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I absolutely love helping people find answers to their food and health questions. The only problem is that there are so many of you I can’t keep up.
If your question can be answered with Google or using the search bar at the top of the page, please try those options first.
If you have a quick question about your own healthstyle that I can answer easily in a few sentences, feel free to ask in the comments to the right and I’ll try to get to it in the next few weeks.
Thank you for helping keep my inbox manageable.
Cheers,
Darya
1,842 responses so far
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Thanks, Darya!
I have recently learned that portabella mushrooms are high in vitamin D. However, they also contain a toxin called hydrazine. My question is two parts. 1) Should people not eat portabella mushrooms raw, and cook them?
2) By cooking them does this destroy or significantly lower the nutritional value to the mushroom? Particularly the vitamin D content.
Thank you for your time.
-Andrew Seer
This question is too complicated to answer in 3 sentences, mainly because I’ve never heard of either of your claims before and need to look them up. For more help check out the options above.
My family wants pecan pie on Thanksgiving but Karo syrup grosses me out. Do you know of any recipes or substitutions that could be used?
Sorry it took me so long to get to this. Maybe mollasses?
Hi!
I’m an engineer college student and I want to look out for my health, Sometimes (specially around finals) I need to spend all night at the library and while I pack fruits and nuts and sometimes sandwiches there is an hour during the night that I reaally need something more substancial to keep my focus going. Sugar cookies and chips are something I really want to avoid but are the only thing availabe at the nearest store. What should I do?
Bean dishes are my favorite in those situations. They only take a few minutes to make (add cut up carrots, radish, green onion, olive oil, salt and pepper or whatever else you want), keep well for hours, transport easily and are really satisfying. If that still sounds like too much, why not bring burrito or something with you? Cut it in half and have it over a few hours. Worse things could happen.
What do you think of the candida diet?
Never heard of it. Is it about yeast?
Yeah it’s the diet some people use to eliminate overgrowth of candida albicans. There’s variations of the diet but generally they say to eliminate all refined foods, sugars (including lactose and fructose), yeast and wheat, as well as high GI foods, from your diet until you start feeling better when you can start reintroducing foods such as fruit, dried beans, lentils etc.
At the same time you’re meant to take antifungals such as caprylic acid and oregano oil to help kill any overgrowth faster, and after a while on the diet start taking a high strength probiotic to recolonise the gut with good bacteria.
Doesn’t sound dangerous. With that many healthy changes I doubt anti-fungals would even be necessary.
Is too much soy really a potential problem for women? I eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of edamame almost every day with a salad and am considering a women’s vitamin that contains “soy isoflavones.” My stepmother (who is no doctor) said to beware of too much soy since it mimics estrogen. I don’t eat any other soy-infused products since they’re essentially processed foods.
What are your thoughts? How much is too much?
Here ya go:
http://summertomato.com/soy-healthy-or-dangerous/
Darya, I’m flummoxed over olive oil! I’ve been reading a lot of recent articles about misleading labeling allowing olive oils sold in America to contain non-olive oils, artificial flavors, and other additives that dilute the health benefits of real cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Since I’ve never been to Europe and tasted the absolute real McCoy, how can I determine whether the brand I buy is unadulterated, pure olive oil? I currently buy Costco’s Kirkland Organic cold pressed extra virgin, but when I tried to test its authenticity by refrigerating it, it didn’t turn cloudy or thicken, suggesting that it may not be as pure as I’d hoped. I’m happy to fork over some serious cash for the real thing, but I don’t know what brands to seek out. Suggestions?
I don’t know how to tell for sure, but I’m sure price is a great indication. Kirkland is definitely likely to be massively produced industrial stuff, but I bet you can find something good at Whole Foods.
Beware of most store-bought olive oil, even if it’s extra virgin or organic. Because of shipping and storage, by the time it reaches you at the shelf, it’s likely rancid, even at Whole Foods. I believe EVOO should only be consumed within a year of pressing, and ensure you store it in a dark bottle in a cool dark place.
Try these places for high-quality, healthful olive oil.
http://mcevoyranch.com/products/olive-oil
http://stonehouseoliveoil.com/
http://sigonas.com/
I have heard that sprouted grain flour is healthier than other whole grain flours. Is this true? And, if so, how do you know which companies are actually using sprouted grain flour since apparently there is no restriction on the use of this label (per http://www.essentialeating.com/ResourcesSprouted.asp). Thank you.
Sorry, I’d have to do a bunch of research to give you a good answer.
