Posts Tagged ‘Vegetables’

Triglyceride Heart Risk

November 25, 2013 Written by JP

For years, I’ve been telling my clients and physician friends that the current obsession with cholesterol levels is way out of focus. In my opinion, high LDL (aka “bad”) cholesterol is more likely than not a very small contributor to the current epidemic of cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, elevated triglycerides appear to be a far better marker for lifestyle choices which probably affect heart disease and stroke risk. Fortunately, a few, simple dietary changes can lower high triglycerides and significantly improve cardiovascular wellness. Best of all, lowering hypertriglyceridemia often doesn’t require any medications or supplements.

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Posted in Food and Drink, Heart Health, Nutrition | 17 Comments & Updates

Sweet Potato Greens

September 2, 2011 Written by JP

I’m always on the lookout for “new” foods that I can add to my diet to keep things interesting. If these culinary additions happen to be delicious and nutrient dense, all the better. Sweet potato leaves are an excellent candidate that I’m planning to experiment with for two reasons. First and foremost, they bring robust nutrition to the table. A publication appearing in the October 2010 issue of the journal Nutrition Reviews proclaims that eating sweet potato leaves may “play a role in health promotion by improving immune function, reducing oxidative stress and free radical damage, reducing cardiovascular disease risk, and suppressing cancer cell growth”. All of these assertions and more are backed up by scientific studies in prestigious medical journals.

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Posted in Food and Drink, Heart Health, Nutrition | 5 Comments & Updates

Fruit and Vegetable Supplements

August 22, 2011 Written by JP

There is much debate within alternative and conventional medical circles about the appropriate role of dietary supplements in patient care. Opinions range from absolute avoidance to daily dependence. However, there is one thing that just about everyone agrees on. A healthy diet should be the primary source of essential nutrients. But, what constitutes a wholesome diet? According to many nutritional authorities, an emphasis on low-glycemic fruits and non-starchy vegetables is an excellent starting point. If you have a hard time achieving this goal, I think it’s worth considering supplements that consist of concentrated fruit and vegetable extracts. The latest support for my position comes courtesy of a study published in the August 2011 issue of the journal Skin Pharmacology and Physiology. It found that a 12 week course of supplementation with “an encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice concentrate” resulted in statistically relevant improvements in skin quality (dermal density, hydration and thickness) in a group of 26 middle aged women. Two other publications from earlier this year go on to report that the same supplement decreased LDL cholesterol and oxidative stress in “heavy smokers” and reduced the incidence of common cold symptoms by 20% in a relatively large sampling of healthcare professionals. These are real world results that mimic what you might expect to find by eating a fruit and vegetable rich diet. This is also precisely the sort of data needed for patients and physicians to consider the validity of dietary supplements in their personal lives and public practices.

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Posted in Heart Health, Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements | 4 Comments & Updates

Catching Up With Dr. Barry Sears

July 6, 2011 Written by JP

One of the reasons I chose the Internet as my primary mode of communication is that it allows me to continually and publicly update my points of views without much lag time. If a new study is published that contradicts or modifies my opinion about a health topic, I can spread the word about the breaking data almost immediately. The same is not true of books, magazine articles or print newsletters. This reality often leaves me wondering what some of the finest minds in integrative medicine think about current headlines that don’t make it into their finished work. Fortunately, on occasion, I’m able to follow up with some of the health experts I respect the most and ask some of the questions that have been left unaddressed.
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Posted in Diabetes, Heart Health, Interviews | 5 Comments & Updates

Travel Nutrition

June 22, 2011 Written by JP

New York City is rightly considered one of the culinary capitals of the world. Top chefs from every conceivable background set up shop in NYC to show off their most creative and revolutionary gastronomic concepts. This is great news for visiting epicureans, but a potential disaster for anyone trying to adhere to a healthy diet. I fall squarely into both camps. I’m an admitted foodie that insists upon nutrient density. What to do?
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Posted in Diet and Weight Loss, Food and Drink, Nutrition | No Comments;

USDA Dinner Plate

June 1, 2011 Written by JP

Tomorrow will mark the release of a new educational tool created by the U.S.D.A. that is intended to shape the way Americans eat. A “dinner plate” will be used to illustrate the recommended intake of various food groups instead of using the previous graphic – a “food pyramid”. The exact details of what will be served on the plate have yet to be made public. But clues provided by administration insiders highlight the expected guidelines that are to come. Read more »


