DrCarney.com Blog

Hello everyone! It's been awhile. I've been happily assisting many people from all over the world to transition to a whole foods plant-based diet. I consider it a significant privilege & honour to be able to do so. In the process of providing research-based info to folks about this way of eating, they...

In Canada, we get a leg-up on the giving of thanks. Our official weekend is in October. This year, it’s on Monday the 13th. In our household, it also coincides with a family member’s birthday, so for us, it is an especially thankful time. At the beginning of the meal, in addition to...

Have you heard people raving about the power of “magic potions” like coconut oil, Kombucha tea or Nomi juice to solve all sorts of health issues? They are all plant-based, so are they good for us? I am listing the following, popularized as health-food, with links to the explanations of how they may...

Carbophobia as defined in the Urban Dictionary is “An irrational fear of element 6 of the periodic table (aka carbon), from which all organic life is based. …Currently a source of great hysteria. Carbophobia has reached such levels it’s become its own religion.” While that definition is just as wee bit tongue-in-cheek, I...

So there I was, plugging along in my low-fat vegan lifestyle. Everything is going fine, although I will admit that I was feeling a little lonely for more flesh-and-blood vegans (in addition to my lovely facebook vegan friends!). In the past, hubby & I would go into the city once per month to...

As assistant administrator for a popular facebook group, I often hear from new members saying they feel very isolated as a vegan. Many are surrounded by meat-eaters in their private and public lives, so for them, such groups may be their only way of socializing with other vegans, such as it is. From what I've...

Ah chocolate, oh dark mystery of delight; on my tongue, the pleasure, on my hips, the blight. From far away in hot, tropical climes; thou art gathered by slaves, but I can pretend “Not mine!” Thy narcotics lull my senses into blissful transport; away from my problems, an escapist passport! Bitter as gall...

I've suffered greatly when people I've cared about deeply, have chosen self-destructive habits. As far as I have been able to trace this back, it began before I was old enough to really know what was happening. My dear Dad chose to refuse the good advice of his doctor to lower his dangerously...

So, you’ve been eating a low-fat whole foods vegan diet for awhile and you’re feeling GREAT! Then your vegan-advisor pulls a rain-cloud over the party by asking “Have you started taking vitamin B12 yet?” “No way!” you splutter. “A whole foods vegan diet is perfect! I’m not into pills. I just eat organic...

Do wild claims about foods made on marketing websites annoy you? Here’s an example that disturbed me: http://www.smoothiehealthyrecipes.com/healthy-smoothie-recipes/weight-loss-smoothie-recipes/almond-butter-smoothie-for-weight-loss/ It’s a smoothie “for weight loss”. It's probably ultra yummy, but would it be effective? Let’s look at the ingredients: One cup of coconut milk: 445 calories, 48 grams of fat,(43 grams is saturated fat)1/4...

Is eating meat macho? Many seem to think so. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/05/18/men-meat-and-masculinity-linked/ Based on those beliefs, men may be motivated to eat meat, which sadly, is linked to shorter lives with higher rates of disease. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/low-meat-or-no-meat/ Is it maybe worth a shorter life? Are meat-eating men more masculine than vegan men? Let's look at some...

I've had a love/hate relationship with my bathroom scales most of my adult life. Up & down, up & down... sigh... Looking back at the heavier me, I see me eating a healthy vegan diet, but with lot of high fat foods such as oil, chocolate, nuts & vegan cheese products. When I...