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 […]
People often use the terms sodium and salt interchangeably. However, they are not the same thing and the misnomer causes confusion (at best) and health problems (at worst). Salt is a molecule made of ~40% sodium and ~60% chloride. This distinction is important because sodium and chloride have some distinct functions in the body. As […]
Potassium is the 3rd most abundant mineral in the body behind calcium and phosphorus, which makes it really important. (Not that the other micronutrients aren’t also important. I’m not showing any favorites here!) There is a lot of information here and it can be kind of confusing because some of the symptoms for too much […]
Since we’ve covered all of the macronutrients, we’re moving onto the micronutrients. And we’re starting with the minerals because so many of us are deficient in them. (Women, especially, are familiar with the need for calcium, but the other minerals are just as important and often lacking as well!) Magnesium makes up ~1% of body […]
If you were inclined (which I suspect you aren’t) to look up the definition of food (noun, \ˈfüd\) in the on-line Merriam-Webster dictionary, you would get the following: material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy inorganic […]
I love using fresh herbs in recipes. I feel like they give a better taste than dried ones. (Although, honestly, I have no idea if that’s actually true or if that’s just an assumption on my part!) However, fresh herbs are expensive and often come in greater quantities than what I need. In the past, […]
People often worry that bananas are too high in sugar. This at least partially has to do with the glycemic index (which isn’t as important as the glycemic load… which I explained here). What most people don’t realize is that bananas have at least a small amount of almost every vitamin and mineral! Not to […]
Curious if you should feel guilty after your Christmas dinner? Here’s some good news about all that yummy food… Turkey is almost all protein which is the building block of almost all body tissues. It is also great source of the amino acid tryptophan (which makes you sleep well) and has selenium (a mineral essential for […]
For years and years we’ve been told that calcium is necessary for bone health. While this is true, calcium’s primary role in the body is not bone health. Numerous critical functions are performed by the < 0.5% of calcium that is not in the bones and is found in the blood and inside cells. In […]
Consider getting yourself tested for B12 deficiency (it is a blood test). My doctor decided to check my levels, even though I have no symptoms, and I am surprised that it is really low (157 compared to functional level of 400+… and by functional, I mean the lab says the bottom of the range is […]