I told you about a divine way to incorporate ricotta into breakfast egg scrambles, but I truly think that ricotta was made for fresh berries--especially blackberries, which are in-season right now. And, in case you haven’t tried it, here’s a brand of fat-free ricotta that’s getting great reviews from food writers.

Are you headed for a heart attack because of “marginal scurvy”, a condition resulting from a lack of vitamin C? Moreover, if vitamin C is sound medicine for gorillas, why isn’t it good for us? And in the 16th century, why did the ship’s cat survive long sea voyages when its sailors died from scurvy?

A reader asks “Please write about natural ways to strengthen the immune system. I want to avoid taking the flu vaccine”. This is a good question because every year 40,000 North Americans die during the flu season and thousands more hospitalized. So what steps will strengthen your immunity and insure you’ll be around another day? And what has an accidental discovery by an insurance company to do with immunity? 

How do the French differ from North Americans? They eat fat-rich, calorie-packed baked goodies that are not heart healthy. Yet they’re less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than North Americans. It’s called “The French Paradox”, believed to be linked to resveratrol, a substance found in red wine. Now, a new study shows that a red wine pill provides more health benefits than drinking hundreds of glasses of the “sweet nectar of the gods”.