Hope you all had a good week. Here’s our weekly list of the best articles about food and healthy living that we came across.
A Calorie, is a Calorie, is a Calorie. Or is it?
Source: Civil Eats
A new study calls into question the “calorie is a calorie” assumption, and we tend to agree with Civil Eats’ view of what this study means:
“As a nutrition educator, I think that telling people to ‘eat less’ is largely ineffective and continues to place the burden on the consumer as part of the personal responsibility credo. On the other hand, telling people to eliminate processed, refined carbohydrates and sugars, while eating plenty of high quality fats, proteins, and vegetables seems to be a more workable solution to stimulating weight loss. Part of the reason this may be so effective is because simple carbohydrates and sugars actually stimulate appetite and cravings, while fats, proteins, and complex carbohydrates like vegetables, beans, and legumes satiate and stabilize blood sugar.”
But it’s definitely worth reading the whole article – lots of other good stuff, as well as a description of the study itself.
The Obesity Paradox: Overfed But Undernourished
Source: Civil Eats
Another good one from Civil Eats, which also calls into question the whole “calorie is a calorie” thing, this time because of the correlation between obesity and malnourishment that has been found in two recent studies. In other words, we’re consuming too many calories but not getting enough nutrients – i.e. we’re eating too many empty calories.
Salt, We Misjudged You
Source: The New York Times
This is a highly informative article that calls into question whether or not a low salt diet is really good for us. The actual evidence to support it has always been very weak, and there is just as much evidence that a low salt diet – what’s recommended by the USDA and CDC - is actually worse than a “normal” salt diet (what Americans have been eating for the last 50 years). Pretty eye-opening stuff.
Wins & Losses: Breaking down the Food and Farm Bill
Source: Slow Food USA
This article explains why the farm bill matters to all of us and provides a great summary of the key wins and losses that come with the Senate version of the bill, which was just passed last week. Now the bill will go to the House to be further debated and adjusted before it becomes law.
District’s needy get fruit and vegetable Rx
Source: Washington Post
This is awesome – the We Can program in DC is now offering “fruit and vegetable prescriptions” to low-income families that struggle with obesity or chronic disease. This is definitely a step in the right direction because food stamps often get spent on processed foods instead of fruits and vegetables.
Green for greens: Philadelphia subsidizes farmers markets
Source: Grist
A pilot program in Philadelphia called Philly Food Bucks is seeing promising results from a farmers markets subsidy that it launched in 2010, which offers food stamps recipients a 40 percent subsidy at farmers markets. People are spending a lot more money at farmers markets as a result of the program, which suggests that “when fresh fruits and vegetables are available, visible, and affordable, people will eat healthier.” Great to see results like this.
What Do These Expiration Dates on My Food Really Mean?
Source: Lifehacker
Here’s a helpful post about “sell by” and “use by” dates, which actually refer to quality, not safety. Lifehacker also discusses the USDA’s recommendations for when to eat things by.
Are You Sprouting Yet?
Source: Q by Equinox
Can’t wait to get the brussel sprouts back on the menu in the fall…
Remember This Every Time the Food Industry Claims They’re Trying to Help
Source: Weighty Matters
Speaks to the fact that the primary goal of Coca-cola and other soft drink companies is to grow their sales, and it’s pretty tough to see how increasing soft drink sales is really going to help us fight obesity.
Here’s why the prettiest tomatoes taste the worst
Source: Grist
Pretty interesting stuff – tomatoes that look prettier taste worse than less pretty tomatoes because the gene that makes them ripen uniformly actually reduces their sugar and “tomato-y taste.” Little did they know it, farmers have actually been making their tomatoes taste worse as they’ve been selecting for this gene over the last 70 years…
Hack Your Gum: Boost Brainpower and Fix Everything
Source: Grist
Wow…didn’t realize that gum could be so useful. We’re not big fans of the sugar or artificial sweeteners that usually come with it, but perhaps it could be worth popping a piece every now and again…
5 Hidden Health Benefits of Alcohol
Source: Livestrong.com
So alcohol can actually be good for you when consumed in moderation (1 drink a day for women, 2 for men), but Livestrong makes it clear that moderation is absolutely key for getting these benefits.
Cheeseburger-crust pizza is not even recognizable as pizza
Source: Grist
Amazing. They’re actually calling this thing a pizza.
Amazing things happen when you yell at baby pigs
Source: Grist
Another fun one from Grist. This is pretty amazing / hilarious.