Category Archives: Dr. Kelley’s Kitchen

FOOD and nutrition: The good, the bad, and the ugly, including some excellent recipes and commentary about certain types of food/meals, which have proven to be of benefit. Also some harsh warnings about food and food-related products, which are over-sold, over-bought and over-used, many of which raise questions as to their safety and nutritional value.

Green Tea Diet Secrets: How to Get Results More Safely and Quickly

green teaGreen tea diet secrets are not so secret any more. If you’re trying to shed a few pounds, adding green tea to your diet can really help jump start the process. Studies have proven the efficacy of green tea for weight loss. Green tea has been shown to speed up metabolic rates and increase energy expenditure during exercise in healthy adults. Additionally, a study (1) published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that green tea increases fat oxidation during moderate exercise, improves insulin sensitivity and increases glucose tolerance, all of which can help prevent obesity.

But, as the school of hard knocks has taught us all, there is no magic bullet when it comes to our bodies and our health. While green tea can go a long way toward helping you reach your weight-loss goals, you can’t use it in isolation. If you want to achieve a state of optimal health, it’s important to incorporate other healthy diet and lifestyle changes into your routine as well. Here is a list of other things you can do to support your body and your health while working toward your ideal weight. Continue reading

Here’s How Scientists Plan To Get Us All Eating Lab Grown Meat

Made with some breadcrumbs (GMO no doubt), egg, and 20,000 lab-grown cow muscle cells, the world's first lab-grown burger made its debut last year.

Made with some breadcrumbs (GMO no doubt), egg, and 20,000 lab-grown cow muscle cells, the world’s first lab-grown burger made its debut last year.

It was a proof of concept, evidence that you can make meat in lab. The technology is too difficult and expensive to show up grocery stores any time soon.

In the future, however, proponents hope so-called cultured meat will get cheaper. If it does, making beef from stem cells could be an environmentally friendly alternative to, you know, killing animals for food. Continue reading

Could grapefruit beat lung disease?

Eating fruit and other foods including cheese and bananas found to help patients suffering one of most common variants

grapefruitEating grapefruit, bananas, fish and cheese could help patients suffering one of the most common lung conditions in Britain, say scientists.

Research showed a direct link between the foods and improvements in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Scientists from the US and Europe used diet records for 2,167 COPD sufferers over a three-year period.

Those who had eaten the products within 24 hours showed improvement in a range of measures such as lung function, fitness scores and white blood cell count.

Lead study author Dr Corrine Hanson said patients should now be offered dietary and nutritional counselling as part of their treatment. Continue reading

Big Ground Beef E. Coli Recall Expands Nationwide

A recall of nearly 2 million pounds of ground beef potentially tainted with dangerous E. coli bacteria has expanded to include distributors to restaurants nationwide — but don’t expect to know which ones.

Federal officials aren’t required to say which restaurants served the tainted hamburger linked to the largest recall of its kind in six years. And they don’t have to tell consumers what type of restaurant dished up meat recalled by Detroit’s Wolverine Packing Co., either — whether it was a sit-down diner or a fast-food joint, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Continue reading

Problems growing tomatoes?

Feed them ASPIRIN say scientists to fight disease and boost yield

vine_tomatoesGrowing tomatoes has given gardeners a headache for generations.

But now it seems there is an effective cure for blight, wilt and all manner of pests and diseases – and it was lurking in the medicine cabinet all along.

For aspirin, scientists say, is just the medicine to create a healthy tomato plant.

Feeding it to your plants can help ward off diseases and boosts yields, they have found. Continue reading

11 ‘Diet’ Foods That Will Actually Add To Your Waistline

Nutrition is full of all sorts of lies, myths and misconceptions.

What people believe to be true is often the exact opposite of the truth.

Here are 11 “diet” foods that are actually making people fatter.

1. Breakfast Cereals
cereal-milk-1So-called “healthy” cereals are the worst foods you can possibly eat at the start of the day.

They are usually loaded with sugar and refined carbs, which are some of the most fattening ingredients in existence (1, 2). Starting your day off with a processed cereal will spike your blood sugar and insulin levels. When your blood sugar crashes a few hours later, your body will call for another snack high in refined carbs (3).

