Reader RS sends this: "We read your column in our local paper and are wondering if you could give us suggestions for the best breakfast that has protein, fiber, tastes good(!), and is fairly quick/easy to prepare. Kashi isn't doing it for us! Any ideas are most appreciated!”

Glad to! In fact, we’d all be smart to seek healthful options to �...Read more

GW from Carmel, California, writes: “You have been very helpful in the past, so I thought I would pose another question to you. From my research online and talking with various people, I have identified several non-prescription blood pressure reducers and I wanted to get your input. They are celery seed extract, grape seed extract, L-Arginine,...Read more

Reader B.D. posed this challenge to me this week: “I would appreciate your opinion as a dietitian on this article on dietary fiber.”

The article, “Does a high fibre diet prevent disease?” written by Dr. Sebastian Rushworth — a junior physician in Stockholm who graduated from medical school in 2020 — challenges what he says is “the...Read more

Summer may be coming to an end but our risk for heat related illness is still very real. I learned that first hand a few weeks ago.

The weather had been hot, but it was not a particularly strenuous day for me. I remember drinking fluids that day, though apparently not enough. That evening while sitting on the porch, I suddenly felt tired, dizzy...Read more

I’m writing this from our hotel room in Missouri. We are halfway through a road trip through several states with main stops in Nashville, Tennessee, and Branson. To say the least, it’s been an adventure of landscapes, people and food.

We planned as well as we could. Brought bottled water for the long days of driving. Threw in some oranges ...Read more

Snow cones and cotton candy. Nachos with cheese and jalapeños. And let’s not forget corn dogs (my personal downfall). Yep, it’s fair time. Just this weekend, I counted four county fairs in our area.

Fair cuisine doesn’t have to completely put us into a food coma every year. But consider this from Dr. Steven E. Nissen, Chief Academic ...Read more

Letters from readers help me back up to check my facts. Here are a couple that came in recently:

“I think you failed your readers in your recent column, ‘Should we be afraid of fructose?’

'The scientific studies are quite clear: Fructose in the context of most whole foods is fine. It is the fructose in high-fructose beverages that ...Read more

My daughter — who loves doughnuts — forwarded an article to me titled “12 Reasons Doughnuts are Good for You” (www.thrivegloable.com). I chuckled and promised her I’d do some “research” on it.

She responded with a link to another piece, “Do Donuts Really Make Me Happy? Mental health and the gut microbiome” (www.businessgrit....Read more

“Fructose is a simple sugar with a bad reputation,” says registered dietitian Carrie Dennett, MPH, in a recent review of this sometimes confusing topic. Here are some fructose facts.

Fructose is a component of table sugar (aka sucrose). In fact, the sugar we use in most sweetened foods — including those labeled “pure cane sugar” — ...Read more

I keep coming upon this statistic that states livestock are responsible for 14.5% of global gas emissions.

Some designate ruminant animals — cows, sheep and goats — as the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. Others then go on to offer a solution: Switch from beef and lamb to chicken and pork … and consume fewer dairy products.

Not...Read more

Food fads come on and go. Remember the cabbage soup diet? The macrobiotic diet? Or my favorite: drinking man’s diet?

Many fad diets have been debunked as lacking in vital nutrients or just plain not sustainable for the long term. Some, however, are based on solid research and actually work. Good examples include the DASH diet (Dietary ...Read more

Ann K., who reads this column in the Monterey Herald, writes:

"Dear Barbara, I read your column on vitamin K. I am a 75-year-old woman who takes warfarin daily because of an arterial clot. I have been told not to take vitamin K. Here is my question: Can I take vitamin K2 for bone health and not worry about it having an adverse impact on my INR...Read more

Ron from Corvallis, Oregon, writes this in response to a recent column on lectins: “I am a biochemist, used to work with immunologists at Sloan Kettering. The main reason I'm writing is to ask you to explore the toxicity of nuts' lectins and the best way to prepare nuts without getting sick. My wife loves pecans, I am fondest of cashews and ...Read more