Proponents of the alkaline diet claim that eating certain foods influences the body’s acid-base homeostasis, or pH levels. It’s believed that encouraging a healthy, pH balanced environment within the body can produce favorable effects on one’s health.[1] It sounds like a good idea, and it is true that tissues and fluids must maintain a certain…
Author Michael Pollan has a great quote that goes, “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” This is so relevant to the food landscape we modern folks are faced with these days. Take, for example, something like gummy bears. Are they edible? Yes. Are they food? Well… they’re food-like. So many of the…
It sounds like a bad joke, but it’s the sad truth: Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the nation’s 2 top soda makers, recently gave money to several prominent public health groups – including some run by the government. [1] The sadder truth: Those groups were more than happy to accept the funds. As reported by a new study…
In the 19th century, castor oil was a common remedy in American homes (see old advertisement, right), but its use has fallen out of favor, perhaps in part because people have become aware of the notorious killer, ricin (which comes from castor seeds but is not present in the pressed oil). The FDA has categorized the oil…
Valued in ancient times as currency and once considered more precious than gold, cinnamon — one of the world’s oldest known spices — has one of the highest antioxidant values of all foods and its use in medicine treats everything from nausea to menstruation and energy to diabetes. It’s the bark of the cinnamon tree…
Almonds are familiar to many people as a healthy food, but how exactly do they affect our health? Rich in many compounds that can be lacking in a Standard American Diet (appropriately abbreviated S.A.D.), almonds can be a tasty solution to many of the chronic health conditions and diseases seen today. Almonds are one of…
