I’ve written a 4 part series about gluten that goes into great detail about what gluten is, what it does in the body, prevalence of gluten sensitivity and who should avoid it (part 1 is here). If you want the full story about gluten, I recommend reading those posts. However, if you want a quick overview […]
When a person starts learning about food, the first lesson is often to understand fats, proteins and carbohydrates — the macronutrients. The next topic is usually about micronutrients (e.g., vitamins and minerals). For many people this is as far as the nutrition education goes, which is a shame because these two topics alone imply that it doesn’t matter where […]
Before I get into this article, let me first say that I am not anti-alcohol. I have said that my two favorite treats are dessert and wine and I’ve even provided proof. I am also very aware of the evidence that moderate alcohol consumption is healthy. (By the way, this article provides a really good […]
In my recent posts about constipation and diarrhea, I told you that one possible solution to both problems is more fiber. That may seem counter-intuitive that problems on the opposite ends of the same spectrum could have the same solution, but it’s true. And I promise you will be perfectly clear about how this works […]
Let me start by saying that I love fruit. I often have it in my morning smoothie; I recommend it as an easy, portable and healthy snack; I include consumption of fruit in my top 5 nutrition tips; and I have said it’s a food that can always be eaten because it has lots of […]
In my first year back in college, I had to take an introduction to food science class. The culminating assignment for the class was to create a themed menu and then prepare and share the food with our classmates. My project partners were Christine and Samantha, and we decided to do a dairy-free menu because […]
Odds are you are familiar with caffeine. Even if you aren’t a regular consumer of tea, coffee, soda or energy drinks, you have no doubt heard of caffeine and likely know someone who can’t seem to function without it. Every few years, social media and news outlets talk about the antioxidants in coffee and suggest […]
With the popularity of books like The China Study, Forks Over Knives, and Vegan Before 6 (VB6), lots of people are choosing to be vegetarian or vegan at least part of the time. Recently several people who have reduced or eliminated animal products have expressed to me concerns that they are not getting enough protein. […]
Although the name suggests otherwise, vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin. Vitamins are micronutrients that we must get from our diet because our body can’t create them. But we can create vitamin D, under the right conditions (more on that later). Unfortunately, most of us are deficient in this incredibly important prohormone and that is […]
In a previous blog post, I described what autoimmune diseases are and how they develop, including the necessity of a trigger and a leaky gut. What this means is that your genes are not your destiny, as it relates to acquiring an autoimmune disease. (Or lots of other conditions, for that matter, but this post […]