Cancer prevention diet tips: aim for 16 colorful foods - from the Daily Dose

Terrific article in yesterday's 

Daily Dose, Boston Globe by Deborah Kotz

Cancer prevention diet tips: aim for 16 colorful foods - 

Can't wait to try the recipe below...

Roasted Winter Vegetable Salad Recipe

Daily Dose gives you the latest consumer health news and advice from Boston-area experts. Deborah Kotz is a former reporter for US News and World Report. Write her at dailydose@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @debkotz2.

Anyone else remember when...

Breakfast cereals were called:

- Sugar Frosted Flakes
- Sugar Smacks and

- Sugar Corn Pops

Bet the focus group didn't like: High Fructose Flakes

Call me crazy, but I thought Dr. Kellogg founded the company because he was concerned about the chemically laden, nutritionally void food being served to the masses? Nearly, a hundred years ago…

And, since I always need to have the last word - Flavored cow's milk, "sports drinks", soda, and breakfast cereals are simply:

-Candy in a carton

-Candy in a bottle

-Candy in a can

-Candy in a box

Fake Santas and Fake Food - which one is a fungus grown in a vat?

This is a bit of  a long story so please bare with me.

We moved from the Midwest when I was three.  It was our second Christmas Eve in New England and we were allowed to open one gift which was always church clothes from our distant grandmother.  This year happened to be a particularly itchy sweater.  Since the family was getting ready for the Christmas Eve Service* there was nothing to do but stare out the window watching the snowflakes fall and itching in my sweater.  Yes, these were the days when the black and white television would hiss "snow" after midnight, there were only four (VHF) stations, and one had to get up off the couch to "turn the channel."

There was no On Demand video, play station, mobile-device noise to interfere with watching the snowflakes fall while the free Christmas Album from Firestone Tires crackled away with Perry Como's  "There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays." And, (GASP) I wasn't even bored listening to adult Christmas music.  The only other sound in the living room was...a bell ringing.  Quietly at first and very faint.  I had to strain to hear it, "Ho...ho...ho...Merry Christmas."  I put my nose up to the front window and sure enough through the night I could make out the shape of Santa Claus as he appeared through the snowflakes ringing a bell.  As any four year-old would do, I yelled, "it's Santa... he's coming...it's Santa... he's here." And then I panicked.  I wasn't in bed.  In fact, we hadn't even gone to church.  Would he come back later?  Maybe he hadn't seen me.

Now any mom in her right mind that's trying to get children ready,  set up the late night buffet and secretly decorate the tree after everyone is in bed would respond, "That's nice dear.  Are you ready for church?"  (My parents are from German decent so Santa brought presents and the Christmas tree too!)

When I realized she wasn't taking me seriously, I ran from the window to the kitchen in a panic. "Really, he's here. I'm not lying."  She smiled and nodded.  I ran to my two older sisters and told them that Santa was walking down the middle of our dead end street in a snow storm.  They looked at each other and laughed.

I remember vividly the feeling of frustration that I wasn't being taken seriously, and I too began to question my four year-old mind.  So, I returned to the living room and peered out the window.  Now he was almost directly in front of our house and waved to me. Yes!  He saw me and waved while he shouted over the wind, "Merry Christmas...Ho...ho...ho...."  I waved back and I could see he had a red sack on his back. "It must be our toys," I whispered.  He was walking so slowly. Maybe he was looking for our house.  It was as if I was dreaming and he wanted others to see that my dream was real.  Where's the sleigh?  Reindeer? And Rudolph?  Why was he walking?  I had so many questions and so little time.  I knew if I didn't get someone to believe me at that very moment he might not ever come back.

I found my dad and begged, "I'm not lying.  Please, he's here and he's ringing a bell."  I pleaded, "Santa just waved to me and now he'll be gone."

