"It is really weird," Colin's mother reported. "He will like and eat something for weeks and then suddenly say that it tastes bad or it is making him sick. He has to be making that up, right?"

Massey's mom had a different experience with her 9-year-old restrictive eater. "She...

Five-year-old Mallory had always been the drama queen in the family. The middle of three children, there was never a dull moment when she was in the room. "She is the most stubborn person I know," claimed her mother, who then glanced meaningfully toward her husband. I had thought Mallory's...

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month found that taking a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement (without iron) was associated with an 8 percent reduced cancer risk among men.

The study followed 15,000 male medical doctors with an average age...

Recently, an agent called to see if I wanted to be a guest expert on childhood obesity for a new TV show. I had a lot of fun during TV segments while on book tour, so my first impulse is always to say "yes." This time, I murmured my regrets....

I am starting to worry about corn. It started a few years ago when I noticed allergic babies in my practice were beginning to react to the infant formulas designed for them. These specialty products are made from basic protein building blocks (amino acids) rather than pre-digested milk...

In April, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study linking diet soda consumption to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. Nobody blinked or cared because this research was just going to be thrown on the pile of allegedly conflicting studies about the safety of...

"Look at these cracks," 26- year-old Mitchell directed my attention to an irritated sore exactly at the corner where his two lips met. "Can I do anything about them because they hurt?"

Absolutely, I assured him. Those distinctive cracks when they appear only at that spot are called cheilosis or...

Last weekend I took the train from New York to Baltimore. I am sad to report that in my experience, Amtrak has been working hard to catch up with the airlines in making travel as annoying and difficult as possible. Having arrived an hour and a half ahead of schedule,...

I was standing in the cosmetic aisle of the co-op with another health care practitioner when a bright-eyed clerk approached us. "You will be happy to hear," he reported enthusiastically, "that our shampoos are gluten-free."

As he walked away, Hannah whispered, "Isn't it funny that suddenly things that never contained...

My writer friend Catherine and I were discussing books. "I had to get a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey," she reported. "Everyone is going on and on about it but I don't see what all the fuss is about."

I had not heard about the fuss...

"I am reintroducing meat into my diet," Marilyn nervously announced. Despite an almost perfect diet chock full of vegetables, legumes and whole grains, a well-known doctor convinced her she needed to adopt a low-grain Paleolithic diet. Marilyn had avoided meat for health reasons, but now she was adding...

I was writing down my "to do" list yesterday. Here is what I have so far:

1. Pay daughter's college tuition bill
2. Make dentist appointment.
3. Visit Dad before he forgets who I am.

The last one has been on the list for several weeks now. Like so many in the squished-like-a-bug...

I liked Winnie right away. A robust 9-year-old, she threw herself on the floor with my therapy dog (technically, a Shih Tzu that comes with me to work). "Ahhhhh," she cooed. "She's so cute."

Binky is cute, so I knew immediately that Winnie had good taste. She also had the...