Food
Posted on November 14, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine
Fans of the world’s largest coffee chain may be pleased to know that Starbucks plans to open juice bars in 2012 after purchasing juice company Evolution Fresh for $30 million.
The first juice bars will open on the West Coast in early to mid-2012, but the company did not say how many were planned. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz made his plans known to enter the estimated $50 billion health food market, although it isn’t known whether the company will use its familiar Mermaid logo on the new chain.
San Bernardino, California-based Evolution Fresh sells fruit and vegetable juices and was started by the founder of Naked Juice. It uses a heat-free, high-pressure pasteurization process that it says retains more of the nutrients in its products compared with using conventional heat pasteurization.
Starbucks will eventually invest in Evolution Fresh’s facility upgrades, and expects to sell the products in its own retail stores. “We think we can build a major business,” Schultz said.
Will you purchase products from a Starbucks juice bar?
Posted on November 11, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine, Recent Studies
Researchers have focused for years on the benefits of cutting down salt in the general population’s diet. But new studies suggest that reducing salt may not have as great of an overall impact as was once thought.
A review of more than 160 studies published Wednesday suggests that while cutting down on salt reduces blood pressure in people who have normal or high blood pressure, it also causes increases in hormones and compounds that can negatively impact health.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, is one of the leading causes of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular diseases, which combined form the biggest killers worldwide and claim more than 17 million lives a year.
A different review published in July came to a similar conclusion: British researchers found no evidence that small reductions in salt intake lowered the risk of developing heart disease or dying prematurely. U.S. dietary guidelines currently recommend Americans consume less than 2.3g of sodium daily, or 1.5g for certain people who are more at risk of high blood pressure or heart disease. A teaspoon of salt, or roughly 5g, holds around 2.3g of sodium.
Do you keep track of how much salt you consume?
Posted on October 29, 2011 in Consumer Goods, Food, Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A candy binge might not be the first thing you’d think a dentist would recommend. But this Halloween, dentists are encouraging kids to gorge on their spoils from trick-or-treating—because it’s healthier than rationing the candy over a longer period.
Eating candy bit by bit, every few hours, day after day, keeps your teeth bathed in enamel-corroding acid. This may lead to dental caries, or cavities. If kids eat ten pieces of candy in a short period of time, saliva will neutralize the acid over the course of an hour so. Spread those candy bars out over ten days, and the teeth are being constantly exposed to the harmful acid.
Still, dentists are recommending a good brushing after every candy gorging episode. Sour candies do the most damage to teeth, so consider switching to less-corrosive chocolate. Of course, the recommendation to eat lots of candy at one time only applies to oral health: kids may take in lots of unnecessary calories without nutrients if they eat their entire stash of treats the day after Halloween.
Will you encourage your kids to eat lots of candy?
Posted on October 7, 2011 in Consumer Goods, Food, Health & Medicine, The Environment
The farmers market trend has taken off in recent years, attracting hordes of “locavores”—
people who prefer to eat locally-grown food–with its fresh produce. Are small-business-
friendly farmers markets really better?
Although the food sold at farmers markets is generally seen as healthier than grocery-
aisle fare, it also receives less federal and local oversight. Few pathogen outbreaks have
been linked to farmers markets, but most sources of foodborne illness go undetected.
Recently, Congress exempted small farms from the safety requirements of the new Food
Safety Modernization Act. Farms that gross under $50,000 annually and sell most of their
products directly to consumers within 275 miles of the farm qualified for the exemption,
spelled out the act’s Tester-Hagan Amendment. Small farmers argued that they wouldn’t
be able to afford the expensive new requirements.
Still, state and local governments have jurisdiction over farmers markets. Some well-
known markets, like the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco, have farmers
undergo multiple screenings and on-site investigations to make sure their food is safe. At
many of these markets, market managers make sure vendors are following health codes
and make the local food experience pleasant—and safe.
Do you buy food from farmers markets?
Posted on October 3, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine, Parenting, Recent Studies
A diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains may prevent certain birth
defects, according to a study appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine this week. The study compared the diets of 3,824 mothers whose children
experienced birth defects with those of 6,807 mothers of healthy children.
Compared with high-fat, high sugar diets, healthier diets with plenty of folate, iron and
calcium were associated with a one-third lower risk of cleft lip, a one-quarter lower risk
of cleft palate, and a one-fifth lower risk of spina bifida, another neural-tube defect.
