Although the mainstream medical community is progressing toward acknowledging the importance of your gut in overall health, some of them still have a way to go.    I was recently asked by a doctor if I thought it was important for her to take probiotics after finishing a course of “triple therapy” for ulcers—which consists of two antibiotics and an antacid.   As tempted as I was to say, “Duh,” I responded respectfully and said yes,...

  Back in 1978 (when I was 15 years old) and a mere six months after my father died suddenly, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer.  I remember being terrified at the prospect of losing both parents within a short time of each other, and colon cancer seemed like such a mystery to me.  Thankfully, it’s no mystery anymore (more on that below), but back then it seemed like anyone was fair game for...

  I have a confession to make.  I am a people watcher.  Not in a weird, stalking way, but instead I take every opportunity I can get to observe people’s behaviors, especially as they relate to food.  So, as you can guess, when I am at the grocery store, I’m looking in everyone’s carts and observing obvious signs of illness in the shopper.  I have got to tell you, with very few exceptions, when I...

  I worked part-time at an insurance agency during my first couple years of college, and my boss had hands down the most horrible bad breath I’ve ever encountered.    She would get close to me as she was explaining things to me during training, and swear I thought I was going to puke on several occasions.   So it’s no wonder that bad breath ranks right up there in terms of common fears people have!  If...

  I’ve been in the health and nutrition field for three decades, so as you can probably surmise, I’ve pretty much heard it all.  I’ve seen numerous versions of what people think a “healthy diet” is, I’ve been asked about every diet and weight loss supplement on God’s green earth and have heard every excuse known to man for someone’s lack of exercise.  That’s OK, because this is why I do what I do.  To...

  Modern mainstream medicine is symptom-focused, meaning sickness and disease are seen as some mysterious thing that pops up, and the standard answers are drugs that mask the symptoms or surgery.  It wasn’t always this way.  Up until about 150 years ago, sickness was viewed as the result of an imbalance or deficiency in the body, and efforts were directed to correct the underlying situation. But this change in the focus of medicine (largely due...