The foods you have in your pantry and fridge may be helping or hindering your brain. Dr. Christopher Calapai DO, a New York City Osteopathic Physician board certified in family and anti-aging medicine explains that the foods we choose have a lot to do with how sharp, attentive, alert, focused, and happy we feel after they are consumed. Certain foods may taste great but could have additives in them that literally cloud our brains and leave us sluggish and dull headed. The opposite is also true. We can eat certain foods and feel a charge of mental energy and focus. We spoke to Dr. Calapai and got a quick list of foods that boost and drain the brain. Which ones will you add and remove from your shopping list?

Myth #1: Starve a cold, feed a fever.
Do you starve a cold and feed a fever when you're feeling under the weather? Or is it the other way around? Starving is never the correct answer. When you eat a nutritional, well-balanced diet, many other factors fall in place that keep your body functioning optimally. Dr. Calapai explains that, foods that are rich in nutrients help fight infections and may help to prevent illness. “A wide array of nutrients in foods; some of which we may not even know about, are essential for wellness. When you rely on dietary supplements for good nutrition you may limit your intake to just the known nutritional compounds rather than getting the full benefit of all nutrients available in food.”

Myth #2: Reading in dim light damages your eyesight.
Good news, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, reading in dim light doesn’t lead to permanent eye damage. While it may cause eyestrain and temporary dryness; you can read a menu in a dimly lit restaurant without it causing any long-term impairment. Likewise, the common belief that sitting too close to the TV set will ruin your eyesight is yet another old wives’ tale.

Myth #3: Can’t sleep? Drink warm milk.
Dr. Calapai says that, “today there's no scientific evidence that milk has the slightest impact on drowsiness. Milk does contain the nap-inducing amino acid tryptophan, but only in trace amounts. Eggs and cheese have more, but even an egg and cheese sandwich won't knock you out. However, if a hot-milk nightcap seems to help you catch z's, drink up. A little placebo effect never hurt anyone.”

Myth #4: Cold weather will make you sick.
“In terms of infectious illnesses, germs make you sick, not cold weather itself,” urges Dr. Calapai. To catch a cold you have to come in contact with rhinoviruses and you need to be infected with influenza viruses to contract the flu. Rhinoviruses peak in spring and fall, and influenza viruses peak in the winter. While there isn’t a connection between being chilled and getting sick, cold air may contribute to conditions that lead to illness.

Myth #5: You can catch something sitting on a public toilet seat.
Dr. Calapai says, “our fear of sitting on the average toilet seat (one that isn't visibly soiled) is overblown. There's no question that germs can inhabit the seat, the bulk of the organisms found are basically fecal-borne bacteria. These can include E. coli streptococcus (the bug behind strep throat), or S. aureus (linked to serious skin problems or pneumonia).” He explains that germs are on seat the doesn't mean they’ll make you sick. Your skin acts as a very effective barrier to keep germs out (unless you have an open wound or lesion on your behind). Organisms leading to STD’s such as the herpes virus, HIV, or other sexually transmitted diseases don't survive for long outside the human body, especially not on a cold, hard toilet seat. To infect you, they need to enter either through an open cut or sore or via a mucous membrane (your mouth or rectum, for example), which wouldn't normally come into contact with the seat. Dr. Calalapi states that, “all this makes the odds of infection from just sitting down miniscule.”

Myth #6: Chocolate causes pimples.
“Chocolate per se will not make you break out,” says Dr. Calapai. “In fact, there is little evidence that chocolate or any specific fatty foods will cause acne, but we do know that a high-sugar/high-fat diet can increase sebum production and promote inflammatory responses in the body which can lead to acne,” he clarifies. “Again, although we can’t make a direct connection between acne and foods that are high in sugar and fat, we can say that overindulging in these kinds of food may displace other nutrients that are critical to the skin’s health. Stick to skin friendly foods like fruits and vegetables,” he advises.

Myth #7: Chewing gum sits undigested in your stomach for seven years.
Swallowed gum passes through your digestive tract in a couple of days. Chewing gum is made from gum base, sweeteners, coloring and flavoring. It’s true that your body cannot digest gum given its mixture of elastomers, resins, fats, emulsifiers and waxes, some of which resist your stomach’s digestive juices. However, it doesn’t remain stuck inside you. Dr. Calapai says “your gut just keeps them moving through your system until they come out the other end.”

Myth #8: Excessive hat wearing leads to baldness.
Attention college students and hipsters, your ball caps, knit caps, and fedoras won’t mess with your follicles. Unless you wear hats that are too tight, ripping hair away you can ignore this myth. The X chromosome is the big gene associated with causing baldness not what you choose to wear on your head. Also as the body becomes sensitive to androgens, a male sex hormone, hair loss becomes common.

Myth #9: Swimming after eating is asking for trouble.
Any strenuous exercise is tricky after a big meal, but stomach cramps that lead to death by drowning are misguided. In fact, if you’re set for a long dip, a pre-swim snack is a useful energy boost.

Myth #10: Your urine should be almost clear.
Dark colored urine typically means you’re dehydrated and clear urine may mean you are over hydrated. Urine that is a light yellow indicates a healthy urinary tract with healthy bacteria. According to Dr. Calapai, “normal urine from a healthy, well hydrated person may be very yellow.”

Share this info with your grandparents, parents and anyone else in your life who has imposed these “words of wisdom” on you. They are busted!