Folic acid deficiencies are associated with neural-tube defects and cleft lip and palate.
The researchers took into account whether the women they studied were taking folic acid
in addition to having a healthy diet. Women who followed the healthier diets in the year
before pregnancy were up to one-half as likely than those with unhealthier diets to have a
baby with the neural-tube defect anencephaly.
Researchers said that women of child-bearing age should continue to take folic acid
supplements, since studies have shown it makes a significant impact on reducing birth
defects.
Do you eat a healthy diet?
Posted on September 26, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine
It seems like the perfect solution for the on-the-go lifestyle: a vending machine that dispenses healthy food. Is there any difference between healthy vending machines and the regular variety? Not so much, some health experts are cautioning.
Healthy vending machines have increased in recent years due to new laws and regulations designed to improve American diets. In Alabama, individual vending machine snacks must provide no more than 30 grams of carbohydrates, 360 milligrams of sodium or 10% of the 65 grams of fat recommended for a child or teen consuming 2,000 calories are day. Similar laws exist in California, where vending machine snacks can’t derive more than 35% of their calories from fat.
But nutritionists are wary that an emphasis on snacking processed foods may be contributing to high obesity rates, even if the snacks being sold are slightly less caloric.
Top-selling items in mainstream vending machines include Snickers bars with 280 calories and 14 grams of fat, and Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream potato chips with 240 calories and 16.5 grams of fat. Compare that to PopChips, a snack that tops out at 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fat (with no saturated fat). Although the difference in calorie counts can be drastic, a fresh piece of fruit may be the healthiest option of all.
Posted on September 23, 2011 in FDA, Food, Health & Medicine, Recalls
An outbreak of listeria food poisoning tied to tainted cantaloupe has sickened more than 55 people and led to at least eight deaths, federal health officials are reporting. Local, state and federal health experts are investigating the widening outbreak tied to Rocky Ford-region brand whole cantaloupe shipped by supplier Jensen Farms of Holly, Colo.
On Sept. 14, the federal Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of cantaloupes linked to the multi-state outbreak of listeriosis. The affected cantaloupes were shipped between July 29 and Sept. 10 to at least 17 states and possibly more. There are four different strains of listeria that are being associated with the outbreak.
Although a recall was issued in mid-September, people may continue to get sick through October because of an incubation period for listeriosis. If you have some of the tainted cantaloupe, discard it even if you’ve eaten it and not become ill.
At least 43 people have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak. More illnesses are possible, as those that occurred after Aug. 28 may not have been reported yet.
Have you discarded any Jensen Farms cantaloupe?
Posted on September 20, 2011 in Business/Law, Food, Health & Medicine
An 80-year-old woman has died after toxic fumes were detected at a McDonald’s in eastern Georgia. Nine other people, including three firefighters, were hospitalized in the incident, which took place around 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday.
Police and fire personnel found two people unconscious in the women’s restroom and immediately were “stricken (by) an odor,” according to Revenew.
The crews immediately put on their breathing apparatus and reentered the restroom to bring the women outside and begin providing medical attention. The restaurant reopened Wednesday afternoon after authorities found the location to be safe. An investigation into the causes of the toxic fumes is underway, although authorities do not anticipate filing charges.
“We continue to work with the local authorities to collect more information about what may have happened,” John and Monique Palamccio, the McDonald’s franchisees who own the restaurant, said in a statement.
“The safety of our customers and employees has and will continue to be our number one concern. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the families who have been impacted,” they said.
Posted on September 16, 2011 in Food, Health & Medicine
Norwegian researchers are investigating an everyday substance that could strengthen the immune system and fend off asthma, allergies, chronic fatigue syndrome and cancer. The product, beta-glucans, can be found in common baker’s yeast.
A research project funded by the Programme for User-driven Research-based Innovation (BIA) under the Research Council of Norway will investigate how beta-glucans fight infection and cancerous cells. The Tromsø-based company Biotec Pharmacon has developed a beta-glucan gel that will help wounds heal quickly. The gel may be on the market as soon as 2012.
Asthma and allergy treatments are up next for the super-medicine: according to researchers at Biotec Pharmacon, beta-glucans can take care of 99 percent of all invasions the body is exposed to, engaging before the immune system can begin to react. The company has also teamed with American researchers to research how beta-glucans impact U.S. cancer patients. They have found that it contributes to the healing effect of antibodies introduced to patients.
