InnerSelf

Author and activist Anna Lappé (daughter of Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet) takes on the billion-dollar business of marketing junk food, soda, and fast food to children and teens. With diet-related illnesses...

by Peter Bane. Our conventional diet is deteriorating in quality because our farming has depleted the soils and polluted the waters in which they grow. Adding a few vitamins to "enriched" white bread, cornmeal or white rice doesn't replace the minerals that have eroded from...

by Mark Liponis, M.D. There are two types of people: Hunters and Farmers. Why are there two types of metabolisms that need two different diets? The idea of being a Hunter or a Farmer shouldn’t be taken literally...

You may have jokingly said, as you weren't able to put down that bag of chips or cookies, that those darned things were addictive. Well, it turns out you were right all along.

by Joanna Poppink, MFT. What follows are possible early warning signs of an eating disorder or behaviors that, when repeated, can indicate an ongoing eating disorder. Be gentle with yourself as you examine the things you consider normal and routine, but which may indicate a serious problem.

by Susan Pease Banitt, L.C.S.W. I once had a patient who came in and announced calmly, "I had a brownie yesterday, and then I felt really suicidal." For a moment, my conventional reaction was to think she was losing touch with reality. She was one of my least dramatic, most levelheaded clients and usually she understated rather than overstated everything.

by Julie Daniluk, R. H. N. We have over one hundred trillion bacteria living in our digestive system. We need these bacteria to be healthy. People with inflammatory bowel diseases have lower numbers of friendly bacteria. To repair your gut, increase absorption of nutrients, and overcome many health challenges...

by Barry Dennis. Our children are the first generation in human history predicted to have a shorter life span than the previous generation. Even with all the miracles of modern medicine, the kinds and the amounts of food we are giving our children, combined with a lack of exercise, is killing them...

by Julie Daniluk, R H.N. Emotional healing is the hardest thing to face because it isn't tangible or quantifiable. You may have to address the fact that you're eating extra food for comfort or out of boredom. Some foods may have seemingly addictive qualities. For example, when you eat...

by Stasia Bliss. The truth is, chocolate is very, very good for you. Honestly. Chocolate in its raw form contains a long list of key nutrients qualifying it as a 'superfood.' Chocolate's greatest benefits are delivered when taken in its natural form, the cacao bean, or the...

Bill Moyers talks to scientist and philosopher Vandana Shiva, who’s become a rock star in the global battle over genetically modified seeds.

by Louisa L. Williams, N.S., D.C., N.D. The much-maligned saturated fats — coconut oil, butter, and fat on meat — are not the cause of heart disease but actually protect against it. The fact is that rates of coronary heart disease, rare before 1920, have...

by Debra Lynn Dadd. Your liver needs very specific nutrients in order to process fat-soluble toxicants so they can be removed from your body. And one of these is protein. At one point in the process...

by Louisa L. Williams, M.S., D.C., N.D. Nuts have numerous enzyme inhibitors and are best soaked or partially sprouted to make their nutrients most nontoxic and assimilable before eating. Therefore, raw nuts are significantly easier to digest if...

Based upon commonly available modern foods, the Paleolithic or caveman diet is a diet that seeks to mimic the diet of the hunter-gatherer. The diet consists of foods that can be hunted and fished and can be gathered.

adapted by Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT. The following list of reasons to cut your carbs is adapted from The Carnitine Miracle: The Supernutrient Program That Promotes High Energy, Fat Burning, Heart Health, Brain Wellness and Longevity, by Robert Crayhon, M.A. (Crayhon 1998).

The Corn Refiners Association (CRA) has been busy the past few years trying to salvage the reputation of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The industry's latest marketing stunt involves renaming HFCS to "corn sugar" in order to make the additive sound healthier and more appealing to the public...

Buying food that is grown and raised locally has many advantages. One is obviously the fact that you're supporting your local farmers, businesses, neighbors, the parents of your children's friends, etc. So you're definitely helping your local economy, as well as...

