People sometimes ask how I became interested in nutrition, wellness, and prevention. Truth be told, it was my patients who taught me. After I had been practicing medicine for a few years, I noticed something odd. Continue reading
Category Archives: Strategies
The Seasons Change, and So Do You
A this time of year, many people start wondering why they were doing such a great job staying active a few months ago, but haven’t been doing much of anything recently. If this describes you, then this post is yours. Continue reading
Stripped Carbs First Thing in the Morning? No!
Having a hard time understanding why breakfast is the one meal of day that you should not eat toast, bagels, muffins, waffles, pancakes, cereal, biscuits, bread or grits? Here’s why:
When you eat foods that are rich in fiber, fat and protein, it takes quite a while for your body to break them down. So they get absorbed into your bloodstream very slowly. But whenever you eat items made primarily from sugar and other kinds of stripped carbs, your digestive system absorbs the ingredients very quickly. Continue reading
Gains and Losses
There is a clear connection to be made between stripped carbs, insulin release, and weight gain. High insulin levels cause us to gain weight and store fat. How does that happen? Little by little we are figuring it out. The fact that the obesity and diabetes epidemic continues to worsen day by day underscores that we are operating under a fundamental misconception: If things continue to get worse no matter how hard you try, it’s time to reexamine the fundamentals. The information we get from advertisements and cereal boxes is frankly inaccurate. I have a special name for the nutritional claims on food products: advertising. Continue reading
Food for Kids
Today we’re talking about food for kids. Some years ago a friend from medical school, Julie Kardos, joined forces with another pediatrician, Naline Lai, to launch an award-winning blog for parents called “Two Peds in a Pod.” All three of us have serious concerns about the food-like products that are marketed to young ones. I had mentioned to them that when my adult patients used to show up with children in tow, I would often see the little ones’ rounded bellies shrink to normal size as their families began to purchase, prepare, and eat more nourishing food. When Dr. Julie heard that, she said “The adults you treat are the ones packing the lunches of the kids that I treat.” Right. Continue reading
When My Friend Bob Turned His Health Around
A while ago, I ran into my old friend Bob, and I was delighted to see a much slimmer, trimmer, happier-looking guy than I had seen the previous time. He and I had had a conversation about six months earlier, and I had suggested increasing the protein in his breakfast, and switching out the soda for unsweetened iced tea. That’s all. We hadn’t talked since. Continue reading
Fatty Acids are the Letters
While everyone talks about saturated fat and monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and trans fat, I’m going to give you a better strategy for figuring out what to eat. Instead of FAT, let’s talk about FATTY ACIDS. Continue reading
Try This: Earn Your Grain
Nobody likes to think that they aren’t eating a nourishing diet. It kinda feels bad to think that you might be letting yourself down. If challenged, people tend to say that they’re eating pretty well, and that they think they’re making pretty good choices. Completely understandable. Continue reading
An Object Mindset, by Amital Haas
A very special gift for you this week — an articulate and insightful blog post from my young friend, Amital Haas (Princeton ’21), who spent much of this summer learning about health and wellness. Enjoy —
Building Blocks
Nutrients are like building blocks.
Fat molecules are composed of fatty acids, three per molecule, and usually different. So even olive oil, which is a great source of monounsaturated fatty acids, is not composed ONLY of monounsaturated fatty acids. There are some saturated ones, and some polyunsaturated ones. But they’re mostly monounsaturated. Continue reading