Dairy-free diets?

There are differing opinions concerning the consumption of dairy products. In general, however, all parties agree that dairy products provide an important source of calcium. Some people are better off with little or no dairy intake, due to lactose intolerance or other conditions. I personally feel that dairy is less useful to seniors than younger people, as milk proteins are harder to digest and calcium and other nutrients can be sufficiently obtained from other sources. In my case, I limit my dairy intake to whatever I happen to get from prepared foods and baked goods, and I skip drinking milk "just because" or as a dietary staple. I get sufficient calcium from fresh vegetables and a routine multivitamin, and I've had no problems after reducing my milk and cheese consumption. I also feel that milk is pushed hard on the U.S. consumer, because its lobby is strong, and they have established milk as a key component to a healthy diet, when in fact we can get by with less. But that's just my personal opinion, you're welcome to differ! For some interesting perspectives, see this article on the Livestrong website.

Recommended Health Resource

David Servan-Schreiber's Anti-cancer, A New Way of Life offers many health and nutritional tips that are good in general, not only for cancer patients or survivors. A short and worth-while read that will give you ideas to leading a more balanced, fulfilled, and healthy life.

Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma"

Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma is a book about food that will cause you to re-think your dietary options and choices.  One of the first works to build a case for the "Buy locally, eat sustainably" approach to better nutrition. The discourse on the killing and eating of animals suffers from analysis to paralysis, but it will help anyone to work through that question personally, too.

Nutritious cook book

Rebecca Katz's Cancer-Fighting Kitchen cookbook has remarkable recipes for nutritious meals. Her recipes are easy to make and use fresh, wholesome ingredients. Highly recommended to augment your usual diet or to focus around healthy choices!

Understanding the differences between Omega fatty acids

Here's an interesting article on the Yahoo! Network about key nutritional differences between Omega fatty acids.

All fish oil based supplements are not the same, too. Consumer Reports recently ran an article highlighting variations in quality, freshness, and cost across various brands. You may want to check their article for details:

Consumer Reports, Jan. 2012, Vol. 77 Issue 1, pg. 11