Cooking For Health

For Disease Risk Reduction, Broc Rocks!

By Erik Goldman

Imagine if there were a drug that could reduce risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease by roughly 40%, without any adverse effects. Even better, people would only need to take it 2 or 3 times per week to obtain these preventive benefits. It turns out there is such a thing. It’s called broccoli. People who […]

Shiitake Mushrooms: Make Sure They’re Well-Cooked

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) are a healthful and nutritious culinary delight—provided they’re cooked thoroughly. Eaten raw or undercooked, however, they can trigger a florid dermatitis in some people. A recent case report in the New England Journal of Medicine provides an important reminder of the possibility of this uncommon but dramatic reaction. Drs. Eglė Janušonytė […]

Maternal Aspartame Consumption Linked to Autism Risk in Children

By Erik Goldman

Women who drink diet soda or consume other aspartame-containing products during pregnancy may be unwittingly putting their male children at risk for autism spectrum disorders. That’s the troubling signal from a new study of more than 350 maternal-child pairs, by Sharon Fowler, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. […]

Digestion, Inflammation, and Immunity: An Ayurvedic Perspective

By Charles Elder, MD, MPH

In recent years conventional biomedicine has begun to recognize that disruptions in the composition of the microbiome and the integrity of the gut lining are key factors in the pathogenesis of certain chronic disorders.  For example, we know that in celiac disease, exposure to gluten induces an immune response which in turn triggers inflammation. This […]

Anti-Nutrients: Finding the Forest for the Trees

By Deanna Minich, PhD, CNS, Contributing Writer

In recent years, a number of prominent health influencers have embraced the idea that there is a “plant paradox,” and that people should stop eating kale and other common vegetables because they’re allegedly full of toxic “anti-nutrients” such as lectins, oxalates, goitrogens, tannin, and phytates. In promoting this view, they are overturning decades of research—as […]

Eosinophilic Esophagitis on the Rise, Responsive to Diet Changes

By Erik Goldman

Prevalence of eosinic esophagitis is rising the US. Though seldom life-threatening, this condition is highly burdensome for those affected. Over the long term, it can have detrimental impact on nutritional status and overall health. Fortunately, EoE is often responsive to dietary interventions if carefully implemented, said Bethany Doerfler, MS, RD, at the 2023 Integrative Healthcare […]

The Meat Industry’s “Cultural” Revolution

By Madiha Saeed, MD & Erik Goldman

The meat industry is about to undergo a “cultural” revolution…..a tissue culture revolution, to be precise. The soaring global demand for meat has opened doors to alternative ways of producing consumable animal tissue, ushering in the first major challenge to industrial-scale animal agriculture in history. Numerous companies worldwide, some backed by major investors, are now […]

Frequent Coffee Consumption Reduces Womens’ Diabetes Risk

By Erik Goldman

Good news for women who love coffee. Those who drink 4 or more cups of caffeinated coffee daily have a markedly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with those who drink less than one. That’s the conclusion from a recent prospective study involving 4,522 women with prior histories of gestational diabetes, who were […]

Quenching the Dehydration Nation

By Deanna Minich, PhD & Erik Goldman

Earlier this year, a game-changing study looking at the long-term health impact of dehydration gained the attention of CNN, NBC News, and other major media outlets. The massive project, part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, followed over 11,000 individuals for 25 years, to test a hypothesis […]

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Risk of Gestational Diabetes, Ecclampsia

By August West, Contributing Writer

Women who follow a Mediterranean diet pattern—high in fresh vegetables and fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and fish, but low in saturated fats, red meat, and processed foods—have a markedly lower risk of gestational diabetes, eclampsia, pre-eclampsia, and other adverse outcomes of pregnancy. That’s the key signal from a new study of nearly 8,000 geographically, […]