Jane Graham, Registered Dietitian

Buyer beware: IgG food intolerance tests are claimed to diagnose which foods you are intolerant to, but they are wildly inaccurate and have been denounced by major professional organizations. Studies indicate that the presence in the blood of IgG antibodies against a certain food item may actually be a marker of tolerance to the food, not intolerance.

No Tolerance for IgG Food Intolerance Tests “But where’s the harm?” we are so often asked. When your baby dies and has to be resuscitated in the emergency room, I’d say the harm has a Vegas-sized neon arrow above it. An infant boy in Hong Kong had a really bad reaction to being introduced to cow’s milk at eight months of age: vomiti...

Enjoy this slow-cooked lasagna. Add any summer vegetables you have such as zucchini. Freeze leftovers in meal-sized portions to eat on busy nights or try a meal exchange with a friend.

Slow-cooked lasagna This heartwarming, delicious lasagna is exactly what you need on busy days. Let your slow cooker do the work and come home to a meal everyone will love.

Beat the heat! This frozen snack is perfect for hot summer days. You’ll want to make an extra large batch when grapes are on sale because this recipe is a kid favourite.

Sweet and sour grapes This frozen snack is perfect for hot summer days.

High Protein Milk; It’s Not Just Milk With Added Protein Powder It used to be so simple. One would receive their daily milk bottles from the milkman. Nowadays, the number of milk alternatives is enough to make anyone’s head swirl. There is skim milk, organic milk, fortified milk, raw milk, low-fat milk, buttermilk, A2 milk, lactose-free milk, flavored milk, co...

Looking for healthy snack ideas? Try this muhammara dip! Muhammara is a dip made with red peppers and walnuts, commonly eaten in the Middle East. Taking the extra time to roast the red peppers and walnuts gives this dip a slightly smoky, delicious flavour. Serve it hot or cold with whole wheat pita and fresh veggies such as carrots or celery.

Muhammara dip (red bell pepper and walnut) This dip is versatile and commonly eaten in the Middle East. It is just as delicious served warm or cold.

Take-home messages:
- Leaky gut syndrome is not a medically accepted diagnosis, yet it is common in integrative medicine, naturopathy, and functional medicine.
- Changes to the permeability of the intestine have been noted in inflammatory bowel disease, gut infections, HIV/AIDS, even IBS, but they appear to be consequences of these conditions and NOT their cause.
- The lactulose-mannitol test sometimes used to diagnose leaky gut syndrome is not reliable, and the dietary supplements often prescribed to treat the syndrome are not based on good scientific evidence.

You Probably Don’t Have a Leaky Gut There is a world in which our gut is leaking and causing all manner of diseases. It is not our world, but the trip through the looking-glass is an easy one to make. In her 2023 book Doppelganger, Canadian author Naomi Klein, often confused with conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf, uses the concept of the...

Looking to warm up on a cold winter night? Try this simple minestrone soup! It is made with pantry staples and winter produce. It is also a heart-healthy swap for higher sodium canned soups. You can make it your own by adding whole grain pasta, green beans or dried oregano.

Minestrone soup This delicious, hearty soup can be prepared in a big batch and frozen to serve on busy and chilly nights.

Stay warm this month with this spicy turkey chili. It is a versatile recipe that can be enjoyed on its own or used as filling for burritos, tacos, pasta sauce and more. Is another type of ground meat or beans on sale this week? Swap up the protein and cook a big batch to freeze!

Turkey chili This must-try spicy chili is so versatile. The possibilities are endless – it can be enjoyed on its own or transformed into another meal.

For generations, a number of Indigenous peoples have grown the Three Sisters – squash, corn and beans – together. Each crop helps nurture the other as they grow. They also work together in this delicious spin on three sisters tacos.

Three sisters tacos These deeply satisfying tacos are prepared with squash, corn, and beans – 3 vegetables that grow well together in the ground and taste just as good on the plate.

Try these as a tasty grab-and-go snack! Did you know that May is Food Allergy Awareness Month? This recipe turns out great with both nut and non-nut butter alternatives as well as gluten-free oats.

Oat and pumpkin no-bake bites These oat and pumpkin no-bake bites are the perfect snack for on the go, busy days, or lunch kits.

Need help sorting out an individualized nutrition plan for Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Get in touch!

What Can I Eat If I Have IBS? | GI Society After an IBS diagnosis, the first question most people have is, “what can I eat?” However, diet for IBS is a complicated topic. While there are some dietary ...

Spring brings seasonal allergies for many. Unfortunately, honey isn't the antidote.

No, eating honey won't help your seasonal allergies This article was originally posted in the Montreal Gazette. Apparently, if you search the internet, you will find articles saying that eating honey will help treat your seasonal allergies. It won’t. Honey can do many things, but it can’t do that. Seasonal allergies are common, especially among k...

Why waste money on Uber Eats? This protein packed bowl is the homemade version of your favourite take-out with a side order of pickled veggies!

Tofu rice bowl This vegetable-packed bowl is the homemade version of your favourite take-out rice bowl. You will learn how to make a quick pickle. Bonus!

Consider yourself a chocoholic? Own it with this healthy breakfast!

