How the Food Industry Gets You to Buy Their Products The sly marketing of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has contributed to our epidemic of obesity—in the US and around the world. UPFs are highly palatable edible substances formulated in food science labs using the broken down, refined, or reconfigured building blocks of food-carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. […]
All Food Calories Are Not Created Equal
What has puzzled me over the years is how little some people claim to eat, but they still gain weight. After all, the conventional wisdom is that if one consumes 3500 calories more than they “burn,” one will gain one pound and if someone eats 3500 calories fewer than their metabolic needs and activities demand, […]
Perimenopause & Heightened Sense of Smell
During perimenopause, many women develop a heightened sense for smells that family members or co-workers may not notice. (I certainly did.) A woman may also become sensitized to smells emanating from her, other family members, an office space, or her household that were previously never noticed. Not surprisingly, along with all the changes that occur […]
Gluten Intolerance? Or Something Else in Wheat?
Part 5 in the Food Sensitivity series Ever wonder what all the fuss is about with gluten? Until challenged by lectins, gluten has been the fashionable food to avoid. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye and high gluten wheat flour is valued for its stretchy characteristics and ability to help bread […]
Food Sensitivity: Histamines
(Part 4 of the Food Sensitivity series) Did you ever lay down at night and notice a new runny congested nose, itching, scratchy throat, or vague gastrointestinal (GI) discomfort? Maybe it was something you ate—food and drink containing histamines. For some people, especially foodies, edible sources of histamines add up to cause these and other […]
Food Sensitivities: Saponins
(Part 3 of the Food Sensitivity Series) Ever feel like your intestines have been pulled out, scrubbed, and hung out to dry? Eating large quantities of foods and herbs containing compounds called saponins (pronounced SAP-uh-nins) can cause this assault on your gastrointestinal (GI) system. Saponins derive their name from the Latin word for soap and […]