This is the blood sugar roller coaster that is familiar to people on high-carb diets. Seriously… READ the label. Most breakfast cereals, even those with health claims like “low-fat” or “whole grain” on the package, are usually loaded with sugar. Continue reading

Research Shows Bananas Effective Way To Naturally Improve Eye Health

chiquita bananaMost people think of carrots when it comes to foods that help improve vision, but studies show that bananas are also very effective when it comes to eye health.

Research shows that fruits like bananas help vision

An 18-year study of more than 100,000 men and women found that increased fruit intake like that of bananas trumped vegetables when it came to certain vision improvements. Specifically, the study noted that fruits helped combat an eye disease even more severe than age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) that leads to blindness, neovascular ARMD. Neovascular means that new blood vessels are growing in parts of the eye where they should not be, which leads to blood and fluid leaking underneath the retina, which typically progresses to blind spots in central vision and can even turn into blindness. Continue reading

Top Natural Pest Control Methods For A Healthy Garden

GutterSiding-300x141By now, people are well aware of the dangers behind eating foods that have been treated with pesticides. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that approximately 1.1 billion pounds of pesticide active ingredients are used annually in the U.S., and the EPA says up to 20,000 U.S. agricultural workers are diagnosed with pesticide poisonings annually.

Choosing organic produce at the market and even growing fruits and vegetables in the backyard are safe and favorable options. However, when growing foods in the yard, there’s often the matter of having to fend off pesky intruders that chomp away at foods and even harm the entire crop with disease.

Here are some ways to safely grow foods in the yard. Continue reading

Garlic: A Wonder Herb

It’s a medicine! It’s a salve! It’s a glue! It’s … garlic!

garlic_01Did you know garlic naturally repels mosquitoes (and according to folklore, vampires)? That’s not surprising considering it can also repel your loved ones, co-workers and neighbors … for days … following an extra garlicky meal.

But this innocent little herb doesn’t mean to offend anyone. Commonly called the “stinking rose,” garlic’s sulfur-containing compounds are responsible for the delicious kick it gives meals (and the ensuing garlic breath) … as well as a surprising number of health and other benefits.

Good for Your Health
Garlic is made up of more than 70 active plant chemicals, including allicin — the source of its odor and potential health benefits. Some studies have shown when added to your diet, garlic might: Continue reading

Unhealthy food cravings are a sign of mineral deficiencies

grpes-berriesMost of us have, at one point in our lives, experienced intense cravings for unhealthy foods. Whether it be for chocolate, donuts, salty snacks or refined carbs, our bodies appear to want them — and we’re often all too happy to submit. There’s just one problem: Eating these foods doesn’t seem to end the cravings. What is going on here? Are our bodies playing a cruel joke on us? Well, not quite. Continue reading

Why Asparagus Makes Your Pee Smell and Onions Make You Cry

asparagusChemistry teacher’s DIY infographics reveal truth behind strange effects of certain foods.

Natural food may be healthier than processed, but some can have strange effects on our bodies.

A British graduate chemist and secondary school teacher has created a number of infographics to explain the unexpected chemistry behind some foods – revealing why coffee tastes bitter and chocolate is toxic to dogs. Continue reading

Holy Basil Benefits: Growing Your Own Medicine

Ocimum_tenuiflorum_KelleyAll herbs have a purpose—whether it’s culinary or medicinal—but, it’s a particularly good sign when an herb is revered as the “queen of herbs” and is held as a holy plant worthy of worship. This plant, holy basil (tulsi), not only has medicinal benefits, but is also said to have spiritual benefits. What’s more, holy basil benefits can be experienced in an exciting way, as the herb can be grown in your home or on your patio – making it a great addition to your healing herb garden.

Holy basil, or tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a member of the mint family. It’s closely related to the sweet basil you add to Italian dishes and pesto, but the flavors are quite different. This plant is sometimes referred to as pepper basil as it’s clove-flavor is spicier than it’s sweet counterpart. Continue reading

Cooking With Greens

Throughout my life I have always enjoyed soups – of an exotic flavor – as well as other delicious delicacies. Within the following column from the Fall of 2011 are a series of recipes that defy the dictates of all seasons. Eat healthy, my friends. (Ed.)

recipehealthgreensWe may be seeing the first burnt-orange and fiery reds of fall foliage, but farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture baskets are still laden with deep greens like Swiss chard, broccoli rabe and bok choy. If your produce basket is overflowing, here are five new recipes from Martha Rose Shulman that will get you cooking with greens. Continue reading