My wife and I had the pleasure of celebrating Father’s Day with my parents and sister this past weekend. It may come as no surprise, but the topic of health almost always pops up whenever we get together. The unfortunate reality is that some of the stories we discuss are rather sobering. For instance, my mother mentioned an old friend of the family who is now in her late 90′s. Apparently she’s lost much of her appetite so that her nutritional outlook isn’t very promising. This is particularly troubling because getting adequate nutrition is all the more important for seniors. This exchange with my mom inspired the following two recipes. Read more »

Today, I’m going to attempt the impossible. Simply put, my goal is to make the case that cheesecake can be a health food. You read that right! Cheesecake is a health food. Of course I’m not just talking just any kind of cheesecake. There are a few substitutions that need to be made. But the good news is that the end result will hopefully be as equally pleasing to your palate as the unhealthy version to which most people have become accustomed. Read more »

Patterns are vital pieces of information in the field of preventive health care. Researchers are constantly on the look-out for trends that can be applied in the prevention of just about every medical condition known to man. Even maladies that have a strong genetic component are of interest because certain lifestyle choices can activate or de-activate genes that are associated with such illnesses. When it comes to lifestyle factors, dietary influences have received the lion’s share of scientific interest. The interplay between diet and gene expression has even been given a name: nutrigenomics. Read more »

Last Friday I was zigzagging between exhibitor booths at the Anaheim Convention Center. One of the most pleasant surprises I discovered was the omnipresence of stevia-based items and finished products sweetened with stevia. Even the coffee shops and concession stands throughout the convention center provided only honey, sugar and stevia as condiments. There was nary an artificial sugar substitute to be found at this gathering. Read more »

In everyone’s life there are specific images that we associate with childhood. It might be a photograph taken on a family vacation or the memory of a swing set that used to reside in the backyard of your first home. Iconic foods can also take us back in time to our youth. More often than not, these foods consist of confections that we’ve mostly given up as we’ve grown older and more health conscious. One of the most memorable treats from my early years is the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one because I no longer eat bread and sugar sweetened jelly. But Mrs.Healthy Fellow recently came up with a creative solution that could once again reunite me with my childhood buddy, PB&J. Read more »

The work life of a writer tends to be quite solitary. I research on my own. I come up with topics in a committee of one. I even read the final drafts of my columns out loud to myself before I post them. That’s why I sometimes like to imagine that I work in a large advertising firm. Just like all the other worker bees, I’d have to march into the main conference room each morning and pitch my ideas to the “head honchos”. In that scenario, the one thing I can be sure of is this: If my material isn’t compelling enough, it won’t go into production. Read more »

A few months ago I wrote a column about a relatively obscure sweetener known as luo han guo. It was of interest to me because it’s a natural, zero-calorie sweetener that doesn’t appear to impact blood sugar levels and may even possess some health promoting properties. The real question in my mind was how luo han guo compared to another similar sweetener called stevia. To that end, I did some very basic blood sugar testing on myself in order to compare how luo han guo and stevia affected me.
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I have an online friend who lives in Japan. He recently asked me about a product that he has been seeing in stores in his part of world. The product label claims that it’s a natural, low calorie alternative to sugar. My first thought was that he must be referring to stevia. I know that stevia is commercially available in Japan and has been used there for several decades now. But as it turns out, the product that caught his eye was something quite different. It’s an exotic fruit extract known as luo han guo.
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As you’ve probably gathered I’m a big supporter of the natural health industry. On the whole I believe they promote a healthier society by providing alternative options for an increasingly toxic world. However on occasion I need to point out areas in which I disagree with certain prevailing notions within the industry. Today I’m going to discuss one disturbing trend with regard to the promotion of a natural sweetener called agave nectar (or syrup). Read more »

If you’ve gone shopping lately and looked around the sweetener section, you may have seen a few new faces on the block. Products like Truvia and ZSweet are popping up all over the country and beyond. But what are they really? And are they really safe? Read more »