For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Lots of great food and health science this week in my top 10, along with the death of the evil Smart Choices food labeling campaign (woohoo!). Also be sure to check out the wonderful Anti-Fast Food article from Zen Habits. And what week would be complete without a lame celebrity gaffe endorsed by the always misguided Diets In Review? Oh right, any week.

Happy reading 🙂

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For The Love of Food

• Scientists claim junk food is as addictive as heroin <<This study adds a lot of validity to David Kessler‘s argument about the role of the brain‘s reward and addiction circuits in overeating. Apparently sugar and salt make you crazy. Be careful this weekend. (Grist)
• Smart Choices suspended! May it rest in peace. <<Nuf said. (Food Politics)
• Moderate amounts of protein, rather than a lot, might be best for muscle <<Low-carb acolytes seem to treat high-protein as the new low-fat–something we’re all free to eat in unlimited quantities so long as there is no evil carbohydrate around. Probably the story is a little more complex than that. (Los Angeles Times)
• Gwyneth Paltrow’s Controversial Fitness Comment <<B.S. of the week Rumor has it that wannabe fitness guru Gwyneth Paltrow was overheard saying, “When you’re 35, you either starve yourself, or you do serious cardio.” GP herself gets some B.S points because neither starving yourself nor “serious cardio” will help keep you slim (they’re pretty much the same). And double B.S. points go to Diets In Review (worst online diet info ever) for friggin’ agreeing with her! *slaps forehead in disbelief*
• The Anti-Fast Food Diet <<Superb article on the benefits of Slow Food over at Zen Habits. One of the most simple and beautiful descriptions I’ve read on quality eating. (Seriously great job, Leo).
• Why You Don’t Have to Soak Your Nuts ~ Plus: Chai Almonds! <<Funny and brilliant article about nuts by a blogger I just discovered. Holly does a great job of debunking diet lore with amusing prose and a fabulous recipe to boot! (Sustainable Suppers)
• The Life Span of a Rodent May Aid Human Health <<Think cancer is random and inevitable? Wrong. There is abundant evidence in nature that specific, regulated biological processes are responsible for cancer. Isn’t science cool? (New York Times)
• Statin drugs might slightly boost diabetes risk <<There is a downside to every drug, even statins. Do you know what actually prevents diabetes? You guessed it, diet and exercise. (Medline)
• Knowing about calories causes people to eat more <<I love this. Although it is still not clear what this data means, it does suggest that knowledge of calories (all dietary numbers?) doesn’t help much. I prefer to focus on eating good, healthy food. (Weighty Matters)
• Jerusalem Artichoke Soup with Bacon <<This recipe for sunchoke soup not only looks delicious, there are also some tips to prevent the less-than-desirable aspects of eating this delicious root. (Chocolate and Zucchini)

You read anything awesome this week?