Walnuts are wrinkly, bumpy, double lobed nuts of the Juglandaceae family. The edible kernels we know and love are technically fruits since they are formed within a fleshy green drupe that encloses the hard nut shell. Mild and smooth in taste and texture, walnuts can be enjoyed raw, toasted, and sprinkled atop many dishes and desserts to add some buttery crunch. Walnuts also happen to… [read more]

Premenstrual syndrome – or PMS for short – refers to a cyclical and recurring set of symptoms that occur 7 to 10 days before the onset of menstruation. Affecting up to 75% of women, PMS crops up in a predictable pattern, although individual symptoms (and their intensity) can vary from month to month. Symptoms Of Premenstrual Syndrome Spanning the physical, emotional, and behavioral, some of… [read more]

Krill are small crustaceans that live in oceans all over the world. Similar in appearance to shrimp, krill are an important link within the food chain since they feed primarily on phytoplankton, and in turn, are fed upon by whales, seals, penguins, squid, and fish. Derived from the tissues of the Antarctic species (Euphausia superba), krill oil provides similar health benefits as fish oil but… [read more]

Pineapples are a fruit like no other. Neither pine nor apple (it’s technically a berry), pineapple plants are low-lying herbaceous perennials that produce a cluster of flowers from a central stem. These flowers – numbering up to 200 individual blooms – fuse together to create the fruit, maturing into a tough rind of interlocking hexagons. Topped with a spiky crown, these tropical specimens are aromatic… [read more]

A sad, but true, fact of human existence is the inevitability that our minds will decline as we age. Over the course of our lives, our cognitive abilities peak, plateau, and eventually begin to dip as we reach certain age milestones; for example, processing speed begins to decrease in our late teen years, visual working memory peaks in our mid-30s, and yet our vocabulary continues… [read more]

There has been a lot of buzz around juicing in recent years. Proponents of juicing often claim it improves mental clarity, boosts energy, assists with weight loss, and detoxifies the body. Though there is little by way of scientific evidence that a juice cleanse will kick start the metabolism, clear out toxins, or help to shed excess weight quickly, that doesn’t mean that juicing can’t… [read more]

Chocolate is arguably the world’s favorite sweet treat. Each year, an estimated 7.2 million metric tons of chocolate is consumed worldwide. But while confectionary chocolate has a bad reputation as sugary, addictive, and guilt-inducing – dark chocolate, with its higher cocoa content, is a true super food that you can feel good about eating. The Food Of Gods… Of the Theobroma genus, which literally translates… [read more]

Tonsil stones, also known as tonsilloliths, are calcified bits of debris that can get lodged in the crevices of your tonsils. They are made up of dead cells, mucus, bacteria, and food particles. Once trapped in the folds of your tonsils, they harden into yellowish stones. While tonsil stones may not exhibit obvious symptoms, one major indication you might have them is recurrent, foul-smelling breath.… [read more]

Gandoderma lucidum is an edible medicinal mushroom native to Asia. It has been used therapeutically for at least 2,000 years, going by the name “reishi” in Japan and “lingzhi” in China. Thriving in hot and humid environments, reishi is characterized by its reddish, glossy, kidney-shaped cap on a stout stem. Growing in clusters on the stumps of deciduous trees, reishi can also sometimes form elongated… [read more]