I was asked this week to speak about the effects of genetically modified foods on the cardiovascular system for a group of health care providers and the public. Was I shocked to learn that eating GMO foods can increase the rate of heart attacks, strokes, and bypass surgeries in multiple medical studies in humans? No … Read more
Anyone who has grown up with the cartoon Popeye has an image seared into their brain of Popeye defending Olive Oyl’s honor, his superhuman strength fueled by a can of spinach. While the cartoon’s nutritional depiction is, well, cartoonish, spinach is still a food your body desperately needs. I yam what I yam … Spinach … Read more
Gluten intolerance is not “just another food intolerance.” In fact, it is one of the most common genetically predisposed chronic inflammatory diseases driven by food. It is also frequently complicated by various metabolic disturbances and autoimmune processes. One of my patients, Mary, demonstrates the typical challenges people with this condition face. A 42-year-old woman dealing … Read more
The term “superfruits” might make you think of cape-clad produce ready to leap to your nutritional rescue. In fact, many marketers want you to believe that mysterious fruits like mangosteens and goji berries have magical health-boosting properties. However, most superfruits are more like Clark Kent than his alter ego: We walk past them—oranges, strawberries, blueberries, … Read more
All food in nature contain both acid and alkaline-forming elements, balance is either achieved or thwarted as a direct result of the foods we choose to eat. Too many alkaline foods can have dire consequences for our health, with “acidosis” being a common diagnosis in diabetics, for example. This is because when the nutrients required … Read more
Every year more and more savvy consumers are going organic, and it seems that every year the stakes get higher. From protecting the health of your family in future generations to preventing the collapse of the bee population, shrinking the oceans’ dead zones, and doing your part to reduce climate change, here are 10 research-supported … Read more
Do you get enough vitamin B12? You’ll want to make sure that you do, in order to stay healthy. A vitamin B12 deficiency does a lot of things for your body. B12 helps make your DNA and your red blood cells. Since your body doesn’t make vitamin B12, you have to get it from animal-based foods … Read more
Eating broccoli could reverse the damage that diabetes inflicts on heart blood vessels. The key is most likely a compound in the vegetable called sulforaphane. Sulforaphane encourages production of enzymes that protect the blood vessels, and reduces the number of molecules that cause cell damage — known as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) — by up … Read more
Let’s face it: we have fat-phobia. We’re afraid of not being able to lose the fat and we’re also afraid to eat it! “Doesn’t fat make people fat?” is probably one of the most commonly asked questions. Our fear of fat and eating low-fat, can actually be part of the problem in developing Type II … Read more
Shedding the pounds is easy when you avoid these weight-loss traps. These days, we’re fed so many conflicting messages about how to stay slim and fit—Hollywood beach bodies and celebrity diets abound. But the secret to maintaining a healthy body weight doesn’t lie in deprivation or fly-by-night fads. Thankfully, it’s a lot simpler: Eat healthy, … Read more