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Latest in Evidence
Is Eating Sauerkraut Good for you? Here’s the Science 
Hippocrates described sauerkraut as 'a health food'. I am guessing that if Hippocrates were alive today that he would be tweeting about sauerkraut with the hashtag #superfood. Or would he? I am equally convinced that if Hippocrates were alive today that he would be a...
Is Drinking White Tea Good For You? The Evidence Reviewed
Have you ever noticed that it becomes harder to choose gifts for friends as they get older? That is if you plan on giving a thoughtful gift and not just a generic pair of socks at Christmas or an impersonal bottle of wine. My good friends know that I am a fan of...
Does Eating Holy Basil Have Health Benefits? The Evidence Reviewed
When I first heard the term 'liquid yoga', I was hooked. I had no idea what it actually meant, but I was intrigued. Especially if liquid yoga had anything to do with drinking my way to a double whammy of feeling calm and looking great. It turns out that 'liquid yoga'...
Is Eating Grapes Good For You? 32 Studies Reviewed
I am currently on vacation in Barcelona and am amazed at the wide selection of fresh, inexpensive fruits and vegetables. La Boqueria Food Market off La Rambla offers an incredible array of mouth-watering fruits that looked like they might just have been Photoshopped....
Does Eating Flaxseed Have Any Benefits? The Research Reviewed
One of my foodie friends has entered menopause with great gusto. My friends and I have been treated to endless, dramatic and sometimes hilarious accounts of her escapades as a woman on the verge (her words, not mine). More recently she has started carrying around a...
Is Eating Shiitake Mushrooms Good For You? Here’s The Research
I realized recently that there is one health supplement that I take every day, based entirely on hearsay and expert advice, but not on my own research. Not very ‘Healthy But Smart’, I have to admit. Not only do I take shiitake supplements, but I also include them in...
Is Eating Goji Berries Good For You? Here’s What The Research Says
One of my really good friends is an amazingly gifted Traditional Chinese Doctor and I attend her regularly for acupuncture. I was really curious (bordering on suspicious) last week when she gave me a small bag of goji berries as I was leaving her clinic. Her next...
Is Stevia Really Healthier Than Sugar? A Review Of The Research 
Stevia is a non-caloric sweetener and belongs to a class of substances also known as Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) or intense sweeteners (IS). The chief interest in this class of compounds is related to weight management,...
Does Eating Mizuna Have Health Benefits? The Evidence Reviewed
When I was first asked to write an article about mizuna, I was a little embarrassed to admit that I had never actually heard of it. A quick WhatsApp group message to my foodie friends showed that I was not alone. Only one of these erudite ladies had ever heard of...
Does Eating Nectarine Have Health Benefits? Analyzing the Research
Introduction I came across a blog on nectarines recently which really annoyed me. My kids would say ‘Mom is triggered, keep away’. As an aside, I do find it interesting that after decades of meditation and mindfulness, there are still some seemingly innocuous things...
Does Chamomile Have Health Benefits? 29 Studies Reviewed
Described as ‘herbal aspirin’, chamomile is one of the leading herbal remedies worldwide. There are a number of factors to consider when deciding on which foods or supplements to take for the purposes of health. Scientific evidence is an important consideration, along...
Does Rhodiola Have Proven Benefits? 25 Studies Reviewed
Rhodiola is a traditional medicine and supplement that is used for a wide range of complaints including amenorrhea, depression, insomnia, fatigue, cancer, headaches, schizophrenia, colds and flu, hypertension, and male sexual dysfunction. There is a specific interest...
Will Adrafinil & Modafinil Help You? Here’s What 25 Studies Say
The human body is truly amazing. It does have some design flaws though. Chief among them is our need to rest. We need to sleep. We need breaks from our computer. We need to rest after extreme exercise. Why can't I be more like my iPhone? Yes, it needs to be recharged...
Will Taking L-Glutamine Help You? 36 Studies Conclude This
‘Would you like a shot of L-glutamine in your smoothie?’ asked the sales assistant with a wide smile. Would I indeed? According to the sales assistant, L-glutamine has "soooo many benefits." Perhaps this is the case. But I don’t know for sure. The smoothie was already...
Do MCT Oils Have Proven Benefits? 42 Studies Reviewed
My introduction to MCT oil happened many decades ago (I won’t say how many) when I was a pediatrics resident doing my neonatal ICU rotation. MCT oil was used as part of the nutrition for the tiny premature babies who needed to gain weight. Since their digestive system...
Research Shows Green Coffee Beans Do Have Some Proven Benefits
What Are Green Coffee Beans? According to the National Coffee Association, coffee belongs to a genus of plants called Coffea, with over 500 genera and 6000 species if tropical trees and shrubs. There are an estimated 25-100 species of coffee plants. The genus was...
Do Ashwagandha Supplements Have Benefits? 37 Studies Reviewed
One of my biggest concerns about modern medicine is our increasing "medicalization of human despair." Life can be stressful and many people live with what is called a "high allostatic load." Something trivial (or big) can be the tipping point. These people often...
The Science of Probiotics as of 2019: The Research Looks Promising
As an infectious diseases physician, I was trained at a time when most bacteria were considered to be public enemy number 1. It was very much a "them" versus "us" perspective. Fast-forward to 2018, and we are now talking about probiotics or good bacteria. It seems...
21 Studies Show Caralluma Fimbriata Does Not Have Proven Benefits
Is there something out there that can help us lose weight? Ideally, something instead of "eating less and exercising more." As a compromise, we might even accept something that would enhance the effects of eating less and exercising more. In this blog, we have already...
Are Potassium Supplements Necessary or Can I Just Eat Natural Foods?
What is Potassium? Potassium is a chemical element with symbol K (from Neo-Latin kalium) and atomic number 19. It is considered an alkali metal with a single electron in its outer shell, which is easily removed to create an ion with a positive charge. Potassium...