Starchy foods often have a bad reputation, but are you aware that there are different kinds of starch in food? One in particular, amylose, can actually help your body to maintain a healthy gut and possibly even address the root biological causes of psychological problems. Amylose is a resistant starch found in a large variety…
Elemental is defined as "primary or basic, related to or embodying the powers of nature." The elemental diet is a medical dietary strategy that uses very simple food solutions to provide essential nutrients, without adding a lot of stress to someone's already-overloaded digestive system. Variations of the elemental diet have been used safely by doctors since…
Corneal ulcers are a fairly common eye condition that often results from an open sore on the cornea becoming infected. The cornea plays a vital role in eye health and vision. Proper treatment by an ophthalmologist is critical to prevent further damage to the eye and prevent permanent vision changes or blindness. (1) The ulcer…
Have you ever tried making a tom kha gai recipe, or maybe another Thai coconut curry soup recipe? When you think of Thai recipes, you probably think of stir fries, but this soup is one of my Thailand favorites! Feeling under the weather or just generally run down? This Thai coconut soup is a hearty…
With the new year comes a host of health-related resolutions: exercise more frequently, perhaps cut out unhealthy ingredients like artificial sweeteners or maybe even reduce screen time and nomophobia. There’s one resolution, however, that’s often overlooked, can have a direct impact on your health and is easy to do: cook more at home! In fact,…
After being demonized for much of the 90s, dietary fats have made a strong comeback over the past two decades. Most people now realize that including healthy fats in their diet is important for many essential functions, but still, this doesn't mean that they are necessarily eating enough of it — especially in proportion to…
A rare disease is getting attention, particularly due to the recent flooding in Texas and Louisiana. Necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, only affects about 1 in 250,000 people. This means that the average person has a .000004 percent chance of ever contracting this infection. (1) What does that have to do with flooding?…
Acute meningitis is considered a medical emergency. A very scary finding shows a high percentage (up to 75 percent) of all life-threatening meningitis cases occur in young children under the age of 5. Meningitis has also become an increasingly serious problem among teens and young adults between the ages of 15–24, due to how certain contagious…
In the not-too-distant past, coaches often told athletes to “walk it off” after a collision or a fall left an athlete groggy or woozy. Concussion symptoms were often brushed off or ignored. Smelling salts were common on the sidelines. It is frightening to think of the number of athletes who were sent back in with…
Every year in the United States 210,000 people are admitted to hospitals with acute pancreatitis and 56,000 people are hospitalized each year due to chronic pancreatitis. This is a serious condition that can result in death if not treated properly and promptly. (1, 2) The symptoms of pancreatitis depend on whether it is an acute…
