Category Archives: Nutrition

Musings on Obesity & Malnutrition

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In sharp contrast to the common perception of obesity as an overindulged state, I have come, over many years, to understand obesity as a manifestation of a malnourished state. It was partly through the act of fasting on Yom Kippur that my thoughts on obesity began to evolve in this direction. I wrote an earlier version of today’s post many years ago, as I was beginning to formulate my thoughts on this issue.

Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Jews around the entire world fast from sundown to sundown. This year, Yom Kippur begins tonight, on Sunday the 24th of September, and continues through tomorrow night. Putting aside for now the reasons why we do this, I’d like to talk about the results of such an endeavor, the what happens when you fast. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Green Herb Sauce

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At this time of year, fresh herbs are growing everywhere, and large bags of zucchini, tomatoes, and other fresh vegetables continue to appear in the coffee room at work or maybe on your front steps, seemingly from out of nowhere. So even if you don’t keep a garden of your own, this is a great time of year to whip up a batch of an herb sauce that will channel the magical properties of those gorgeous vegetables. Not to mention that it will increase the likelihood that you and your lucky friends and family will eat more of the nourishing and colorful phytonutrients hiding inside all those beautiful vegetables, especially the phytonutrients in the herbs and other deeply colored green leafy veggies.  Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pickled Cabbage Salad (Curtido)

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When I was a little girl, I used to “help” my Grandma Rosie pickle cucumbers, green tomatoes, and even garlic, which sometimes developed an interesting blue color as it fermented in the pickling juice. We loved her homemade pickles, and we still do. This post is also a shoutout to longstanding and devoted YHIOYP reader Joe G, who absolutely loves Grandma Rosie’s pickles and has made them on many occasions since I first wrote about them.

Continue reading →

Self-Care Resolutions

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Late last year I had an interview with a major news network on the topic of New Years’ Resolutions. I decided not to talk about the popular though self-defeating goals that are nearly impossible to sustain and end up making people feel badly about themselves and their efforts. I didn’t discuss limiting calories, denying yourself things that bring you joy, joining a gym, or signing up for a yoga class. Instead I decided to talk about being kind to yourself.  Continue reading →

Commercial Salad Dressings Are Not What You Think

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Many, if not most, commercial salad dressings drown your fresh, delicious, nourishing vegetables in water and corn syrup. These products are not food, and they do not nourish you. Instead, they waste your money, and they markedly reduce the nutritional value of your salad. A while back I decided to stop at the supermarket to check the ingredient lists on four popular salad dressing brands. I think you will be very interested in what I discovered. Continue reading →

A New Patient Gets a New Perspective

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A few months ago I saw a new patient and she had a good deal in common with many other new patients I see. Even though she knew that her excess weight was doing her no good, and that it raised her risk of many chronic diseases, like breast cancer, for example, and diabetes and high blood pressure and colon cancer, she was unable to do anything about it. She was also really tired of doctors telling her that she should lose weight. Really, really tired. “Tell me something I don’t know,” she said to me. So I did. Continue reading →

Back to the Basics

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Lately I’ve been feeling a desire to return to talking about the basics. The question of how I personally began thinking about wellness, prevention and nutrition is as basic a place to start as any. And while it is very true that my own parents’ commitment to nourishing food, their common sense approach to life, and the fact that they lived their values for almost 45 years on their farm in the New Jersey’s Watchung Mountains set a sure foundation for my interest in fresh food and good health, today’s post is the story of how I made these passions my own. Continue reading →

Whole, Intact Carbohydrates

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I’ve been thinking about the fact that carbohydrate virtually never grows in nature without the fiber attached. Think about meadows, gardens, and orchards — all the vegetables, beans, fruit, and grains that grow in these places grow with their fiber matrix intact.

Why is flour that’s been stripped of its fiber and germ called “refined?” What’s refined about flour? If you look up “refined” in the dictionary you discover that to refine is to remove the course impurities. And that got me thinking.

Why would anyone want to imply that the oil-rich germ and fiber-rich bran are coarse impurities? Continue reading →

The Illusion of Variety

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Like many people who have been holed up in their homes for the past 15 months or so, this past week I entered a supermarket for the first time in more than a year. Omg. I left with one package of granola bites (treat), one cabbage (food), two kinds of beer (treat), and tonic water (treat–Fever Tree, the best!). Hopefully, I’ll do better next time. The whole experience got me thinking once again about what a supermarket really is, and I decided to share something I first posted a very long time ago. Continue reading →

Being Kind to Yourself: A Basic Approach

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A while ago, I was having a conversation with my friend Henry. He’s a doc, too, and we enjoy spending time together and talking about practicing medicine, taking care of patients, what it’s like, what we learn from it, and how we can do better. I am very grateful for Henry, and for the fact that we have been having this conversation for almost 25 years. It just so happens that Henry is in quarantine right now, so he’s on my mind. He’s fine in case you’re wondering, just being cautious. Continue reading →