For The Love of Food

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

I haven’t published a link love round up since before the holidays (I’ve been traveling and then moving, and still don’t have internet at my new home), so I included some great ones here that you might have missed over the past couple weeks. Below I’ve included some wonderful pieces on weight loss and willpower in the Times, a lamesauce ruling by the FDA on antibiotics use in factory farms and a thoughtful editorial on the state of organic farming.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• The Fat Trap <<I love this piece by NYTimes health writer Tara Parker-Pope about the difficulties of losing weight once you’ve gained it. Excellent food for thought.
• New Year’s Resolutions Stick When Willpower is Reinforced <<Another great one from the Times, this time summarizing one of my favorite books from last year Willpower.
• Antibiotics in farm animals: FDA issues weak rule. <<Thanks to Marion Nestle for calling BS of the week on the FDA for being influenced by the beef, pork and chicken industries, allowing liberal use of antibiotics for non-disease purposes and endangering humanity. (Food Politics)
• Eating Animals <<This is an incredibly thoughtful piece reminding why all animal food industries are not evil (and some are even necessary). (The Atlantic)
• Kids prefer variety of foods and colors on their plates <<Want your kids to eat more vegetables? Choose a lot of colorful ones and arrange them to look like hearts and happy faces. Note: this will not work on your parents or husband. (Los Angeles Times)
• What’s in that OJ? Tropicana is sued <<Remember when we found out recently that supermarket orange juice isn’t really naturally flavored? Well, some folks are demanding an explanation. (Yahoo! News)
• Organic Agriculture May Be Outgrowing Its Ideals <<One of the many reasons I shop at the farmers market but don’t preach organics. (New York Times)
• How Alcohol is Metabolized <<Come on, you know you’re curious. (Nutrition Diva)
• The Truth About Ansel Keys: We’ve Got It All Wrong <<This is a brilliant piece, but it’s super intellectual and science geeky. If you read Good Calories, Bad Calories and were intrigued though, you should definitely read this. (Raw Foods SOS)
• Butternut Squash Stew <<Doesn’t this look like a wonderful winter stew? I’m so there. (Chez Us)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This week my biggest fear about GMO has come true, why your kids might be eating Twinkies for breakfast and 101 reasons to walk more and take the stairs.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Insects Find Crack In Biotech Corn’s Armor <<I’ve never been nearly as worried about the effects of GMO foods on human health as about food security and sustainable ecology. This is exactly the sort of thing we should be worried about, and it only took 15 years. (NPR)
• Certain plate colors may help you eat less <<I love psychological tricks like this. (ABC News)
• Some children’s cereals packed with sugar, study finds <<Duh of the week. Are you surprised that breakfast cereals have as much sugar as a Twinkie? I’m not. (Washington Post)
• A little reward might get kids to eat veggies <<I like this because it seems simple and effective. I don’t have kids, but if you try this let me know how it works out. (Medline)
• Not all fish oil supplements pass muster, Consumer Reports says <<Be careful with the supplements you take. Check Consumer Labs or Consumer Reports for the latest info. (Los Angeles Times)
• Environmental Claims For Farmed Fish Don’t Hold Up To Scrutiny <<Hopefully one day the standards for fish will be up to par, until then take eco-labels with a grain of salt. (NPR)
• Taking the stairs makes you more fit, saves you time, study says <<Though I imagine this isn’t always true and depends on several factors, I’ve always found taking the stairs to be more than worth it in most situations. (Los Angeles Times)
• Want to Cut Chocolate Cravings? Take a Walk <<Isn’t it cool how that works? (Medline)
• KALE, CRANBERRY & QUINOA SALAD <<What a beautiful idea for a healthy and seasonal dish. (Beyond the Plate)
• 23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? <<I insist that you watch this. Insist.

