Cooking For Health

Diet for a Large Pandemic

By Ellen Kanner, Contributing Writer

For medical professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, good nutrition is as much a part of “PPE” as N95 masks, and can be just as difficult to obtain. Fortunately, many healthy foods are available in convenient grab & go packages, and many restaurants around the country are stepping up to bring healthy, nutrient-dense Mediterranean style meals to clinics and hospitals. 

Cinnamon Induces Apoptosis in Cancer Cells

By Kristen Schepker, Assistant Editor

Outside the kitchen, cinnamon stacks up as a powerful anti-cancer ingredient in a recent European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry paper. Research shows that the beloved culinary spice possesses multiple cancer-fighting properties, including an impressive ability to induce apoptosis.

Why the Mediterranean Diet is the Best Diet on the Planet

By Steven Masley, MD, Contributing Writer

Mediterranean countries have some of the longest life spans on the planet. Despite their high rates of tobacco use, and they have lower rates of heart disease, memory loss, cancer, and obesity. Physician-Author Steven Masley set out on a 7-month journey to discover how cuisine and culture converge to engender health across this diverse region. 

The Plantrician Will See You Now: Vegan Living Meets Clinical Practice

By Ellen Kanner, Contributing Writer

For a growing number of other doctors, plants–and specifically plant-based nutrition–hold the solution to preventing burnout and re-discovering professional satisfaction. The plant-based lifestyle is not just a hot consumer trend, it is a force thats transforming the lives of physicians nationwide.

Don’t Worry, Be Hemp-y: Discovering The Culinary Value of Hemp Seeds

By Ellen Kanner, Contributing Writer

Hemp is definitely the “It” plant these days. Thanks largely to the public’s interest in cannabidiol (CBD), hemp and cannabis-derived products are poised to hit $2.6 billion in sales by 2022. But in the midst of this Cannapalooza, one vital part of the plant is being overlooked and underloved: hemp seeds. No, they do not […]

“Junk Food is the Gateway Drug”: Untangling the Web of Food & Drug Addictions

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

“The typical standard American diet couldn’t be better designed to kill people: it’s about 10% whole plant foods which means potatoes for many people, 30% animal products, and 60% processed foods.” Oh, and soft drinks. Lots of soft drinks.

Speaking at the first annual Plant-Based World Expo, Dr. Joel Fuhrman described the complex web between addiction to empty calories, drug and alcohol abuse, and long-term chronic disease.

The EAT-Lancet Report: A Call For Food System Transformation

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

EAT-Lancet Commission’s Food in the Anthropocene, a report compiled by a committee of 37 independent scientists headed by Harvard’s Walter Willet, lays out a blueprint for an optimal plant-based, largely meat-free diet, and for food production systems that would ensure sustainable fulfillment of this diet on the widest possible scale.

“The Answer to Disease is Vegetables”: Plant-Based Pioneers Have Their Moment

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

“We know the answer, and it is not that complicated. To be healthy, eat high volumes of vegetables. The answer to disease is vegetables. But people don’t want to hear, ‘Eat vegetables.’ They want pills to overcome the diseases caused by our dysregulated appetites,” said Joel Fuhrman, MD, at the first annual Plant-Based World Expo in New York City earlier this summer.

Plant-Based Planet: The Food Industry’s (Brave) New World

By Erik Goldman, Editor in Chief

At a time when meat has never been cheaper, the food industry has discovered “plant-based” living. US sales of plant-based meat and dairy alternatives topped $4.5 billion this year. But today’s vegan offerings are very different from the kale salads and tofu sausages of yesteryear.