Kristen N. Smith, PhD, RDN, LD
Sugar is not so sweet in the health and wellness world, now more than ever. Its bad reputation stems from research on added sugars, fructose in particular, in foods and beverages, linking it with chronic illness and disease, such as heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. But even so, … Read More
Gout in foot, instep, and ankle areas is common, affecting up to 8 million Americans today. The condition has been recorded throughout history, affecting many famous people—the most notorious of whom was Henry VIII, renowned for his lavish diet of rich food and copious amounts of alcohol. What is gout? … Read More
According to the World Health Organization, depression affects more than 350 million people of all ages and often leads to such diseases such as heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, or Alzheimer’s. Could what you eat be the first step in this vicious downward spiral? Sometimes, people mistake depression symptoms … Read More
Not all fats are created equal: Saturated vs unsaturated. Essential vs unessential. Healthy vs unhealthy. The hard part is knowing which fats are good for you and which you should avoid. Along those lines, let's compare omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids, with an eye toward balance. Both omega-6 … Read More
No one who has ever suffered from diverticulitis is lucky, but some people are able to get through the intense attack of lower abdominal pain relatively unscathed. The unlucky diverticulitis patients have a different story, one that can include complications, hospitalization, surgery, or chronic disease that will have an ongoing … Read More
The cause of prostate cancer is complex and not fully understood. We do know that the glandular tissue of the prostate is prone to genetic mutations that may be triggered by a variety of factors. In many men, the disease seems to be random, and the cause remains unknown. The … Read More
The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans sanctioned a healthy U.S.-style diet, but more common is an unhealthy eating pattern characterized by oversized portions and too much sugar, “bad” fat, and salt. This overindulgence contributes to obesity in more than a third of the adult population; it also factors into a … Read More
Looking for a diet that might help you preserve your brain function as you get older? You might consider the so-called MIND diet. "MIND" stands for "Mediterranean-DASH-diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay." Scientists developed it by combining features from those healthy dietary patterns—the Mediterranean-style diet and DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to … Read More
Microorganisms feeding on our bodies outnumber our cells by 10 to 1. A typical person carries as many as six pounds of microbes, all living in a delicate, symbiotic balance amongst each other. These microbes can cause either a beneficial or a harmful effect. Most assuredly, an imbalanced overgrowth of … Read More
There are many researchers who believe that an imbalance in serotonin levels may influence mood in a way that can lead to depression… but also possibly to other neurological problems, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, panic, and even excess anger. This is what scientists theorize because there is no way … Read More
