Diet Quotes

Canned beans are as healthy as boiled beans--with one exception: sodium. Salt is often added to canned beans, resulting in sodium levels up to 100 times more than if you cooked them without any salt. I recommend purchasing the no-salt-added varieties and cooking with the bean liquid in whatever dish you're whipping up. The only legumes I have the patience to cook from scratch are lentils. They cook quickly and don't need to be presoaked. You can just simmer them as you would pasta, in a pot with an abundance of water, for about half an hour. [2015] - Michael Greger

Antioxidant content is one of the reasons I've singled out berries for special treatment. They are second only to herbs and spices as the most antioxidant-packed food category. As a group, they average nearly ten times more antioxidants than other fruits and vegetables. Shop for the reddest of strawberries, the blackest of blackberries, the most scarlet tomato, the darkest green broccoli you can find. The colors are the antiaging, anticancer antioxidants. [2015] - Michael Greger

America's favorite fruits are apples and bananas, with antioxidant power of about 60 units and 40 units, respectively. Mangos, the preferred fruit around the world outside of the United States, have even more antioxidant punch at 110 units. But none of these fruits are a match for berries. Strawberries weigh in at about 310 units per cup, cranberries at 330, raspberries at 350, blueberries at 380, and blackberries at a whopping 650 units. Are frozen berries as nutritious as fresh ones? Studies on cherries, raspberries, and strawberries suggest that most of their nutrition is retained even when frozen. [2015] - Michael Greger

My favorite way to incorporate turmeric is to use fresh turmeric root. Any large Asian market should carry it in the produce aisle. My quarter teaspoon of dried turmeric recommendation translates into about a quarter inch of fresh turmeric root. I use a grater to add my daily quarter inch into whatever I may be cooking (or right onto a cooked sweet potato), or I throw a raw slice into a smoothie. You probably won't even taste it. Fresh turmeric has a much more subtle flavor than dried. Be careful--it can stain clothing and surfaces. Consuming turmeric with soy may offer a double benefit for osteoarthritis sufferers. [2015] - Michael Greger

Some of my favorite spice mixes are pumpkin pie spice, curry powder, chili powder, Chinese five-spice powder, a savory Indian spice blend called garam masala, an Ethiopian blend called berbere, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, and a Middle Eastern blend called za'atar. Spice mixes are a convenient way to provide a balance of flavors while boosting the variety of your spice intake, but make sure to check that the mixes are salt-free. [2015] - Michael Greger

There are two main types of cinnamon: Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon (also known as Chinese cinnamon). In the United States, anything simply labeled "cinnamon" is probably cassia, since it's cheaper. This is unfortunate, because cassia contains a compound called coumarin, which may be toxic to the liver at high doses. Unless it's specifically labeled Ceylon cinnamon, a daily teaspoon would exceed the tolerable upper safety limit for adults. [2015] - Michael Greger

There is a wonderful universe of whole grains out there. You may have tried quinoa, but what about kaniwa or fonio? Even wild rice (which is not actually even rice) may not sound as wild as the grain called freekeh. Have fun and try some amaranth, millet, sorghum, or teff or expand the amber waves of your horizon. If you have a choice, pick red quinoa over white quinoa, blue corn over yellow, and yellow corn over white. Pigmented rice--red, purple, or black--has benefits over brown. Whole-wheat pasta cooks in about 10 minutes. My favorite brand is Bionaturae because of its deliciously nutty taste. [2015] - Michael Greger

Popcorn is a whole grain that takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. A hot-air popper is another inexpensive, useful appliance. There's an endless variety of savory, sweet, and spicy toppings you can use. I like the combination of chlorella and nutritional yeast. There are even one-minute whole-grain options: fully precooked bowls and pouches of brown rice and quinoa that can be microwaved and don't even need to be refrigerated--just heat and eat. [2015] - Michael Greger

If you buy packaged grain products, anything labeled on the front with words like "multigrain," "stone-ground," "100% wheat," "cracked wheat," "seven-grain," or "bran" is usually NOT a whole-grain product. Even if the first word in the ingredients list is "whole," the rest of the ingredients could be junk. I suggest using the Five-to-One Rule. Look at the Nutrition Facts label on the package and see if the ratio of grams of carbohydrates to grams of dietary fiber is five or less. For example, Ezekiel bread has 15 grams of carbohydrates and 3 grams of fiber and passes the test. [2015] - Michael Greger

