Salt is absolutely essential to health. It is one of the five basic tastes we have receptors for in our mouth (along with sweetness, bitterness, sourness and umami), and it is an important element in the body’s “interior ocean”. The human body tightly regulates salt concentration because it is crucial to chemical reactions that support ...…
In general I think we should try to meet most of our nutrient needs by eating fresh foods. After all, that’s the the way humans are adapted to absorbing nutrients. Isolated, synthetic nutrients don’t have the same effect on our bodies, because most nutrients require co-factors and enzymes to be properly absorbed and activated. These ...…
Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for babies. Think about it: mother nature has had more than 2.5 million years to figure this one out. Breast milk contains the perfect mix of fat, protein and carbohydrate for the babies developing physiology. It contains protective substances that give her immunity to diseases. In the early stages ...…
Remember back in the early 90s when lean proteins like boneless, skinless chicken breast, nonfat milk and whey protein powder became all the rage? This was based on the idea that fat is bad for us (which we now know is wrong) and we should avoid it as much as possible. But it turns out ...…
There’s a common misconception that beta-carotene found in fruits and vegetables is the same thing as vitamin A. It’s not. Beta-carotene is the precursor (inactive form) of retinol, the active form of vitamin A. While beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in humans, only 3% gets converted in a healthy adult. And that’s assuming you’re ...…
A while back, a colleague of mine turned me on to the idea of sourdough buckwheat crepes. Since I’m always looking for new things to put butter and cream on, I thought I’d give it a try. The results were adequate, but I had a couple of issues: No matter how much fat I put ...…
Folate (commonly – but mistakenly – known as folic acid) is the vitamin most women know is essential during pregnancy. It’s necessary for the production of new DNA, and new DNA is needed for all new cells. As a baby grows in the womb, constant cell division is taking place which requires the continual production ...…
Over the past two to three decades, we’ve been told that soy products like soy milk and tofu are healthy alternatives to meat and dairy. But is that actually true? Soy is now ubiquitous in the modern diet. You don’t have to be a tofu-loving hippie to consume a lot of soy. Why? Because soy ...…
Over the last decade we’ve been told it’s no longer safe to eat fish because of the high levels of mercury they contain. These toxins, we’re told, can cause neurological problems and increase the risk of cancer. Pregnant women have been especially warned due to the potentially harmful effect these toxins could have on the ...…
Iron is a mineral that has long been known to be important during pregnancy. It’s essential to making hemoglobin, the molecule that carries oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body. During pregnancy, blood volume increases by 30%, which means women need more iron to make more hemoglobin. This is especially true during the ...…