Dear Darya, I loved your blogg and totally agree with you about tasty food. Have you ever heard of our Yellow Rei melons? We sell them in a lot of Supermarkets in US with a huge success, because of its delicious flavor. I think it really helps if you eat healthy food that really tastes good. The difficulty is to teach children or young people to eat more fruits & Vegs if they do not get the flavour they expect. Regards, Adriana
I want to subscribe to Tomato Slice but I’m concerned about creating another account with my credit card info…why can’t I just purchase a subscription with my credit card info without creating a paypal account?
Thanks
Frank
Happy New Year!
Sorry Frank, I’m it’s a Tinyletter rule. The good news is that PayPal is the probably the safest way to pay for things online. It pays my salary 🙂
Hi Darya! You don’t have to respond to this here (probably more than a 3 sentence answer!), but I wanted to see if you got a chance to check out this piece in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/tara-parker-pope-fat-trap.html?pagewanted=1&src=recg and most specifically what you think of Proietto’s findings that our bodies may enter an altered state that makes weight gain almost inevitable following weight loss. So interesting!
Hi Darya,
I’ve recently tried the blood type diet. I’m an A and have found huge benefits since starting. It’s not down to cutting wheat and dairy either cos I’d cut those previously. Just wondered if you’d tried it at all? I know they say there is no science basis for it but that’s rubbish, if people bother to look into it deeply there is! Also people putting it down probly haven’t tried it.
all best wishes,
x
Hey Darya ,
Can you suggest what is healthy at breakfast time? Or something that will wake me up and keep me going all day?
Thanks,
Charlie
I like eggs, muesli and other whole foods. Check my breakfast recipes for more. Be sure to get some protein in there: http://blog.zocdoc.com/is-breakfast-the-most-important-meal-fact-vs-myth/
Hi Darya,
I was wondering if you know of any good detox or cleanses that you can recommend… 🙂
Thanks!
As I mention in today’s post, I don’t do cleanses. Check out the post for a better option.
hello
I want ask you how can to somebody
Weighing up to 120 kg to work to lose weight, which can not afford to continue the Diet, you can take herbs or other drugs??
I would be very grateful….
Sorry I don’t understand your question.
hello
Darya
Hi Darya,
What do you listen to when you work out? Thanks!
I have the most ridiculous workout mix. Mostly hiphop, but other music as well. Sometimes I listen to a podcast or audiobook, but my best workouts are always to upbeat music with lyrics (related: I kick ass at karaoke because I know the words to everything).
Thank you so much Darya:) Any examples of what you listen to?
I love Black Eyed Peas, Eminem, Nelly, Gwen Stephani, Beyonce. I told you, ridiculous stuff.
you are simply amazing:) waiting eagerly for this monday for you show:)
Hi,
My wife and I are trying to get back in shape and lose weight. We recently started having smoothies made with kale, apple, banana (one half), spirulina, and a carrot for breakfast and one with dinner (16oz serving each time).
Are we consuming too many calories if we have a smoothie WITH our dinner or is it no big deal because its fruit and veg only?
J
Might be too much to do it with dinner. Easy way to test it though 😉
Hello Darya.
First of all, sorry if my english is not very good, but it’s not my native language.
I’m a vegetarian, mostly because I really don’t like any kind of meat, but reading you amazing blog I’ve learned the benefits of eating fish and the dangers of not eating it. Even if I liked it, here in Mexico good fish is not easy to find and it’s not affordable for me, so I’ve been thinking about taking fish oil supplements, but given that supplements usually doesn’t work as well as food, my questions is, ¿is there any point to that?
I think fish oil supplements are fine and can be a good option for people in your situation.
Hi Darya,
Itunes U has a lot of nutrition courses in the Food & Nurition section. Can you recommend any? What is your got feeling about them?
Thanks
Jonas
Never seen any.
My husband and I are planning on getting a high-end bread machine for our 8 year anniversary in Feb because we want to do away with sliced bread forever. What ingredients (flour, etc…) do you think makes the healthiest bread?
I think bread is the healthiest when you grind the grains yourself instead of using refined flour.
Hi Darya,
I would like a good primer on basic nutrition. Do you have any recommended reading for the lay man? I’m primarily interested in healthy living, and how nutrition affects fitness and exercise.
I feel like there is so much junk science out there regarding nutrition, I would like a solid, bare-bones, here’s-the-facts nutrition read. When I thought of where to look for this info, I thought who else but Darya!
Thanks so much, Tucker
Eat, Drink and Be Healthy, by Walter Willett is a great place to start. It’s slightly dated, but a good beginning. Check my goodies shop for more 🙂
Hi Darya,
What are some of your favorite audio books? I am planning to walk to school and looking for some recommendations!
Thanks!
