My mom was a very no-nonsense type of person. When her blood sugars began to rise slightly as she entered her 70s, she announced that she did not want take any diabetes medicine. From then on, she kept her blood sugars normal through a combination of common sense and careful carbohydrate consumption. Once, she was hospitalized for what she called a “minor procedure.” The procedure went fine, but not the food. The first meal they brought her consisted of breaded fish (frozen), mashed potatoes (instant), corn (canned), a dinner roll (frozen), and tea (2 sugar packets on tray). “If I ate that, my blood sugars would have gone through the roof!” she told me. She drank the tea (without sugar), and called my dad, who arrived in short order with a chopped salad, roasted peppers, and meat loaf. Continue reading
Category Archives: Manufactured calories
Real Food is Love
It’s a new year, and I’d like to talk about why I write this blog. I want to make sure you understand how very big is the difference between real food and manufactured calories. Real food nourishes. At best, manufactured calories entertain. Manufactured calories also cause a great many serious medical problems. Like breast and colon cancer; diabetes, obesity, and arthritis; strokes and heart attacks. For starters. Continue reading
Color Your New Year
It’s a new year, and I’d like to talk about why I write this blog. I want to make sure you understand how very big is the difference between real food and manufactured calories. Real food nourishes. At best, manufactured calories entertain. Manufactured calories also cause a great many serious medical problems. Like breast and colon cancer; diabetes, obesity, and arthritis; strokes and heart attacks. For starters. Continue reading
About Manufactured Crackers, plus Recipe
My book group makes the most amazing meals. There are never any assignments; creativity runs wild. A while ago, I took the time to write down one particularly memorable meal: That night we ate roasted eggplant appetizer; spinach salad with roasted beets, pomegranates, red onions, and golden raisins; sweet corn pudding; grated Jarlsberg cheese and red onions on whole-grain crackers; squash soup; and chocolate-covered strawberries. I remember once Lynne made us affogato, black coffee poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Wow. Once in a while, we all bring salad. Or dessert. Or baba ganoush and crackers. We deal. I mentioned the last bit because today I would like to talk about crackers. Continue reading
Michael Pollan Knows What He’s Talking About
From time to time, when my journey into the mysteries of disease prevention was just beginning, I would discover someone whose work really spoke to me, who helped to clarify the things I was beginning to see, and who became a sort of personal mentor to me as I continued on the path. One of these people was Michael Pollan, who was catapulted to fame with his insightful and riveting books, especially The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food. He shared that Carlos Monteiro, a professor of nutrition at the University of São Paulo, was the first to label and define ultra-processed items. He said that whereas processed food could be made at home, ultra-processed items contained ingredients no normal person has at home, and required equipment you would find only in a factory. Touché. Continue reading
A Recipe for Ultraprocessed Cupcakes
Today I want to spend a few minutes talking about why I feel so strongly about avoiding ultraprocessed items. I am going to share a story about an event that happened some years back, when someone I worked with decided one morning to pick up some cupcakes on her way into work. It was a very nice gesture, and I am sure that she had the best intentions. But this is an example of the fact that we must take personal responsibility for what we put into our mouths, because nothing will change if we do not. The only way Big Ultra Processed will stop selling these things is if we stop buying them. Call them items, things, or products, but you will see in a moment why they cannot be called food. Continue reading
About Omega-3s and Omega-6s
This week I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned about two specific polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Let’s start with omega-3 fatty acids. These are compounds in the form of a long chain of carbon molecules with several double bonds, each of which acts as a pivot point. Flexible pivot points confer the ability to move in many directions, essential for movement and flexibility. Omega-3s owe their flexibility to all those double bonds, the last of which is located just three carbons from the tail, or omega, end of the molecule. That’s why it’s called an omega-3 fatty acid. Omega means end. In contrast, omega-6 fatty acids contain fewer double bonds, and the last one is located six carbons from the tail. Hence, omega-6. Continue reading
Is That Soup Healthy? Or is it Nourishing?
Today I’d like to talk about just one thing, and that is the difference between healthy and nourishing. In 2017, Michael Ruhlman, the noted chef and writer, published a book called Grocery*, in which he reflected on a great many aspects of supermarkets and grocery stores. As part of his endeavor, he asked me to meet with him and share my perspective. Continue reading
Ultraprocessing Hits the Popular Press
I am thrilled to report that the discussion about ultraprocessed items has finally reached the popular press in a big way. This past week Jancee Dunn, a wellness columnist for the New York Times, wrote a week-long series about different aspects of ultra processing, beginning with her love of sprinkle-covered sheet cake. Then Reuters covered California governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order focusing on reducing consumption of packaged snacks and sugar-containing beverages, and investigating the effects of synthetic food dyes. This order cited a 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report showing that 73% of American adults aged 20 or older are overweight and/or obese, and 38% of children and youth aged 12-19 are pre-diabetic. Continue reading
My Favorite Topic: Real Food
Almost all diets have one particular strategy in common, which is to increase the amount of real food that people are eating while simultaneously decreasing the amount of manufactured calories, including both stripped carbohydrates and the ultraprocessed oils invented in the 20th century.
Stripped carbohydrates are processed to remove the most nourishing parts, including the bran and germ. Other stripped carbohydrates include white rice, corn starch, corn syrup, and sugar. It is not a coincidence that white flour, corn starch and powdered sugar look exactly the same. We’ve removed the original identities of these products, so all that is left is a pile of white powder. Continue reading