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This week some interesting new data on the ideal amount of salt to eat, frightening news about BPA and canned soup, and a series of fascinating articles on how to maintain cognitive health.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Study Calls Sodium Intake Guidelines Into Question <<I’ve always been skeptical of the super low sodium recommendations suggested by the USDA and other agencies. Processed food is always a major cofounder, and likely the real problem. (ScienceDaily)
• BPA Levels Spike After Eating Canned Soup: Study <<Wow, this is no small difference. I think it is time to majorly reconsider eating anything from a BPA-containing can. (Medline)
• Cigarettes may be useful for distance runners?!? (or, How to prove anything with a review article) <<This is an excellent piece about the dangers of over-interpreting correlations (e.g. all epidemiological data) in science. (Obesity Panacea)
• Low vitamin D linked to heart disease, death <<This is interesting because, for once, it shows a benefit of taking supplements to protect health. (Medline)
• Americans’ ‘ideal weight’ shifts upward <<I find this very disturbing, though not surprising. Look at photos or videos from 30 years ago and most of the people would be considered “too thin” by today’s standards. But they were much healthier. (Los Angeles Times)
• How Exercise Benefits the Brain <<Workouts are important for more than just looking great, they can also help you perform better at work or school. (New York Times)
• Non-Fried Fish Might Help Ward Off Alzheimer’s: Study <<Surprisingly low amounts of fish consumption were shown to be beneficial in preventing cognitive decline. (Medline)
• It Could Be Old Age, or It Could Be Low B12 <<Another interesting piece regarding the importance of nutrition in maintaining cognitive ability, this time vitamin B12. (New York Times)
• This is your mind on meditation: less wandering, more doing <<I’m a big advocate of mindful eating, but mindfulness can also be important in helping you focus in general. (Los Angeles Times)
• Barley Risotto <<Such a lovely, hearty winter dish. Looks delicious. (Mark Bittman)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

Lots of talk this week about the pros and cons of local foods. Also, congress says pizza is a vegetable, heritage turkeys are the greatest thing since bacon and coffee/tea may reduce your risk of mercury exposure from fish.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Eating locally is no longer such a longshot <<Isn’t it wonderful when the right thing becomes trendy? (Seattle Times)
• The Inefficiency of Local Food <<BS of the week. If you aren’t sure why biological systems shouldn’t be treated like machines, check out Joel Salatin’s new book Folks, This Ain’t Normal (review coming soon). (Freakonomics)
• Congress Blocks New Rules on School Lunches <<BS of the week, part deux. You’ve probably heard that congress decreed pizza is a vegetable this week. What I learned in this article was that the real question was how much sauce (certainly full of sugar) counted as a vegetable. Apparently if more sauce was required the pizza lobbyists would have been upset (but instead they’re happy). And no, this is not from The Onion. (New York Times)
• What’s the Deal With Heritage Turkeys? <<I never liked Thanksgiving food. Granted my family’s poor cooking skills are the primary reason, but another big one is that big, dry turkeys are not the best endorsement. Everything poultry changed for me when I discovered heritage turkeys and chickens. Mind blowing. (YumSugar)
• Eating at home is (almost) always cheaper than restaurants <<I’ve been saying this forever. Eating out is a luxury. (Christian Science Monitor)
• USDA: ‘Locally grown’ food a $4.8 billion business <<Apparently local food is not only popular, it’s also booming. (Associated Press)
• EASY TIPS FOR USING THE LAST OF SUMMER’S PRODUCE <<I love this. It’s harvest time, live it up! (Ecosalon)
• Coffee and tea reduce exposure to mercury when eating fish: Université de Montréal study <<I wouldn’t bank on this quite yet, but it’s a pretty cool finding if it pans out with further research. (Montreal Gazette)
• Is cheese better than butter for heart health? <<So this was funded by the dairy industry… BUT it is actually a well-designed study. Also it’s the third or fourth pro-cheese for health study I’ve seen in the past few months. The working hypothesis is there is added benefit because cheese is the leading source of vitamin K2 in the diet. (Medline)
• How To Make Candy Apple Cookies <<I’m generally not a huge fan of sweets, but if you’re going to have something every now and then apple-based “cookies” a pretty good choice. Personally I’d lean toward more natural and healthy toppings (dark chocolate, peanuts, dried fruit, etc.), but the proof of principle here is cool. Also, huge congrats to my friend Brit for launching her new creative living site! (Brit)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This week I found a fantastic piece on the environmental impact of real meat versus fake meat (read this book if you’d like to learn more on this topic), another about how the honey market is flooded with a fake product, as well as two counter arguments in the great 8 glasses-a-day debate. Good readin’!

