kbarnes 
We all love sweet tastes. In fact, we are hard-wired to be attracted to sweetness. Mother Nature wants to eat the sweetest, most luscious, ripest fruit. But you know we’ve translated that to a love to soft drinks, cakes, pies, cookies and all sorts of sugar-laden junk that takes a terrible toll on our health. … Read more
Since summer has now truly arrived, it’s time to deal with the occasional sunburn and bug bites, so I thought I’d share with you a couple of pertinent entries for this time of year from my book, Food Is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden. SUNBURN Note: We all need sun. It is the best … Read more
Summer—is it your time of languid summer days floating on a tube down the river or balmy evenings listening to the tree frogs – or are you exhausted from endless guest, barbecues, family crisis and any manner of stress inducers? I’ll have to admit that this summer, most often I fall into the latter category. … Read more
Statin drugs are among the most frequently used popular prescription drugs in the world, raking in sales of over $35 billion—that’s right billion—a year. For what? They purport to lower cholesterol and thereby prevent heart attacks. In fact they do lower cholesterol, but the evidence linking statins to heart attack prevention has been called into … Read more
If you could grow just one herb on your windowsill or in your garden, what would it be? Lavender is hands down my personal choice. It offers the biggest health return for my investment of time, energy and real estate in my garden and the essential oil is inexpensive and even enhances the benefits. So … Read more
My regular readers know that my husband and I recently returned from a delightful trip to Spain and France. Among the challenges was dealing with language. My husband speaks a smattering of Spanish and I speak a smattering of French, so basic communication was possible. Actually, I took several years of French in elementary school, … Read more
Everybody needs a vacation, but our work-a-holic culture likes to guilt us into thinking our workplaces and families can’t do without us. That leads us to leave 429 million paid vacation days on the table every year. Vacations are the essence of life. All is not—and should not be—work, no matter how much you love … Read more
Here’s a shocking weight loss secret: Adding the right fats to your diet, via foods or supplements, can make it easier for you to lose weight. Motor up your metabolism with Omega 3s. A recent Australian study found that a daily serving of salmon, tuna, mackerel or sardines not only helped dieters lose an average … Read more
The elder George Bush made a very public display of hating broccoli and pouted that once he became president, no one could make him eat broccoli ever again. It was his loss. Maybe presidents can be exempted from eating broccoli, but there are some excellent reasons why we all should chow down on this brilliant … Read more
Hypothyroidism seems to be running rampant these days. It’s particularly common in women over 50 who have entered perimenopause or are even fully menopausal when changing hormones can also trigger thyroid problems. But hypothyroidism is almost always connected with low iodine intake, regardless of age or sex. Here’s a brief overview of the problem: Low … Read more