You would think that food safety would be a top priority since much of our food is grown somewhere else and most of us have to eat out of the grocery stores. But it seems that is not the case. For instance, ever wonder why the ongoing collapse of US honeybee populations hasn't caused a scarcity of honey or a spike in prices?

by Nora Gedgaudas, CNS, CNT. A study released in January 2011 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives revealed that essentially 100 percent of the 268 pregnant women tested were contaminated with highly toxic synthetic chemicals.

by Vijay Vad, M.D. Our forebears began eating grains only about 10,000 years ago with the advent of agriculture. Grain had several clear advantages: You could store it for those times when animal food and seafood were in short supply, and the grains themselves were the seeds needed to plant new crops.

by Vijay Vad, M.D.

There are so many diets out there -- and everyone suggests that their way is the best! It may be that each diet has something that makes sense, but is one better than the other? And is that "one" the same for everyone? Dr. Vijay Vad presents some common sense information and recommendations that can be applied to all of us...

by Stasia Bliss. What if we could fully embrace the joy that comes with eating chocolate, without any sense of guilt, for an entire day? Could we then also embrace other experiences of joy? This is where we begin, with this thought, this question: What if? For many of us, our relationship with chocolate is not...

by Dayna Macy.

“You’ll fast for three days”. I’ve run from hunger my whole life, and now I’m going to turn and face it. Dayna Macy shares her experience and insights during a three day fast and reveals...

by Sara Avant Stover.

We can all relate to scarfing down a burrito in the car during rush-hour traffic or gobbling down a snack bar. Nowadays, it is easy to neglect the sacredness of our food. One vital way to tap into intuitive eating is to simply...

by Blanche Agassy McCord.

Vegetarianism is now quite common in our society. Though each person's decision to adopt a vegetarian diet is usually based on a combination of reasons uniquely his or hers, there are three primary concerns that vegetarians may have considered. These are improved health, ethical and environmental concerns, and spiritual convictions.

Recipe for Fried Rice with Wild Nori.
Our nori goes excellently with all cooked grains, especially rice. Simply roast it and crumple it on, or sprinkle on our pre-roasted Nori Granules Sea Seasoning. For something a little creative with rice try this recipe from Montse Bradford.

This recipe came from the Pacific Northwest where the Tsawatainak Indian tribe would harvest their local laver (nori) each year and cook it up with corn. Traditionally they undoubtedly did not use dairy products, but by the time Judith Cooper Madlener came on this recipe, they had started using a local brand of creamed corn. Take your pick.

Recipe for Gunga (Pigeon peas & rice).
Let's see how this favorite Bahamian dish can be cooked... without meat! The recipe was excerpted with permission from the book: "The World In Your Kitchen" (out of print) by Troth Wells, ©1993.

Recipe for Heavenly Rice and Spinach.
Leave standard potatoes or plain cooked rice behind! This adventurous side dish has an extraordinary rich flavor. This recipe was excerpted from The Garlic Cookbook, ©2000.

by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D.

One way to ensure that you'll enjoy a variety of delicious vegetarian meals is by eating out, but many new vegetarians feel unsure about what to order. With my busy workshop schedule, I travel nearly every weekend. I've learned how to maintain my vegetarian lifestyle, no matter what type of restaurant I'm in.

by Deborah Kesten. We are being cheated nutritionally. Food constitutes a six-part gift, but all we're hearing about is one thing. But this skewed perspective, focusing solely on the physiological aspects of food, has become the norm. I call our one-sided, limited view the Dark Ages of nutrition.

by Carrie L'Esperance. For optimal energy and to maintain health, a balance between the acids and the alkalis of the body is essential. The acid-alkaline balance varies with the individual and his or her stress level. Generally it ranges between 75 percent and 85 percent alkaline-producing foods to between 15 percent and 25 percent acid-producing foods in the diet.