DrCarney.com Blog

Pickled foods are foods that have been preserved in an acidic medium. Almost any food item can be pickled, including fruits, meat, and vegetables. The preservative medium used in processing most pickled foods usually contains vinegar, salt, nitrite, nitrate, and seasoning. Salt, nitrate, and nitrite have been linked with the development of stomach cancer. Pickled...

What is a balanced diet? A diet that supplies the proper proportions of all the nutrients necessary for health is considered a balanced diet. But despite our best efforts to eat healthfully, many of us worry that maybe we're not getting enough of certain nutrients. The entire supplement industry is largely built on that fear....

"Eating a rainbow" is a popular technique for making nutrition fun for children. Kids are encouraged to eat a wide variety of colorful foods like red watermelon, orange carrots, yellow peppers, green beans, blueberries, and purple grapes — a rainbow of colors. The technique works for adults, too. Thinking of food in terms of a...

Yes. The perfect place for artificial sweeteners is in the garbage. (ba da bing!) Unfortunately sweet tastes, whether experienced by sugar or by artificial sweeteners, increase our appetite.

I am Frequently contacted by people who after adopting a whole-foods plant-based lifestyle in order to lose weight, have become frustrated due to not seeing the results they had been hoping for. Some become extremely discouraged and contemplate giving up on this way of eating entirely. If that is you, please do not give up....

Because I emphasize a low-fat version of a whole-food, plant-based diet, some people may think that I consider all fat a bad thing. That's absolutely untrue. The human body requires fat. Our bodies use fat for for energy, to help us absorb certain vitamins and minerals, and to build the membranes of our body's more...

A proposed Italian law has put the spotlight on the merits of a vegan diet for children. In four cases in recent months, Italian children have been hospitalized for micronutrient deficiencies purportedly related to the vegan diet fed them by their parents. The proposed law recommends prison sentences for up to four years for parents...

"The problem is that the Westernized diet is delicious, easy and fast. It fits into the modern lifestyle," says Stephen O'Keefe, MD, professor of nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. But this fast, easy diet is lacking in fiber. More than 90 percent of the US population ages two and over are not...

"But my blood test says my estrogen level is FINE!" Imagine how many times women have told me that. Often a patient says it with palpable frustration in her voice. She's already seen her OB/GYN and been told there's no problem with her hormone levels. But since she is still experiencing symptoms like heavy monthly...

Moo-ve over, Reality; we've gotta make room for the dairy producers. And the dairy producers have a version of reality they'd really like us to believe. The California Milk Advisory Board has launched a beautiful new marketing campaign, "Return to Real." The commercials feature real farmers on real farms. The gentle music, natural lighting, and...

We see the evidence of over estrogenization all around us. Men and women, boys and girls in modern society are all suffering. Over estrogenization is closely related to the amount of excess weight we carry. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 70 percent of adults are overweight, and nearly 38 percent...

One of the first changes people make after deciding to go plant-based is swapping out their dairy milk for a plant-based option. The refrigerated aisle at the grocery store has plenty of choices — soy, almond, and rice are all popular alternatives. (Coconut milk is also available, but has a very high amount of saturated fat.)...