Progress evident since 1990

This is good news and shows a hopeful trend over the past two decades.

Beat Cancer!

What the world eats

Looks like the U.S. is in last place for consuming nutritious calories, tsk tsk! An informative infographic from National Geographic on what the regions of the world eat.

Choice Strengthening Exercises

Here's some strengthening exercises worth checking out. I learned some of the stretches from physical therapy sessions which, along with shoe inserts, helped my left knee issues recover quite well. If you're older or have a bad back, take care with the lifting and back exercises (you probably know which will work for you and which won't!) It's better to skip an exercise that may be problematic than to end up injured. There are so many exercises to pick from, just do something else instead :-) Also, start slow, avoid stretching too hard, too fast - patience and persistence pay off in the long run.

• Group 1
• Group 2
• Group 3

Credit: UCLA and Q by Equinox

Pseudo-science sells

Great article on the nutritional mystique that sells products with high claims but that fall flat on substance when challenged. Dietary beliefs probably rate right in there with religion, sports, politics, and sex concerning the areas that people get most dogmatic about. But the bottom line: Are product nutritional claims supported by independent scientific studies or not? Many will fail this litmus test.

Gluten Free isn't a panacea

Gluten free has become trendy, but is it really a healthier diet? Only if you suffer from celiac disease or are allergic to wheat according to Consumer Reports.

What to do with Pomegranate seeds?

Sort of an obscure topic, but what do you do with a bunch of Pomegranate seeds, anyway? Here's some ideas:

• Eat them as a snack! The seeds won't kill you and although some may not like the crunchiness, you can eat them whole.
• Put them on top of a piece of toast with some blackberry jam (my own invention, which inspired this post, yum!)
• Squeeze the juice out of them. Probably the best approach for those who don't like the seeds!
• Add them as a colorful and edible garnish to Fall platters such as with roasted root veggies.
• Put them on top of some gelato or ice cream.
• Put them as a side garnish to fruit salad.

If you have others to share, feel free to post them here!

Near East spices and herbs guide

I like Near East grain mixes because they're easy to make, complement most dishes, and feature simple, basic ingredients. They also have a nice on-line spices and herbs guide, check it out!

What place diet?

Diet alone cannot prevent or defeat cancer but it can help in the battle. Here's an example.

Annies: Can their culture persist?

Why Bigger is not always Better. The bottom line remains the same: Read the labels!

When healthy dieting becomes obsessive...

This article caught my eye in the Mercury News. It's an interesting story about how obsession with healthy diet can become a clinical abnormality for some people. Seeking to eat fresh and nutritious is a noble goal, as long as it doesn't become the overriding goal! Eat well, my friends, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater in the process ;-)

How do Tofu and Tempeh compare?

Tofu and Tempeh - How do they compare? Here's an interesting article that provides some enlightenment on the subject.

What's organic and what's local?

Been confused by what "organic" means? How about "From local farms?" This article from Time Magazine sheds some light on these often misunderstood terms.

And, because a picture is worth a thousand words, here's what both "organic" and "local" look like :-)

Photo credit: Farm Fresh to You

Veg* meat products

That was interesting (not really, but read on...)

I had a vegan turkey & cheese sandwich today, because no better veggie option was available on the lunch menu. Intuitively, I have a general distaste for any veggie product that attempts to imitate meat, because it's contradictory to what being a vegetarian is about. But in this case, I decided I needed a lunch and I'd try it.

Well, it completely confirmed my intuition. The sandwich was a great meatless option for people who like turkey sandwiches. But for vegetarian like myself, not appealing, because my palate has changed, and meat is simply no longer appealing to me in any form.

Does this mean I can't eat or enjoy veggie burgers? No, not necessarily. Just so long as they aren't processed to try and imitate meat.

Wow. Intuition confirmed and lesson learned ;-)

The chips & fries dilemma

Found this warning on a bag of all natural chips that came with my lunch today:

WARNING: This product contains acrylamide, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer. Acrylamide is not added to this product, but is created by browning potatoes. The FDA does not recommend that people stop eating potatoes. For more information, see the FDA's website at www.fda.gov.