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Posted in Diet and Weight Loss, Food and Drink, Nutrition | 3 Comments & Updates

Spaghetti Squash Pasta Recipe

January 21, 2011 Written by JP

As a child of two Italian parents, I can tell you that one of the most difficult dietary changes I’ve made is to eliminate pasta from my life. The one thing that capellini, fettuccine, linguine and spaghetti all have in common is that they’re traditionally made from wheat flour. That, in and of itself, excludes them from my menu plan. Even reduced-carbohydrate pastas and countless others don’t work for me because they typically contain gluten – a protein found in grains that can provoke allergic reactions and other health consequences. But rather than give up on pasta altogether, I’ve opted to rediscover it in a slightly different form.
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Posted in Food and Drink, Nutrition, Recipes | 13 Comments & Updates

Blood Clots and Diet

November 29, 2010 Written by JP

I’ll be away on a business trip for the next couple weeks. I have some consulting work and research to conduct in Europe. While away, I plan to continue to post new content. However, you’ll notice a difference in the length of my road trip material. Some of my upcoming columns will be abbreviated because of my hectic itinerary and time constraints. But, when I return home, I hope to have some interesting anecdotes and information to share with you about my time abroad.
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Posted in Heart Health, Nutrition, Women's Health | 14 Comments & Updates

Meridia Drug Removal

October 11, 2010 Written by JP

One of the top news stories from this past week was the “voluntary” removal of the weight loss drug Meridia from the US market. Dr. John Jenkins, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug evaluation branch, stated “Meridia’s continued availability is not justified when you compare the very modest weight loss that people achieve on this drug to their risk of heart attack or stroke”. Presently, there are an estimated 100,000 patients in the US using this previously sanctioned medication. But now, they’re being urged to discontinue using it and consult with their physicians about alternative means of losing those extra pounds. My Healthy Monday tip of the week is to strategically use safe dietary techniques to accomplish your weight loss goals instead of potentially dangerous drugs.
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Posted in Diet and Weight Loss, Nutrition | 4 Comments & Updates

Juice Supplements

September 1, 2010 Written by JP

There are few topics in modern medicine that stir as much debate as nutritional supplementation. At first glance, it seems like such an innocuous subject matter. What could possibly be so controversial about the concept of supplementing in order to protect against a potential nutrient deficiency? On one side of the fence, you have some allopathic physicians who believe that supplements give license to patients to eat an unhealthy diet. Surprisingly, some on the naturopathic front share a similar perspective. They believe that the goodness found in natural, whole foods can’t possibly be matched by most supplements. In an ideal world, mankind could be expected to derive all that’s needed from the environment and food supply. But that’s a different world than the one we live in.
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Posted in Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Product Reviews | 7 Comments & Updates

Food Economics

August 19, 2010 Written by JP

There are certain trends that are very difficult to predict. Long term economic forecasts, technological prognostication and weather outlooks are notorious for making many analysts look the fool. However, select aspects of health care are considerably easier to estimate. An example is preventable disease. Far too many people are literally speeding up their own demise by the way they live their lives. Some of the hardest hit segments of this population are children and adults experiencing financial hardship. What is desperately needed is some meaningful form of intervention. Several recent messages on Twitter offer practical suggestions about how to reduce the economic burden and widespread damage associated with preventable health conditions.
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Posted in Children's Health, Diet and Weight Loss, Food and Drink | 4 Comments & Updates

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

August 17, 2010 Written by JP

Recently, Mrs. Healthy Fellow and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary. When we first started dating one of our favorite meals was a dish known as Melanzane Alla Caprina – a devilish, culinary creation from Italy, the land of my ancestors. Goat cheese is rolled into breaded and fried slices of eggplant, then topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and served with freshly baked, artisan bread. We’ve long since abandoned that style of eating. But the lovely recollections of that time period were in my thoughts while I was thinking up a recipe for this week.
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Posted in Food and Drink, Recipes | 7 Comments & Updates

Healthy Vacation Tips

August 6, 2010 Written by JP

Traveling can be be a lot of fun but it can also be challenging if you’re on a prescribed diet or wellness routine. Mrs. Healthy Fellow and I were reminded of this when we spent this past July in Martha’s Vineyard. Today I’m going tell you about a few of the strategies we personally employed and also give you an idea about what kinds of foods we ate while away from home. If we can manage to stay true to our health objectives while on the road, so can you. Read more »


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Posted in Exercise, Food and Drink, Nutrition | 9 Comments & Updates