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Steak or Veggie Burger: Which is Greener? <<Don’t you love smart people? I sure do. All vegetarians and omnivores alike should read this. (Mother Jones)
• Is Breakfast The Most Important Meal? Fact Vs. Myth<<My latest column at ZocDoc, and why I think breakfast is a habit worth cultivating.
• Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey <<Holy hell. Great job by Food Safety News for calling BS of the week on all the fake honey flooding US markets. All give you 2 guesses where most of it is from.
• Really? The Claim: Drink Eight Glasses of Water a Day to Protect the Kidneys <<Most experts say our need to drink more water is a myth, recent data suggests it may be beneficial after all. Personally I drink when I’m thirsty, which ends up to be about 2 liters a day. (New York Times)
• Don’t just sit around — it may increase your risk of cancer <<Apparently too much sitting doesn’t just make you fat and give you diabetes, it also may contribute to cancer. And yes, this is true even if you exercise regularly. (Los Angeles Times)
• The LA and New York Times Forget Something Important <<I was just going to ignore the obnoxious reporting that was all over the media this week about how banning sodas in schools is not effective for getting kids to drink less sugar, but thanks Yoni for explaining why. (Weighty Matters)
• Men and heavy people may outpace women and slim people in eating speed <<I cannot emphasize this enough. Are you sure you’re chewing your food? (Los Angeles Times)
• Cutting Boards 101 <<This is actually really interesting, despite the gratuitous use of exclamation points. (Plum and Radish)
• Food politics semantics: the meaning of “natural” <<An update on the word “natural” on nutrition and food labels. (Food Politics)
• Red Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Cranberries and Pecans <<Doesn’t this look yummy for fall? (Gluten-Free Goddess)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

In case you missed it, I just started a new mythbusting column over at the ZocDoc blog, where I’ll be publishing new articles every Tuesday. Check out my first piece Is Microwave Cooking Dangerous? Fact vs. Myth.

There were some very thought provoking articles this week, and I especially recommend Bittman’s piece on local food and elitism as well as the Treehugger piece on dietary fundamentalism. Great stuff.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Local Food: No Elitist Plot <<I’ve been meaning to write something similar to this, but Mark Bittman does a fantastic job. A great read. (New York Times)
• How Low-Fat Foods Get Their Texture <<A brief explanation of some of the stranger ingredients in processed foods. (NPR)
• Is Eating More Often Really the Key to Staying Thin? <<Thanks Monica for calling BS of the week for me on the notion that eating more often helps with weight loss. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Ending Factory Farming Requires Also Ending Dietary Fundamentalism <<I absolutely love this thoughtful piece about why being militant because of your personal food choices is counterproductive. (Treehugger)
• Resveratrol appears to make fat men fitter <<This is interesting, but I would definitely not recommend starting a high dose resveratrol supplementation regimen at this stage of the research. (Los Angeles Times)
• Fatty Foods Addictive as Cocaine in Growing Body of Science <<Though I really do not like the title (it’s the sugar, stupid), this is actually a really interesting article about how processed foods can hijack the brain like addictive drugs. (Businessweek)
• The psychology of food aversions <<Though this was clearly written by a scientist (not the best prose I’ve ever read), it’s an interesting exploration of the psychology behind food aversions and I like his tips at the end. (CNN Eatocracy)
• Does High Circulating Insulin Drive Body Fat Accumulation? Answers from Genetically Modified Mice <<Very sciencey, but fascinating stuff, if you’re into that sort of thing. (Whole Health Source)
• ROASTED SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN SALAD <<Looks delicious, cumin and lime is a wonderful combination (though I would leave out the fructose-laden agave nectar). (Chez Us)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

