After over two years of careful pandemic living, we are back to our old habits. For some reason, few of the lessons we learned about preventing the spread of upper respiratory viruses stayed with us. Mask-wearing has gone by the wayside, viewed more as punishment than protection. When we get…

One night, before the pandemic, a friend and fellow foodie invited me to indulge in his favorite meal on the planet at a restaurant called Maialino. Fashioned after a traditional Roman trattoria, it was a gorgeous Italian place nestled in the Gramercy Park Hotel. (It has since closed and reopened…

It’s funny how comfortable people feel sharing stories with a complete stranger. Maybe it’s because they assume they will never see you again–it’s easier to take risks when there is nothing to lose. That’s how it was when, a mere ten minutes into our conversation, I raised the rather provocative…

It’s easy to make assumptions about the origin of food based on its name. French onion soup, for example, with its caramelized onions and melted Gruyere cheese, is obviously French. Sausage-covered Scotch eggs could only have come from Scotland–who else would claim them? But sometimes names can be misleading. Many…

When I was eight, my dad moved our family to North Dakota. If the culture shock of living in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere wasn’t bad enough, he made the five of us move into a two-bedroom apartment while our house was being built. Sure, my sisters…

Artificial sweeteners are almost too good to be true. They taste sweet without the pesky consequences of real sugar. They don’t raise your blood sugar or have any calories because they pass through your gut undigested–hence their more technical name, non-nutritive sweeteners (NNSs). Originally marketed for diabetics, they are now…

A simple explanation of monosaccharides and complex carbohydrates Everyone knows eating too much sugar is bad for you. It makes you fat. It causes diabetes, fatty liver, depression, acne, and hastens the aging process. It’s even addictive. The FDA now decided it is also concerned about your sugar intake. It…

This summer, the Corn Kid went viral on TikTok when he was interviewed by a YouTube show called Recess Therapy. In the video, Tariq, aka the Corn Kid, shared his passion for corn while chomping down on a buttery ear. He really loves corn. He thinks everyone just has to…

Is there an epidemic of acid reflux, or is something else going on? — I was sitting in my med school physiology class in the mid-1990s when I first learned about an incredible medication for acid reflux. It was the most potent way to stop acid production, and it did so by permanently binding to proton pumps–the pumps that make acid in the stomach…