Q. Taught by my grandmother, I practice the time-honored tradition of eating spring greens: dandelions, burdock, stinging nettles, pigweed, lamb’s quarters, plantain, shepherd’s purse, garlic mustard, chickweed, cleavers, and so on. What does modern nutrition have to say about this? Are these greens truly “blood cleansing” or “liver cleansing?
A. In traditional Chinese acupuncture, each season is associated with a different organ and spring is the season of the liver. Many other traditional and alternative healing systems teach that certain plants “cleanse” or “strengthen” the blood or other organs. You won’t find too much about that in Western nutrition science, though. Continue reading “Seasonal Vegetables: Spring Cleaning for the Body?”
This is the kind of study that the media love: Researchers from Purdue University report that adding a half teaspoon of cayenne pepper to your meal can reduce your appetite and cause you to burn more calories. Count on seeing this new “fat-burning tip” popping up on magazine covers and internet aggregation sites. Before you get too excited, however, it pays to look beyond the headlines. 
Q. Do alternative flours such as almond flour offer any real health advantages and if so (or if not), why?
