When it comes to diet and health, sometimes it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Beliefs about what foods are “good” and what ones are “bad” are deeply ingrained. Take saturated fats. There is a widespread belief that saturated fats such as found in whole milk, butter, red meat and tropical oils, are unhealthy. […]
“Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart.” So starts the poem many of us learned as children. And as it turns out, beans really are good for your heart. According to nutrition expert Jane Edwards, Ph.D.: “Beans help maintain normal ranges for several risk factors for heart disease: cholesterol, blood pressure, and homocysteine levels.” So […]
January is typically considered “diet” season. It is also the season for my annual rant against “diet” products containing artificial sweeteners, and in particular aspartame, a.k.a. Nutrasweet. Aspartame was originally approved for human use in 1981 by FDA, despite vigorous objections by its own scientists. It is now an ingredient in thousands of products consumed […]
Last time I talked about the denomination of origin standards that apply to many of the great cheeses of Europe. These are standards designed to protect the integrity and authenticity of many traditional cheeses. I likened them to an “I.D.” card that lets you know the identity of certain cheeses, so you can be assured […]
When the founding fathers were deciding on what bird to depict on the national seal, Benjamin Franklin argued for the turkey over the bald eagle. He wrote: “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character….the Turkey is […]
