Many nutritionists agree that grilled or poached wild salmon is wonderfully healthy. But it can also become rather monotonous if that’s the only way you prepare it. However, there is a way of adding extra flavor and texture to salmon without the addition of refined carbohydrates in the form of bread crumbs. My solution is to encrust it using aromatic seasonings and ground nuts. Read more »

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 »

Does snacking assist with weight loss or encourage weight gain? At first glance the answer may seem obvious. Many people come to the conclusion that adding a snack or two to your daily schedule surely increases caloric intake and, thereby, contributes to extra pounds. Well, that’s one theory. Another theory is that snacking between meals can help balance blood sugar and stave off overeating in subsequent meals. So which of these competing hypotheses is correct? I’ll give you my two cents on this debate in today’s Healthy Monday tip. * Read more »

When you embark on a major lifestyle change, you need to accept the reality that certain dietary sacrifices are required. But in some instances you can still enjoy many of your familiar comfort foods provided that you adapt them. In my previous life, I frequently had cookies and milk for breakfast or as a “light” snack. I’ve long since abandoned any notion that I could eat this way again – at least not with a clear conscience. That is, until now. Read more »

Hippocrates, the much revered ancient Greek physician and “father of Western medicine”, is reputed to have said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. Modern science continually supports his notion that common, everyday foods can indeed possess medicinal properties. But that doesn’t mean that every natural food will be therapeutic under every circumstance. Rather, researchers need to study nutritional medicine meticulously on a case-by-case basis.
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When I consult with a client about nutrition, I generally ask them to keep a one-week food diary. This not only gives me an idea about their typical nutrient intake, but also yields a seemingly unrelated point: most people tend to eat a relatively limited selection of foods on a regular basis. This is important to note when asking someone to eliminate specific foods from their menu plan. In essence, this strategy shows my clients that we can put together a delicious and practical list of meals and snacks that is more varied than their normal diet. One of the best and simplest ways to do this is to mix and match healthy recipes. Read more »

There are many road blocks to achieving successful weight loss and long term weight maintenance. Chief among them is a lack of culinary creativity and access to a wide variety of diet-friendly foods. When you read the final part of that last sentence, certain unexciting foods probably came to mind such as carrot and celery sticks or, perhaps, the much dreaded rice cakes. That’s not my idea of an ideal snack if you’re looking to shed excess pounds or maintain a healthy weight. 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 »

Several weeks ago I posted a link on Twitter about the benefits of drinking water on weight loss. One response I received essentially asked, “Doesn’t everyone know that drinking water helps you lose weight?”. Well, I suppose many people do. But this reader’s question may reflect similar thoughts you’ve had while reading my daily blogs. You may detect familiar ground in some of the issues I cover. In fact, at times I even point out that I’m updating a particular health issue. The reason I do this may not be entirely clear. Scientists generally like to re-test widely held beliefs in order to clarify and verify them. Even the most widely accepted concepts in medicine benefit from further investigation. The result of such inquiries often add to the knowledge base and allow for a more accurate application of the information in question. Read more »

I always try to find new and inventive ways to improve the health of those I love. I keep this objective in mind whenever I scour the medical journals or surf the information superhighway. But, in all honesty, I have an even more specific agenda – to discover delicious, pleasurable and/or simple ways of promoting wellness in my family and friends. I simply despise having to tell them that they need to make difficult changes in order to achieve better health. Sometimes this an unavoidable fact of life. However, if there is any way for me to offer a kinder, gentler alternative that’s precisely what I’ll do. Read more »

The most cost effective way to reduce medical spending is to require less of it. This isn’t a commentary on what the government or private health insurance companies should or should not cover. What I am suggesting is that we can, in large part, control the number of medical interventions that we’ll need over a lifetime. This is primarily the domain of preventive medicine, but I think it extends beyond that. The lifestyle decisions you make affect more lives than just your own. Like it or not, we all set an example whether constructive or destructive for those around us. There is no escaping that reality. The good news is that we’re all capable of changing the way we live and becoming better role models. It is that very notion that can empower us all to participate in reshaping the current medical system. Read more »

When I was putting together today’s column I envisioned myself sporting an impeccably coiffed hairdo, a designer suit and a flamboyant tie. I’m standing in the middle of a bustling conference room filled with some of the top names in the field of cancer research. I have a microphone in hand and I’m speaking directly into the eye of a television camera. “This is JP, the ‘healthy fellow’, reporting live from The American Association for Cancer Research’s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention. Experts from around the world have converged in Houston, Texas to discuss the latest and greatest news about how we can all reduce our risk of cancer. More on that, at the top of the hour. Back to you in studio, Stacey and Charles”. The reality is that I’m sitting at my usual work desk, trying hard to tune out the sounds of a couple of loud neighbors while reviewing a bunch a studies presented at the previously mentioned AACR conference. It may not be glamorous, but I love it. Read more »

Last Friday came and went without any major calamity occurring in my life. I mention this because Friday’s date was November 13th. Or, for those who tend to be superstitious – Friday the 13th. This is a date that has become synonymous with bad luck. The modern association of Friday with the number 13 appears to trace back to a book published in 1907 entitled Friday the Thirteenth. It’s a tale about a villainous businessman who tries to destroy the stock market on that specific date. A popular silent film version of the novel ensued in 1916. Later, the unrelated Friday the 13th horror film series reawakened this fear inducing urban myth. This may be laughable to some of you, but others actually alter their lives in anticipation of this date – they postpone business meetings, family gatherings, travel, etc. However, myths are not the exclusive territory of scary films and novelists. Quite a few superstitions have made their way into the field of nutrition as well. Read more »