October 9, 2013

Heart-Healthy Foods Help You Live Longer

The health of our arteries is so important for longevity. More people in the U.S. die from inflamed arteries (which can lead to heart attack and stroke) than from cancer or any other disease.
October 1, 2013

FoodTrients Pack Powers of Medicine

As a healthcare professional, I see doctors prescribe five, ten, even twenty medications to one patient without giving any nutritional advice. I’m not saying that food should replace all medicines, and you should check with your doctor to make sure that any medications you take are not counteracted by a particular food.  However, I do think that the plate is the place to start for living a long and healthy life. For centuries, many cultures have used natural foods as their medicine chest. They understand that certain herbs and leaves offer curative powers. Hippocrates, a Greek physician who practiced medicine […]
September 3, 2013

FoodTrients Are for Kids, Too!

“Eat your vegetables!” is a familiar refrain of parents the world over. When I was a young girl in Southeast Asia, my father insisted I eat my vegetables. He was a doctor and he knew the power of eating whole, fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables. Today, I see so many quick-service restaurants offering meat and cheese and bread (pizza, hamburgers, mac & cheese, chicken nuggets) but no cooked vegetables. It’s distressing. And although some fast-food chains now offer salads, many kids don’t really enjoy eating them. So what is a parent to do? For children to get the benefits of nutrient-rich […]
August 7, 2013

Debunking the Myth of Coconut

I occasionally ate coconuts, drank coconut water or cooked with coconut oil when I was growing up in the tropics of southeast Asia, because I had always been told by my father that the fat in coconuts was bad for my health. My mother would regularly add warm coconut oil to my hair to make it
July 17, 2013

Where’s the Beef? A New Take on Burgers

  Part of my goal in creating FoodTrients has been to help people get healthier by eating wholesome foods. I have helped friends regulate their diabetes by encouraging them to drink my chia frescas every day. I have helped older relatives stay nourished by providing them fresh moringa leaves to incorporate in soups, dips, and other foods. And countless colleagues have told me that they have learned just from reading my blogs how the food they eat affects their bodies. Now, I am addressing people’s requests to create healthy versions of their favorite comfort foods.
July 3, 2013

Asian Fusion: A Fistful of Flavors

  In Southeast Asia, where I grew up, the cuisine has been influenced by many countries: China, Japan, Spain, France, America, and to some extent the Middle East and Northern Africa. So I’ve been practicing fusion cooking my whole life. My mother ran a cooking school and my family operated multiple restaurants. My recipe for shrimp on sugar-cane skewers is a perfect example of Asian fusion food.
May 21, 2013

Top Produce for Longevity

As anti-aging and other health experts know, the key to wellness is nutrient density and diversity—qualities that are found in colorful fruits and
May 8, 2013

The Truth about Grains: My Top 30

Eating whole foods is essential for optimum nutrition and is a significant anti-aging strategy. Eating whole grains—and foods made from them—is part of this strategy. Whole grains have more nutrients than refined grains. Ancient grains—such as emmer wheat (farro), einkorn, kamut (khorasan wheat), spelt, barley, rye, triticale, semolina, durum, and buckwheat—are far more nutrient dense than modern American high-yield wheat.