New York Culinary Medicine

08/17/2025

Culinary travels at Randall’s Island’s inaugural “Taste of the Farm,” a family-friendly day of activities and food celebrating the height of the growing season at Randall’s Island Park Alliance’s Urban Farm.

Made my own pita and pickles, taste tested a dozen hybrid grape tomatoes as I sampled signature eats around the world and learned a bit about the people and stories behind them.

Thank you, Chef Keesha and Eric for a warm Carribean introduction to roasted cashew w tricolored quinoa and pepita seeds. A healthy addition to any salad, entree or dessert! It’s so good, I couldn’t leave without an extra snack in hand! 🥜🥜 🌎

Chef Ayesha
With your W. African award winning jollof rice. It’s clear, even a list of ingredients in hand, but without the experience of knowing food time and process, a dish cannot compare. 🌍

Chef Lynn
For sharing your exuberance and love for Korean food culture, chopping away using Randalls’s local urban farm ingredients. 🇰🇷

Chef Umair .khakoo
For highlighting SE Asian’s contrasting textures of w floral chaat, as a concept to beat the heat in one bite. 🌏

And finally Chef Gila: For going up and beyond to showcase your middle eastern roots with hand rolled pitas on a saj! It was literally fire!
🫓🔥

And Thank you to the Randall’s Island Park Alliance and all the staff and volunteers to make this event a gustatory globe-trotting delight!

04/23/2020

"Covid, Cancer and Cannabis" w live demo on proper technique for PPE doffing + "Ask Dr. Dara":
Topics covered: Living with Cancer in an intra-Covid era for High Risk patients; NYS Med Ma*****na Program shift to Telemedicine services and access to care. Acute Kidney Injury and Recovering from Covid-19 hospitalization. Bolstering your natural immunity with Culinary Medicine and other Covid prevention strategies.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4Dd4i3YI9PrTcdqxDUswwg/playlists?view_as=subscriber

Medical Cannabis: Cancer Pain Management & More Presented on Tuesday, April 7, 2020 by Dara Huang, M.D., Manhattan Compassionate Care. In this lecture, Dr. H...

04/09/2020

How to safely don/ doff a mask.

Dr Dara demonstrates the proper way to don and doff a mask to avoid Covid exposure

04/06/2020

https://www.facebook.com/events/151483412904699/?notif_t=event_calendar_create¬if_id=1586186394671337

03/24/2020

Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malaria (parasite) and autoimmune medication with potential dangerous side effects. Erythromycin is a an antibiotic (bacteria), not antiviral medication. Coronavirus is a virus. Ultimately, will need a targeted anti-viral medication to best treat with the least amount of side effects. Otherwise you are using a shotgun approach to hit the mark.

Those reports from France, while encouraging when nothing else is available, is anecdotal and it's not advisable for folks to self medicate. Please refer to the CDC for guidance. Or I happy to help navigate as well!

Trying to do my part in this fight, I myself may be deployed, so please continue to practice "physical spacing PLUS e-connecting". Social distancing does not mean living a hermetic life!

A Phoenix-area man is dead and his wife is under critical care after the two took chloroquine phosphate in an apparent attempt to self-medicate for the novel coronavirus, according to hospital system Banner Health.

03/19/2020

For those who can stay home, Please do, so that you won't infect those who are still out there. It's the best way to turn this thing around, but collectively, we are only as safe as our own practices, and those of our neighbors. Taiwan, S. Korea, and Singapore and others took effective measures to thwart the virus. Testing doesn't change the best course of action of self-quarantining for at least a 2 wk period, regardless of age and/or exhibiting symptoms. Thank you to all my friends and colleagues working around the clock, not only serving on the front lines in direct contact, but also those who are taking great measure to take care of our patients with non- Covid-19 acute and chronic medical illnesses. Stay safe, be kind, and Pardon the cuss!

Our governments can't do it alone, we have to take action now! Do your part and stay the f**k home!

03/18/2020

Question from a patient that I hope will help docs and patients.

Q: My sister works in a hospital in England and a Doctor has recommended that certain medication can exacerbate the effects or Covid-19. On the list is Losartan. As I am not taking this for my blood pressure I think it is better not to take it in the middle of the growing epidemic.

Dr. Dara: For a Nephrologist standpoint: At this time, there is a lack of evidence that ARBs (including Losartan) is harmful.

Many people who have underlying medical issues including hypertension, diabetes and chronic kidney disease take ACEI and ARBS as first line therapy as standard of care. It is unclear if this is an association with the severity of disease.

Below is a link for the use of these medications that these medications may even be used as possible treatment for Covid-19. I would continue taking this medication, but feel free to consult your primary care physician as well.

For medical professionals: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32129518

For general public: Here is more info of why there is conflicting and confusing information.
https://www.healio.com/cardiology/vascular-medicine/news/online/%7Bfe7f0842-aecb-417b-9ecf-3fe7e0ddd991%7D/cardiology-societies-recommend-patients-taking-ace-inhibitors-arbs-who-contract-covid-19-should-continue-treatment?utm_source=selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cardiology%20news&m_bt=6278329810

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vZDVbqRhyM

Drug Dev Res. 2020 Mar 4. doi: 10.1002/ddr.21656. [Epub ahead of print]

07/08/2016

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/05/upshot/is-sushi-healthy-what-about-granola-where-americans-and-nutritionists-disagree.html?smid=fb-share

We surveyed Americans and a panel of nutrition experts about which foods they thought were good or bad for you.

06/27/2016

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