Tag Archives: Nutrition

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to ponder the question “What is healthy food?” It seems that many of us have very different perceptions. Maybe that’s what stands in our way some times, we think healthy food and healthy eating is not obtainable.

It would be so much easier if my brain did not crave things like salty chips or sweet cookies but the reality is, it does. Maybe it’s a combination of many years of being bombarded with advertising to make me think I want it or maybe it’s as simple as it satisfies something in my head. I didn’t take enough psychology in college to answer that. I do know if it’s around me (like it is now as I write; you wouldn’t believe what is at the end of the table at my sister’s house) I’m less likely to eat well.

In my older years, I have realized that if I allow myself a little rather than denying myself entirely, I can balance the cravings with Read More »

For me, being happily gluten-free means eating many different kinds of foods—from meats to nuts—rather than just trying to replace bread products. This approach has sent me into the world of legumes, and I eat lots of beans. As a result, I’ve become more interested in the nutritional value of beans. More specifically, I began to wonder why beans are considered an “incomplete” protein.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never really understood the term: incomplete protein. I know we have to “complete” the protein with other food, but what does that mean, and how are we supposed to do it?

Clearly, it was time to do some research, and here is what I learned. Read More »

Lipitor raked in more than $5 billion for pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer Inc., during 2009 according to Drugs.com. 

Are drugs making you sick?

Sales of the 5 leading drugs for mental disorders topped $12,750,023,000, while Nexium and Prevacid totaled 7,523,382,000.

All eight of these drugs deplete nutrients. 

Revenues of the Top 8 Selling Drugs of 2009

Lipitor: lowers cholesterol – $5,363,193,000

Nexium: acid reducer – $5,014,827,000

Prevacid: acid reducer – $2,508,555,000

Seroquel: antipsychotic – $3,117,591,000 Read More »

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a female menstrual disorder that occurs regularly around ovulation and subsides within a few days of the onset of menstruation.  PMS affects up to 75% of women during their childbearing years.

Symptoms.  Most women with PMS will have abdominal cramps, be anxious, irritable, sad, emotionally unstable and feel bloated and uncomfortable in the days leading up to their period.  PMS symptoms commonly worsen in the years approaching menopause.

Diagnosis of PMS depends on 5 or more of the symptoms listed below with at least one symptom being one of the first 4: Read More »

The food label is an effort to simplify and encourage the use of nutritional information. It is clear, informative, and detailed, providing everything a consumer would normally need to decide if a food meets their nutritional standards before buying.

Nutrients
The common nutrients, such as Total Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium, are required fields. Other nutrients, such as Iron and Vitamin K, are optional and not required to be listed.

Serving Size
Serving size tries to reflect the amount a person can eat. It must be about the same for like products, which makes it easier to compare the nutritional qualities of related foods. Serving sizes are expressed in both common household and metric measures. Read More »

Having a varied diet is extremely important to achieving and maintaining good health. Veggies, fruits, meats, spices, herbs, nuts, legumes, seafood – there are literally thousands of foods we can eat and tens of thousands of recipes that mix flavors and nutrients in so many ways that we should never be bored by our diet.

That said, cooking takes time and life demands lots and lots of our time. It is easy to fall into the same old, same old.

Let’s make cooking foods, and especially cooking different types of foods, a MAJOR priority.

A varied diet makes life better. It makes sure we cover our bases nutritionally, but it also makes us happy. New flavors, new textures, new recipes that taste delicious are the stuff of life.  Read More »

Celiac disease causes malabsorption of nutrients. As the video states, get these nutrient levels tested when you are diagnosed with celiac disease: vitamins A, D, E, K, folic acid, B12, and minerals iron, calcium, and phosphorus.

If your doctor never tested you, ask him to test you now. If you don’t have a doctor, or if you do, we recommend Spectracell Laboratories. Spectracell tests the nutrient levels inside your cells, not just those that are in your blood. This gives you an accurate result. (We are not affiliated with Spectracell.)

“You are what you eat.”

We teach children this common thinking almost from the time they can speak. It makes sense. The food that you put in your mouth, chew and swallow becomes the person you are.

Most people believe it. So do most doctors.

Well, it may sound logical but it is only partially correct and based on a very iffy assumption.

The assumption is that your body absorbs what you eat.

Glutenfreeworks.com has pressed the truth, namely that you are actually what you eat and absorb. If something like celiac disease is stopping you from absorbing properly, then you are NOT what you eat.

In this important three minute video, Neil Raff, MD concisely explains how what you absorb is just as important as what you put in your mouth. Dr Raff covers the various ways nutrient absorption can be affected and limited. He also touches on a related topic – foods today do not contain the nutrients they provided in the past.

Kudos to Dr. Raff for covering this important topic in this quick and easy-to-understand must-see presentation.

Over 3 million people in the United States have undiagnosed Read More »

Gluten Free Works is delighted to offer you two new Meidfast meal discounts for the month of February! Check out the details about Medifast and choose the plan that works for you. Then, click the discount link at the bottom of the page and your discount will be applied to your Medifast order!

Medifast meals

Read More »

This is the article I wrote on Health and Wellness for the Autism Community Magazine. 

I recently heard Rebecca Onie speak on TedTalk about the current healthcare system in the US. She poses the questions: “What if our health care system kept us healthy? What if waiting rooms were a place to improve daily healthcare? What if doctors could/would prescribe/facilitate diet and lifestyle change and improve health?” The work the patient needs to do is not done after the prescription is Read More »