1. Are those new veggie steaming bags safe?
2. Could food poisoning lead to weight gain?
3. Can this sweetener help me slim down?

Are those new veggie steaming bags safe?   I love the new plastic microwave bags that you can use to steam vegetables and fish. My diet has gotten so much healthier since I started using them. But now I’m reading that chemicals in plastic can make you sick. Are the bags doing more harm than good?

Some plastic food containers, including the new microwavable bags for steaming, contain chemicals like bisphenol A. These estrogen mimics disrupt the body’s hormonal balance, hindering thyroid function and leading to depression, sleeplessness, low libido, extreme PMS and perimenopausal symptoms, weight gain and more. Since the chemicals leach into food during the heating process, it’s best to avoid reheating or cooking food in plastic. That said, if you’d like to keep using the steaming bags or other plastic food containers, it’s important to boost the liver’s ability to flush plastic metabolites from the body before they cause harm. To do, eat foods rich in liver-helping chlorophyll such as raw spinach or romaine lettuce (1 to 2 cups daily).

Could food poisoning lead to weight gain?  Over the past three months I’ve gained 14 pounds, plus I’ve noticed increased bloat, tummy pain and constipation.That’s despite the fact that I haven’t changed my diet one bit. This all seems to have started after a bout of food poisoning left me sick for a few days. Is it possible there’s a connection?

Yes—it sounds like you’ve developed small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Food-borne pathogens during a bout of food poisoning can create a low-acid environment in the small intestine. In turn, bacteria that produce bloat- and pain-causing gases thrive. These bacteria also hinder food breakdown, resulting in stagnant waste that amplifies gassiness, causes constipation and even leads to weight gain. To eliminate the problematic microbial overgrowth, eat two or more cloves of raw garlic (which is rich in the antibacterial compound allicin) daily for 8 to 12 weeks. Within a couple weeks, you’ll notice fewer symptoms and a trimmer waistline. Some women lose up to five pounds every week!

Can this sweetener help me slim down?  I’m intent on keeping my sugar intake to a minimum, but finding a good substitute hasn’t been easy. Aspartame gave me raging headaches, stevia is a little too sweet for me and somehow I just spotted a new zero-calorie sweetener called ZSweet at the health-food store, and the clerk told me it helped her lose 15 pounds. Do you recommend this sweetener?

I do, but it’s not for all women. ZSweet (visit ZSweet.com for retailers) is made with the zero-calorie sugar alcohol erythritol, found in fruit and fermented foods. It has little impact on blood sugar, so it doesn’t cause the glucose spikes that trigger cravings and increase belly fat storage. However, because erythritol isn’t fully digestible, it causes bloat, gas and cramps in a small percentage of women. If you experience GI discomfort with erythritol, I suggest using the natural sweetener agave instead. It, too, has little effect on blood sugar, but it doesn’t trigger GI side effects.