Dr. Ann

Onions are uniquely high in prebiotics, the special type of fiber that feeds the good bacteria in our guts. (Remember those good bacteria define your health destiny!) Onions are one of the richest sources of quercetin, a powerhouse phytochemical renowned for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power. Onions are almost calorie free, yet revered for their […]

One of my biggest pet peeves is the ever-exploding selection of designer waters now available on the grocery shelves. Despite their labels that include ultra healthy words like “vitamin”, “fitness”, or “skinny”, there is no evidence that fortifying water with vitamins, minerals, herbs, or antioxidants has any health benefits. To the contrary, given the growing […]

Here are 5 superstar foods that I bet you do not include in your diet as often as you should! Canned pumpkin – 100% canned pumpkin (I love the Libby’s brand) is second only to dark leafy greens in terms of the nutrients it provides per unit calorie. It offers super-high (more than any other […]

Eat more beans! I consider beans the most underutilized and under-appreciated economical superfood. Here are some tips to help you succeed in eating more of them. Keep them “top of mind” with the goal of including a serving each day. Know that canned beans are just as nutritious (and often more convenient!) than dried, fresh […]

Plant-based diets are all the rage and deservedly so. Studies continue to pour in supporting the power they bestow to keep us healthy and disease free. This month we have two new, big ones to add to the list. In the first, scientists followed the diets and health status of over 10,000 US adults from […]

Quick and Easy Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup vinegar of choice (apple cider, balsamic, rice, sherry, white wine, red wine, etc.) 1 heaping tsp. dijon mustard 1 tsp. honey Optional – Herbs or spices (fresh or dried) as desired (garlic, rosemary, basil, chives, curry, cumin, turmeric, dill, cilantro, etc.) I prefer […]

As dairy foods go – low-fat, plain yogurt is a superstar standout.  I want you to include it in your diet regularly. Here are 3 big reasons why you should: Yogurt is the richest and most bio-available source of calcium of any food.  An 8oz serving provides 30-40 percent of your daily calcium requirements. In […]

I’ll never forget the medical mission my family and I went on in Peru (which included a 28 mile hike to Machu Picchu on the ancient Inca trail) and how it gave me a renewed appreciation for fitness, Mother Earth, and quinoa! Commonly considered a grain, but actually a protein-rich seed, quinoa was revered as ” […]

The advice to eat “an apple a day” got a huge boost thanks to a study whose healthy results even shocked the lead investigator.  For this study, 160 middle age to older women were randomly assigned to eat either 75 grams of dried apples a day or 75 grams of prunes a day for a […]

In a review of 11 published studies including 247,510 adults, researchers concluded that consuming potassium rich foods was associated with significant stroke prevention.  People who consumed 1.64 grams or more of potassium a day (equivalent to 5 servings of fruits and veggies) were 21 percent less likely to have a stroke than those getting the […]

Enjoying a generous handful of walnuts daily can improve the quality of your diet and boost your cardiometabolic health-without sabotaging your waistline. That was the encouraging conclusion from a clinical trial conducted to test the effects of a daily dose of walnuts on cardiometabolic health. For this study, researchers provided diet counseling to 112 adults […]

Let’s Talk About Garlic Did you know that garlic… is a medicinal food? can help prevent colds and the flu? can help lower blood pressure?  Did you also know that when you use it at home YOU ARE IN CONTROL of how many health benefits you can get from this superstar food? Join me in […]