My recent post on healthy food on a budget sparked one of my regular readers to write me with a question: What about us lazy cooks? Truth be told, I’m a lazy cook, too, most of the time. Cooking is just not one of my favorite activities. For everyday meals, I take short cuts, I … Read more
If you have read my book, Food is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden, you probably noticed a theme running through it: Certain foods are mentioned over and over, to prevent and treat diseases and maladies that are vastly different. That’s because these foods are superfoods, ones that are so dense in nutrients that they … Read more
Coconut oil a staple a staple in our household. We use it for everything from cooking to skin moisturizer to Alzheimer’s prevention and a dozen things in between. Coconut oil is a unique type of saturated fat, called a medium chain triglyceride (MFT) that are metabolized differently than other types of fat, transported directly to … Read more
Attention cheese lovers: Cheese is good for you! Drop those old notions about the so-called dangers of saturated fat. Cheese is chock full of heart, brain and bone-healthy nutrients that should make it a regular part of your diet. The saturated fat and cholesterol myths have long been busted, but wildly successful and completely untrue … Read more
I’ve written many times about the addictive nature of sugar and the health risks it creates. But did you know sugar can quite literally kill you? I have to admit, even my skeptical nature was shocked when I read a study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that solidly links … Read more
Sugar addiction has been compared to heroin addiction in terms of its severity. In fact, I think the similarity is more akin to alcohol addiction. You’ll often see people in recovery programs who end up gaining a great deal of weight because they substitute sugar for alcohol since the effects on brain chemistry are similar. … Read more
My regular readers know this is my frequent refrain: Fat Doesn’t make you fat. Sugar does. If you’re new, let me repeat: Fat doesn’t make you fat. Sugar does. An important new Brazilian study supports the notion that regular intake of healthy fats diminish the risk of diabetes and heart disease, both closely linked to … Read more
We all love our chocolate and recent research has given us myriad health reasons why that daily dose of dark chocolate is good for us. Now recent research shows us that chocolate—or at least a component of chocolate—can also erase wrinkles. What’s not to love? The benefit actually comes from the flavonoid-rich cocoa pod, the … Read more
Do you suffer from cramps or headaches? Joint pain? A kinky back? Instead of heading straight to the medicine cabinet, you may want to check out the kitchen first. Many foods contain nutrients that help make those aches and pains disappear. Here are three study-proven and mostly easy-to-swallow ways to banish pain: FISH — fork … Read more
Do you have pain in back, butt or legs? You’re not alone! Experts estimate that 80 percent of all of us will experience back pain sometime in our lives. We Americans spend $50 billion a year trying to relieve it, usually without positive results. If your back pain is caused by an injury, you have … Read more