Even if you eat a healthy diet, you may not be absorbing vital fat-soluble nutrients and amino acids needed for optimal health. That’s because with age, we experience a decline in the enzymes our bodies produce to break down foods into absorbable nutrients.
Lentil soup is a nutritional powerhouse! When combined with other vegetables and spices, lentils will leave you feeling full longer than other types of soups. Part of the legume (bean) family, lentils contain high levels of both soluble and insoluble fiber, making them a satiating and low calorie choice, helpful for weight management. Soluble fiber absorbs water and creates a gel consistency that is known for binding cholesterol-containing bile and escorting it out of the body, helping you detox. Insoluble fiber consists of plant-compounds that the body cannot digest, helping contribute to healthy bowels. Together, this high fiber content can […]
Try buying enchilada sauce in a can or jar and you’ll be hard-pressed to find one without sugar somewhere on the ingredient label. Why alter the wonderful anti-cancer effects of a tomato-based product with an inflammatory food like sugar? The reason sugar is almost always added is because tomato-based sauces can be acidic and sugar adjusts this flavor well. Try the recipe without any sweetener, but if you find it a tad acidic, you can try a small amount of neutral sweetener such as agave syrup if needed. The health properties of tomatoes, particularly lycopene, are enhanced by cooking […]
I love to cook and entertain, especially during the holidays, but this holiday season challenged us all to celebrate differently with Zoom parties, staying at home, and social distancing. For me, baking is a great way to de-stress, and because I believe in indulging friends and family with delicious food, drink and desserts, this year I made my mother’s recipe for fruitcake and my own recipe for biscotti and had them delivered. After a couple of months of holiday meals and baking up a storm, I am ready to start 2022 with a “clean” slate. That calls for some detoxing. […]
This winter we need to be particularly careful to avoid colds and flu. I am just too busy to get sick, so I pay special attention to what I eat. My father was a doctor in Southeast Asia and he always said that if you are in general good health, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water and wash your hands frequently, you’re doing a lot to prevent a nasty case of the flu. Now, as we fight a pandemic, we need to wear masks in public to protect ourselves and others. Here are some immune-boosting foods that are […]
Doctors often need to give patients advice on their diets. I have talked with countless patients who are confused about the huge amount of information on what will keep you healthy, what will keep you thin, and what will keep you young. Furthermore, the latest news about healthy eating often changes from year to year and even month to month. To make life easier for my patients, I follow the latest research in nutrition and healthy eating. One food that consistently makes headlines has actually been around for hundreds of years. I am talking about kefir, the cultured milk beverage. […]
If you’ve never tried cherimoya, you are in for a real treat. Also known as a “custard apple,” one juicy bite and you’ll know why. The taste is the best qualities of mango, banana, papaya, and vanilla flavors and the flesh itself is creamy smooth. Cherimoyas are native to South America, but I have several of the small, bushy trees growing on my ranch near San Diego where they produce fruit from March through May. You can smash cherimoyas and use the pulp in smoothies or as a sauce for ice cream, but I love to cut them in half […]
Like many people from Asia, I’ve always loved ginger. Besides tasting wonderful in soups, stir-fries, rice dishes, beverages, and desserts, it’s like a little medicine chest filled with natural remedies and health benefits. Traditional Indian medicine calls ginger the “universal remedy,” and for good reason. It’s commonly used to relieve nausea, stimulate circulation, relax muscles, ease pain, and reduce inflammation. As a child, my mother would make a comforting Chinese porridge with ginger when I wasn’t feeling well, or she’d boil fresh ginger with honey to create a soothing tea for coughs and sore throats. To this day, I still […]
Today’s complex techno-world is full of man-made processed foods, synthetic medicines, and artificial replicas of just about everything. Yet, there are 4 of Nature’s superpower foods that you can still turn to for good health, especially as you get older. Here’s what they are… Super Seeds: 4 of Nature’s Best Anti-Aging, Health Boosting Foods It’s hard to find one man-made super food, let alone 4, that offers protection for your heart, brain, bones, joints, and keeps your skin looking ageless to boot. Yet, that’s exactly what these 4 super seeds do. If you haven’t added at least 1 of them […]
Eating healthfully on the night shift to optimize your energy levels and ‘feel fueled’ is its own science. Here are some quick tips and ideas for brown bag meals that will help you avoid the drowsy ‘post-lunch’ feeling when you’re working through the night. Instead of having a large meal, have several quick, healthy snacks. Remember that your body’s normal digestive rhythm can also be disrupted by shift work, resulting in indigestion and heartburn, which can awaken you and keep you up when you’re trying to sleep. Eat small portions to include two meals and two snacks, eating every two […]