By Zachary Shahan •
November 15, 2009
Due to the great popularity of “Can Diet Coke Kill You?” combined with a lot of controversy over it, I have decided to write this follow-up post.
Most of the controversy over the last article was around the fact that the documentary I referenced cited data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) but that organization itself claims there is no proven link between aspartame and cancer.
What was presented previously was a short explanation of why aspartame is expected to cause cancer and other health problems and a summary of some information presented in Sweet Misery, including findings from analyzing NCI and other data. This article, however, cites other scientific findings and discusses the economic-political history of this topic a little bit as well.
By Zachary Shahan •
October 30, 2009
With a lot of great health and fitness benefits, honey should be a common staple in people’s daily diets. Other than its great taste, it has numerous benefits for our bodies, immune systems, weight, and energy which you may not be aware of.
Honey is a source of a variety of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. The main vitamins it provides are niacin, riboflavin and pantothetic acid, and the main minerals are calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Importantly, the amount of these substances in honey varies depending on its floral source, just as its color and taste vary.
On top of this, what are the main health benefits of honey?
By Scott Cooney •
September 2, 2009
Just like many other social phenomena that are good for the environment, the exploding trend of people growing their own chickens in the backyard has its naysayers. Naysayers come in a wide variety of stripes. For example, the widespread understanding that global warming is real and that we’re causing it has its naysayers, many of whom stand to lose a lot of money when their oil and coal has to internalize the cost of the pollution they’ve been making us pay for since their inception. Or those that say that electric cars are not realistic…sure there are naysayers…wait, is there a trend here that the oil industry is against everything good? Hmm…
But I digress. Suffice it to say, there are naysayers who don’t want us to live well, to live with a lower carbon footprint by producing our own food. Kimberly Willis and Rob Ludlow, co-authors of Raising Chickens for Dummies, can be counted among those that are dispelling these myths and empowering the people.
As the dog days of summer come to an end, a 3 course, no cooking required meal sounds pretty good to me. Turn that stove off, shut down the oven, choose to go meatless this Monday and cool off with this appetizer, main course and dessert.
By Jennifer Lance •
May 27, 2009
Today was the end of the year awards ceremony at my daughter’s school. A seventh grade boy, whom I love dearly, read a persuasive essay he had written about why they should have physical education class for 60 minutes a day every day. His arguments ranged from health to curricular requirements, and the crowd of parents cheered his speech.
Unfortunately, recent studies in Europe have concluded physical education in schools makes no difference at all.
By Amy Bell •
April 1, 2009
Studies have shown that many illnesses (including several types of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease) are largely influenced by chronic inflammation in the body.
Prolonged inflammation causes the immune system to become off balance, and can result in damage to healthy tissue.
Poor diet is a main contributor to chronic inflammation, but several lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise, and excessive stress can promote inflammation as well.
Many health and nutrition experts are now starting to emphasize the importance of following an anti-inflammatory diet.
Here are a few tips to get you started on your way to less inflammation and better health:
By Andrew Williams •
March 30, 2009
Irish scientists have discovered that adding just a small amount of fish oil to the diet of cattle can vastly reduce the amount of methane produced by, ahem…cow farts.
Climate scientists have long known that, pound for pound, methane is 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping the suns rays, making it a highly potent greenhouse gas. An incredible 900 billion tonnes of the noxious fumes are produced each year by methanogen bacteria that live in the digestive systems of ruminants such as cattle, sheep and goats.
We have all heard that to lose weight and build muscle we should eat more protein. The Atkins diet had huge success with this concept for many years, until the founder died a few years ago. He reportedly had a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension at the time of his death. Interesting. Typically, when we are told to eat more protein, we often turn to animal protein sources, like beef, chicken and eggs. In fact, most of our diets contain way too much animal and not enough plant based protein sources like vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes.
Protein is one of the three major nutrients the body needs. It helps keep our cells and tissues strong. However, diets high in only animal protein have been linked to cancer, heart disease, kidney problems and intestinal disorders. So how can you get enough protein for your body without getting it all from animal sources?