Most of the books I read are via audiobook, but sadly there aren’t a lot of nutrition books available there. Here’s my public profile at Shelfari http://www.shelfari.com/daryapino
Thanks:)
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/index.xml?section
Darya, was wondering if you saw the Princeton HFCS vs Sugar and had any thoughts. Especially if there is enough to evaluate what they did as valid.
Writing about that tomorrow on Zocdoc!
Excellent! Please link when you do. I know the original article was quite short, but figured you might be able to find more detail with your resources.
Thx!
At what age do you recomend kids start to eat meat and diary products (other than milk).?
(I once heard that if your baby has blue or green eyes and you don’t feed them meat the first 3 years they don’t change color.)
Hello
I’m pretty new to the website but have thoroughly enjoyed the insight into food nutrition and the science involved.
I am however confused about a couple of points which I’d appreciate maybe a little clarification on.
In the article posted about Asian people eating a lot of rice there a numerous comments about white rice being as healthy if not more (possibly) than brown, partly due to brown rice blocking nutrient consumption (?). I was just wonderring what was your general thoughts on the benefits of white vs brown rice?
My second issue has been more of my own lifestyle. Trying to get my 5-a-day I’ve found that orange juice is one of my easiest and favourite forms of fruit consumption, however reading the labels theres orange juice that has upwards of 25% RDA of sugar! This suprised me and, as reading of your opinions on sugar, I was wonderring whether this is generally a poor form of fruit consumption and whether you should generally steer clear of fruit juices?
Thanks for your time
Steve
The paleo folks who are commenting on the rice believe grains are bad because they contain antinutrients (phytates) that prevent some vitamin and mineral absorption. I think this is true but don’t think it is relevant in developed countries. I still prefer brown rice. Orange juice has many problems. If you’re juicing it yourself it takes like 6-7 oranges to make a cup. You can do the math and see why there’s so much sugar in there. Store bought OJ, even when it says 100% is highly processed and flavors are added. So no, I don’t really recommend fruit juices at all except on rare occasions. http://summertomato.com/6-things-to-consider-before-buying-a-juicer-other-tips-for-fruit-vegetable-juicing/
My question would have to be: How are you so awesome?
Found you this afternoon through the Quirky Farmer’s Market Bag link, and already I love you.
The freezer rice balls are going to change my life, I can tell!
Thanks for a great site about healthy eating.
*awww schucks* I just turned bright red. Thank you 😉
So after months of slowly changing my health style, I got the best compliment ever as I was unpacking my breakfast & lunch at the office: “you always have such good-looking whole and real food”. Thanks Darya!
Also, if you have not tried it with yogurt: Dorset Honey Granola (gold box). I mix it with their blue box muesli on yogurt. Only 2g sugar per 1/4c serving! It’s lightly sweet, whole intact grains/nuts and tastes great!
w00t! 🙂
Hey Darya! I’m just wondering if you can refer me to any good, health-oriented food blogs. I LOVE food blogs, but it’s hard to find ones that don’t worship sweets. Yours is by far my favorite healthful one.
Funny you should ask. A post on that very subject will be up tomorrow 🙂
Insurance wants my good HDL to be lower. Just had a blood test to get health insurance. My HDL was 88. LDL was 107. Guess my total was 207. I’m 58 yr female. Play hockey and xcountry ski, and Mt. Bike. Very active. Love my health diet just like you described About HDL. I did start trying fenugreek tea which I heard raise HDL. They denied me cause my lipids were too high. So how do i lower my HDL for another the test to get insurance. Go eat a big Choc sundae- NOT.
Wow. That’s repulsive. You can lower lipids easily by eating less fat and exercising. Not sure how long it would take, but I can’t believe that you’re being asked to lower HDL.
Hi Darya. =) My mom still smokes, she promises to quit when she finishes college. My real worry is her recent attempt at a diet. This one was great, I was eating her rly healthy rly yummy veggie wraps and drinking healthier stuff with her, but she didn’t make it a month or longer. Got any creative ideas to make her want to stick to her diet? I just dnt want her to cont. being upset with the way she looks.
In my experience you can’t force someone to do what’s best for them, they need to come to the decision on their own. For gentle nudging, you might suggest she watch the documentary Food Inc or read In Defense of Food, those can really make processed food sound disgusting.
Darya, what’s your final say on coffee? I’m so confused. one day it gives you cancer then the next day a report comes out saying how its choc full of antioxidants and how great it is for you. I only use organic because i fear the pesticides on regular but should I be drinking coffee every morning or not? work so hard to be healthy and don’t want to undo it by drinking coffee every morning…or would I be? GRRRRRRR
Just wrote about it a few weeks ago 🙂
http://blog.zocdoc.com/too-much-coffee-is-bad-for-you-fact-vs-myth/
wow! ty!
thank you Daryaa:) you are simply amazing. Waiting eagerly for the show on Monday:D
Hi Darya, First off, I’ve finally got off my A$$ and tried your rice balls method. Amazing. I was lazily using instant brown rice and it now tastes like bits of bark compared to the cooked long grain brown rice.
