The Seattle Times: Health: Lawsuit filed over labeling potato chips and French fries

The story that has been brewing for sometime over whether snack foods shouold contain a warning due to the amount of a cancer causing agaent they contain picked up steam as the State of California sued "sued nine fast-food giants yesterday, saying the law requires them to tell the public their potato chips and French fries contain a toxic chemical."Seattle Times.

The toxic chemical is "Acrylamide — known to cause cancer in the reproductive organs of laboratory animals exposed to high levels — has been on the state's list of carcinogens since 1990. But it was not known to be present in food until 2002, when scientists in Sweden discovered it in starchy foods cooked at high temperatures."Seattle Times.

Those being sued include "Frito-Lay, KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's International and Procter & Gamble Distributing." Predictably they maintain innocence: "Lynn Markley, a spokeswoman for Frito-Lay, said, 'There is no scientific evidence that the presence of acrylamide in food causes illness, and our Frito-Lay snacks are absolutely safe.' " Seattle Times.

In layperson's terms what this is over is that the toxin (which has been a known cancer agent for some time) becomes more pronounced when certian foods (especially starchy foods) are heated at high temperatures (especially when fried). Health advocates want warnings on the foods.

Making matters worse is that no one really know how much of the toxin is in any given food as levels vary even for the same product. For instance the San Francisco Chronicle reports that:

"... Burger King fries, tested at three locations, contained 197, 220 and 369 parts per billion....Wendy's fries, tested at five locations, ranged form a low of 169 parts per billion to a high of 302, far lower than a sample of Popeyes french fries, which contained 1,030 parts per billion. Pringle Ridges Potato Crisps contained 1,286 parts per billion, but Pringles Sweet mesquite BBQ Flavored Crisps had 2,510. Pringles Original Crisps had 693."

Interestingly this is a problem as well for other foods from breads and crackers to even olives.

For more on the problems with Acrylamide, click here. Or for teh more techincal among you try this link for a collection of research papers on the topic.

My take? Is this a health threat? Yes. Is it a major health threat? Well to be honest no one really knows. However, I am willing to go out on a limb and suggest that the fat and largely empty calories found in many of the mentioned foods are more of a health threat than the cancer potential. What is also interesing is that this appears to be more of an attack on so-called "junk foods" than anything else since we know that many otherwise nutritious foods (breads, olives, some nuts) also have the chemical.

I doubt we've heard the end of this.

Grape Juice and Soy Milk

Since I have not shareed any of my "recipes" in a while, I figured I would give you one today.
Remember, for me to use a recipe it has to be good for you and fast! As in real fast!

Grape "smoothie"

• 1/2 glass of Grape Juice (purple is best, red will work)
• 1/2 glass of Vanilla Soy Milk

See, wasn't that easy!

I should warn you that the resulting mixture does not look great (they do not mix well), but taste wonderful and is a great post exercise drink that is high in anti-oxidants and has quite a bit of protein!

Try it! You will not be disappointed.

News 14 Carolina | 24 Hour Local News | HEALTH | Second-hand smoke may or may not lead to SIDS

Unbelieveable! I can not even imagine being forced to chnage the wording on a paper, and then quietly doing it!

Best advice, DO NOT SMOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

News 14 Carolina | 24 Hour Local News | HEALTH | Second-hand smoke may or may not lead to SIDS: "One question research has answered is that secondhand smoke increases a baby's risk for SIDS. But a recent review found no link between the two. That finding raised the suspicion of Stanton Glantz, Director of the Center of Tobacco Control. He says tobacco giant Philip Morris paid for the study, and author Frank Sullivan changed the wording of the final draft.

'We found the original draft of the scientific paper, which said, 'secondhand smoke increases the risk of sudden infant death,' in Phillip Morris's corporate files along with their suggestions to Sullivan to change it,' says Dr. Glantz."

