For The Love of Food

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

This week feminism and dieting don’t mix, willpower is redeemed, and how to improve your vision.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

Links of the week

• Self-Control: The Ultimate Exercise of Freedom <<I didn’t expect to love this, but I do. Thanks to Mark Sisson for this eloquent reframe of the role of willpower in health as true freedom and self-actualization. (But you still shouldn’t force yourself to do things you hate). (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• DOES WANTING TO BE THIN MAKE YOU A SLAVE TO THE MAN? <<Fascinating exploration of the psychology involved in weight loss, and how certain social groups confuse vanity and self-care––something that happens in the comments here at ST pretty regularly. (Elle)
• Your Internet Habits Create Your Reality <<Interesting reflection on the tenuous relationship between objective reality and our experiences of it. (Zen Habits)
• Study Warns of Diet Supplement Dangers Kept Quiet by F.D.A. <<I hope you guys know the risk you take every time you buy a dietary supplement that hasn’t been validated by an objective third party like Consumer Lab. The FDA is not protecting you. (NY Times)
• The Man Who Almost Died From Drinking (Too Much) Tea <<Another reminder to not be psychotic with your eating habits, even if you think a certain food is “healthy.” (The Atlantic)
• Focusing the Brain on Better Vision <<The science behind brain training to maintain/improve cognitive health with age is getting really compelling. Excited to see where this line of research heads. (NY Times)
• Do You Value Experiences Over Things? <<I’m pretty certain that you do, as most research suggests. Interesting to think how investing in better quality food and food experiences relates to this idea. For me food is an experience, not a thing. But I don’t think this is true for most Americans. What about you? (Mark’s Daily Apple)
• How Cereal Became the Quintessential American Breakfast <<A fascinating story on marketing and public perception. (Serious Eats)
• Why I Keep Nail Polish Remover in my Kitchen <<Great tip on keeping your kitchen organized. (Stone Soup)
• obsessively good avocado cucumber salad <<Love this: “As if what anyone has ever asked for in their life is more complicated recipes and fewer 5-minute salads worth obsessing over.” (smitten kitchen)

What inspired you this week?