of painful gallstones. After tracking nearly 105,000 Danes for an average of eight years, researchers found that those who downed more than six cups per day of the world’s most popular beverage saw their gallstone risk drop by 23%. “High coffee intake is associated with a lower risk of gallstone disease,” said study author Dr. A. Tybjaerg-Hansen. She’s chief physician of Rigshospitalet’s department of clinical biochemistry at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. That’s good news for Danes, 6% of whom drink six or more cups of coffee every day, she said. But what about the average Dane, who knocks back just two cups a day? Or the average American or Brit who consumes between one to two cups daily? The study has good news for them, too. It turns out that even small amounts of coffee appeared to lower gallstone risk. Compared to those who abstained from coffee, participants who drank just one cup of Joe a day saw the risk of gallstones dip by about 3%. Meanwhile, those who consumed three to six cups per day saw their risk slide by 17%. The findings were published Sept. 5 in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Gallstones are hard pebble-like pieces that can accumulate in the gallbladder, where they…  read on >