Cocoa Is The New Red Wine: Shows Benefits For Coronary Heart Disease

It is not new, but rather joins the now building scientific evidence that cocoa may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

From ScienceDaily:
Cocoa Is The New Red Wine: Shows Benefits For Coronary Heart Disease: "A research team in Southampton in England, led by Dr Denise O'Shaugnessy, has shown that drinking a cup of cocoa can prevent potentially fatal blood clots. Dr O'Shaughnessy will present this data at the XXth Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis & Haemostasis in Sydney"

Rinse would dry clothes 20 percent faster | Science Blog

Looking into the future I would have to imagine laundry detergent manufacturers will want to put this in their products.

Rinse would dry clothes 20 percent faster | Science Blog: "University of Florida engineers have developed a compound that forces clothes in the washer to shed 20 percent more water during the spin cycle than in normal conditions"

This is great! It will save time and energy on drying! :)

Secondhand smoke costs nearly $10 bln in U.S.-study - Yahoo! News

Yet another reason to stop!!!!
Secondhand smoke costs nearly $10 bln in U.S.-study - Yahoo! News: "The Society of Actuaries said that the direct costs of secondhand smoke exposure are $4.98 billion, including expenses related to the treatment of heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer, asthma and other sicknesses"

New Study: NonSmokers' Net Worth 50% Higher Than Smokers [02/03/05]

Sure it is a tad dated, but the message can not be repeated enough: smoking is awful for both your physical and your financial health. Please do not smoke!

New Study: NonSmokers' Net Worth 50% Higher Than Smokers [02/03/05]: "A new study suggests that typical non-smokers' net worth is roughly 50 percent higher than that of light smokers and about twice the level of that of heavy smokers. And that wealth gap grows by about $410, or 4 percent, each year that a person continues to smoke, said Jay Zagorsky, author of the study and a research scientist at Ohio State University's Center for Human Resource Research. Federal statistics on cigarette spending suggest that the wealth reductions are roughly equal to how much smokers spend on their habit. "

Newsday.com: Painkillers linked to hypertension

Newsday.com: Painkillers linked to hypertension: "Women who rely on the popular painkillers acetaminophen and ibuprofen are more likely to develop high blood pressure than those who don't take the over-the-counter drugs, a team of doctors said"

Even a couple of drinks could harm an unborn baby

Simple version: DO not drink if you are (or even if you might be) pregnant!!!!


Even a couple of drinks could harm an unborn baby: "A new study is suggesting that mothers who drink even low levels of alcohol during pregnancy could permanently damage their children's intelligence.

The study, by scientists in Detroit, of seven-and-a-half-year-olds, found lower IQ scores, and memory and problem-solving difficulties among those who had had low-level exposure to alcohol during pregnancy."

BBC NEWS | Health | Folic acid 'cuts dementia risk'

BBC NEWS | Health | Folic acid 'cuts dementia risk': "Eating plenty of folic acid - found in oranges, lemons and green vegetables - can halve the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a study has suggested."

eat up!

Hold That Fat, New York Asks Its Restaurants - New York Times

I am really torn on this one. On one hand, I do not recommend anyone eat trans fat. I do think the evindence is pretty convincing that they are bad for you. (indeed I gave up some of my favorite breads (are you listening bakers?) because of even small amounts.

However, I wish that this would be customer driven and the restaurants would want to give up their trans fat.

Hold That Fat, New York Asks Its Restaurants - New York Times: "The New York City health department urged all city restaurants yesterday to stop serving food containing trans fats, chemically modified ingredients that health officials say significantly increase the risk of heart disease and should not be part of any healthy diet."

All in all, since the City is only asking, I guess I am ok with it.

Study: Diet May Help Fight Prostate Cancer - Yahoo! News

Good news! While the test is pretty early and more work needs to be done to be convincing, the results so far suggest that Low fat diets now may help fight prostate cancer. Remember recently we saw the same result for a study that used low fat diets to treat breast cancer.

Study: Diet May Help Fight Prostate Cancer - Yahoo! News: "Ornish's studies show that regimen can help heart disease, but why try it on prostate cancer? There is some evidence that diets high in fat increase the risk of prostate cancer, and that certain foods — such as broccoli, or the nutrient lycopene from cooked tomato products — are protective"

The Abbey of the Genesee Piffard NY Monks' Bread Cistercians Trappist Monk

The Abbey of the Genesee Piffard NY Monks' Bread Cistercians Trappist Monk

I just tried this new bread from Monks. It is very good. I nice dessert bread!

