The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 were released in January 2016 and have made significant updates for the consumer based on good science. However, the translation of the scientific basis of the recommendations to the Dietary Guidelines did not include some key scientific insights important to healthy lifestyles. Based on our ongoing commitment to creating safe, trusted, and effective medical nutrition solutions to prevent and manage chronic diseases, we conducted a detailed review in collaboration with our research partners at the Joslin Diabetes…

by Robert Silverman, DC, MS, CNS   When your joints ache, don’t open the medicine cabinet for a pain pill. Instead, head to the grocery store to find healthful—and delicious—foods the support joint health instead. Sweet Potatoes The deep orange color of a sweet potato comes from the rich supply of beta-carotene it contains. Beta-carotene is the natural precursor of vitamin A (retinol). When you eat a sweet potato, your body converts some of the beta-carotene into vitamin A. The rest…

by Kara Fitzgerald, ND Allergy season is in high gear. The trees are budding and pollen is bursting forth in Connecticut. As our winters are warmer, we’re also seeing allergies kick in sooner, perhaps with a higher intensity than in years past. While most of us are cracking our windows open and emerging from the winter cocoon into the welcoming sun, our spring allergy patients step outside or crack their windows and they’re bombarded immediately with an almost invisible (to the non-sufferer)…

by Bianca Garilli, ND, IFMCP A common concern in peri- and postmenopausal years is weight gain, typically 1.5 pounds per year during the fifth and sixth decades of life and shown to be independent of a woman’s initial body size or race/ethnicity. It was previously believed that the increase in weight coincided with the onset of menopause most likely due to the drop in estrogen levels. Although declining estrogen levels has, in fact, been shown to lead to an increase…

A thought-provoking article in the July 22, 2016 Issue of Science posed the question “Is triclosan harming your microbiome”?1 The article concludes that the data is still mixed about the effects of triclosan on the microbiome, but begs some broader questions such as, “what is triclosan?” and “are there safety risks associated with it?” Triclosan, 2,4,4’ –trichloro-2’-hydroxydiphenyl ether, is a synthetic, broad-spectrum, antibacterial and antifungal agent found in many oral and topical body care products, cosmetics, and even plastic toys, clothing…

Recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the US Preventive Services Task Force, and the US Public Health Service regarding folate supplementation have been consistent since the early 1990’s and are based on research on folate supplementation before pregnancy through early pregnancy. The current recommendation is: “All women of childbearing age in the United States who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 400 mcg (0.4 mg) of folic acid per day…

In recent years, dietary guidelines have turned from emphasizing low fat consumption to embracing dietary patterns that are comprised of “whole” and unprocessed foods, such as the Mediterranean diet. The Mayo Clinic indicates that the Mediterranean diet emphasizes plant-based foods, healthy oils, fish and poultry, and red wine in moderation, with limited consumption of salt and red meat. It has been observed experimentally and in epidemiological studies that the Mediterranean Diet plays a beneficial role in health. For example, the PREDIMED study in Spain,…

Over the past several years, we have been instructed on the value of exercise and activity for our heart health. Statistics on the state of heart health in the US are sobering1: In the US, over 2000 people die from heart related illnesses every day (about one every 40 seconds) Every year over 735,000 Americans have a heart attack or myocardial infarct (MI) and of these, over 500,000 are ‘first’ heart attacks Coronary artery disease, the prime cause of MIs…

by Nilima Desai, MPH, RD Most people who are on a quest for weight loss have all heard, “a calorie is a calorie” and that it doesn’t matter if the calorie is a carbohydrate calorie, a protein calorie, or a fat calorie. In fact, all calories do have the same amount of energy: one kilocalorie contains about 4184 Joules of energy, which is the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.…

Phytosterols, also referred to as plant sterols or stanols, are cholesterol-like molecules found in cell membranes of plants. Unlike cholesterol, however, the body cannot produce phytosterols. Therefore, their main source comes from plant-based foods, such as vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains. There are multiple different types of phytosterols, but sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol are most abundant in commonly consumed foods.. The function of phytosterols is similar to that of cholesterol in the body. Phytosterols may help lower…