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

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This week ticks spread meat allergies, gut bacteria increase lifespan, and your Italian tomatoes are probably fake.

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

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

• OH, LOVELY: THE TICK THAT GIVES PEOPLE MEAT ALLERGIES IS SPREADING – Holy smokes. It’s like a terrifying nightmare. Be careful out there this summer. (Wired)
• The Fake Rolex of Canned Foods – Apparently 95% of the San Marzano canned tomatoes in the US are fake. This is absolutely amazing, I had no idea. For the record, I don’t purchase tomatoes or any other acidic foods or beverages (think beer, soda) in cans because of BPA. Manufacturers haven’t yet figured out how to package acidic products safely without lining the can with plastic containing the endocrine disrupting chemical, so I opt for glass containers. Builds my biceps as a trek them from the store as well 🙂 (Taste)
• A Tiny Tweak to Gut Bacteria Can Extend an Animal’s Life – Fascinating. There is still so much to learn about our symbiotic relationship with bacteria in our guts. (The Atlantic)
• Americans Want to Be Fit, But Most Don’t Put in the Effort – Horrible headline, but if you read the article the gist of it is that people are failing at this because they are tapping into the wrong source of motivation: body dissatisfaction. What’s the most effective source of motivation? Feeling better. (Medline)
• The most helpful healthy-eating tool: Accurately evaluating how hungry you are – Great advice. Tuning into your body in the present moment can also get you out of autopilot eating. (Washington Post)
• Want Juicier Tomatoes? Store Them Upside Down – Mind. Blown. I don’t know how I’ve gone 8 years with a tomato-inspired website and not known this. (Serious Eats)
• Who Really Needs to Be Gluten-Free? – Surprisingly nuanced and well-written. (NY Times)
• Losing Fat, Gaining Brain Power, on the Playground – People love to argue about whether or not exercise helps with weight loss, but that isn’t really the point. Exercise is overwhelmingly beneficial for health, particularly in reducing the most dangerous kind of fat––visceral fat around your organs (i.e. not the kind you see in the mirror). Importantly, improving your body composition in this way also yields cognitive benefits, even in children. (NY Times)
• 10 Easy Dinners the Kids Can Make Themselves – Wait is this a thing? Will my children one day be cooking dinner for me and my husband? #parentinggoals updated. (The Kitchn)
• ZA’ATAR ROASTED BROCCOLINI SALAD WITH SUMAC TAHINI SAUCE – Broccoli and tahini is one of my absolute favorite flavor combinations. I’ll definitely be trying this one. (Dishing Up the Dirt)

What inspired you this week?