May 11th, 2009 cate
From naturalnews:
“A higher intake of vitamin E can cut the risk of lung cancer by more than half, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has found.
In a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers used the National Cancer Institute’s Health Habits and History Questionnaire and Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess the dietary intakes of 1,088 lung cancer patients and 1,414 healthy participants. Participants were further surveyed about various lifestyle factors, including smoking.
The average age of the healthy participants was 60.8, while the average age of the lung cancer participants was 61.7.
Vitamin E occurs in two main groups, the tocopherols and tocotrienols. Each of these groups, in turn, contains four varieties, named alpha, beta, gamma and delta. For the current study, the researchers analyzed participants’ dietary tocopherol intake, dividing it up based on which form it occurred in.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare dietary intakes of the different forms of tocopherols (alpha-, beta-, gamma and delta-tocopherol) and lung cancer risk,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers divided participants into groups based on intake of tocopherols in general and the four different varieties individually, then compared the rate of lung cancer between the groups.
Participants with the highest tocopherol intake were found to have a 55 percent lower risk of lung cancer than participants with the lowest intakes. The average intakes of the two groups were more than 12.95 milligrams per day and less than 6.68 milligrams per day, respectively.
A powerful protective correlation also showed up for alpha-tocopherol, with those consuming the most having a 53 percent lower risk of lung cancer than those with the lowest intake. The highest alpha-tocopherol intake averaged more than 7.73 milligrams per day, while the lowest averaged less than 4.13 milligrams per day.
Higher consumption of beta-, gamma- or delta-tocopherol alone, however, appeared to have no influence on cancer risk.
“We found consistent independent associations for increased dietary alpha-tocopherol intake and risk reduction but did not find independent associations for gamma-, beta- and delta-tocopherol in lung cancer risk,” the researchers wrote.
The European diet typically contains vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol, while the U.S. diet tends to contain it in the form of gamma-tocopherol. Vitamin pills contain mostly alpha-tocopherol.
The study was not designed to analyze by what mechanism tocopherols in general or alpha-tocopherol in particular might act to reduce cancer risk.
“Our data should be useful in stimulating additional epidemiologic and basic science research in the relationship of different forms of vitamin E and cancer,” the researchers wrote.
Foods high in vitamin E include asparagus, avocado, green leafy vegetables, nuts, olives, seeds and wheat germ. A variety of vegetable oils, including canola, corn, cottonseed, red palm, sunflower and soybean are also high in the vitamin.
The new study is not the first to link vitamin E with cancer protection. The vitamin is well known to function as an antioxidant, meaning that it plays an important role in removing particles known as free radicals from the body. These electrically charged molecules are believed to be responsible for some of the cell damage that leads to cancer, other diseases, and the symptoms of aging.”
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May 8th, 2009 cate
From wsj:
“A lot of Americans think they’re eating a healthy diet these days. But it’s easy to be fooled by our assumptions and the ways that food manufacturers play on them.
Take chicken. The average American eats about 90 pounds of it a year, more than twice as much as in the 1970s, part of the switch to lower-fat, lower-cholesterol meat proteins. But roughly one-third of the fresh chicken sold in the U.S. is “plumped” with water, salt and sometimes a seaweed extract called carrageenan that helps it retain the added water. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says chicken processed this way can still be labeled “all natural” or “100% natural” because those are all natural ingredients, even though they aren’t naturally found in chicken.
Producers must mention the added ingredients on the package — but the lettering can be small: just one-third the size of the largest letter in the product’s name. If you’re trying to watch your sodium to cut your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, it pays to check the Nutrition Facts label. Untreated chicken has about 45 to 60 mgs of sodium per four-ounce serving. So-called enhanced or “plumped” chicken has between 200 and 400 mgs of sodium per serving, almost as much as a serving of fast-food french fries.
Adding salt water became widespread when big discount stores began selling groceries and wanted to sell chicken at uniform weights and prices. Plumping packaged chicken helps even out the weight. But that means consumers are paying for added salt water at chicken prices — an estimated $2 billion worth every year, according to the Truthful Labeling Coalition, a group of chicken producers that don’t enhance their products.
