Posts:
High blood pressure is a global health crisis. The worldwide prevalence of hypertension has soared past 1.39 billion persons, more than 31 percent of all adults. Take this quiz to see how much you know about high blood pressure. The most common symptom of high blood...
By Michelle Bakeman Two centuries after the tomato was introduced to Europe, finally victorious over years of attempted character assassination, the fruit began to win a place of honor in the kitchens of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The Spanish, French,...
There’s a saying attributed to more than one male philosopher that says, “Give a man a fish, and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you’ve fed him for a lifetime.” Education is no doubt, important. It is a key component of lifelong success. It’s...
Why are some people so susceptible to quackery? I was thinking about this recently when I spied a social media query from a local expat looking for a “natural healer” or “someone in alternative health” who had “some type of machine” that would test her. I thought,...
By Ranelle Kirchner Food waste is a huge problem. This has been true for years. In fact, we waste 150,000 tons of food per day here in America. But, the good news is, there is plenty we can do, as we cook and create, to help mitigate the effects of food waste, and cut...
If you’re like most people, your New Year’s resolutions include eating healthier and getting more activity. Maybe you want to lose weight? If your first resolution was to “go on a diet” then what is the ‘best’ diet? Many use the word ‘diet’ as a verb, as in...
I hadn’t been in Ecuador for a very long time before I was able to put together ways for Edie and I to get to the country cheaply and easily. Our HiLux, El Fantasma, was yet to join our family. We were using city and inter-provincial buses along with mixtos to bring...
By Michelle Bakeman The following is my English translation of a poem by my favorite Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda, which expresses his adoration and mine for the tomato, something foodies everywhere will appreciate. Ode to the Tomato The street was overrun with...
‘Energy bars’ can contain as much sugar and fat as a candy bar – it’s a flavorful fact that can derail a diet. Another word for energy is calories, so the manufacturer might as just well say ‘calorie bar’ as ‘energy bar’. A calorie is a measurement, just like a...
We’ve all heard that breakfast is the important meal of the day, and surely there are benefits. And as a dietitian specializing in weight management, I’ve worked with my patients and clients to create healthy meal plans, typically including breakfast. Studies, even...
They were headed somewhere important. You could tell that by the way they moved. Actually, they sort of swayed but it was with purpose and determination. They were certainly syncopated in their movements and that made me smile. I fell in behind them. The mid-morning...
Can you banish belly fat by going on a “flat belly” diet? Will eating more fat help you lose belly fat? Will that popular (and costly) supplement “bust” your belly permanently? Take this quick True/False quiz to see how much you know about belly fat and weight loss....
It has been three months since my last column and I have been sitting here in front of my computer screen for two hours trying to decide how to begin this one. Even if I don't write regularly, my life does go on so here are some things about that life that have...
By Susan Burke March Are you an armchair quarterback? Does your Super Bowl Sunday scenario find you sitting, drinking brews and chowing down on fatty wings, chips and dips? Well, the coach says this kind of fare won’t help you make the cut. For some healthy...
I turned up my collar to the demands of a brisk, damp wind as I skirted the corner of Pío Bravo and Manuel Vega on the east side of El Centro. It was late in November, 2016, and I was plying the streets for photo ops. The light was poor. I shouldn’t have been poking...
By Meredith Knight Of all the people who die from cancer each year, more than 30 percent of them could have avoided the disease had they done one thing: quit smoking. And that’s not just cancers of the lungs and throat. Seventeen cancers are strongly linked to...
By Christine Stiparo Up until the age of 28, all beer tasted the same to me. No matter if it was Natty Light or Dogfish Head 60 Minute, all I ever tasted was a mixture of bitterness and soap. I’d drink beer on occasion at parties or if I wanted a cheap drink at a bar,...
The original intent of a photograph is determined solely by its maker. However, interpretations abound by others who have various degrees of familiarity with art. The result? The work is often described incompletely and as being or containing something other than the...
By Karen Collins Questions about carbohydrates – total amounts and particular food choices — seemed to be top-of-mind for many people when I was speaking about a heart-healthy diet at recent conferences. Studies suggesting new approaches to weight management and heart...
Editor's note: This is the third in Michelle Bakeman's s three-part series about maize — click here for Part 1, and click here for Part II. By Michelle Bakeman Maize moved into the agricultural landscape of Europe with ease at the start of the sixteenth century, but...
