The history of all major religions include some form of fasting, from Pagans who would fast in preparation for the spring equinox to Jesus’s forty day fast in the dessert. Today some religions still include guidelines for monthly, yearly or intermittent fasts while others leave the practice to the discretion of the individual. But the […]
Someone reminded me recently that some of the things I take as nutrition-related “common knowledge” are only that for people who have been told the information previously. Yeah, okay, so that sounds obvious, but sometimes I genuinely forget that other people have chosen to be experts in fields other than nutrition. I mean, nutrition is […]
You often hear about so-called “superfoods”, without much mention of what they are actually doing to benefit your health. Certainly, many of the foods that fall into this category do lots of wonderful things for our bodies and minds. Take, for example, one of the recent nutrition sweethearts: kale. The fiber in kale is the […]
If you follow nutrition news even a little bit, then you know that the latest and greatest information often seems to contradict previously indisputable facts. One day eggs are dangerous because of the naturally-occurring cholesterol in the yolk and the next they are a super food touted for protein quality. One week salt intake is […]
In a series about Understanding Blood Sugar Control, you have to include an article about diabetes. It’s not because this is the only result of erratic blood sugar levels (as a reminder, I talked about the possible impacts in this post). Rather, it’s because this is the diagnosis that is directly tied to one’s ability […]
I remember several years ago when people started freaking out about eating carrots and grapes because “they have so much sugar in them!” It’s about the time that the glycemic index became well-known, and we are still battling the effects of what I would call a “partial story”. The GI of a food is an […]
Does “detoxing” or “cleansing” actually work? The short answer is, if you are using whole foods, then YES! For the long explanation, read on… Many people (including nutrition experts) say there is no point in doing a detox diet or cleanse because our bodies naturally clean out impurities and toxins that get into our systems. […]
The prevalence of autoimmune diseases is on the rise. At least all the current estimates indicate this is true. However, it’s difficult to figure out exactly how many people have an autoimmune disease because new ones are being identified all the time. Researchers have identified 80 different autoimmune diseases that affect 23.5 million Americans. The […]
As I mentioned in the post about identifying food sensitivities, foods that are removed during an elimination diet may include the common allergens, foods known to contribute to a particular condition (ex: GERD), and/or any foods you suspect your body doesn’t handle well. To be more specific, here are some foods that are considered for […]
Food sensitivities can be hard to narrow down for a few reasons: Symptoms can show up anywhere in the body, which is why it is often difficult to associate something you ate with what you feel physically, mentally, or emotionally. It can take up to 72 hours for a symptom to appear, which means you […]