Casomorphins—breakdown products of casein, a milk protein, with opiate-like activity—may help explain why autism symptoms sometimes improve with a dairy-free diet. In my last video series on autism and diet, I talked about the benefits of broccoli sprouts, but the most commonly studied nutritional and dietary interventions for autism and diet involve variations of gluten-free and casein-free diets. Why? In the 1980s, a team of respected Norwegian researchers reported a peculiar finding. They were comparing the urine […]

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Most hunters may not be aware of the health risks related to consuming meat from animals shot with lead ammunition. I’m often asked in lectures whether microwaves are safe. Not if you drop them on your foot! But, otherwise, it matters what you’re putting in them—sweet potatoes and broccoli, or hot pockets and pop tarts? Similarly, when I was exploring the safety of hot sauces in my video Flashback Friday: Lead Contamination in Hot Sauces, given their potential for lead […]

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The amount of beta-glucan fiber in just a dusting of nutritional yeast a day is put to the test in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for the prevention of common childhood illnesses. In 1989, the late Charles Janeway gave a presentation that was to revolutionize our understanding of the immune system. He proposed that we must have some ancient innate first line of defense. We had known about vaccinations for centuries and how our bodies can learn […]

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The spice saffron is pitted head-to-head against the leading drug for severe Alzheimer’s disease. What’s the latest on treating memory disorders with the spice saffron? As I discuss in my video Saffron Versus Memantine (Namenda) for Alzheimer’s, “saffron has been widely used in the Persian traditional medicine for memory problems,” but it wasn’t put to the test until a study showed that Alzheimer’s dementia symptoms continued to worsen on placebo but got better on saffron over a […]

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My new digital DVD, Volume 54, is out today and covers statins, SIBO, moringa, appetite, and more. It is available as a streaming video so you can start watching it immediately. Each video in this new collection will be released online over the next few months, available for free, but if you don’t want to wait, you can watch all of them by streaming right now.  And, remember, if you watch the videos on NutritionFacts.org or YouTube, you can access captions in several […]

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What happened when cancer patients were given three quarters of a cup of canned tomato sauce every day for three weeks? “Occasionally…positive things happen in the field of cancer prevention science to popular, good-tasting foods.” Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are wonderful, but they may be “a hard food for the public to swallow.” By contrast, who doesn’t like tomatoes? As I’ve discussed previously, studies using high-dose supplements of lycopene, the antioxidant red pigment in tomatoes thought to […]

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High doses of lycopene—the red pigment in tomatoes—were put to the test to see if it could prevent precancerous prostate lesions from turning into full-blown cancer. Back in 1980s, the Adventist Health Study found “strong protective relationships” against prostate cancer with increasing consumption of legumes, citrus, dried fruit, nuts, and tomatoes. In the 1990s, a Harvard study focused attention on tomatoes, which appeared to be “especially beneficial regarding prostate cancer risk.” Researchers suspected it might be the […]

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Extracts of amla (Indian gooseberry) were pitted head-to-head against cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and the blood thinners aspirin and Plavix. Indian gooseberries, otherwise known as amla, have been touted as everything from a cancer fighter to a hair tonic to a refrigerant. (A refrigerant? Like Freon?) Amla’s even been labeled a snake venom detoxifier—but based on what kind of research? I discuss this in my video Flashback Friday: Amla vs. Drugs for Cholesterol, Inflammation, & Blood-Thinning. Yes, dietary intake of both […]

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Are the apparently amazing benefits of amla—dried Indian gooseberries—too good to be true? In reference to amla, also known as the Indian gooseberry, it’s been said that “medicinal plants are nature’s gift to human beings to promote a disease free healthy life.” The fruit has also been described as “the Ayurvedic wonder.” You hear a lot of that larger-than-life talk about amla coming out of Indian medical journals. Who can forget the review article titled, “Amla…a wonder […]

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In certain medical conditions, probiotic supplements may actually make things worse. If you’ve ever made sauerkraut at home, you know you don’t have to add any kind of starter bacteria to get it to ferment, because the lactic acid-producing bacteria are already present on the cabbage leaves themselves out in the field. This suggests that raw fruits and vegetables may not only be a source of prebiotics—that is, fiber—but also a source of “novel” probiotics.  As I […]

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