Sunday Beer Sales

from WSTM:

"ALBANY, N.Y. New Yorkers won't have to wait until noon to buy beer anymore.

Starting today, a new law goes into effect that lets stores sell beer starting at 8 o-clock on Sunday mornings instead of having to wait until noon.Governor Pataki signed the law Thursday.The old rule was part of the blue laws that were originally designed to restrict certain activities on Sunday to appease the church. Lawmakers say the new law will make it easier on those who are traveling or just prefer to shop early."

Watch for unit bias!

Interesting article!

From Yahoo:

'"unit bias," the tendency to think that a single unit of food — a bottle, a can, a plateful, or some more subtle measure — is the right amount to eat or drink, researchers propose.

""Whatever size a banana is, that's what you eat, a small banana or a big banana," says Andrew Geier of the University of Pennsylvania. And "whatever's served on your plate, it just seems locked in our heads: that's a meal.""

later:

" "In the June issue of the journal Psychological Science, Geier and colleagues dig into why people are so swayed by this unit idea when they decide how much to eat.""

Vegan diet for Diabetics

While this was in many places, the quote if from the San Jose Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15137983.htm


"WASHINGTON - People with type-2 diabetes might be able to lose more weight and deal better with the disease by following a low-fat, vegan diet - rather than commonly recommended low-carbohydrate diets - a study released Thursday found.

The study, conducted by the vegan organization Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and George Washington University, followed 99 people with type-2 diabetes for 22 weeks - half ate a vegan diet and half followed dietary guidelines from the American Diabetes Association.

Members of both groups lowered their weight, and improved blood glucose control and cholesterol levels.

But those who avoided meat and dairy had greater success, said Neal Barnard, president of PCRM, a nonprofit organization that focuses on preventive medicine and nutrition, and promotes vegetarian diets and alternatives to animal research."

Of course, there might be a bias, but defnitely worth more study!

Warm Watermelon Wins

From CNN:

"Watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more nutrients than refrigerated or freshly picked melons, they reported in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Penelope Perkins-Veazie and Julie Collins of the USDA's South Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Lane, Oklahoma, looked specifically at carotenoids -- antioxidants that can counter the damage caused by sun, chemicals and day-to-day living."

Why?

"They said their findings showed that watermelons continue to produce these nutrients after they are picked and that chilling slows this process."

Which suggests that cooling them at the last minute is still ok. Stay tuned!

Children's nutritional intake shown to impact IQs

While this comes laregly from a bird study (so you can say it is for the birds if you so desire), the results are so important that I will join the others in making the jump to applying it to human development.

From Science Daily:

"Poor nutrition early in life can impair neural development, leading to lower IQ in humans and flawed song learning in birds. Recent evidence indicates that many organisms can offset some of the changes associated with early poor nutrition by modifying their physical development. For example, poorly nourished children can undergo a period of accelerated growth once their diet improves, ultimately appearing normal as an adult. But such compensatory measures may come at a price, with cognitive or other developmental disabilities emerging later in life"

Sweet tooth may be satisfied with fruits

Interesting. Short version: If you like sweets, you probably like fruit more than vegetables.

From Yahoo:

"The study published in the journal Appetite found people who eat candy, cakes and other sweet snacks eat more fruit than people who prefer salty snacks like nuts and chips."

Wansink said parents and public health officials could use this information to encourage the phase-in of more fruits among kids and other people with a sweet tooth."

Now if I could only figure out why the study was done by a marketing professor (Cornell's Brian Wansin).....

Good news on the Glycemic Index "diet"

I hate the word Diet. How about "food style choice"?

But whatever it is called...here is some good news:

"A diet rich in carbohydrates with a low glycemic index appears to be more effective in reducing fat mass and lowering the chances of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than diets with a high glycemic index or high in protein, an Australian research team reports."

And later:

"In the short term, our findings suggest that dietary glycemic load, and not just overall energy intake, influences weight loss," the team concludes.

In a related editorial, Dr. Simin Liu, from the University of California in Los Angeles, points out that "foods with a low degree of starch gelatinization, such as pasta, and those containing a high level of viscous soluble fiber, such as whole grain barley, oats, and rye, have slower rates of digestion and lower glycemic index values."

Therefore, the commentator continues, "Without any drastic change in regular dietary habits, one can simply replace high glycemic index grains with low glycemic index grains and starchy vegetables with less starchy ones and cut down on soft drinks that are often poor in nutrients yet high in glycemic load.""

A list of many foods glycemic index can be found here.

Wish OJ were lower! Especially when I drink so much of it. The glycemic load must be off the charts :(

NPR on the Avacado

Ok, so everyone may not be interested in this, but I was and hence am posting it ;)

From NPR (they have both the audio and a text story online):

"The ahuacate, a pebbly-skinned, pear-shaped fruit, had been a staple food in Mexico, and Central and South America since 500 B.C. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors fell in love with the fruit after observing its prized status among the Aztecs."

The piece goes on to explain why (and how) the name was changed to today's avacado, talks about the nutritional aspects of the fruit, and even gives some recipes.

More on tuna

Life is a multi-Regression equation is one of my favorite quotes. It means that you take the good (positive coefficients) with the bad (negative coefficients).