My question is this… I’ve come up with what I feel are great little healthy food recipes that are almost idiot proof and QUICK to make in the morning to take to work. Basically using one of the rice balls, mixing with choice of frozen veggies and some type of protein ( chick peas, or meat ) and then a choice of sauce .. Olive Oil, Sea Salt and Pepper..or curry powder mixed with olive oil… soya sauce, fresh ginger/garlic and sesame seeds….etc etc…. I take it to work uncooked and then I microwave it for around 3minutes and it tastes allllmost like a homecooked meal.
My question is, do you think long term there is any problem with eating frozen veggies and sauces that are microwave cooked. not so much concerned about microwaving in general but moreso the healthiness of the combination of frozen, and “uncooked” sauces vs taking the same foods which are leftovers which are reheated.
Does that make any sense? 🙂
Sounds fine to me. Frozen veggies are a great option, and the sauces sound healthy. Nice work!
Hi Darya! I’m new to your site but so far, I really like it. I trust your knowledge and hope to visit a lot more. I just watched your episode on being a healthy vegetarian/vegan and I have a question. I am trying to get pregnant and take a special multi-vitamin named Neevo as I have a double copy of the mthfr c-677t gene (I don’t metabolize folic acid, or something like that). Anyhow, it come with a Life’s DHA supplement and I wonder: As a vegetarian does this satisfy my omega-3 fatty acid requirement? If not, what should I be taking?
Thanks!
The general recommendation is about 1g/day of DHA/EPA. You might look into vitamin K2 as well.
Hello!
Couple of quick questions (Hopefully!).
1) What are your views on canned fruit vs fresh fruit? Im really enjoying fruit salads atm and find its a really easy way for me to get a large way through my 5-a-day (as long as i watch out on sugars) but it can get quite expensive plus buying tinned fruits such as pineapple is just a lot easier. But are these forms of fruit less beneficial?
2) Im from the UK and was wondering if it’s just as easy to subscribe to the Tomato slice newsletter as it would normally be?
Thanks for your time
Steve
Canned fruits are usually not as good. The processing kills a lot of the benefits (like vitamin C), and they are typically packed in syrup. Also, most cans are still lined with BPA, and endocrine disruptor. Sorry :/
And yes, I have several UK subscribers. All you need is Paypal account.
Cheers!
dp
I recently read your views in low calorie sweeteners, And it’s really interesting the focus you take. My question is… do you have the same opinion for Isomalt? I mean, since it comes from beets and it behaves like Sugar I tought it might not be so bad, right?
I’be been watching the Yale Open Course “THE PSYCHOLOGY, BIOLOGY AND POLITICS OF FOOD”, and I Like how Professor Kelly D. Brownell suggests some Junk Food should be Controled Substances since they’re addictive and they damage your body. You should check it out.
Oh, and by the way I Love the site. Thanks Darya.
Hi Darya,
What are your thoughts on almond milk?
Love it. That and hemp milk are my go-to faves. Always get unsweetened though.
Hi There –
Great blog! Quick question: I’ve always thought blueberries were anti-inflammatory (noted often in posts like this: http://www.chicagonow.com/clean-convenient-cuisine/2010/09/best-and-worst-top-10-most-inflammatory-and-anti-inflammatory-foods/#/ )
But this nutrition site claims they are slightly flammatory?
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1851/2
(see inflammation counter: -28!)
so, what’s your call? 🙂
Nutrition Data uses an algorithm to determine their inflammation scale, so you can’t count on it 100%. I suspect the mild inflammation is predicted based on sugar content, but since the sugar is all bound up inside fiber and surrounded by healthy antioxidants I wouldn’t worry about it. Generally speaking, all whole foods are good for you.
Hi Darya! Well i hope i have an easy question for you. I am a college student and i am desperate to change my unhealthy eating habits. I used to be very good at it, until i started working more, adding more classes and started dating my boyfriend of three years (i love him but its true what they say about love chub!) I know what i need to be eating but starting just seems impossible to me and i know how easy it can be. What is one tip you can give me to get me motivated and eating healthy again? Thanks!
