10/13/2011
10/07/2011
» Nutrition: 10 Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won't Die, Debunked by Science(via @Lifehacker)
Every other week, new research claims one food is better than another, or that some ingredient yields incredible new health benefits. Couple that with a few old wives’ tales passed down from your parents, and each time you fire up your stove or sit down to eat a healthy meal, it can be difficult…
07/23/2010
07/23/2010
06/15/2010
“Most tuna sold in the United States is contaminated with the toxic heavy metal—some up to double the epa’s safety benchmark….”
“…Tuna is big business. Americans eat nearly three pounds of canned tuna per capita every year, making it the nation’s second most popular seafood (behind shrimp). The government promotes it via school lunch programs, wic (the federal food program for poor women and children), and even in the fda and US Department of Agriculture dietary recommendations. It’s a staple of low-carb diets. Bodybuilders binge on it. Low in fat, high in protein, canned tuna contains lots of omega-3 fatty acids that are thought to protect against heart disease and boost brain development early in life. Some tuna cans come stamped with the American Heart Association seal of approval.
But thanks to emissions from power plants and garbage incinerators, tuna also absorbs significant amounts of methylmercury, a form of mercury that concentrates in the fatty tissues of big fish and humans. Fatal in high doses, mercury at lower levels has been linked to heart disease in older men and developmental problems in babies. Tuna is not the highest-mercury fish we eat—that honor belongs to swordfish and tilefish—but it is by far the most widely consumed. “Tuna is the largest source of mercury in the diet because people eat so much of it,” says Edward Groth, a scientist who has written a report on mercury in fish for the environmental groups Oceana and Mercury Policy Project.”
06/07/2010
» "Cadmium? How'd that get in there!" McDonald's dishes out tainted cups to kiddies, as if the food (if you can even call it that) weren't bad enough...
NPR: “Cadmium has been discovered in the painted design on Shrek-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at McDonald’s, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported children’s jewelry.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the voluntary recall early Friday, warned consumers to immediately stop using the glasses; McDonald’s said it would post instructions on its website next week regarding refunds.
The CPSC noted in its recall notice that “long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects.” Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.
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SOURCE QUOTE: “McDonald’s Pulls Cadmium Tainted Shrek Glasses” - June 4, 2010 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127467531
06/07/2010
Protein Drinks = Arsenic. Makes sense if you’ve ever tasted them… Hooked?
Read more at NPR:
Heavy Metals in Protein Drinks Raise Concern
05/24/2010
“Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?”
Answer: 73% of meat is government subsidized.
Compared with 0.37% of fruits and veggies (see graphic below)
GOOD Magazine’s Andrew Price elaborates on this number noting that these subsidies, “make meat and dairy artificially cheap, so we end up consuming more of it than we should, and getting fatter.”
Source quote: http://www.good.is/post/why-does-a-salad-cost-more-than-a-big-mac
05/11/2010
“How much water is in a latte?” - MIT Sloan Management Review
“Here’s the breakdown, by liters, of the water needed to make that latte:
0.1 for the water itself
2.5 to make the plastic lid
5.5 to make the paper cup and sleeve
7.5 to grow the sugar
49.5 to feed the cows that make the milk
143 to grow the coffee”
Source: How much water is in a latte? - Beyond Green - MIT Sloan Management Review
05/10/2010
300 million = Cups of Coffee drank by Americans DAILY
-SOURCE: “MORE OF THE SOUND AND THE FURY ON THE BP OIL SPILL” by Marcie Dickson
05/10/2010
“ Good news Nawlins: “Officials say Crawfish won’t be impacted by oil leak „
via @nolacitybusiness
03/30/2010
Be wary of the ‘natural’ foods you eat…
“Nearly 75% of so-called “natural” personal-care products are not so natural, according to a study by consulting firm Kline & Company. The overwhelming majority of products that Kline surveyed in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Brazil are mostly made of synthetic materials with just enough natural ingredients thrown in to appeal to consumers. In certain countries, standards are so loose that manufacturers can add a flowery label and call virtually any personal-care product “natural.”
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Source: Kline & Company via @thedailystat
03/28/2010
Coffee: Reasons for a cup a Joe a Day
- Protects against some types of cancer.
- Causes feelings of well-being and increases energy, alertness, and motivation.
- Functional MRI scans show that coffee activates parts of the brain that help focus attention on tasks at hand.
- Cuts the risk of dying early from a heart attack or stroke.
- Improves Productivity
The above pros are summarized from Dr. Thomas Lee’s Harvard Business Review article “Good News for Coffee Addicts” the below is an excerpt from the cons….
For all that, a word of warning is in order. The average cup of coffee serves up about 100 milligrams of caffeine, and a large specialty coffee can deliver five times that much. If you aren’t used to caffeine, it can make you jittery, boost your blood pressure, and dehydrate you. But the biggest health hazard is the extra stuff that drinkers add to coffee. Taken black, coffee is a nearly calorie-free beverage brimming with antioxidants and other phytonutrients. Add cream, sugar, whipped cream, and flavorings, and it turns into a fat- and calorie-laden dessert, which can add pounds that offset any possible health benefits. For example, a 16-ounce Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino with chocolate whipped cream contains 470 calories. Tucked into this beverage are 12 grams of saturated fat—nearly a day’s worth—and 58 grams (that’s 14 teaspoons) of sugar.
03/28/2010
“ In Japan 6 percent of the population is still farming, as opposed to 1 or 2 percent of our [U.S.] people. „
Wendell Berry in ‘The Necessity of Agriculture’
03/01/2010
40 percent of the bagged salads it tested had unacceptable levels of bacteria, including indicators for fecal matter…
Did you know that a recent Consumer Reports study found that nearly 40 percent of the bagged salads it tested had unacceptable levels of bacteria, including indicators for fecal matter! How gross is that?
But I was more shocked to discover that the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have a limit on these bacteria in bagged salads or leafy greens even though it has similar standards for drinking water, dairy products and beef. A food-safety bill stalled in the Senate would require these standards, but we shouldn’t wait for Congress to get its act together.
Join me in emailing the FDA on putting limits on the amount of allowable bacteria in salad greens. The agency just set up a docket to take comments on produce safety for the next 90 days let them know how important it is to you to have safe salad for you and your family.
Just go to Consumers Union’s website, BuySafeEatWell.org, to send your comments in to the FDA now.
Thank you for joining me in this important safety effort!
Submitted to WEBplunger by N Cady
