Last week, we noted a pretty common phenomenon: folks who will let their kids feast on sugary, hyper-processed junk all day, then strictly insist on brushing and flossing at bedtime, as if that could undo all the damage. Of course, it’s not just an issue for parents and kids. Who hasn’t at least once done […]
diet
Diet, Food Allergies & Your Gut
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” The opposite also contains some truth. Just as there are healing diets – those that give a body the nutritional support it needs to properly self-regulate – there are diets that can harm. Of course, if you want to get […]
GMOs & Label Language
If you listen to many political debates in this country, you couldn’t be blamed for thinking that Americans can’t seem to agree on much of anything. But ask whether you think GMOs should be labeled, and you’ll find almost unanimous support. Ninety-three percent say yes. Yet last week, two more attempts to require those labels […]
The Fat of the Matter Is Muscle
When it comes to obesity, it’s easy to get simplistic. People get fat because of “too many calories”? Yes, but calories of what, exactly? A calorie is nothing but a unit of measurement – like a gallon or an inch or a pound. And it’s coming clearer than ever that our bodies respond differently to […]
Choosing the Chow You Chew
If healthy eating is the norm for you, junk food – starchy, sugary, simple carb foods – likely has little appeal. In fact, eating it can probably make you feel really sick, really fast. On the other hand, those who tend to eat mostly hyper-processed foods may find it hard to imagine any pleasure or […]
From the Archives: Food as Medicine? The Big Picture Matters
Originally posted February 26, 2013; updated For all the “health care” that happens in this country, we seem to have a real problem when it comes to preventive care – in dentistry or otherwise – even as all of our most common chronic conditions can be largely avoided. Yet, despite billions of dollars spent each […]
Obesity & Gum Disease
The good news: The obesity epidemic seems to be easing among kids. According to data just published in JAMA, the obesity rate among 2 to 5 year olds dropped from 14% to 8% over the past 10 years. The meh news: Add teens to the mix, and the overall youth obesity rate hasn’t changed much […]
9 Reasons to Demand Real Food
Our bodies are not designed to eat the kind of highly processed products sold by the giant food corporations, nor the synthetic chemical residues that cling to industrially raised produce, meat and dairy, nor genetically engineered foods that would never have developed in nature without human help. As one registered dietitian has put it, “The […]