Category Archives: Health

Sometimes Fat Free Is not the Better Option

I’ve eaten peanut butter my whole life. In fact, my Mom mixed it in my formula to fatten me up – at a time when that was a good thing. I have a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter almost every day. Years ago, I switched to low fat. I switched back when I started to wonder what else they were taking out along with the fat (besides taste). The linked article looks at what a company puts in when they take out fat. Eat well. mjh

Sometimes Fat Free Is not the Better Option |

We took a look at three sour cream variations from Tillamook, considered one of the better quality sour creams out there.

A serving size is 2 tablespoons, with 60 calories for the full fat product, 40 for the low-fat, and 20 for the non-fat version. As you would expect.

But then we inspected the ingredient lists:

Regular’s Ingredients [3 of them]:
Cultured pasteurized grade A cream and milk, enzymes.

Low-Fat’s Ingredients [12]:
Cultured Milk, Cream, Nonfat Dry Milk, Whey, Modified Corn Starch, Sodium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Carrageenan, Calcium Sulfate, Locust Bean Gum, Gelatin, Vitamin A Palmitate.

Fat Free’s Ingredients [12]:
Cultured Lowfat Milk, Modified Corn Starch,Whey Protein Concentrate, Propylene Glycol Monoester, Artificial Color, Gelatin, Sodium Phosphate, Agar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Locust Bean Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate.

Basically the low and non-fat options had a big challenge once removing the fat – how to keep the “sour cream” product looking and tasting like a real sour cream? Food scientists started mixing various additives together until they reached the closest possible resemblance.

And what did they add? … [keep reading at the link]

Sometimes Fat Free Is not the Better Option |

Cooking on Back Burners Better for Indoor Air?

And replace that old carbon monoxide detector. You know, our stove tried to kill us.

Cooking on Back Burners Better for Indoor Air?

If you have a gas stove, researchers advise doing three things to increase the health of your indoor air:

  • Make sure the fan over the stove vents to the outside. If it doesn’t, consider having a better exhaust system installed. In general, vents that best captured pollutants use metal hoods to temporarily trap gas and soot so the fan can blow them outside.
  • Turn the vent fan on while cooking.
  • When possible, cook on the back burners of the stove.

Cooking on Back Burners Better for Indoor Air?

Flame Retardant Found in Some Common Foods

Flame Retardant Found in Some Common Foods

May 31, 2012 — A common flame retardant is found in many popular foods, including fish and turkey, according to new research.

Researchers tested foods such as meats, fish, and peanut butter.

Fifteen of the 36 food samples tested had detectable levels of hexabromocyclododecane, or HBCD, says researcher Arnold Schecter, MD, MPH, professor of environmental and occupational health at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas.

HBCD is used in foams in thermal insulation, in electrical equipment, and consumer products. It is found in the environment and wildlife. People are exposed from products and dust in the home and workplace. …

The researchers bought the foods from Dallas supermarkets in 2009 and 2010. They tested all 36 samples for HBCD.

Fifteen of the 36 samples, or 42%, had detectable levels of HBCDs. Some of these 15 samples were the same foods, but from different stores.

The foods with detectable levels include:

  • Sardines in water
  • Smoked turkey sausages (three samples)
  • Fresh salmon (two different samples) [mjh: Oh, no!]
  • Sardines in olive oil (two samples)
  • Fresh catfish (three samples)
  • Fresh deli-sliced turkey (one of three)
  • Fresh deli-sliced ham (one of two)
  • Fresh tilapia (one of three)
  • Chili with beans (one of three)

Twenty-one other samples tested that did not have detectable HBCD levels included:

  • Creamy peanut butter (three samples)
  • Chili with beans (two of three samples)
  • Bacon (three samples)
  • Fresh deli-sliced beef (three samples)
  • Fresh deli-sliced turkey (two of three samples)
  • Fresh deli-sliced chicken (two samples)
  • Fresh tilapia (two of three samples)
  • Fish sticks (three samples)
  • Fresh deli-sliced ham (one of two)
Flame Retardants in Foods: Discussion

HBCD is viewed as a ”persistent organic pollutant," according to Schecter. That is because it accumulates, travels long distances, and stays in the environment for a long time.

It is often found in fatty foods such as high-fat meats and some fish.

Flame Retardant Found in Some Common Foods

Love the forest within: Exploring the Gut-Mind Connection

We have a diverse and complex ecosystem in our guts. There’s no reason to believe the mind-gut connection doesn’t go both ways. Tend your garden.

Probiotics: Exploring the Gut-Mind Connection

Long-Term Goal

A long-term goal is to determine whether eating probiotic products or taking probiotic supplements regularly can change the balance of bacteria in the gut and alter emotional response to stress and other negative stimuli, Tillisch says.

John Petrini, MD, a gastroenterologist at the Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif., says the findings suggest that there is "some kind of interaction" between bacteria in the gut, activity in the brain, and emotions, but that the work is "very preliminary."

A shortcoming of the study is that the researchers looked at activity in areas of the brain that they hypothesized would be involved in such an interaction, Petrini says. "There could be other [areas of the brain] that are more important."

"I wouldn’t run out and buy a lot of yogurt in hopes of becoming less emotional or less stressed," he tells WebMD.

The study was funded by Danone Research, makers of Dannon Yogurt.

Probiotics: Exploring the Gut-Mind Connection

Drinking Red Wine Is Good for Gut Bacteria

Salud!

Drinking Red Wine Is Good for Gut Bacteria

red wine pouring into glass

By Cari Nierenberg
WebMD Health News

Reviewed byLouise Chang, MD

May 25, 2012 — Drinking a daily glass of red wine not only tastes good to many people, but it’s also good for the bacteria lining your large intestine.

A new Spanish study suggests that sipping about 9 ounces of Merlot or a low-alcohol red wine changed the mix of good and bad bacteria typically found in the colon in ways that can benefit your health. …

Polyphenols are helpful plant-based compounds found in a variety of foods and beverages. Besides red grapes, many other fruits and vegetables are rich sources of polyphenols, as are coffee, tea, chocolate, and some nuts.

The findings showed that the balance of intestinal bacteria shifted in the men in a similar way whether they drank the Merlot or low-alcohol red wine. In both cases, they had a larger percent of certain beneficial gut bacteria.

After drinking the polyphenol-rich beverages, the men also had lower blood pressure. It also decreased triglyceride levels, HDL cholesterol (the so-called good cholesterol), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, a measure of inflammation.

"This study was the first to show that regular, moderate consumption of red wine could have a noteworthy effect on the growth of select gut microbiota," the researchers conclude.

Drinking Red Wine Is Good for Gut Bacteria