Last week I read a story about a fruit breeder in Kern County – a rural part of California where I enjoyed shooting the rapids, floating down the Kern River and exploring the mountains during my preteen and teenage years. One on my numerous childhood memories of the ‘50s and ‘60s was the drive to […]

Sometimes being a dietitian/nutritionist provides the opportunity for an imaginary movie to appear right before my eyes. The latest experience happened on Wednesday when our daily community newspaper hit the breakfast counter along with National Geographic’s August 2013 issue. My imaginary movie was a train wreck; the following are some details of the wreck. The […]

I know that case studies are not powerful; statistically speaking that is. But I must confess that I really enjoy reading case studies of those who have lost weight – made lasting change to their eating style. Besides the joy of reading about someone’s success, what cases do offer are ideas about what might work […]

Thirteen plus years ago I moved to the mountain west from southern California; among the many differences that I noted, were that there seemed to be more people that didn’t eat fish. What I really mean is that I’ve met many people who had not even tasted fish – ever. Growing up with a grandfather […]

I’ve been telling friends for quite a while, to beware of the ‘zero trans fats’ on food labels; and have encouraged reading the ingredient portion of the label. In addition, I’ve encouraged them to avoid food products that list “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredient list. Of course most of us have known for a long […]

Elite athletes have traditionally focused upon large servings of animal protein, but even athletes trying to improve their performance are discovering plant-based diets. Is this move toward plants a signal for the rest of us? What’s going on? What are the athletes discovering? Why take a second look at veggies? A study published on line […]

The markings on the thermometer have begun to rise, but that’s not what’s really telling me that summer is here. It started with a Memorial Day picnic and it has continued since then with gatherings for graduations, a farewell, a birthday party, a baptism, a ‘welcome home,’ and a ‘nice that you’re here in town.’  […]

For readers of this blog, it will not come as a news flash that as convenient and often as tasty as they are, processed meats need to be used very sparingly. Many populations in poorer countries use any kind of meat sparingly, and up to a point, the less they use, the more health they […]

Have you noticed an increase in problems with flatulence (gas)? It seems that people immediately think of beans, cabbage, bran and milk. But maybe you’re overlooking a relatively new cause of gas – fiber additives using inulin, aka chicory root fiber, Frutalose, or other aliases. The big food processors are more and more often turning […]

As you know if you’ve read my old post about sugar and junk food, we prefer sweetness from birth. What a surprise! I remember what a tough time I had 30 or 40 years ago when my children were little and I believed that I always needed to have cookies on hand for them. (O.K., […]