I’d try two things. First, go to localharvest.org and find an awesome farmers market near you. They are so inspiring and wonderful, that is what got me started. Second, rent and watch the documentary Food, Inc. You’ll never want to eat industrial food again 😉
what about my local healthfood store? it’s the closest thing i have since there is only one farmers market in my town and are only available on saturday mornings, when i work. Can i trust that their produce and fruits are organic? and yes i have seen the movie already 🙂 p.s i just read your diet history..and wow..i felt like i was reading about myself! very moving and inspiring.
Your health food store is probably fine. If it’s in a store organic produce should be labeled, but honestly I worry less about organic and more about freshness and seasonality.
Hi Darya, just signed up to your site, loads of great stuff on here, thanks! I’m reading quite a bit about food combining at the moment and wondered what are your thoughts on it?
That science was actually debunked awhile ago, sorry :/
Hey, Darya, I might win for dumb question of the day but:
Is there any advantage to eating gluten-free breads like Udi’s over traditional ones WRT glycemic index or insulin response? Neither Udi’s or regular has a lot of sugar, but brown rice pasta is supposed to be better than traditional for insulin response, so I was wondering if the same holds true for bread (assuming there isn’t a bunch of added sugar).
Udi’s reference here for whole grain bread:
http://udisglutenfree.com/view_product/1015//Whole_Grain_Bread_Loaf
If there’s a difference it is probably very small. G-Free bread is still a highly processed product.
Hello Darya,
Can eating too many vegetables (not starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn etc. but more green vegetables such as spinach, beans and salad) can be bad for general health and weight loss?
I’ve been trying to eat a more balanced diet & smaller portions in order to improve my health and lose a few pounds, but I find that the hardest time for me is dinner time as I always overeat – the rest of the day is easy to control except dinner. One way I have tried to compensate is to eat more vegetables rather than meat and starches, but I wanted to know if this is a bad thing for my overall goals.
Your advice would be much appreciated, thanks in advance!
I would never say eating more vegetables is a bad thing. If you’re having trouble losing weight it might be something else you’re doing, but I can’t rule out the vegetables completely without knowing more about how you eat. It could be that you’re not eating enough earlier in the day, or you’re eating too fast. Did you see yesterday’s post about mindful eating?
I did read the post about mindful eating & there were some great tips in there for that – thank you, and thanks for the reply. In terms of my eating speed, I don’t think that’s the problem. To roughly give you an idea, I’ve been trying to keep a good balance of foods in my diet – grains, dairy, fresh fruit and veg, legumes, low fat protein etc. On average I’m eating about 300-400 calories for breakfast, about 400-500 calories for lunch, 100-200 for snacks and I drink quite a lot of water throughout the day. I also try to do a moderate work out for at least 20-30 minutes most days. In general, I find my dinner eating habit of eating quite hard to control – which is why I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables (they’re usually prepared using little/no oil and only lightly seasoned, so not unhealthy). From a nutritional point of view, is there a downside to eating a lot of vegetables at dinner? Would it interfere with wellbeing and weightloss?
Thanks again for your help.
What do you think of sprouted grain breads (like the ones from Food for Life)? Have you ever tried them?
Maybe slightly more nutritious, but bread is still bread.
How much does mixing your yogurt with honey (especially highly anti-bacterial varieties like manuka honey 550 mgo / 16umf), kill off the good bacteria?
(I know most people mix honey in plain yogurt, but not sure how much of the active bacteria gets killed off because of it!)
No idea. I imagine it depends on the brand/source of each.
Hi Darya,
I have been trying to tackle my sugar addiction using among other things your resent posts on sugar (thanks!). I just can’t seem to get over that hump. I eat 2 fruit a day, always whole raw such as an apple and a cup of berries for example. My question is, can the sugar from the fruit I eat be sabotaging my efforts? I eat plenty of vegetables, fresh, raw and cooked as part of every meal so I think I would not be missing the nutrients provided?
I don’t think it’s the fruit. Do you eat beans and grains? I find they help a lot.
I am a beer/wine lover! How can i incorporate this into a healthy lifestyle and what are my best choices?
Me too. Alcohol isn’t unhealthy except in excess, just be sure you’re getting plenty of nutrients. Be smart about it and it’s fine.
Hello Darya, LOVE your blog!
I was wondering, what is your favorite Granola bar? Do you know of any amazing local granola makers in the SF area?
Would you be interested in some free samples of Awesome Bars, a locally made Granola bar company that is oh-so-satifying AND eco-friendly?
If so please send me or one of my business partners an email and check out our website:
YouCantFakeAwesome.com
You’re seriously pitching me in my comments? How do you think my readers will feel about that?
My apologies! I tried to erase it and send this via email once I had realized what I had done, but couldn’t seem to figure out how to delete. Again, sincere apologies.