The sugar alcohols sorbitol and xylitol are harmless in themselves, but they aren't absorbed by the body and end up in the colon, where they can draw in fluid and cause diarrhea. This is why they're only used commercially in small quantities, such as in mints or chewing gum, as opposed to beverages. A related compound, however, erythritol, is absorbed and may have the harmlessness of xylitol without the laxative effect. Erythritol is found naturally in pears and grapes, but industrially, yeast is used to produce it. Erythritol doesn't cause cavities, and it hasn't been implicated in fibromyalgia, preterm birth, headaches, hypertension, brain disorders, or platelet disorders like other low-calorie sweeteners. [2015] - Michael Greger

You should get at least a half a percent of your calories from the short-chain omega-3 ALA. That's easy--one tablespoon of ground flaxseeds takes care of that. Your body can then take the short-chain omega-3 from flaxseeds (or chia seeds or walnuts) and elongate it into the long-chain omega-3s EPA and DHA found in fish fat. The question, however, is whether the body can make enough for optimal brain health. Until we know more, I recommend taking 250 mg of pollutant-free (yeast- or algae-derived) long-chain omega-3s directly. [2015] - Michael Greger

If you are an athlete, you need more protein than a less active person, but you don’t have to spend your money on special and (usually expensive) protein supplements or big, protein-laced meals. Protein alone will not build your muscles. If you take in more protein and carbohydrates than you need, your body will store the overload as fat tissue. If you eat too many high-protein foods and take protein supplements, you may risk kidney damage, loss of calcium from bones, and dehydration. [2015] - Vonda Wright

Several studies show that the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein may not be adequate for sustaining and building muscle for aging athletes. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams for every kilogram of body weight. Male endurance athletes require a daily maximum 1.2-1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight; those engaged in strength training require 1.6-1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day to accumulate and maintain muscles. [2015] - Vonda Wright

Carbs help maintain blood glucose during exercise and restore muscle glycogen during rest and recovery from exercise. The recommended daily intake is a minimum of 130 grams, or 45-65% of daily calories for adults, independent of age or activity level. This is the minimum needed for your brain to function. It's recommended that athletes consume 6-10 grams of carbs for every kilogram of body weight per day. The majority should be in the form of less-refined, less-processed foods with a low glycemic (blood sugar) load. If you're on a low-calorie diet (fewer than 2,000 calories per day), it may be difficult to achieve the recommended 6 grams of carbs per kilogram of weight each day. [2015] - Vonda Wright

The only antacid I recommend with any frequency is Gaviscon. Once ingested, it forms a "raft" that helps prevent reflux by blocking the stomach valve with a thick gel. Antacids are not used as a primary treatment in patients with airway reflux. [2014] - Jamie Koufman

We evaluated a natural artesian alkaline (pH 8.8) water (Evamor) in the laboratory and found that it instantaneously and permanently denatured (killed) pepsin; it also had good buffering capacity. Many of my patients report that alkaline water is a key variable in their recovery. [2014] - Jamie Koufman

Acidic foods may be combined with non-acidic foods. Acidic fruits, for example, that are not allowed by themselves, may be fine if added to breakfast cereal with high-pH milk (preferably low-fat milk) or if consumed alone with alkaline water. [2014] - Jamie Koufman

During the induction reflux diet, no eating is allowed within four hours of bed. It actually takes four hours for the stomach to empty completely. After the induction, the time between eating and recumbency (lying down) can be three hours. [2014] - Jamie Koufman

Everyone with reflux is different, and even foods that are forbidden during the induction phase may be well tolerated by some individuals, including onions, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers. These are all idiosyncratic foods; that is, some patients can tolerate one but not another, and some are better tolerated cooked than raw, such as tomatoes and onions. Some people can tolerate garlic flavorings but not garlic itself, and so on. [2014] - Jamie Koufman

Do not use pressure cookers they work at a very high temperature, which damages nutrients. One of the basic Gerson rules is to cook food very slowly, at a low temperature, to avoid such damage. The glaze used on some crockpots is toxic - best to steer clear of them. [2013] - Charlotte Gerson