For $1.69 this week at our stores, you really can not go wrong!!!

Grizzlies And Salmon: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

There is growing evidence that mercury and other contaminants are in most fish that we eat. (Read this month's Reader's Digest for more on the topic). But now we see that it is even impacting the bears!

Grizzlies And Salmon: Too Much Of A Good Thing?: "It turns out that grizzlies that gorge themselves on salmon during the summer spawning season have much higher levels of contaminants in their bodies than their cousins who rely more on berries, plants and insects, according to Peter Ross of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans"

Best advice? Moderate your fish intake.

White Bread Gets Whole-Grain Makeover - Yahoo! News

White Bread Gets Whole-Grain Makeover - Yahoo! News: "Looks like white bread. Tastes like it, too. But is it?"

ConAgra Foods Inc., one of the nation's largest food makers, spent at least eight years and several million dollars developing Ultragrain White Whole Wheat. The grain was bred for its properties and is not genetically modified, said Garth Neuffer, a spokesman for the Omaha, Neb.-based company."

We have this now and it is pretty good. I personally think it is too soft for most sandwiches, but I would imagine kids like it.

Blood Pressure Over Normal? Nip It in the Bud

fROM WebMD Blood Pressure Over Normal? Nip It in the Bud: "Prehypertension: Systolic blood pressure of 120-139 and/or diastolic blood pressure of 80-89"

'Those with "prehypertension" -- the zone between normal and high blood pressure -- also have higher-than-normal odds of having a heart attack or heart disease. The findings appear in Stroke."

Yet another reason to watch your fat consumption

Penn State Live: "according to a Penn State study.

'When we gave the rats doses of a 'stop eating' hormone, the rats on the low-fat diet significantly suppressed their intake of the snack but not the rats on the high-fat diet,' said Mihai Covasa, assistant professor of nutritional sciences and a member of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute who led the study. 'These results suggest that a long-term, high-fat diet may actually promote short-term overconsumption of highly palatable foods high in dietary fat by reducing sensitivity to at least one important feedback signal which would ordinarily limit eating.'"

icWales - We have known for years that smoking harms your baby

Absolutely awful. How any mother could do this is so beyond me that I can not even comrehend it. It is one thing to smoke (and harm your own health), but to smoke around others, or in the worst case while pregnant is repugnant.

icWales - We have known for years that smoking harms your baby: "The 'shocking' number of women who risk causing serious damage to their unborn children by smoking while pregnant has been branded 'a great worry for the health of the nation'.

The research has found that 29.1% of women smoke during pregnancy.

The study, funded by Cardiff University, was designed to explore the link between smoking and anti-social behaviour, but made the surprising discovery during the course of the investigation."

Buffalo News - Secondhand smoke tied to teen obesity malady

Buffalo News - Secondhand smoke tied to teen obesity malady: "'The bottom line to me is: As we gear up to take on this epidemic of obesity, we cannot abandon protecting our children from secondhand smoke and smoking,' said lead author Dr. Michael Weitzman, executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center for Child Health Research in Rochester, N.Y.

For the study, metabolic syndrome was defined as having at least three of five characteristics: a big waist, high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats called triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol, and evidence of insulin resistance, in which the body cannot efficiently use insulin"

Interesting, I confess have not read the article. That said, I would be a tad suscipicious of confounding variables. For instance, those who smoke (or even those who's parents smoke, may not take as good of care of themselves in other ways.

Vitamin E Fails to Deliver on Early Promise - New York Times

FWIW I have essentially stopped taking it. Vitamin E Fails to Deliver on Early Promise - New York Times: "'Based on what we've seen, we don't recommend vitamin E supplements for the prevention of heart disease or cancer,' said I-Min Lee, a Harvard Medical School epidemiologist and lead investigator of one of the most recent and weightiest studies to sully the supplement's reputation.

As part of Harvard's double-blind, placebo-controlled Women's Health Study, nearly 20,000 healthy, middle-aged women were given 600 international units of vitamin E every other day for roughly 10 years. Results reported in the July 6 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association found no overall protective benefit against those illnesses."