Food & Drink

Refined carbohydrates can trigger food cravings, study says

"Refined carbohydrates such as corn syrup could trigger food cravings not unlike the cravings that drug addicts experience, new research suggests. The findings, published last week in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, imply that the quick spike and subsequent crash in blood sugar that comes after eating highly processed carbs activates reward and addiction centers in the brain. The findings could suggest that avoiding refined carbohydrates might be a good weight-loss strategy because people would avoid not only the calories but also the strong cravings that the carbs they induce." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRefined carbohydrates can trigger food cravings, study says

Coke cans toxic caramel coloring but Pepsi still packs 8 times the ‘safe’ amount

"Coke products no longer contain 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), whereas Pepsi has only changed the products it sells in California. Research showed that 10 out of 10 Pepsi products purchased outside of California during the month of June 2013 still contain 4-MEI at levels 'four to eight times higher than the safety thresholds set by California.' Pepsi assured NPR reporter Allison Aubrey that there is nothing dangerous about their products. 'The FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world, including the European Food Safety Authority and Health Canada, consider our caramel coloring safe for use in foods and beverages,' a spokesperson insisted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCoke cans toxic caramel coloring but Pepsi still packs 8 times the ‘safe’ amount

A Whole Mess From Krugman About Whole Milk and Beyond

"Are slowly climbing milk prices evidence that price inflation is not a threat? Far from it, it is another example of Krugman thinking only one or two steps deep. The fact of the matter is that milk consumption is crashing in America. This change in milk consumption patterns is having the effect that one would expect, falling milk sales. In 2011, total U.S. beverage milk sales were 53 billion pounds - about 6 billion gallons - the lowest level since 1984, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whole milk beverage sales in 2011 were less than half their level from the early 1980s. Got that? Milk sales are crashing, and it is across all age groups." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Whole Mess From Krugman About Whole Milk and Beyond

Whole milk may be better for kids than skim milk

"'We just don't see any benefit for focusing on reducing fat,' Ludwig said. 'We think it's a holdover from a paradigm that evolved in the late 20th century based on the relatively simplistic idea that fat has the most calories per gram and that eliminating fat will reduce weight gain.' Another study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood in March echoed the JAMA study and showed that children who drank lower-fat milk were more likely to be overweight later in life." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhole milk may be better for kids than skim milk

Human breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich

"Xinxinyu, a domestic staff agency in the booming city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, provided wet nurses for newborns, the sick and other adults who pay high prices for the milk’s fine nutrition, the Southern Metropolis Daily said. 'Adult (clients) can drink it directly through breastfeeding, or they can always drink it from a breast pump if they feel embarrassed,' the report quoted company owner Lin Jun as saying. Wet nurses serving adults are paid around 16,000 yuan ($2,600) a month — more than four times the Chinese average — and those who were 'healthy and good looking' could earn even more, the report said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHuman breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich

The War on Asparagus

"American asparagus farms were worth just over $233 million in 1999. A decade later, those farms (or, those which still existed, as the farm sizes fell by two-thirds over that same decade) were worth just under $90 million. The drop off is stark, but it’s not because of a lack of demand from American consumers. In the 1990s, the United States started paying Peruvian farmers to grow asparagus, hoping they’d forgo growing coca (the plant used to make cocaine) and instead grow the totally legal vegetable. In 2004, the New York Times estimated that the cost of this program ran the United States around $60 million per year. The effect: a lot of cheaper-than-typical asparagus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe War on Asparagus

Dept. of Agriculture approves horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico

"A New Mexico meat plant received federal approval on Friday to slaughter horses for meat, a move that drew immediate opposition from animal rights group and will likely be opposed by the White House. The Humane Society of the United States and Front Range Equine Rescue threatened on Friday to sue the USDA, saying horses are raised as pets and as working animals. Because they are not intended as food animals, horses are given medications banned from other livestock, the groups said, questioning if the meat would be safe. The USDA says it can test for residues of 130 pesticide and veterinary drugs. It also has safeguards to keep horse meat out of the food supply." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDept. of Agriculture approves horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico

Snap up a pint in Britain’s first Bitcoin pub

"Bitcoin has its first British boozer. The Pembury Tavern in Hackney, east London – as well as its sister pubs in Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough – are now accepting the virtual currency. The system is quick and effective. The bar staff press two buttons on the till and the screen displays a QR code. The customer opens their digital Bitcoin wallet, takes a snap of the screen and confirms the payment. The staff press one more button and the transaction is complete. Snapping the QR code in a crowded bar could be a challenge but in a quiet pub it is faster than paying by card." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnap up a pint in Britain’s first Bitcoin pub

Nashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

"An 'army' of armed officers raided a family-owned restaurant late one night to check alcohol permits. Although 'The Family Wash' had done nothing wrong and broken no laws, the agents still raided their establishment, shut down the band that was playing, scared away all the customers, and harassed the owner. They chose to do this raid on a busy Friday night, when people were eating, drinking, and listening to music. The joint task-force of permit-checkers from multiple different jurisdictions and agencies collectively was out performing random raids on restaurants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

Belgium opens beer temple in former stock market building

"Beer has always been one of Belgium’s biggest money-spinners but now Brussels is going a step further, announcing plans Thursday to open a temple to the amber nectar in its old stock exchange building. The 'Temple of Belgian Beer' project finds a use for the grand 19th century building near the Belgian capital’s famed Grand Place, which is fronted by corinthian columns and resembles a classical temple. The Brussels Bourse was abandoned by stockbrokers in 1996 after the computerisation of the financial markets and then became a site for temporary exhibitions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBelgium opens beer temple in former stock market building