For the Love of Food

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

If you’ve been hanging around the blog lately you may have noticed something a little different. You might not have been aware of it at first, but after awhile you found yourself smiling a little at what a pleasant experience you’re having.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve removed all banner ads from Summer Tomato. Woo hoo!

I’ve never been a fan of display ads (I’m sure you don’t love them either), but I thought they were a necessary evil to pay for the cost of running a popular website (if I told you how much I spent last year you’d choke on your organic green juice). But now that Foodist Kitchen is so popular I had the luxury of removing all 3rd party advertising––and it feels so good.

I do everything I can to make Summer Tomato your most trusted source for health advice andgive you the best experience possible. Removing banner ads was the final barrier to making sure that 100% of the things you see on Summer Tomato is foodist approved. As you can tell, I’m super happy about it 🙂

This week soybean oil is worse than saturated fat, the FDA takes on sugar, and a new taste sensation is identified.

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 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.

Links of the week

• Soybean oil causes more obesity than coconut oil, fructose <<Fascinating and well-designed new study (read the original research here) wanted to untangle the primary reason processed foods have been so devastating for our health. Amazingly, soybean oil (aka the most commonly used polyunsaturated fat) increases obesity and damages liver function more than both coconut oil (saturated fat) and fructose (sugar). Pretty amazing when you think about it. (ScienceDaily)
• F.D.A. Wants Food Labels to Quantify Added Sugars <<I really hope this gets through. Most people, even people who think they eat healthy, have no idea how much sugar they’re really consuming. A friend recently asked me about his favorite “healthy” breakfast cereal (didn’t even sound good) and I had to point out that it had more sugar and calories than a glazed donut. (NY Times)
• Scientists have discovered a new taste that could make food more delicious <<Fat is officially a flavor! Seems obvious, but science sometimes takes a long time to find proof of what we suspect to be true. (Washington Post)
• A Way to Get Fit and Also Have Fun <<Scientists finally seem to be figuring out that people need to actually be willing to follow through on the advice they’re given in order for it to benefit them, lol. This new version of HIIT seems to be a hit. (NY Times)
• ‘Fat’ Cartoon Characters May Make Children Eat More <<The most interesting takeaway here is how easily your subconscious is influenced by the most subtle environmental triggers. Even in kids, who notoriously don’t give a damn about health. (NY Times)
• Why do we turn up our noses at eating bugs? <<It’s you, not them. (Grist)
• The Repeated Bout Effect: If Nothing Changes, Nothing Is Going to Change <<Wondering why your diet or workout routine stopped working? It depends on your definition of working. (James Clear)
• Reason For Not Eating Out #57: Because the Imperfection Is Yours <<I love this. It’s easy to forget that life is messy, and messy can be beautiful. (Not Eating Out In New York)
• How to Store Basil <<Surprisingly simple and effective (yes, I’ve tried it) tip. (Ruth Reichl)
• Malaysian Herbed Rice Salad | Nasi Ulam <<What a fabulous and tasty way to use up fresh herbs. (Global Table Adventure)

What inspired you this week?