| Live food, live bodies
I'll never forget one day, about five years ago, when for lack of anything else to do, I went with a friend to an organic farm over in Driggs, Idaho, for the day and helped picked vegetables. This farm distributed vegetables during the summer to local Teton Valley residents. I remember so vividly the brilliance of the sun, the purity of the air and the almost electrical energy of the land. I expected to drudge through the day tired, hot and dehydrated, but it was not so. There was a very real energy and intensity in the environment. Mid-morning I plucked a carrot out of the ground, rinsed it off, and took a few bites. After a few bites I felt this incredible energy and radiance from the carrot. It tasted like the sun and the earth and was amazingly delicious, really unlike any carrot I've ever tasted before.
Prince Charles suggests McDonald's food should be banned
Prince Charles suggested Tuesday on a visit to the United Arab Emirates with his wife the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla that banning fast food cafes and restaurants, especially McDonald's, was crucial for improving people's diets, Sky News TV Channel reported. Talking to Nadi Tiara, nutritionist in Imperial College London Diabetes Center in Abu Dhabi, Charles said, "Have you got anywhere with McDonald's? Have you tried getting it banned? That's the key." The UAE are world's second nation to have the largest number of diabetics. More than 20% of population aged between 20 and 79 suffer from diabetes in this country. A McDonald's spokesman called the remark "disappointing". He said other members of the royal family "have probably got a more up-to-date picture of us". "This appears to be an off-the-cuff remark, in our opinion," she said.
Put high-fat ice cream on menu if baby-making
Women hoping to get pregnant might consider swapping low-fat yogurt for vanilla fudge ripple ice cream, a new study suggests. Harvard School of Public Health researchers who followed 18,555 healthy, married women without a history of infertility, found that those who consumed more low-fat dairy foods, especially yogurt, sherbet and frozen yogurt, were 85 per cent more likely than women who ate high-fat dairy foods -- notably ice cream and whole milk -- to experience anovulatory infertility, a common cause of female infertility in which women don't ovulate properly. American dietary guidelines recommend adults consume three or more servings a day of low-fat milk or equivalent diary products -- "a strategy that may be deleterious for women planning to become pregnant," the researchers report today in Human Reproduction, a European journal.
Canada's New Food Guide Now Available
Canada's new food authority, "Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide" is now available at the County of Lambton Community Health Services Department. The revised food guide, from Health Canada, contains information on the amount and the types of food recommended for age and gender plus clear guidelines on portion sizes. The guide, to help healthy Canadians two years of age and older meet nutritional needs, is based on the most current nutritional science to promote healthy growth and development, and to reduce the risk of chronic disease such as obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and osteoporosis. "The new Guide gives more direction on selecting the best choices within each food group," says Susan Harris, Registered Dietitian with Community Health Services. "We encourage everyone to continue enjoying a "rainbow of colours" of foods."The Guide addresses key nutrients and recommendations including:• Vitamin D supplements for adults over the age of 50 years.• Multi-vitamin supplement with folic acid for all women who could become pregnant, who are pregnant or who are breastfeeding.• Eat at least two servings of fish (i.e.
National Fiery Foods & Barbecue show features more than 200 vendors
A heat-and-serve version of his soup is being unveiled this weekend at the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show. "If you breathe in too much chile powder, it can send you coughing for a while," he said from his Albuquerque warehouse. "It's hot chile and pretty powerful stuff." .
The Monarch vs. Mayor McCheese: Prince Charles Denounces McDonald's
Prince Charles' comment occurred during the launch of a public health awareness campaign at the Imperial College London Nutrition Centre in Abu Dhabi, aimed at increasing awareness of diabetes. At this event, children were tested on which foods to put in their lunches; the "good" foods (vegetables and water) or the "bad" foods (chocolate and chips). Under the watchful eyes of the Prince and the Centre's nutritionist, the kids packed the vegetables and water. Charles was delighted. Encouraging increased consumption of fruits and vegetables is certainly a good thing, but suggesting the ban of a certain type of restaurant and labeling foods as either "good" or "bad" is taking a far too simplistic approach to preventing obesity. The key is a balanced, varied diet with adequate exercise. There is room for chocolate and even a McDonald’s hamburger, as long as it's in moderation.McDonald's is a large corporation that makes cheap, popular, and often calorically dense food. It is easy to see why it would be the target of politicians, activists, and now, royals who are concerned about increasing rates of obesity. What many fail to recognize is the fact that overweight and obesity are the result of consuming more calories than are expended over a period of time. These calories can come from food of any source, be it McDonald's, a five star restaurant, or your very own kitchen. (See also: "A Slow Burn on Fast Food.")Restaurants are being held accountable for consumers' health on this side of the pond, too. Restaurants in New York City will have to find an alternative to cooking their food with trans fats. The health implications of consuming trans fats have been greatly exaggerated and are another example of employing a seemingly simple solution to a very complex problem, at the expense of restaurants and consumers. See our publication on trans fats. Of course, trans fats' effects on cholesterol should not be confused with calories and obesity, as they have been by some advocates.Obesity is not just a problem in the United States, where 64% of adults are overweight and 30% are obese. The obesity rate in the United Kingdom is not far behind and rates are increasing globally as well. Prince Charles and others have good reason to be concerned. However, pointing the finger at fast food and ignoring all other factors that contribute to obesity, including lack of adequate exercise, is a disservice to the many who are trying to lose weight and improve their health. Again, the key is moderation. Hopefully, those kids in Abu Dhabi will continue to choose vegetables for lunch well into adulthood (even without the Prince watching), but a chocolate bar or a Big Mac as a treat every now and then won't hurt.Molly Lee is the Earhart Foundation Research Associate at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).
Transcript of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns News Conference ...
SEC. JOHANNS: Well, why don't we go ahead and get started here? I do have some somewhat lengthy prepared comments, and then I'll take some questions. But if I - I might point out within the room today we have undersecretaries, we have a lot of folks that can answer any questions that you might have about the specifics of the budget. So I'll take a few questions and then I'll step aside and you can approach them and ask any other questions you might have. Let me start out, if I might and just say thanks for being here this afternoon. It is the first Monday in February, and that's time to present the president's budget, and this will be the budget proposal for the USDA for Fiscal Year 2008. As I mentioned, I am joined today by members of the sub-cabinet and by Scott Steele, who is the U.S.
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