Good stuff this week, particularly the new data about why diets don’t work, why probiotics do work and some interesting examples of how the food industry is responding to the food movement. Oh yes, and the invention of super broccoli.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Study Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off <<Some interesting new data explaining why diets don’t work. (New York Times)
• Consumers ‘don’t pay attention to nutrition labels’ <<Am I the only one who thinks this might be a good thing? The labels are only there to confuse you. (BBC News)
• UK scientists grow super broccoli <<BS of the week. Hate to break it to these guys, but broccoli was already perfect. Seriously, aren’t there bigger fish to fry? (SF Gate)
• In Defense of Industrial Food <<I disagree with this, but I’m not calling BS because he brings up some important points that should be answered by the real food community. (TIME)
• Lunch with Michael Pollan: Two Words of Warning <<Pollan is right about what the food industry is doing in response to the food movement (spin!), and the next few articles illustrate exactly what he means. (Michael Ruhlman)
• Marketers use artisan label to evoke more sales <<I noticed the artisan pizzas at Dominos and the farmers market pizza at RoundTable. Who is falling for this stuff? (USA Today)
• The Candification of Our Food: The Case of the Fruit-Less Fruit Snack <<This is very important and everyone with kids (or planning to have kids) should read it. (The Atlantic)
• The ineluctable return of the McRib <<This is so well-written I had to share it, and I applaud Francis Lam for his bravery. (Salon)
• Science Probes How Probiotic Yogurts Affect Your Gut <<Super cool new research about how probiotics affect the function, not the population of gut flora. (Medline)
• The apple orchard and a savory squash, apple and quinoa crumble <<This is a delicious looking fall recipe, I’ve been all about the winter squash this year. (Cannelle et Vanille)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

We have some fabulous reading this week including a dose of reality for the cavepeople in the room, some scary news about the effect of pollution on birth defects, and a TV commercial that makes me want to ride my bike to France.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• The Five Failings of Paleo <<As many of you know I agree with a lot of the paleo diet tenets, but have been known to criticize it as well. This post sums up my objections brilliantly. (Free The Animal)
• Hitting the Road to Get to Work, and Back <<I love this. I’m a huge fan of the active commute. (New York Times)
• FDA Asleep on the Job? New Study Has Harsh Criticism for How Agency Determined that Gulf Seafood was Safe <<From the new report: “53% of Gulf shrimp samples were above levels of concern for pregnant women.” Nice one FDA, you are now the proud distributor of today’s BS of the week. (On Earth)
• Pollutants Linked to 450 Percent Increase in Risk of Birth Defects in Rural China <<One reason to consider going organic during pregnancy, 450% is a big number. Scary stuff. (ScienceDaily)
• IOM releases tough report on front-of-package labeling <<Excellent analysis of the new food packaging label debate. I hope this gets implemented, though I doubt it will. (Food Politics)
• Is MSG Safe? (Part 1 of 2) <<People ask me about MSG sometimes, and this is promising to be a good analysis. Note: I didn’t link to the full article because it has an annoying auto-play feature. You might want to turn down your volume before clicking over. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Hold the fries! Men who eat junk food are more likely to be infertile <<Want to test it out? (Daily Mail)
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids Shown to Prevent or Slow Progression of Osteoarthritis <<More good news for fish eaters. (ScienceDaily)
• Pulled Pork & Roasted Tomato Donburi (Rice Bowl) à la Ivan Ramen <<I’m infatuated with Japanese food right now, and can’t wait for my trip to Tokyo in April. Thanks for the preview Fuji Mama!
• Exercise can’t always be this much fun, but it can be enjoyable <<Why doesn’t America have commercials this cool?! (note: hide your kids, hide your wife) Also, the article I link to above makes some good points about exercise. (via Los Angeles Times)

