So I’m your typical premed student right? I follow doctors around, do research, volunteer at my favorite nonprofit weekly, have taken 10 times the required NS courses, and watch House religiously.

Well, wrong. I have life experience that you won’t find on any resume- I recently overcame an eating disorder. Read the rest of this entry »

National Eating Disorders Week 2012

You might not think it happens very often, but in fact it’s quite common. Although it’s more ordinary for women to suffer an eating disorder than men, more than a million men and boys battle the illness every day – and this number appears to be increasing, Recent studies report that as many as 30 percent of patients with anorexia or bulimia are male, as well as 40 percent of binge eaters.  In addition there are many others who may not meet eating disorder criteria but still struggle with their relationship with food. Read the rest of this entry »

Attention chocoholics: The most up-to-date research suggests  that chocolate, at least some, is really good for you!  There are some pretty compelling studies indicating chocolate may have some cardiovascular and disease-preventing compounds. Read the rest of this entry »

Monday January 16^th about a thousand students from Duke and North Carolina Central Universities descended on the Freeman Center for Jewish Life on Duke’s Central Campus in order to package 80,000 meals as part of a Stop Hunger Now Million Meals event. The Duke Blue Devil and Wool E. Bull of the Durham Bulls all came out to join the religious groups, Greek organizations, sports teams and other student groups all ready to put together 80,000 meals. Members of the Durham Rotary Club and some of their children joined the milieu of students. The Freeman Center for Jewish Life on Duke’s Central Campus was electrified and buzzing with activity. Music played and people milled about, waiting for direction. All in all more volunteers showed up than the Stop Hunger Now staff was able to accommodate, so half of the volunteers were sent upstairs while the rest took up positions at each meal packing station. Read the rest of this entry »

Duke University’s Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities and History of Medicine Lecture Series presents:

“Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever: Food Therapy in 20th Century America”

Presenter: Susan E. Lederer, PhD (Professor in History of Medicine and Bioethics at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health)

Wednesday, February 15, 2012
12:00-1:00
Duke North Hospital Room 2003
Lunch provided at 12pm (talk begins at 12:15pm)

For more info call 919-668-9000 or visit http://trentcenter.duke.edu/

 Two weeks ago we discussed options for sugar substitutes, such as honey, agave nectar, and brown rice syrup – all tasty options to sweeten your food or beverage, but they do come with a caloric punch. This week, we’ll dedicate our post to the sweeteners that are calorie-free, yet a bit controversial – artificial sweeteners. Read the rest of this entry »

Of all the trends in American agriculture, I want you to consider two for a minute.

First, the American farmer is aging: the average farmer was just over 50 in 1978, 54 in 1997, and is about to turn 58. New farmers are not replacing their aging predecessors nearly fast enough to keep up. The U.S. needs a new generation of farmers to pick up the plow as half of all American farmers retire in the next decade.

Second, the American farm is growing. The acre-weighted median farm (feel free to email me if you want a complete description of how this statistic is calculated) has grown 35% since 1982, meaning most agricultural production occurs on farms bigger than 2,000 acres. Large farms overwhelmingly use capital and input-intensive processes focused on growing commodity crop monocultures with myriad environmental externalities. Read the rest of this entry »