Unlock Your Health Potential
Why Scientists Are Now Warning Us About This Popular Low-Calorie Sweetener For a long time, I wholeheartedly believed that I was making the right decision every time I took a sugar-free snack. My uncle had taken advice from a doctor to lower blood sugar after a worrying blood pressure test, and he swapped almost everything … Read more
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
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
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
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 After Blaming the Wrong Fruit for Years For almost two years, I silently blamed oranges whenever my stomach felt stiff and bloated after eating. I would often eat an orange in the afternoon, almost as a reaction, and when I felt bloated later that day, the easiest thing to do was … Read more
Introduction I’m Faizan Ahmed, and picking oranges when my throat hurt was such a deep family reaction that I kept it with me until adulthood without ever questioning. This logic seemed undeniable to me: vitamin C helps with immunity, malts contain vitamin C, so malts treat sore throats. Then I noticed a consistent pattern — … Read more
Introduction For about a year, I started most mornings with an undisputed healthy habit: a large glass of orange juice first. I’m Faizan Ahmed and I write about health, which makes it even harder to think that the glass in my hand might be the problem. Then I spoke to my GP due to a … Read more