Unlock Your Health Potential
Introduction Shortly after writing about what I had spontaneously discarded while spitting out watermelon seeds for three decades, I noticed the thick white peel on the edge of my plate and had a strange feeling that I was composting something, perhaps more nutritious than the part I was eating. I’m Faizan Ahmed, and the watermelon … Read more
Introduction My wife’s third trimester came during a severe heat wave last summer, and watermelons became a kind of survival tool. In a few days, about half of the watermelon would be eaten, kept cold in the fridge, cut directly from the plate on the sofa where the fan reached the most, often with a … Read more
What Your Body Is Actually Doing With It While You Sleep It started as a summer ritual that I never thought of. On most days of July and August, he would cut cold watermelons after dinner and eat a large slice, occasionally a giveaway, while watching TV. It was refreshing, felt light, and I had … Read more
Introduction As a child, there were specific instructions for eating watermelons every summer: spit out the seeds, avoid swallowing if possible, and definitely don’t let them fall by mistake or something will grow in the stomach. I’m Faizan Ahmed, and I followed this principle for almost three decades without questioning it. It was one of … Read more
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before My First Fasting Panel My first fasting blood test didn’t go as planned. I had received the appointment letter, written down the date, set the alarm, and had not seen the fine letters at the end that said I should fast eight to twelve hours in advance. … Read more
Introduction For so long, oranges have been a part of my nightly bedtime routine. Taking off a skin while watching TV seemed like a satisfying little ritual to end the day, until my sister-in-law Sarah bluntly asked me if it was a habit that made me talk about restless nights. It was a fair question, … Read more
Introduction My uncle was diagnosed with gout in his early fifties and immediately rewrote his entire dose on the advice of well-meaning people around him. The Maltese went to the trash with red meat and seafood. I’m Faizan Ahmed, and when I watched him give up what he really loved — he ate an orange … Read more
What My Dad’s Gallbladder Attack Taught Me For as long as I can remember, my father has had a glass of orange juice with breakfast, a habit so enduring that no one in the family had ever thought of it. So when one night it hurt, about an hour after eating, cuddling and not finding … Read more
The Curdling Myth I Finally Looked Into Properly My aunt told me when I was 12 years old that drinking milk and then eating oranges immediately freezes in my stomach and makes me sick. He said it with such conviction, in the same tone he used to use for really important warnings, that I adopted … Read more
What I Found Out When My Wife’s Heartburn Got Worse Sometime in the ninth week of pregnancy, my wife developed a real passion for oranges. Sometimes I don’t feel that way. She really wanted, sometimes two or three at a time, to gather quickly at the kitchen counter to prove a habit she couldn’t describe … Read more