Fish, low in contaminants like mercury, can be a low calorie and high protein addition to our diets.  Eating safe fish twice a week could help in the growth and development of children, and reduce the risks of heart attack, stroke, prostate cancer, depression and dementia in adults.  With their vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acid content, […]

Without rice much of the world’s population would starve.  Imagine Asian, East Indian, Mexican,  North African, Mediterranean, or South American cuisine without rice as the foundation.  The diversity of the population of the United States has led many of us to eat more rice than ever.  So, it was frightening when a few years ago, […]

An essential mineral, calcium is used for nerve conduction, bone density, and muscle contraction.  Our store-house of calcium is our bones.  As calcium is needed for these important functions, hormones tell the bones to release calcium into the blood making it available for use in those important functions.  Thus, it is important to consume enough calcium [and […]

As a chocolate snob myself, I am pleased to publish yet another reason to consume bittersweet chocolate.  A study reported in the British Medical Journal dated June 2015, described following nearly 21,000 chocolate-eating adults in England for 12 years.  Those with the highest chocolate consumption [16-99 grams per day – with 100gm being about 3.5 oz.] had […]

The American Institute for Cancer Research (visit- www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/) is a wonderful resource for information on how to use diet to reduce cancer risk, and provides information on foods to avoid that increase risk.  AICR suggestions for reducing cancer risk follow: 1.  Maintain a healthy weight.  Excess weight increases the risk of inflammation which increases the risk of cancers and […]

Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC] concluded in addition to the original list of cancers known to be linked to extra pounds on the human frame [colon, uterus, esophagus, kidney and breast in postmenopausal women], the list now includes eight more:  stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, ovary, thyroid, multiple myeloma [cancer of white […]

Dr. Justin Sonnenburg is an expert on the bacteria living in our digestive system, and an associate professor at the School of Medicine at Stanford University.  Recently interviewed by Environmental Nutrition, Dr. Sonnenburg said we have 100 times more genes in our microbial genome than in our own human genome, adding, “We are a fancy culturing flask.”   Our […]

I’m a subscriber to www.consumerlab.com , an independent laboratory that tests nutritional supplements to evaluate whether the contents match the claims on the labels.  There is little FDA oversight of this massive industry, and the principal Buyer Beware needs to be heeded.   Using the information on this website is very helpful to the wise supplement […]

Lutein is a nutrient found in many yellow and green vegetables.  Chopping, pureeing and cooking lutein-rich produce makes this nutrient more available for use in the human body. Research, reported in Environmental Nutrition, has demonstrated the value of lutein for maintaining the health of the retina of the eye, and the integrity of the skin.  Some studies have […]

The  January/February 2016  Journal of Clinical Lipidology [lipids are fats that float in the bloodstream, some line the blood vessel walls as dangerous plaque] reported on a meta-analysis of 10 studies with 229 subjects who replaced saturated dietary fat [butter, lard, mayonnaise, cheeses] with avocados.  This substitution resulted in a significant reduction of total cholesterol, LDL [“bad”] cholesterol, […]