July 2009

  • Best Heart-Healthy Foods

    By sarajean on 7/31/09 2:39am
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    Since cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of the country, it’s more important than ever for folks to start really taking care of their tickers. While getting in some exercise every day, along with staying away from greasy burger joints, may be just what you need to keep your heart healthy, the following foods are also considered heart power-foods that can keep it pumping in prime condition.

    So today why don’t you try one of the following to make your heart happy…

    Garlic: According to a new study from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, garlic in its most raw, stinky form is best for your heart. It’s full of antioxidants that keep your blood vessels open and healthy. The benefits are reduced when the garlic is cooked, though.

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  • Health Benefits of Eating Spinach

    By Niki Fears on 7/28/09 9:23pm
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    Most of us probably remember that classic old quirky sailor singing about how strong he was because he ate spinach. And while we may not always think of spinach as one of the most important parts of our diets, the truth is that many people are missing out on important health benefits by not including spinach in their diets.


    Here are but a few of the health benefits that come from eating spinach on a regular basis:

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    • Strengthens the muscles of the eyes


    • Reduces stress of eye strain


    • Strengthens arteries and keeps them healthy


    • Reverses damage from aging


    • Can help to prevent cataracts


    • Stabilizes blood sugar levels to help prevent diabetes

  • Union of Concerned Scientists

    By lafeeverte on 7/25/09 1:16pm
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    What's new with the Union of Concerned Scientists you may ask? That's right. I know you. Always concerned about the Union of Concerned Scientists who are at the moment, concerned by the rise of antibiotic resistant strains of disease and bacteria caused by the farming industry pumping animals full of antibiotics and steroids to prevent disease in overcrowded pens and pastures. Life is a b!tch, ain't it?! First you're a cow in a crowded poopy pen living a thankless, overlooked life until the time of your eventual slaughter and consumed without a second of thought for your life, just the sweet, succulence of your flesh...

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  • Michael Pollan

    By lafeeverte on 7/25/09 10:27am
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    I had never heard of Michael Pollan until yesterday. In fact, when I ran across his website while reading an article on urban farming at Lime.com, my first thought was, "Ohmigod. I think I just responded to an ad on the Los Angleles craigslist to be this guy's assistant!" So then I really start to read all about him. I remember the ad said public speaker, writer, educator and so he is- Michael Pollan, the biologist and multi-award winning book author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto and The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World and The Omnivore's Dilema: A Natural History of Four Meals- who are all familiar with living in the top 10 of the New York Times and Washinton Post bestsellers lists.

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  • Monsanto Lobbyists in Charge of Food Safety?

    By sarajean on 7/22/09 8:37pm
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    Isn’t that akin to Ringling Brothers setting zoo standards—or John Wayne Gacy being put in charge of child care center laws? Maybe it’s not that bad, but it’s funny—I was just telling a skeptical uncle of mine (he’s a conservative who never bleeds along with my liberal heart, apparently) about the dangers of Monsanto foods and how there’s about as much pesticide sprinkled in his potatoes as parsley—and lo and behold, this message was in my inbox today.

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  • Brain Food: Eating to Get Smart

    By sarajean on 7/21/09 6:42am
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    From listening to Mozart to doing Sudoku puzzles, there’s plenty of things out there that we do because they make us smarter—or, at least, because we think they make us smarter.

    But there’s something even more simple we can all do that’s been scientifically proven to help increase our brain power (or protect it), and that’s eat our way toward better mental function. Here are just a few foods hailed as “brain foods” that you may want to add to your diet.

    Cinnamon: Not only is cinnamon one of the most delicious spices ever (OK, at least to me, it is), its scent also helps to stimulate your brain. Maybe the reason I’ve chewed Big Red gum all my life is because it betters your memory, attention, visual-motor speed, focus and recognition—or maybe it’s just because the flavor rocks.

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  • Fixing health care starts at McDonalds

    By Anonymous on 7/17/09 1:05pm
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    American health care is in a state of crisis.  Medical costs have risen so much, the present system is breaking down.

    It would be nice to think administrative changes could actually provide some sort of fix.  But tinkering with the present system may make things worse – because the administrative side of health care is not the problem.

    The problem isn’t the insurance companies.  It’s not the doctors or the rest of the medical community.  It isn’t malpractice attorneys. 

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  • Nitrate Rich Meats Linked to Disease: Another Reason to Avoid Pork & Unhealthy Meat?

    By Niki Fears on 7/16/09 10:19am
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    The recent increase in the number of patients being diagnosed with a variety of illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Diabetes, and Parkinson's Disease may be linked to a nitrate compound found in many of the unhealthy meats that people are consuming such as hot dogs and bacon.


     While researchers certainly do not believe that these nitrates are the only cause for such diseases which are a result of a combination of factors it is clear that nitrates do have a negative effect on human health. The link between nitrates and various forms of cancer have already been established; however, researchers are now studying the effect that these compounds can have on the human brain that may lead to disease. 

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  • Nutritional Advice: Says Who? And Why? And What Happens If You Don't?

    By erika on 7/8/09 11:35am
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    Ever since I read Michael Pollan's "In Defense Of Food," I've been keeping an eye out for cases where nutritional science is just not measuring up.  I had a chance to trot one of these out last weekend, when a friend mentioned her guilt at not being able to consistently drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day.

    I cheerfully informed her that it's no problem, since the 8/8 rule is completely bogus.  No one is completely sure where it came from, but most historians' best guess is that it was invented whole cloth by the author of a military survival manual.  Pressed with having to come up with a recommendation for water intake, he invented the 8/8 rule off the top of his head.  And it has persisted both in the American consciousness and in the field of nutrition science ever since.


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