Archive 2008 2009 2010 2011

Q: What is tahini, and how nutritious is it? Isn’t it very fattening?
A: Tahini (from an Arabic word meaning “to grind”) is a creamy paste made from sesame seeds that’s used in Middle Eastern cooking to flavor hummus (chickpea dip) and other traditional dishes...
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Q: I heard about a special new lamp that helps the body produce vitamin D. Is this a good way to increase my vitamin D level?
A: It’s one way, though we don’t recommend it unless you have a problem absorbing vitamin D orally due to a medical condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease...
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Q: Your egg article in January advised discarding hardboiled eggs after one week. Why?
A: That’s the advice of the USDA and the American Egg Board. Here’s why...
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Q: Sometimes I see small spots that drift across my field of vision. What are they—and are they anything to worry about?
A: What you describe sounds like floaters. The specks, squiggly lines, or other dark shadowy shapes you may see are minute clumps of debris in the vitreous humor (the gel inside the eyeball)...
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Q: Can chiropractic neck manipulation cause a stroke?
A: Maybe. But the risk, if it exists, is very low. The concern is that neck manipulation—in which the chiropractor “aligns” the spine by abruptly rotating the head—may stretch and tear the vertebrobasilar artery in the upper neck, causing vertebral artery dissection...
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UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, April 2011