The study, published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute followed 478,000 Europeans for nine years. Results suggest that, contrary to popular belief, consuming lots of fruits and vegetables isn’t terribly effective in preventing cancer.

Bummer. As a whole, we don’t eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables, and those added perks for eating your greens (and reds and blues and yellows) are a great incentive. But this new study is no reason to let your fruit and veggie servings slide. Many fruits and vegetables do contain cancer-fighting compounds that are still healthful even if they’re not as effective as once was thought. What’s more, eating a rainbow of produce provides your body with a wide range of vitamins and minerals. Plus, fruits and vegetables are still believed to help fight cardiovascular disease.

Try these tips for increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption:

Breakfast. Enjoy a half of a grapefruit. Top your oatmeal or cereal with berries. Add mushrooms, garlic and green pepper to your eggs.

Lunch. Make a veggie wrap with sprouts, spinach, shredded carrot, tomato, and yellow bell pepper in a whole-wheat tortilla. Enjoy a mixed greens salad with strawberries or mandarin oranges. Pack an apple, banana or pear with your lunch — no packaging needed!

Snack. Mix berries into low-fat yogurt. Make your own trail mix with dried fruit, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Dip slices of bell pepper, baby carrots, or cauliflower into hummus.

Dinner. Start your meal with a spinach salad. Steam, roast, or grill veggies for a delicious side. Top chicken or fish with a refreshing mango salsa.

Dessert. Top a bowl of mixed berries with a dollop of whipped topping. Make a smoothie with low-fat yogurt, frozen fruit, and 100% juice. Grill stone fruits and drizzle with a little honey and cinnamon before serving.

Photo:  Sandy Austin, Flickr

Not everyone can or wants to go 100 percent vegetarian.  But giving up meat for one or more days a week is an easy way to reduce the saturated fat in your diet.  In fact, reducing your meat consumption one day a week can reduce saturated fat intake by 15 percent, and it might lead you to make even more meals meat-free.

Not only is being a part-time vegetarian good for your body, it also promotes a healthier environment.  According to the Environmental Defense Fund:

If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains, for example, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads. And speaking of cars, it takes fuel to transport food, so buying from local farmers and ranchers cuts emissions even if you don’t cut out any meat.

Going veg isn’t hard, but if you’re used to eating a meat and potatoes kind of meal, visit Meatless Mondays for tips and recipes.

It’s called the Army of Women, an enormous database of women — both with and without breast cancer — that researchers can turn to when they need volunteers for research studies about breast cancer and about breast cancer prevention. On the Army of Women website, Dr. Susan Love is quoted as saying:

“Over and over I’ve heard scientists lament how difficult it is for them to find the volunteers they need for research studies. I’ve long believed that helping scientists overcome this obstacle would accelerate our understanding of what causes breast cancer and how to end it. By responding to this need, the Army of Women will change the face of breast cancer research.”

Joining the Army of Women is simple.  Once you register — and anyone can register — you’ll be given a link to current research studies that are looking for volunteers.  If you find that you match the criteria for one, you can request more information.  Some studies require commitment, while others involve simply filling out an online survey.

I signed up, will you?

The first thing I reach for when I get a headache is a big glass of water.  Dehydration, even when mild, is a common cause of head pain.  Though you don’t have to gulp water all day, staying well hydrated is an easy way to prevent head pain. If that doesn’t do the trick, it’s time to look for another cause.

Sinus issues are common in the spring, and a quick and natural fix to sinus problems is a neti pot.  Using nasal irrigation, a neti pot can wash away thick sinus drainage and sooth swollen passages.  Though your first time using the neti pot can be slightly uncomfortable, it’s easy to use and drug-free.

FitSugar has several other ideas for curing a headache naturally, including eating a handful of almonds, accupressure, herbal remedies, and yoga.

What’s your best trick for curing a headache?

That’s why I was thrilled to discover Livestrong’s MyPlate.  Simply register (it’s free!), then start logging the food you eat every day.  You can set a calorie goal or Livestrong will set one for you based on your activity level, but more importantly, the program also breaks down your meals by nutrients.  So at the end of every day, you’ll be able to see how much fat, sugar, fiber, and cholesterol you’re eating too — valuable information if you’re trying to create a healthier lifestyle.

MyPlate also allows you to track your workouts, calculating your calories burned.  This is great for balancing calories in vs. calories out, a concept that’s crucial to weight maintenance.  And you can even keep track of how many glasses of water you drink.

