Dr. Ann

Healthy Eating & Nutrition, Healthy Living


Fermented Foods Score a Huge Win

This is really big! In an elegantly conducted clinical trial by one of the world’s most esteemed microbiome scientists we find that stepping up the intake of fermented foods is a quick and effective way to boost gut microbial diversity AND decrease damaging inflammation—even more so than stepping up your intake of fiber-rich plant foods! […]


Foods Highest In Flavonoids, Flavones, & Anthocyanins

These remarkable compounds have been linked to powerful health protection and are especially known for their anti-inflammatory and gut microbiome-enhancing properties. Flavonoids Dark Leafy Greens Onions Apples Berries Cherries Dark Chocolate Soybeans Coffee Red Wine Freshly Brewed Green and Black Tea Citrus Fruits  Flavones Parsley – fresh best Apples – organic best; eat the skin […]

Healthy Living


The Peace of Mindfulness

Meditation is on a roll—scoring one scientific victory after another. According to findings from a new study from scientists at Yale, Columbia, and Dartmouth as little as a single session of training in mindfulness, in those with no previous experience, leads to a pronounced decrease in pain, as well as feelings of negativity. Mindfulness is […]

Today I want to highlight a remarkable, truly awe-inspiring  category of plant compounds called Polyphenols – Polyphenols are miracle workers in our bodies. They number in the thousands and thankfully are distributed amongst the full gamut of our plant-based foods: fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, mushrooms, nuts and seeds. So–what makes them so amazing? There are two invaluable  things […]

March 1, 2022 •

An Emulsifier to Avoid

Sound the alarm! In a pivotal new report, we now have direct, clear evidence that a commonly used food additive, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), quickly disrupts the gut microbiome in healthy subjects. A slew of recent reports from animal studies have indicated that the ubiquitous family of food additives called emulsifiers  radically alter gut bacteria and the […]

March 1, 2022 •

Fresh Ginger for Bad Breath

Today, I want to share a super-healthy and highly effective way to freshen breath and reduce bad breath: Ginger. Ginger already enjoys rock-star status as a potent anti-inflammatory spice (second only to turmeric as the most potent of all anti-inflammatory foods!), and now it seems freshening our breath and cleansing our palates are two additional accolades ginger […]

February 23, 2022 •

A Hidden Danger of Mouthwash

I want to be sure you are aware of  risks that come along with using mouthwash. So here’s the little known, but important story… Just as we have vitally important beneficial bacteria in our guts, the same is true of our oral cavity. Very recent science has uncovered that some species of oral bacteria play […]

When it comes to brain power, your thoughts matter. Stop those negative thoughts! When it comes to brain power, it appears your thoughts matter. That was the eye-opening conclusion of a provocative study published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia. For this study scientists carefully measured the cognitive function of 292 middle-age to older study subjects over a […]

If you want to burn more fat during your workout, do it before your breakfast. Exercise physiologists wanted to see how a morning workout affected food intake and fat burning. To evaluate, they had 12 fit males exercise on a treadmill at 10 am–either before or after eating breakfast. Following the exercise, all study subjects were given […]

Eat More Greens for Greater Muscle Strength Boost muscle strength by including more dark leafy greens in your diet. In a study that followed the diets and physical status of about 3,800 men and women over a 12-year period, those consuming the most dietary nitrate, a compound abundant in dark leafy greens, exhibited significantly greater strength of […]

What is Time Restricted Eating and how do you do it? Today’s tip actually fits directly into the “eat real food” directive, but it also has benefits for the other directives, namely “nurture your microbiome”, “join me in moving daily”, and “yes to restorative sleep”.  And that would be the exciting topic of Time Restricted Eating, “TRE” for […]

Is soybean oil healthy? What about corn oil, safflower oil, or sunflower oil? Today I want to remind you why and how to limit your omega 6 oils! Omega 6 oils have flooded the American food supply over the past 60 years. They include soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and safflower oil. These “refined […]

Yes! Certain foods like probiotic-rich yogurt can favorably affect blood pressure. Many yogurt-loving clients are thrilled to learn that yogurt can help lower blood pressure. That’s right–when it comes to lowering blood pressure, a daily dose of yogurt may be just what the doctor ordered. In a study that followed the diets and  cardiovascular risk […]

Maintaining optimal levels of vitamin D is essential for avoiding heart disease. That was the conclusion from a first-of-its-kind study involving 267,980 study subjects.  For this study scientists used a sophisticated technique called non-linear Mendelian randomization analyses across all study subjects to assess how increasing vitamin D levels impacted heart disease. They were able to show […]

Exercise is a godsend for those with anxiety disorders. That was the upshot of a pivotal new study evaluating how a prescribed regimen of regular physical activity impacted anxiety scores.  For this study 286 adults suffering from clinical anxiety syndromes, some for over a decade, were placed in one of three study groups. Group 1 […]