Always Drink a Cup of This Before Going to Bed
Do you like to sip a hot cup of tea in the evening? Even if you haven’t enjoyed this habit in the past, now might be the time to get started. With just one cup of this powerful herbal tea, you could promote a better night’s sleep, ease digestion, fight disease, and slow the signs […]
Eat more Papaya: Here is Why and How
As lovers of global cuisine, we are fortunate to live in an area where there are world-class ethnic restaurants all over town. One of our family favorites is an authentic Thai restaurant that never disappoints. Whenever we go, I always order a “som tum” salad, which is made from shredded unripe papaya. Som tum salad […]
Weed And Feed
I have to hold my breath when I pass by the lawn products at my local garden center. This time of year, the shelves are brimming with products that are called “Weed and Feed” or some other poetic way to describe an all-in-one herbicide and lawn fertilizer product. I avoid the use of these products […]
Bugs On Drugs
As unsettling as it may seem, you are dependent on bacteria. Trillions of them. The difference between robust health and debilitating disease can hinge on the delicate balance of the ecosystem of microorganisms that inhabit your intestines. These “intestinal flora” (also known as the GI microbiome) play a critical role in digestive function by helping […]
How Artificial Sweeteners Cause Digestive Distress
Here’s a frightening story for all of you parents out there…and one that many of you can probably relate to. It was the middle of the night and my son came into our bedroom in agony. He was hunched over, whimpering, and clearly in distress…my first thought was that he probably had appendicitis and that […]
Constipation: A Regular Occurrence
Part of my job in the office involves talking to my patients about subjects that don’t usually come up at a cocktail party. One of these conversations is about poop. It’s a topic that comes up all the time, and one of the most common issues that concerns my patients frequently is constipation. It’s remarkable […]
Debunked: Colon Cleanses
Warning: If you are squeamish about the subject of bowel movements, beware, because we’re going to go there. This is an article about poop… or more specifically, the colon where it resides before it leaves your body. Poop has always been a popular topic amongst young children (trust me, I have three of them), but […]
The Garden in Your Gut
My backyard is like a garden oasis. My wife and I are avid gardeners, and our three children have all understood where food comes from since they were babies. Every one of us still marvels about how tall a bean plant can grow (right now, ours are about 12 feet tall) and it’s hard not […]
Menudo: Boy Band and a Soup Made from a Cow’s Stomach
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band formed in the 1970s and is also a traditional Mexican soup made with beef stomach, also called tripe. When I was a young child, I was fascinated by not only this boy band but also by this strange and somewhat disgusting soup. I wondered how people could eat […]
When Healthy Foods Make You Sick
Perhaps you have heard of the new FODMAPs diet? FODMAP=Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides and Polyols. FODMAPs are carbohydrates (sugars) that are found in some foods. FODMAPs are foods that are generally considered healthy and include the following: fructose (fruits, honey, high fructose corn syrup, etc.); lactose (dairy); fructans (wheat, garlic, onion, inulin, etc.); galactans (legumes such […]