Wow, that was enlightening! Yet another health reason to avoid eating excessive chips & fries, huh?! Then I learned from the Wikipedia article that some chip manufacturers add an pre-cooking enzyme to prevent the acrylamide from forming. And that other foods may contain the compound, too. Fascinating! I don't think I'll cut out chocolate from my diet, though :-)

More comic relief :-)

Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious report from the street on how many gluten free eaters know what gluten is :-)

And while we're on the topic of meat...

One reason I became vegetarian is because I think it will become fairly commonplace in the future. I believe more people will consume primarily vegetarian diets because meat production takes so many resources and it's so damaging to the environment, too (no, I'm not a space case; as Earth's population increases, decreasing meat production in favor of veg* will become a given; we simply can feed more people through plants than animals). Anyway, what if everyone became a veg* consumer? What would the world be like then?

A little comic relief

This article's amusing; each person is entitled to their beliefs and opinions, but as was pointed out in some of the comments following the article, a few statements are just plain mistaken. Nevertheless, it's a good attempt at expressing l'amour de manger de la viande.

Dietary link to child autism?

Here's an interesting article about one mother's belief that dietary changes eliminated her daughter's autistic symptoms. This is a unique case and as the article states there's no scientific validation of the dietary link. Nevertheless, it's an interesting story.

Additional sources of veggie based protein

One challenge of a veg* diet is getting enough protein into the plan. Tofu is the obvious "go to" candidate, but it's not enjoyed by all folks, and it wears out pretty fast as a steady ingredient in your culinary plans. Therefore, I've been learning to diversify protein sources, and was encouraged to come across this article, which highlights additional options. If you're looking to diversify your veg* cuisine, check this article out. A good vegetarian cookbook helps out a whole lot, too :-)

Nothing like a little dark chocolate

So it turns out that the beneficial effects of dark chocolate are actually due to digestive tract bacteria, not just the chocolate itself. Here's to those bacteria, folks :-)

Tasty and simple potato salad

I received some purple fingerling potatoes this week and was wondering what to do with them. I saw this recipe on a flyer and decided to give it a try. It's easy to make and quite good, a great salad for those summer picnics ahead, too. Take care not to overcook the potatoes, otherwise they'll fall apart and the salad will become pasty (I almost ended up there!) I didn't have radishes on hand, so I substituted chopped celery, and it worked out fine.

Your stage in life matters

This article from the L.A. Times is an insightful look at the effects of dietary protein and aging.

Personally, my important take-aways are the following:

• Vegetarian protein sources are preferable over animal based ones (just my opinion, but I think it's a better plan for an older adult in particular).
• This quote from biogerontologist Valter Longo says it all, “Your stage in life matters”. Make sure you research and act on health, vitality, and longevity approaches that make sense for your stage in life :-)

Clean nutrients

Dunno about the liver cleanse part, but there are good tips for clean nutrients in this article.

Good resource on dried legumes

Peas, lentils, and chickpeas (garbanzo) are nutritional cornerstones of many world diets. They're an important protein source, gluten free, and here's a great website to learn more about them and how to use them creatively in cooking.

How did we evolve to drink milk?

Here's an interesting article highlighting the mystery of how the human species evolved to tolerate and integrate milk as a foodstuff. Personally, I think drinking milk is more beneficial for young people than older adults (like myself) who potentially have less tolerance for it. I've come to the place where my milk consumption is from "incidental intake", such as in baked goods, restaurant prepared foods, and in an occasional coffee (because I like it that way!) I also make sure I get ample calcium from vegetable sources and Vitamin D from sun exposure in moderation. As far as I can tell I'm doing great!

If I had to guess, early humans adapted to drink milk because it was easier and more available to them than other foodstuffs where they lived. And since humans can't digest or process grasses directly, it seems likely that livestock became the bridge that enabled plains dwellers to extract more food value from their environment. Sure, that's just speculation, but knowing how humans will seek out and favor an easier nutrition source when not enough is otherwise available, it makes sense to me.

Beneficial fresh foods

Here's an interesting slide show highlighting some fresh foods that have some cancer fighting benefits.