If you’re looking for a comprehensive way to keep track of your food and fitness, Livestrong’s MyPlate is it.

Have you ever tried food journaling before?

New research in rats might help explain why.  A diet of fatty foods, say researchers, overload pleasure sensors in the brain, much like a drug does.  And the more that you eat, the more that you need to eat to get that “high” again.

From CNN:

Not surprisingly, the rats that gorged themselves on the human food quickly became obese. But their brains also changed. By monitoring implanted brain electrodes, the researchers found that the rats in the third group gradually developed a tolerance to the pleasure the food gave them and had to eat more to experience a high.

They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats’ feet in the presence of the food, the rats in the first two groups were frightened away from eating. But the obese rats were not. “Their attention was solely focused on consuming food,” says Kenny.

It doesn’t make the solution any easier, of course.  Losing weight will always be tough on the mind and body, but many people beat themselves up for what they see as a lack of willpower when it comes to losing weight.  What this study shows is that there’s far more at play than a person’s will.

Instead of denying yourself those foods that make you feel good and feeling worse in the process, try this:  Replace them gradually with healthier versions so that eventually you’re eating 80 percent healthy and nutritious foods, with room in your life for the occasional treat.

Martha Stewart has 50 quick and easy vegetarian recipes.  And for the most part, by quick she means 30 minutes or less.  Here are some that look especially easy and tasty:

Lighter Sesame Noodles

Tofu Stir Fry

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley, and Bread Crumbs

Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Chick Peas

Vegetable Enchiladas

A few of these are on our menu this week.  What’s your favorite vegetarian recipe?

It’s a common conundrum for people who live and dine alone.  Cooking a healthy, nutritious, delicious meal requires effort, something some people (like me, then) just aren’t willing to put in when they’re the only one eating.  And recipes are often written for much larger groups.

But nutrition is important, whether there are six plates on your table or one.  At the New York Times, Martha Rose Shulman has great tips for cooking a nutritious meal for one:

Get into the habit of stocking your refrigerator with items that keep well, and meals will become more fun and less challenging. Produce like cabbage, red peppers, celery and carrots will stay viable for a couple of weeks, if you don’t keep them wrapped in plastic. Eggs, too, have a long shelf life in the refrigerator.

In the pantry, keep grains like quinoa, rice, canned beans and lentils. Keep a good loaf of whole grain bread — sliced — in the freezer, so that you can pull out a slice or two for quick panini without having to watch the rest of the loaf go stale.

She’s got a great recipe for pan-seared tuna with asian cole-slaw, but if simple is more your style, check out these recipes at Marie Claire.

For more tips on cooking for one or two, visit Mayo Clinic.

But, he proposed, substantive conversation seemed to hold the key to happiness for two main reasons: both because human beings are driven to find and create meaning in their lives, and because we are social animals who want and need to connect with other people.

“By engaging in meaningful conversations, we manage to impose meaning on an otherwise pretty chaotic world,” Dr. Mehl said. “And interpersonally, as you find this meaning, you bond with your interactive partner, and we know that interpersonal connection and integration is a core fundamental foundation of happiness.”

In today’s world of life in 140 characters or less, meaningful conversation can be hard to find.  Twitter, Facebook, and texting don’t even scratch the surface of insightful communication.  In fact, on a scale of 1 to 10, Please Enjoy ranks Twitter as a 10, with talking as a one.

If you’re looking for more meaning in your life — and possibly more happiness — try turning off your technology and turning towards those people that mean the most in your life.  Though this study is small, others show that having a solid emotional support system is a major key to happiness.

Beet, Berry, Banana Smoothie

3 beets, roasted, instructions below

2 cups frozen blueberries

1 banana

12 oz. 100 percent fruit juice (black cherry or berry)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the stems and leaves off the beets, saving the leaves for cooking as greens. Wash the beets and trim off the root end. Wrap the beets in foil. Roast in the oven for about an hour. Allow to cool enough to handle. Take a paper towel and rub each beet. The peel should rub off easily. You can store the beets in the fridge until you are ready to make the smoothies.

Place all ingredients in the blender. Blend well. Makes 6 one-cup servings.

Beets will be in season soon in temperate climates, so you might be able to find them at your local farmer’s market with greens still attached.  Northerners might still have some tucked away in cold storage.  They’re definitely worth the time spent hunting for them.  According to World’s Healthiest Foods, they “contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.”  Beets are also an anti-inflammatory food and are rich in iron.

For more smoothie recipes, visit Smoothieweb.com.