Category: Food, Drink & Health

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A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same. 

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

Princeton University

“It may sound counterintuitive, but people who spend more of their day having deep discussions and less time engaging in small talk seem to be happier…”

The Well Blog has more.

“[Y]eah, yeah, it probably comes from cows, but where do the cows come from?”

where is my milk from?

Your milk container should have two numbers. The first indicates the state, the second the dairy. I had to add zeros before the dairy number so that I had four digits in order to make the code work. Your milkage may vary.

“If the pace of increase in life expectancy in developed countries over the past two centuries continues through the 21st century, most babies born since 2000 in France, Germany, Italy, the UK, the USA, Canada, Japan, and other countries with long life expectancies will celebrate their 100th birthdays.”

The Lancet

“[A] team of microbiologists from Hollins University found that 48% of sodas tested from the fast food fountains contain coliform bacteria, which is typically fecal in origin. And most bacteria found were antibiotic resistant, as icing on the cake.”

Huffington Post

And, of course, the ice in many of those soda fountains has already been shown to be nastier than the average toilet.

Do we know where our food comes from, and how it’s prepared? Do we know what are we eating? It looks like we don’t give a damn. If it’s tasty, then it’s on a table. And how much this cost? Look what people all around the world eat, and how much it costs.

Food Costs All Around The World – Fill Inn

Thanks to Tom for the link. As Tom says, “It’s photos of families from around the world and the food they eat in a month. Note that everyplace in the world has huge piles of vegetables, except the various US entries, which are primarily boxes of carbohydrates.”

How about the Olive Garden’s innocuous-sounding Spaghetti with Meatballs…well, it’s got roughly the same calories and saturated fat as three Quarter-Pounders. Macaroni Grill’s dish is twice as bad — six Quarter-Pounders. So clearly, why not just pull through your local drive-through and order the family, I dunno, a couple of dozen Quarter-Pounder[s] and eat those instead?

Info from the Center for Science in the Public Interest as reported at the mental_floss Blog.

In the study, researchers analyzed information from 18 studies on coffee and diabetes and another 13 studies that included data on decaffeinated coffee and tea drinking and diabetes. Overall, the studies involved nearly a million participants.

The results showed that people who drink more coffee, whether it’s regular or decaffeinated, or tea appear to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

When the information from the individual studies was combined, researchers found each additional cup of coffee drunk per day was associated with a 7% lower risk of diabetes. People who drank three to four cups per day had about a 25% lower risk than those who drank two or fewer cups per day.

WebMD

Coffee is an acquired taste that many do not wish to acquire, but tea comes in all kinds of types and flavors. No excuse.

“New research from the University of Missouri has found that people who walk dogs are more consistent about regular exercise and show more improvement in fitness than people who walk with a human companion.”

Well Blog – NYTimes.com

Meanwhile people who have only a pet cat (or cats) are shown to become more sedentary, though with increasingly softer laps.

And now this. Is life great or what?

According to Dr. Karen Weatherby, a gerontologist and author of the study, gawking at women’s breasts is a healthy practice, almost at par with an intense exercise regime, that prolongs the lifespan of a man by five years.

TheMedGuru

A good friend — a 60-year-old physician — died as a result of H1N1 influenza last week. I didn’t write about it during his illness because I respected his privacy — I still do. But please, this and all influenza can be dangerous; take care.

The H1N1 led to pneumonia which led to acute respiratory distress syndrome. ARDS is fatal for about half of those who contract it.

A very good post by Tom at Louisville Juice.

“There’s lots of money to be made selling fast food and then treating the diseases that fast food causes. One of the leading products of the American food industry has become patients for the American health care industry.”

Michael Pollan (in September).

1. Doctors’ neck ties.
2. The office candy bowl.
3. Library books.
4. Bathroom door handles.
5. Telephone receivers.
6. Grandchildren.
7. The movies, theater, or opera.

Consumer Reports Money & Shopping Blog

That does it. No more opera for me.

The Shoebox Blog continues to amuse me.

I bought a package of brownies at Costco — OK, I bought a big package of brownies at Costco.

The woman behind me in the checkout line was eyeing the brownies and said she couldn’t get them because she’d eat them all.

Feeling self-conscious, I said I was just buying them in case my grandkids drop by this weekend.

The first is “Don’t eat egg salad from a vending machine.” Sounds like good advice.

There are 19 more rules at Michael Pollan’s Favorite Food Rules.