In part 2 of my series on food-drug interactions, I look at the pills that are taken to control blood sugar in persons with type II diabetes.

Prior to that however, I go on a bit of a rant about how the importance of Salem's place in the history of our nation, gets overshadowed by the witch hysteria.

If you want to read more about Salem's role in the uprising that could have started the revolutionary war, the link is here.

I also discuss a few of the most common diabetes medications and a few details about them. There are a couple of websites that I mentioned. One is the diabetes.org website.

The other is the main American Diabetes Association website.

As always, you can contact me with any questions or comments on my podcast website.

Most of us who watch any TV at all are familiar with commercials for medications. They have to list all of the possible side effects.

But what about interactions with food?

Today I review different groups of meds and possible foods we may want to avoid on these meds.

For more information on the subject, I refer to the FDA website here.

Today I first begin by kvetching about the Boston Red Sox and tear apart the myth that there's no crying in baseball.

I take a look at a school in New York that seems to be doing everything right when it comes to school gardening and culinary arts classes. Their website is hayground.org.

Here is the link to the let's move website on school gardens.

I also referred to the slow food USA website on vegetable gardens.

If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to contact me on my healing outside the box contact page.

Trying to decipher all of the possible causes of the rise in rates of obesity has turned out to be too much of a task for just about all of  the professionals in the field.

In this episode, I review a recent article that tries to tie the number of big box stores to obesity rates. This researcher finds that it is much more complicated than one cause and effect relationship (as if we needed to be told that, at this point).

I discuss a University of Virginia article on the causes of obesity. The link is here.

I refer back to a previous one of my episodes on the relative success of weight loss surgery. It can be found here.

Everyone who is seriously considering having gastric bypass surgery should have all the facts in front of them before making such a commitment.

Today I weigh some of the pros and cons to be considered. I recommend having an ongoing dialogue with your physician if  you are thinking of moving forward and want to consider your options. Your Physician may also recommend that you speak to a specialist before making your decision.

I mentioned BMI, or body mass index, as an approximate way to determine the line between overweight and obese. This NIH webpage explains BMI and allows you to calculate your own.

If you have any questions about the nutritional consequences that are possible after undergoing gastric bypass surgery, feel free to email me on my website:
healing outside the box.

Once the domain of Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee, everybody we know seems to walk around holding one of these energy drinks.

But what exactly is in these energy drinks?

We know that one of the ingredients is caffeine, but what about the other 20 or 30 ingredients? This week we list them off and I'll give you some idea whether these ingredients are good, bad, or none of the above.

The drinks that I describe are:
1. NOS
2. Rockstar
3. Red bull
4. Monster energy drink
5. Mountain Dew kickstart

if you have any questions feel free to contact me on my website:Healing outside the box.

This month the focus was on Rio de Janeiro and on athletes... who do their best when there is so much at stake.

Could there be lessons to be learned here about feeding the poor, offering quality food in schools, and a sustainable food supply?

This week I take a look at that question through the eyes of a wonderful man by the name of Carlos Monteiro.

Today I describe the lovely time I had last Sunday at my book lovers meet up group. We went to the house of seven Gables here in Salem, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name. This house and similar houses on the compound were first built in 1655, forty years before the Salem witch hysteria.

We all cooked a recipe from Mollie Katzen's cookbook called "The moosewood cookbook."
This and other ways to make and share healthy foods can help you to eat better on a budget and have a great time in the process.

 Here are some links that I mentioned in this episode:

In episode 17, I take on "how to eat healthy on food stamps".

In episode 96, I talk about a new trend called "food swapping".

In episode 70, I discuss gluten sensitivity and the leaky gut.

Here is the recipe for marinara sauce that I mentioned in the episode.

Hot off the stove, I have the latest review of 4 different food delivery services.
They are:

Blue Apron
Sun Basket
Home Chef
Hello Fresh

These services are similar in many ways, but vary in terms of the type of cooking technique end preferences for certain types of food.

There are 2 companies that sell organic pasta online. They are:

Mantova and Valicenti Organico

As always, if you have any questions, you can contact me on my website:
healing outside the box.

I give you a little background on Vermont's GMO Mandatory labeling law (enacted 26 days ago), and then give you the bad news that the Feds torpedoed Vermont's labeling law.

In only eight days, Monsanto  brought its dark act (deny Americans the right to know) to the floor of the Senate. It passed the Senate with lightning speed.

Then the Dark Act went to the House of Representatives, where it was voted on and passed by the 14th of July.

Tell President Obama to veto this ugly Monsanto bill, which is S.764.

You can call The White House line at 202-456-1111 And encourage Pres. Obama to veto a bill that would eliminate Americans right to know if their food contains GMO ingredients.

Here is the Food Democracy Now website.