Ask the Experts

Q: Is sauerkraut anticarcinogenic?

Answer : Cabbage, from which sauerkraut is made, is a cruciferous vegetable (like broccoli).

Q: I bake some favorite desserts and recently switched to wholewheat pastry flour. Is...

Answer : So-called pastry flour, also known as Graham flour, is milled from soft wheat thats lower in protein than regular wheat.

Q: I was interested in your article about oranges (January 2010), but I remember...

Answer : Its commonly known that grapefruit juice has the potential to boost excessively the action of many prescription drugs.

Q: What are the benefits or cons of bee pollen and natural honey?

Answer : For a quick sense of the commercial versus scientific status of these popular products, compare the results of a Google search for bee pollen health benefits...

Q: I am a subscriber who is a mild diabetic. My wife serves grape...

Answer : Overall, the nutritional differences between types of tomatoes-including grape, cherry and other bite-sized varieties, as well as plum, Roma and other larger options...

Q: Is it true that research has shown that drinking diet drinks can cause...

Answer : Susan B. Roberts, PhD, director of Tufts HNRCA Energy Metabolism Laboratory and author of The I Diet replies...

Q: Can levels of the good HDL cholesterol be too high?

Answer : Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, replies...

Q: I was interested in your Q&A about fruit juices affecting medi- cations (April)....

Answer : We checked in again with David G. Bailey, PhD, a professor of clinical pharmacology at Western Ontario University...

Q: I have read that eggs from free-range chickens have less cholesterol than from...

Answer : Given the growing popularity of free-range chickens, surprisingly little scientific research has been done on the nutritional differences, if any...

Q: In the April Healthletter, you report on research in which adding a little...

Answer : There have been very few studies of the effect of added milk on the bioavailability and/or bioactivity of the antioxidants in coffee, which are called phenolics.