Food for Thought
- Health & Medicine
Ephedra Finale
Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the Food and Drug Administration would soon outlaw U.S. sales of diet products containing stimulants derived from the Ephedra sinica plant. He timed the pronouncement to anticipate the start of the perennial diet season: New Year’s Day. Ephedra plant. Univ. of Calif., Davis […]
- Health & Medicine
Putting Labels on Nutrients
After all the holiday partying, it’s probably time for most people to get back in the habit of checking the labels on food. Which frozen desert has less fat per serving? Which cereal has the recommended amounts of iron and folic acid? FDA But do those nutrition fact boxes on packaged foods supply the information […]
- Health & Medicine
Cold Comfort . . . Not!
No doubt about it: We’re in the throes of cold and flu season. Sniffles, coughs, sneezes, headaches, scratchy throats, loss of appetite, stuffy heads, and occasional vomiting can leave us feeling wretched for days to weeks on end. The youngest sufferers are especially miserable. Echinacea purpurea, a species of the purple coneflower, is the main […]
- Earth
When Drought Reigns, Diets Can Turn Poisonous
This time of year, most of the Western world is focusing on holiday indulgences: how many presents to buy, how many lights and candles to festoon the home, and how many sweets and feasts to offer family and friends. However, for many people in drought-stricken Africa, food and water will be in perilously short supply […]
- Earth
Leaden Gardens
Soils in many cities of the United States carry a poisonous legacy: heavy concentrations of lead. The metal was deposited for years as fallout from flaking leaded house paint and the emissions of cars burning leaded gasoline. Recognizing the threat posed by tainted soil, environmental scientists have warned that growing edible plants in soils near […]
- Health & Medicine
Talking Turkey (with recipe)
They can weigh in at 40 pounds or more. They prefer walking, but they can fly. And if Benjamin Franklin had had his way, they would be the U.S. national symbol. We’re talking turkey–wild turkey, that is. Wild turkeys like those shown here are anything but white. National Wild Turkey Federation Turkeys naturally prefer to […]
- Health & Medicine
A Forget-Me-Not Dietary Supplement?
By the time most people reach their 40s, the mind has lost some of its youthful nimbleness. They learn a little more slowly. They forget more frequently. Sometimes, they don’t remember where they put the car keys or the name of that popular actor. REMEMBER THIS. Egg yolks are a rich source of choline. National […]
- Health & Medicine
Chopsticks and Pain
Chopsticks. In North America, they’re the emblem of an increasingly popular cuisine. However, few of the Westerners patronizing East Asian restaurants have mastered the art of scooping rice or tweezing meat, veggies, and noodles with a pair of bamboo rods. As a result, many people eat Chinese and other Asian entrees using cutlery. If there’s […]
- Health & Medicine
Hormones in Your Milk
Four dairies got their proverbial hands slapped by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for marketing what it charges is “misbranded” milk. The regulatory agency recently issued warning letters to the companies–which sell whole milk, reduced-fat milk, and ice cream–saying that their product labels contain false statements about the food’s hormone status. USDA FDA’s Sept. […]
- Health & Medicine
As If You Needed Another Reason to Eat Strawberries (with recipe)
Whether draped atop shortcake, cooked with rhubarb and slathered over vanilla ice cream, or downed in the garden just after picking, strawberries are one of summer’s delights. Now, scientists at Cornell University find that this fragile fruit not only tastes great and contains vitamins but also may offer surprisingly potent benefits in the body’s fight […]
- Tech
Wash Those Hands!
A Florida-based company is now developing a laser-based scanning technology to scout for dirty hands. Installed in restaurant washrooms or daycare centers, it could identify fecal traces — evidence that hand washing was incomplete. Indeed, these sensors might even be coupled to a lock that allows workers back into a kitchen after a restroom break, notes Richard Stroman, vice president of eMerge Interactive, which is applying for a patent on the system. Kitchen or food-processing-plant workers who don't pass the laser test would be forced to go back and lather up again.
- Agriculture
Calling All Cows
Last May, tissues from the carcass of a North American cow turned up positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy–the ailment responsible for mad cow disease. Within hours, the Canadian government traced the animal to the Alberta farm where it had been raised for its 8 years of life. In short order, other members of its herd […]
