Choosing the oil that you generally cook with is an important contribution to your diet and health. In this post, I share some principles about evaluating, and if desirable, changing your cooking oil. The top four vegetable cooking oils consumed in the United States are soybean, canola, palm, and corn oil. These oils are referred […]

June is national dairy month, so I thought that I’d address dairy foods and saturated fats. If there is any one category of food that’s a mixed bag, it’s dairy. Dairy products have been eaten for millennia, but the issue of saturated fat may be scaring people away from including dairy products. Saturated Fat One […]

Last week I wrote about Individual Practicality, Balance and Sustainability; I addressed the question, “Why bother?” (to exercise, that is, if it doesn’t lead to much weight loss by itself). This past week new research has been published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology; and it’s a remarkable report on recent […]

If you want to really understand blood pressure, there’s a wonderful article on the Medical News Today (MNT) website. What I like about this particular article is that you do not need to have had a course in physiology, anatomy and biology to understand the article. It is written for all who are interested; and […]

Every time I write the goals to improve diet, it always includes incorporating nuts. It’s pretty easy to quickly skim over the information that researchers have found that nuts are associated with improved health (especially cardiovascular, diabetes and metabolic syndrome) and not really take the next step to adding nuts to your regular eating habits. […]

The Mediterranean DASH, it sounds like some kind of a race or a dance. Right? But, of course, I’m writing about eating styles. What I’m addressing today is the question in many persons’ minds; which way should I go to eat in a healthy way? I’ve written quite a bit about the Mediterranean-style of eating, […]

Let me ‘cut to the chase.’ The British Medical Journal published a study on January 22, 2015 presenting an argument that statins save fewer lives than simple lifestyle changes like exercising and eating sensibly. Yes, I know that many people don’t want to be bothered by changing their eating, smoking or exercising habits. It’s no […]

There is neither a single food nor single group of foods that can be consumed that offer optimal health. Balance and variety are an important aspect of diet. If we want not only to be healthy, but also to enjoy our meals, then we should remember balance and variety. We should be very mindful of […]

When I speak to college students, especially non-science majors, I often encourage them to take some science classes; like say, physiology. The reason for this seemingly bizarre suggestion is that I’ve found it so upsetting over the years to see how the food processors, commodities companies and their organizations can effectively distort science. I believe […]

I was reading a new study that has been published on line for free in Neurology. At first I would say that there were no surprises; but on second look, I feel that the size of the stroke risk reduction is pretty amazing – 54%. The researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden found […]