Is Junk Food Healthy in Moderation?

​Is junk food in moderation healthy for you? I assume you use the term “junk food” to refer to foods that are high in fat, sugar and/or salt, which are also not nutrient dense. Doritos corn chips could be an example. A 1 ounce serving of Doritos is about 11 chips. How many people do…

Artificial Sweeteners: Sweet Poisons?

You’ve heard the expression “pick your poison”.  When it comes to sweet stuff, you need to do just that.  Sugar, consumed to excess, can be toxic and lead to conditions such as diabetes.  But what about artificial sweeteners? Commonly consumed sources of artificial sweeteners include the packets and pills used in place of sugar to…

The Health Impact of Unsweetened Carbonated Drinks

This article originally appeared as an answer to a question on Quora. Do unsweetened carbonated drinks affect your health? I assume that by describing these drinks as “unsweetened”, you mean they do not include artificial or natural sweeteners. Carbonated drinks can contribute to your body’s hydration. The potential for other harms and benefits depend on other…

GMOs: Are There Health Risks?

George Noory’s Coast To Coast show has featured a segment on the topic of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Concern about GMOs has been highlighted in the news media more than usual this month.  It turns out that October has been designated Non-GMO month, in an effort to draw attention to the risks associated with…

The Cholesterol Puzzle

I’m sure this seems like a straight-forward question but from a medical perspective, it is not. The connection between cholesterol levels and atherosclerosis arose from the finding that arterial plaque has a lot of cholesterol in it. The medical reasoning that came about based on this finding was that if there was less cholesterol in…