Did you know that there are foods that can help you burn fat? Known as thermogenic foods, these can help stoke your metabolic rate and burn calories. Now before you start thinking only overeating and loading on these foods will help you with fat loss, let me correct you. There is no magic food...
How often do you feel tired, sluggish, and low on energy? Has your sweat started to stink more than usual? Do you experience unexplained headaches, brain fog, migraine, or insatiable cravings? Does your skin feel dull and pigmented and is prone to breakouts, rashes, and allergies? Do you carry excess weight or have recurring...
During my recent trip to New York, as I interacted with doctors, nutritionists, research scientists, and other integrative and lifestyle medicine experts, one revolutionary root vegetable kept coming up in conversations. Today I want to speak to you about it. It takes me back to my childhood. From grade 1 to 10, when my mum...
When someone says Vitamin C, the immediate correlation that our mind makes is immunity. Isn't it true? Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, plays a vital role in maintaining and fortifying your immune system, your first and last line of defense. It also aids iron absorption, healthy skin, blood vessels, bones, and cartilage...
I often get asked: "Luke, you say that food has the ability to heal. Can it help prevent, manage, or reverse hair loss?" Today I wanted to address this for all of you. Let me begin by letting you in on a secret. Hair care is an inside-out approach. You can lather the most expensive...
Many of us have a love and hate relationship with this spice, especially when you are in the middle of eating a biryani or a lazzatdar pulao and biting on it. It is native to India and a staple ingredient in the cluster of spices that make the traditional garam masala. It even has...
How many of you grew up being told by your mothers and grandmothers to always soak nuts, seeds, and grains before consuming them? Our ancestors passed this practice down to us. Many continue to do this to date without questioning the science behind it. Have you ever wondered why it matters? Representational image only. Photo...
Known as jaiphal in Hindi, nutmeg is native to a cluster of 10 small volcanic islands known as Moluccas or Spice Islands in the Banda Sea to the northeast of Indonesia. It gets its name from the Latin word nux (meaning nut) and muscat (meaning musky). It translates to musky nut. Nutmeg is the seed...
Shaped like a flower or a star, this spice is one of the most potent antivirals in the world. Pharmaceutical companies use its extract to manufacture the common drug Tamiflu, used to treat cold, cough, viral fever, and swine flu. This spice also finds its special place in Chinese and Indian cuisine and traditional...
I grew up in Goa, surrounded by many Lebanese and Israeli friends who I shared meals with. They would have hummus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Super fit, what struck me, particularly about their features was their quality skin and hair. When asked, they would say that their mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers told them,...
A medical research institute divided 88 obese women into two groups. Each of these received nutritional counseling and a diet plan deficient in 500 calories. But there was one difference. One group had a particular spice in their meals. The results showed that the group that consumed this particular spice lost more pounds and...
Triphala stands for tri-phal which translates to a combination of three fruits. These include Amla (Emblica Officinalis), Bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica), and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula). This polyherbal formulation is rooted deeply in Ayurveda which also classifies it as a tridoshic superfood. It means that it can balance all three doshas and is powerful for people...
