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.