Have you ever observed your child’s behavior change after eating certain foods? I had a child who was very sensitive to small blood sugar changes. He would bounce off the walls after a soda, then crash and fall apart when that sugar in his system plummeted. In practice, I had many parents state similar observations, with behavior changes noted after a sugar load, food dyes, fried foods, etc. Young child jumping on the couch between her parents who appear frazzled. Children wi

Anxiety disorders are the most common illness in this country. About half of those with anxiety also experience depression. These...

Most drugs used to treat mental health disorders act on the chemicals in the brain to alter these and return the brain to a healthy state: some increase these chemicals, and some decrease them. For example, serotonin is one of the most commonly targeted. Selective serotonin uptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, boost serotonin levels to treat depression. Did you know that you can also boost serotonin levels with specific foods? This article will delve into what is known regarding nutr

Since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, I devote every article this month to a different mental health topic and links to nutrition. I will be recycling articles I published two years ago with any updates. I will preface this by saying that not all mental health diagnoses can be treated or prevented with nutrition. However, research shows that nutrition plays a vital role. My main focus looks at nutrition as a preventative factor, especially in children and adolescents. I

You hear a lot these days about PUFAs - polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These two PUFAs are...

What are probiotics and prebiotics? Are they different? Do we need to take them as supplements, or can we get them in our diet? Are they...

Preservatives have been used for years to extend the shelf-life of foods and to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold in food and...

ANTIBIOTICS Antibiotics have been used since the 1940s to treat diseases in farm animals. Over time, these drugs were given to promote...

What are obesogens?  Obesogens are chemicals in our environment that are linked to obesity. They are thought to disrupt the actions of...

I read a newspaper article last month regarding raw, unpasteurized milk and its potential benefits, but that it also can contain the bird flu virus. As a pediatrician, I wish to warn parents regarding unpasteurized products, whether milk, cheeses, or juices. Raw milk can come from cows, goats, sheep, or buffalo. Pasteurizing extends the freshness and shelf-life of milk. There are reasons why children and pregnant women should not consume these potentially deadly items. Outdoo

Rows of colorful cans of soda. The average American household spends $850 annually on carbonated beverages, reported by Time Magazine....

You may have heard some bad press recently about seed oils. There has been concern that seed oils are unhealthy. Most recently, these...

Have you been as confused as I am regarding food labels and what the terms really mean? Do they even mean anything? Some do, some don’t....

Last week, I reviewed GMOs, what they are, and their pros and cons. If you haven’t read it, you might start with that. Today, I focus on...

This article on GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is a two-part series. Once I began researching this topic, the information was too...

I recently returned from a ski trip/medical meeting to Japan. We were on the island of Hokkaido, which receives the most snowfall in...

An assortment of red candies, all with red dye. If you haven’t heard, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently decided to ban Red...

A healthy gut benefits the entire body. It improves brain health, the immune system, digestion, mood, energy, and helps prevent disease....

You may have heard of the gut-brain connection or the gut-brain axis. Books have been written about this topic. This article will explain...

You may have heard the term leaky gut syndrome. Do you know what this means? To clarify, it is not an actual diagnosis. It is a...