Neat article on the lentils revolution

Saw this on Michael Pollan's Facebook page. Neat article on lentils and one UCB graduate's journey into chronicling family farming, renovation, and organic innovation.

Pay attention to your internal "Bunk!" alarm...

I had a feeling of "Bunk!" when I saw recent headlines about "Many cancers due to just bad luck!" Finally, a voice of reason - and why we should not believe everything in the media at face value. And while we're on the subject, a recent study indicates red wine doesn't necessarily extend lifespan, as widely reported earlier, either.

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.