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

This week the emphasis seems to be on the value of whole foods over single nutrients or supplements. Check out my article on the danger of vitamin E supplements over at KQED, the cool new study about why whole broccoli is better than its single nutrients as well as a cool trick for preventing avocados from browning.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• Vitamin E Supplements Increase Prostate Cancer Risk <<Scary stuff. But read all the way to the bottom, dosage is important. (KQED Quest)
• Health Benefits of Broccoli Require the Whole Food, Not Supplements <<A small clue as to why vegetables are still more healthy than supplements. I imagine there are many more. (ScienceDaily)
• Is “Natural” A Food Marketing Scheme? <<Big thanks to Food Republic for calling BS of the week for me on the food industry’s gratuitous use of the word “natural.”
• Radical thinking on antioxidants <<I love a nice, healthy dose of reality. Antioxidants aren’t a magic bullet, not by a long shot. (Chicago Tribune)
• Cheating Father Time: 50-Year-Old Can Be Every Bit as Fit as Someone 30 Years Younger, but Exercise Is Key <<Though I still think diet is the most important factor in body weight, don’t forget that exercise is just as important in health. It also makes you look better at any size. (ScienceDaily)
• Eating Green Veggies Improves Immune Defenses <<The difference was much larger than researchers expected. (ScienceDaily)
• Proper Protein Intake Crucial for Moderating Energy Intake, Keeping Obesity at Bay <<Interestingly, raising protein intake from 10% to 15% made a significant difference in reducing overall energy intake, but raising from 15% to 25% did not. (ScienceDaily)
• First Physical Evidence Bilingualism Delays Onset of Alzheimer’s Symptoms <<I think this is really cool. Use that brain, travel, it’s good for you. (ScienceDaily)
• ‘Gardener’ Gives ‘Heirloom Life’ To Forgotten Flora <<Looks like a great resource for gardeners looking to expand their crop. (NPR)
• How To Stop An Avocado From Browning <<Really cool trick from Chow (via Treehugger) on preventing avocado browning with an onion. Also sounds like the start of a great guacamole.

http://www.cbs.com/e/7gcqHsHaWrENebawgpv5c5B_kWM4_xVm/chow/1/

What inspired you this week?

For The Love of Food

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

Some wonderfully thought provoking articles this week, including what to do about trace amounts of dangerous chemicals, why long-cooking vegetables isn’t always a crime and some excellent tips on dealing with picky eaters.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links on Twitter (@summertomato), Google+ 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

• What to do about food chemicals eaten in tiny amounts? <<I get asked this question often, and this is an excellent answer. (Food Politics)
• Eating slowly may help you lose weight <<Easiest weight loss ever. Seriously, slow down. (USA Today)
• Fat tax in Denmark: Why they have it; could it happen in U.S.? <<BS of the week. So apparently Denmark has decided to tax saturated fat, because “saturated fats can cause cardiovascular disease and cancer.” Too bad that’s not really true. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Soft Approach: In Praise of Soft-Cooked Vegetables <<I adore this article about why cooking conventions aren’t always right. An excellent read. (Saveur)
• This Is Your Brain On Estrogen <<Women everywhere know that hormones affect body weight, here’s some insight into why. (ScienceDaily)
• 10 Tips for Dining (or Not) With Picky Eaters <<I’m perpetually baffled by both children and picky eaters. Here’s some tips on handling both. (Food Network)
• How Yelp is killing chain restaurants <<I always thought Yelp was entirely useless, but this made me smile. (Washington Post)
• Lift Weights, Eat Mustard, Build Muscles? <<Apparently there are naturally occurring steroids in mustard greens that work like anabolic steroids. Who knew? (ScienceDaily)
• Mom’s Healthy Diet Might Cut Birth Defect Risk <<I like this article because they go out of their way to say that supplements were not an adequate substitute for a healthy diet. Take note moms-to-be. (ScienceDaily)
• Spanish Chilindron Stew <<San Francisco has been rainy and miserable all week, so soup is in order. This post also inspired me to add a new cookbook to my Amazon wishlist. (Hunter Angler Gardner Cook)

What inspired you this week?