That was the first thing I thought of when I got the following today from the US tuna

Dear Colleagues:

The tuna industry has again been the target of misinformation by organizations whose agendas we believe do not serve public health and may have unintended but serious consequences for millions of Americans. The best way for consumers to receive credible dietary and health advice is to rely on credible public health and scientific authorities. At the same time, it is incumbent upon our industry to routinely communicate with key audiences about the safety and quality of our products, as well as our sustainable business practices. For these reasons, I am forwarding this statement to you in the hope that you will read it and share it with your members.

Sincerely,

Anne Forristall Luke
President
U.S. Tuna Foundation

and in the attached PDF file:

"Harvard Center for Risk Analysis concluded after a comprehensive study, the benefits of fish consumption FAR outweigh the risk of any harm from the trace amounts of mercury present. In fact, the Defenders of Wildlife acknowledges on its Web site the “well-known health benefits to eating light canned tuna.”"

and also:

"A.C. Nielsen data shows that, in fact, more than 11 million low-income American families – including a high proportion of those at greatest risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease – have stopped eating canned tuna . Canned tuna has no peer when it comes to the combination of affordability and quality lean protein and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, so when millions of Americans at high risk for heart disease, obesity and diabetes stop eating it, the adverse impact on public health can be expected to be significant.

The members of the U.S. Tuna Foundation – Bumble Bee, StarKist and Chicken of the Sea -- stand by the quality, safety and nutritional benefits of our products.

We advocate responsible government testing of canned tuna for mercury content as well as educating the public. The public can have confidence in the FDA’s comprehensive testing program. In contrast to the Defenders of Wildlife 164-can sample, which is statistically insignificant, the FDA tested more than 10,000 cans of tuna before it developed the FDA/EPA advisory that offers guidance to women who are or might become pregnant and small children. The FDA advises this group on the need to safely incorporate fish and canned tuna into their diets and reap its nutritional and developmental benefits. The FDA encourages all other groups to eat more fish, including canned tuna."

I do agree that there are many very good points about canned tuna (positive coefficient). However, mercury contamination is a concern that does need to be considered (like any negative coefficient). Indeed, it might be useful for the tuna industry to report on each label (on a day by day basis plant by plant basis) the average amount of mercury in their product. At least it would let consumers know what they were getting and they could then make an informed decision. And it would likely lead to cleaner oceans as well! :)

Tuna News

From FoodConsumer.com but also listed on most news sites.

"July 12 (foodconsumer.org) - A new analysis of light tuna suggests that the Joint Advisory on consumption of canned light tuna issued by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency does not adequately address the potential risk of mercury in the imported light canned tuna.

The advisory of the FDA/EPA, recommends eating up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury, - "five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish," and "another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week."

RealityCheck

You've heard the commercials, now check out the website!

Bigger is not always better

From the NY Times:

"Nearly every dish and beverage Americans now consume is supersized compared with what they used to eat (and, I might add, at a time when more energy was spent just getting through the demands of the day).

An average serving of pasta is now 480 percent greater than the one-cup recommended serving size, Lisa Young and Marion Nestle, nutritionists at New York University, reported in 2002 in The American Journal of Public Health.....

....The muffin tins from my childhood produce muffins one-third the size of those at Starbucks.

Restaurants like fast-food and takeout establishments, as well as family-style businesses, pile on food with no regard for recommended portions."

Yet another reason to cook your own foods and watch consumption.

Fish for the eyes

While fish has had a rough time of it lately due to mercury and other issues, two studies out now suggest that fish may prevent some kinds of blindness.

From Yahoo:

"Two new studies give one more reason to eat a diet rich in fish: prevention of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in old age"

and later:

"The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon are already known to help the heart and brain stay healthy. The new studies, appearing Monday in the Archives of Ophthalmology, add to evidence that fish eaters also protect the eyes.The new studies aren't the strongest level of scientific evidence, but they confirm the findings of previous studies that also link fish consumption with prevention of macular degeneration"

Tobacco may kill a BILLION people

While the key phrase is "if current trends continue", there is no doubt that many people will die years before they would if it weren't for tobacco.

From Yahoo:

"Tobacco alone is predicted to kill a billion people this century, 10 times the toll it took in the 20th century, if current trends hold.

"In all of world history, this is the largest train wreck not waiting to happen," said John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society

Reducing tobacco use would have the single largest effect on global cancer rates, Seffrin and other health officials said Monday in unveiling two reference guides that chart global tobacco use and cancer."

and later:

"An estimated 1.25 billion men and women currently smoke cigarettes, and more than half of them will die from the habit, according to the newly issued second edition of the Tobacco Atlas.

The two atlases were released Monday at an International Union Against Cancer conference."

Tylenol may harm liver

First NSAIDs, now Tylenol.

From the LA Times:

"The highest recommended dose of Extra Strength Tylenol sharply increased liver
enzymes in healthy adults in a clinical study — an early sign of possible organ
damage.Although overdoses of Tylenol have been found to harm the liver, the
study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. is the first
to spot hints of trouble in healthy people taking the pain reliever as
directed...."

It looks more and more like aspirin will be the pain killer of choice.

I was tricked...lesson learned

I confess, they tricked me. Kellogg's got me. I mean a bar Healthy Heart wouldn't have trans-fat in it, right? So I didn't look.

Guess what...I just read the indgredients: two listings of partially hyrogenated oils. Well, I won't be buying that again!

Well it is a nice one time sale strategy.