A reader writes: I live in Monterey, California. I'm 77 and my husband is 82. I'm wondering, with the large number of COVID-positive farm workers in our area, how safe it is for us to be eating local produce such as romaine lettuce which could have been picked by an infected ag worker? Also, how safe is pork and chicken? Thank you for your help,...Read more

After watching too much news about everyone who insists their way is right, I needed to write this column. Hopefully I won't get hate mail about the value of fruits and vegetables. In fact, the recommendation for us to eat a diet rich in plant foods is about the only thing experts and food gurus from all sides of the diet spectrum do not argue ...Read more

Must be time to talk about dietary fiber. Last week I received this message: "Hello dear, can you send us some information about a low fiber diet? (My husband) is going in for a colonoscopy and was told to avoid fiber for 3 days before his test."

Then reader G.M. writes: "Hello Barbara, I had a CAT scan done and they said I have colonic ...Read more

I didn't like being called "freckle face" when I was a kid. So when my mom took me to the pediatrician for a routine check up, I asked him if he could make my freckles go away. He kindly told me he could, "but you will never be able to go out in the sun again or your freckles will come back." So I got used to being "freckle face."

Freckles may ...Read more

I'm seeing more and more plant-based protein ingredients added to food products these days. A product called Harvest Snaps, for example, uses green peas, red lentils and black beans in their chip-like snacks. These pea, lentil and bean-based crisps have more protein and dietary fiber and less fat and sodium than regular potato chips. Not bad.

...Read more

On this Fourth of July week, I began to write about color. How the varied colors of flowers attract insects to their food sources. How the diverse hues in a garden encourage bees, butterflies and other flying bugs to bring fertilizing pollen to plants. And how this large array of pigments in the food we eat provide a multitude of benefits to our...Read more

In response to a recent column about diabetes, reader F.D. sends this question: "Question on (A1C) test: Please explain how does this test know to take an average of 3 months and not 2 months or 1 week? I take my blood level check everyday and that gives an answer at that precise moment of time, which I understand. No one has been able to answer...Read more

We made this pact after returning from our two-night camping trip. Next time, stay at least three days. It takes at least that much time to relax after getting ourselves -- plus horses and dogs -- ready for the trip.

While my husband checked to make sure our horse trailer/camper was fully prepared for our adventure, I packed the food for us and...Read more

One of my unfavorite activities is deleting email from my ever-growing daily accumulations. Not the ones I receive from readers, mind you. These are the ones I never asked for that remind me daily of a special product or service that I most certainly may need.

Some messages I truly enjoy, however. Especially the Food and Nutrition Updates from ...Read more

Now that warm weather is here, I was intrigued by this recent letter from a reader in Corvallis, Ore.: "A few months ago, you wrote that Victoria's Secret Body Mist called Bombshell seems to repel mosquitos. If I am outdoors at twilight I usually end up with about 50-75 insect bites. Even during sleep at night, I will end up with several (10 or ...Read more

What's new in the field of nutrition for people with diabetes? Lots, according to registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes care and education specialist, Mary Ann Hodorowicz. In a recent webinar for nutrition professionals, she updated us on the latest guidelines to control the ABC's of diabetes.

A is for A1C. That's a blood ...Read more

Last week I addressed questions from a reader in Oregon on the subject of calories. A recent step on my own scale reminded me to pay a little more attention to his follow-up questions:

"Our nominal diet is supposed to be about 2,000 (US) calories per day, enough to keep a reasonably active adult going but hopefully not putting on weight. How ...Read more

Sometimes it's not what you say but what you fail to say that counts. And I sure dropped the ball when I answered Claudette's letter about low sugar fruits in her husband's smoothies.

"My standard advice for a healthful smoothie without excess carbs," I wrote, "is 1 serving of fresh or frozen fruit (1/2 to 1 cup for most types of fruit), up to ...Read more