Organic, natural or non-GMO foods have one thing in common — they all contain chemicals known to cause cancer in lab rats. But don't let that spoil your holiday feast — the doses are all too small to make a difference.
Food & Nutrition
The average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 has fallen to under $50, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which has tracked U.S. supermarket prices of the traditional bird and related side dishes since 1986. Decline in turkey prices led the way. Roughly 45 million turkeys will be consumed on Thanksgiving Day.
Sustainable condoms, vegan dog food, edible sneakers, and navigational long-wave night lights. Yep- we've finally lost it.
Mark Bittman's cookbooks and column in The New York Times are well known in the foodie community. But success in his new role, shaping food policy on the faculty at Columbia University, will require him to stretch beyond his old ideas and to a more inclusive view of what healthy eating means for all people -- not just the readers at his former job.
If you follow the thinking of some activists, you'd think that the only way to get consumers to make better food and beverage choices is to tax the less healthy ones — usually sugar-sweetened beverages. But Maryland's Howard County just may have found a better way to influence (and educate) consumers.
Outside of the Western world, insect consumption is common. The Chinese, for instance, will eat just about anything that crawls on six (or more) legs. Centipedes and fried scorpions appear on the menu. Not only is entomophagy widespread, it's also probably healthier for people -- and the planet -- than eating other animals.
How do we get people to make better food choices — to decrease the amounts of calories, fat and sugar in their diets? A new study examined the potential of restricting "unhealthy" food choices vs. incentivizing "healthier" choices, to influence purchasing practices of low-income Americans. The upshot: Both can work, especially in combination.
Many Americans whose BMI puts them in the obese category either don't know it, or assume they're "just overweight." This misperception can lead to fewer consultations with healthcare providers, and less attention to dealing with the issue, according to a recent survey.
The North American Mycological Association keeps records of mushroom poisonings; it reported 67 incidents of human poisoning from mushrooms in 2013. Fortunately, none were lethal. There were also 49 cases of dogs being poisoned, as well as one cat.
For a scientist, a trip to Whole Foods is equal parts amusement and Dante's Inferno. These guys are selling some crazy stuff (along with some damn fine pie).
Age plays a role in how people view food and make food choices, as depicted by a recent survey. In particular, baby boomers and millennials differ as to (1) whom they most trust to advise them about foods, and (2) what health aspects of food they're most concerned about.
Cranberry juice has been promoted for relief of urinary tract infections for decades. But scientists have had trouble providing convincing evidence that it really works. A new attempt to address UTIs in elderly women also fails to provide support. Maybe the best use for cranberries is really an accompaniment to your Thanksgiving feast.