We all want to improve ourselves. At times our own bad habits get in the way of the life we truly know we deserve. Scientists have come up with many reasons why we stick to bad habits. Some may be harmless yet annoying while others could be self-sabotaging. Why do we persist? More importantly how can we stop? Dr. Sanam Hafeez, a Manhattan based neuropsychologist, addresses some of the most common habits and why to kick them now!

1. Overspending your way into debt
Money worries can have serious health consequences. In a Rutgers University telephone survey, responders said financial stress contributed to high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, headaches, digestion troubles, aches and pains, ulcers, excessive smoking and drinking, and gaining or losing weight.

As Dr. Hafeez points out, “Getting yourself out of debt is a lot like losing weight. It takes time, can be hard on your ego and your lifestyle, you have to be constantly vigilant, and it's easy to revert back to old habits. But for those who succeed, and many people do, the results are stunning. You'll feel more in control of your life with less stress and fewer worries. They key here is recognizing the problem and not trying to tackle it alone.”

2. Overusing painkillers and sedatives
When not taken properly, long-term habitual use of pain medications can cause more problems than it solves. Using drugs like ibuprofen or aspirin for arthritis or muscle pain can over time increase your risk for ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, high blood pressure, and heart attacks. Since these drugs ease pain you may want to keep on taking them, which can lead to addiction.

According to Dr. Hafeez, “New pain-relief strategies can ease muscle, joint, and head pain with fewer pills and side effects. Kicking the sedative and prescription pain pill habit is possible with commitment and support, and once the pill taking has ceased, your body will quickly rebound from their effects. You'll spend less money on medications. You may cut your risk for heart and high blood pressure problems as well as gastrointestinal ulcers and bleeding. You'll also be more alert and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing that you've beaten a drug dependency.”

3. Nail biting (Onychophagia)
Nail biting can happen when stressed or excited, or in times of boredom or inactivity. It can lead to bleeding and even possibly infection. You might be involved in another activity, such as reading, watching television, or talking on the phone, and bite your nails without thinking about it.

Dr. Hafeez says that, “Unfortunately, nail biting is as much a habit as it is a response to anxiety. So there are two parts to stopping it. The first part is breaking the habit. The second part is making sure you control your anxiety.”

4. Stress eating
There are many reasons people turn to food when they experience negative emotions, such as stress, sadness, or boredom. Food can serve as a distraction from life’s realities. Research has also suggested that foods that are high in fat and sugar may actually (temporarily) quiet parts of the brain that create and process negative emotions.

“When a person turns to food as a coping tool, they run the risk of high blood pressure, obesity, hypertension, joint pain and other debilitating health conditions,” explains Dr. Hafeez. She adds, “the ability to draw upon other coping mechanisms such as exercise, deep breathing, counting when stressed or daily meditation can help ease off the need to soothe with food.”

5. Cell phone & social media addiction
Countless hours are wasted on devices meant to make us more productive and connected. Look around a restaurant, a city street, a shopping mall, and people are texting, snapping selfies and posting to social media. “Many people feel anxiety when they notice their cell phone battery running out. Many get physically uneasy at the thought of going hours without checking their cell phone,” says Dr. Hafeez. “This anxiousness is a sign of addiction. I advise gradually challenging yourself to see how you can enjoy a meal, a TV show, or a walk without the need to look at your phone. Start with 30 minutes, then 60 minutes. Then decide to unplug one day per week!”

How do brain activities play a role in strengthening the brain?
Dr. Hafeez explains that just like physical exercise, brain exercises strengthen and keep the mind agile and active. “You have a cognitive reserve, a finite amount of memory, problem solving and visual motor even verbal reasoning skills that declines over time. The more you engage your brain, the longer you can hold on to your cognitive reserve,” explains Dr. Hafeez.

Not soon later, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I began to deal with two different but similar issues that caused me to spend more time in the hospital and in bathrooms, due to the diarrhea and vomiting. I tried every new medication that came out. Trying medical studies of medications before they were released to the public. I tried anything. Nothing worked, or if it did, it worked for a small amount of time.

About 5 years later, I started to watch what I ate and my pancreatitis went into remission. I haven’t had a bout with it in 7 years. I am listed as acute pancreatitis and not chronic any more but I still need to be careful and watch what I eat and drink. The Ulcerative Colitis has been an ongoing issue that I can, for the most part, control with my diet. I try not to take the steroids, and other medications too much but there are times that I don’t have a choice.

Things started to calm down for me till 11 years ago when the back pain began. I was pregnant and thought it was a normal symptom. Little did I know that there is more to it than that. Four major back surgeries later and a diagnosis of Degenerative Disc Disease and Osteoarthritis, my day in my life became very different.

Morning, again?
Morning, ugh, already? Seems just like I laid my head on the pillow to go to sleep. Bedtime gets harder and harder to deal with the older I get and the worse the pain gets. Sleep has always been difficult for me. Now with the pain in my lower back, the cramping in my gut, and the aches from arthritis. Sleep seems to disappear more than ever and barely shows its face to me. Mr. Sandman has skipped me over many a night and I lie awake begging for just one hour to rest my bones. But then when sleep finally comes to me, I wake to a sore and stiff body that is hard to move. Some mornings I need assistance from my husband to help me to even sit up. Then I move slowly throughout the day.

Either way, bed time is difficult and hard for me. I try to tell myself that its ok I don’t sleep that much. That sleep is over-rated and I don’t need that much. Most mornings I am taking it easy and trying to wake my body up. I work on easy things, most mornings, like writing, and catching up on emails. Getting myself prepared for the next part of the day.