Makers of enhanced chicken, including some of the biggest U.S. producers, say many consumers prefer it in blind taste tests and that it stays moister. Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for Pilgrim’s Pride, says the company sells both enhanced and unenhanced chicken because consumers ask for it. He also notes that even at 330 mg of sodium, the enhanced chicken qualifies for the American Heart Association’s mark of approval…..”
Read the whole article
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February 27th, 2009 cate
There’s a wonderful post over at The Traveler’s Notebook about looking at the world where ever you happen to be, as if you’re traveling. It’s inspiring and encourages you to see things with a sense of hopeful awe.
“You know the feeling. You’re walking to the market, to the store, to meet a friend, all caught up in the plodding forward of your day…and then suddenly, you take notice of where you are. The light on a wall, the expressions on people’s faces, the feeling of the weather. A distinct sense of place creeps over you, and for a moment you feel like a traveler.
I love this feeling. It is a relief to me; ah, I haven’t forgotten what I learned on the road. How to be fully present in a place.
But it’s rare at home. We tend to get used to our surroundings pretty quickly, especially if they’re surroundings we’ve grown up in or lived in for years. And this familiarity isn’t all bad—our brains, freed up from paying acute attention to the unknown, can focus on other things—writing, school, relationships, work, projects.
And yet sometimes, the desire (Overwhelming! Insatiable! Get me on a freaking bus to Belize!) for that novelty and spark of travel is overwhelming. Sometimes a sense of …” Continue reading
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February 27th, 2009 cate
From rdliving:
“1. If you hate crowds and lines, shop at dinnertime (5 to 9 p.m.) or even later. Only 4 percent of shoppers hit the aisles between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Least-crowded day of the week? Wednesday.
2. Go ahead and reach way back for the fresh milk. Everybody does.
3. Coupons with a bar code are easy to scan. The other ones take an eternity. But if you’re willing to wait …
4. That star fruit has been here a lot longer than the broccoli. Familiar produce turns over more quickly than exotic things.
5. “The more products you see, the more you are likely to buy,” says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat. “That’s why the aisles are so long and the milk is usually in the far corner.”
6. Like employees with a good attitude? Shop at chains that are employee-owned, suggest customer-satisfaction surveys. When employees have a stake in the profits, it shows in their attitude.
7. The “grazers” order food at the deli, eat it as they’re shopping, and get rid of the wrappers before they check out. We also call that stealing.
8. I’m not just selling groceries, I’m selling real estate. Look high and low-literally-for good values from smaller manufacturers who can’t afford to stock their products in the eye-level sweet spot.
9. We’re marketing to your kids too. That’s why we put the rainbow-colored cereals and other kiddie catnip at their eye level.
10. Be wary of “specials.” When people see signs with numbers-”8 for $10!” “Limit: 5 per customer”—they buy 30 to 100 percent more than they otherwise might have.
11. The baby formula is locked up because thieves resell it on the black market. Ditto for the cough and cold medications, smoking-cessation products, razor blades, and batteries.
12. Driving your Ferrari to the Piggly Wiggly and want to avoid shopping-cart dents? Park far, far away.
13. You’ll end up tossing 12 percent of what you buy.”
Read 16 more things your grocer hides from you
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February 16th, 2009 cate
Just in case you missed this important finding that mercury is found in corn syrup, here’s a little article from the washington post. However, even if corn syrup had NO mercury, it’s still remains to be an unhealthful choice. Sadly, it’s in practically everything processed. That should indicate that one should avoid it as much as possible.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.
HFCS has replaced sugar as the sweetener in many beverages and foods such as breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS, but teens and other high consumers can take in 80 percent more HFCS than average.
“Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.
In the first study, published in current issue of Environmental Health, researchers found detectable levels of mercury in nine of 20 samples of commercial HFCS.
And in the second study, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), a non-profit watchdog group, found that nearly one in three of 55 brand-name foods contained mercury. The chemical was found most commonly in HFCS-containing dairy products, dressings and condiments.
But an organization representing the refiners is disputing the results published in Environmental Health….” continue reading
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