Chocolate berry overnight oats Who doesn’t love waking up to breakfast already made? Especially one that tastes like chocolate!

With food prices soaring, look to hearty and healthy meals such as this to cut down on your meat budget.

Turkey and lentil shepherd’s pie This must-try family-friendly version of Shepherd’s pie is as comforting as the one prepared with ground beef.

There is mounting evidence that some form of intermittent fasting may benefit health and longevity, but the ideal eating pattern and fasting window remains debated. I would argue that many people practice intermittent fasting without even realizing it. It's called BREAKFAST (break-fast). If you are considering experimenting with time-restricted eating, start small - for example, eat your last meal no later than 6pm and have breakfast around 7-8am. This offers a 13-14 hour window for your cells to rest and remove debris from metabolic processes that occurred throughout the day.

Time-restricted eating…or not… Nutritional research publications can be maddening. Their sheer volume is overwhelming, but once the poorly done studies are filtered out, once you eliminate the ones that may have some statistical but no clinical significance, get rid of the ones that make grandiose claims about health effects base...

We can (mostly) stop worrying about triglycerides This article was originally posted in the Montreal Gazette. Medicine has clearly become much more complicated than it once was. Even in healthy patients with no active issues, the sheer number of things you need to check and monitor seems to be growing with time. Which is why jettisoning the detritu...

Are you striving to reduce blood cholesterol, manage diabetes and/or reduce cancer risk? Eat more pectin!

This Pulp Isn't Fiction I've often watched people do battle with the albedo, trying meticulously to remove every last vestige before popping a segment of "naked" orange into their mouth. Probably the same people who choose filtered orange juice over the pulpy variety. Too bad, because both the albedo and the pulp are good....

For many, the new year sparks a round of diet resolutions. If you are thinking about jumping on one of the latest diet trends, read this first.

Diets and food trends There are many diets and food products marketed as the key to weight loss, good health or sport performance. However, they may not work or be healthy for you.

No time to cook breakfast? Try this easy evening setup for a “grab and go” morning meal.

Classic overnight oats A fantastic grab-and-go breakfast that is easy and incredibly versatile.

Not sure how to cook tofu? Here’s an easy way to lean into this versatile plant-based protein.

Mapo tofu with chicken This meal offers a tasty mix of ground chicken and tofu with Chinese-inspired flavours. It is a great option to introduce tofu to your kids’ palettes.

As is often the case with fear mongering on the internet, the devil is in the details. Always read the fine print and do some fact checking before embracing the latest misinformation.

Fiber Follies The scary headline scooted around the internet. “Diets high in Processed Fiber May Increase Risk of Liver Cancer in Some People.” Unsurprisingly, this prompted lots of questions, including one from a regular consumer of Kellogg’s Bran Buds. She had been consuming this cereal for its purported ...

Work smart, not hard = tasty meal, less dishes

Fish and fresh herb veggie packets Make the packets the night before or in the morning before going to work. That way, they're ready to place on the grill when you come home.

Sandwiches are elegant in their simplicity - a balanced meal consisting of complex carbohydrates, protein, produce and healthy fats.

Greek-style chicken sandwiches The fresh taste of lemon elevates this chicken sandwich to a whole new level. The taste sensation continues with crisp red pepper and fresh cilantro. This lunch standby goes from ho-hum to hello there.

Vitamin D is No Cure for COVID This article was originally posted in the Montreal Gazette. During the pandemic, vitamin D has been touted by many as a cheap, easy way to prevent or cure COVID during the pandemic. But there’s a simple reason I don’t recommend it for these purposes: It doesn’t work. My issue with the sunshine...

Coffee contains hundreds of chemical compounds - some good, some bad. Bottom line, if jitteriness is not an issue, then there is no reason to be concerned about indulging in up to four cups of unsweetened coffee a day.

Coffee: To Drink or Not To Drink, That Is The Question. Coffee first appeared in Canadian cups about two hundred years ago, some three hundred years after people in Africa and the Middle East were regularly consuming the beverage. The most popular legend about the origin of coffee consumption takes us back to Ethiopia in the ninth century. Kaldi, a young...

A simple and healthy weeknight dinner. Find the full recipe here:
https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/recipes/chicken-bean-quesadillas/

How to make chicken and bean quesadillas Who doesn’t love quesadillas? In addition to being a fan favourite, you can freeze leftover filling for an easy, ready-made meal in the future!For the full r...

Successful marketing continues to convince the public that vitamin supplementation has value, when it largely does not, and may in fact do harm. Buyer beware.

Myths About Vitamins are Hard to Dislodge This article was originally posted in the Montreal Gazette. Many people see vitamins as an inexpensive and risk-free way to prevent disease. But just as the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire, vitamins are neither inexpensive nor risk free, and they do not actually prevent....

Big changes are coming to nutrition labeling in 2026.

Did you hear the news? Changes coming to food labels by 2026.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-labelling-changes/front-package.html

Dietitians of Canada would like to thank the many dietitians who have contributed their time and expertise to the many consultations which have helped to deliver this part of Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy. Dietitians use all available tools, including the many components of food labels, to support Canadians with their food choices.