.....need to head off to the office....will continue at a later date.  In the meantime, here's more information on the fake-meat-like-food-fungus-substance grown in a vat called Quorn:

Quorn Complaints - fungus grown in vats

Quorn - can create adverse reactions so severe it requires an emergency room visit or worse a hopsital stay?  Never heard of it either...Quorn - a meat like substitute that's a fungus substance that's grown and harvested in vats.  Hmmmmm sounds yummy.

If you suspect that you or a loved one has had an adverse reaction to Quorn, the Center for Science in the Public Interest wants to know: Quorn Adverse Reaction Form

p.s. If you're wondering why a four year-old is awake at midnight, our service started at 7:30PM.

Food industry on the defensive

Excerpts from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution:  Yes Virginia, Pizza is a Vegetable


Last week Congress let us down. Big time. Lobbied heavily by the food industry – specifically frozen foods and potatoes – our elected officials secretly overruled science-based standards and a democratic process to keep salty, highly processed, fast-food-style lunch items on the tray every single day.  Read complete article here: Big Wins for School Food in 2011, Despite Congress

What's on your tray? - Food Revolution

Big Wins for School Foods, Despite Congress
We have been sharing our disappointment that Congress bowed to industry pressure and weakened great new standards for school lunch by permitting French fries and pizza every day. Yet despite these last-minute setbacks, super important gains were made in 2011 on federal rules for school food. These improvements bode well for the Food Revolution. Read on to learn more.

When the final USDA meal standards are released this winter they will include historic improvements to the food on the tray. Other portions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act will add money, jumpstart new programs, and usher in better community involvement in school food.


- Excerpts from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Counting the bounty of my many blessings...

Truly thankful for what's on my plate!

• Healthy children in mind, body and spirit. (For today anyway...)
• Friends and family that continue to heal in mind, body or spirit.
• Laughter
• Friendship
• Nearly 25 years of marriage - Only old people are married this long?
• New England farmers
• Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Best health to you and your loved ones,

SuperMom101

Fighting to Sell Junk Food to Kids: Really, Grocery Manufacturers? That's Your Highest Priority?

Dear Mr. Jacobson,

Appreciate the work your organization is doing! America (and her children) have never been fatter or sicker and it's so strange we can't seem to figure out why. The good news - the tide is changing.

When high school football linemen ask their moms to bring oranges for the sideline, your high schooler is frustrated she can't get water in the cafeteria school lunch line (but she can get chocolate cow's milk) and your youngest begs you to make school lunch...

Many of the moms (and dads) that I know call chocolate cow's milks, "sports" drinks, soda, and breakfast cereals:

-Candy in a carton
-Candy in a bottle
-Candy in a can
-Candy in a box

It's actually good news that the food and beverage industry is putting all their resources towards this. It means they're on the defensive!

Is this can of chemicals really heart healthy?

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Food Politics- Congress Blocks Healthier School Lunch Choices

New York Times: Congress blocks healthier school lunch choices

Unfortunately four types of cow's milk (including chocolate) still have to be offered on your local school lunch menu or your district will not be reimbursed.... and you still can't offer water!  Now, I wonder what lobbying group wants that to stay status quo?

According to another New York Times article by reporter Ron Nixon, "Food companies have spent more than $5.6 million so far lobbying against the proposed rules."

How much fresh, organic, local produce does $5.6 million buy?

The solution is really rather simple.  Require our congress (and all their aides who eat the freebie meals provided by special interest groups) to eat from the local Washington, DC school lunch programs every day for their full term in office, including breakfast.

Common sense is not so common. - Voltaire

 "Franken food" at its finest and completely nutrionally void

Inner Peace

If  you can start the day without caffeine,

If you  can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If  you can resist complaining and  boring people with your troubles,

If  you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If  you can understand when your loved  ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and  blame without resentment,

If  you can conquer tension  without  medical help,

If you can relax without  liquor,  

If  you can sleep without the aid of  drugs,  

…Then  You Are  Probably   ………

                The  Family Dog!
-Anonymous

Jack - our family dog

Where does the time go?

Our oldest is turning 18!   It's hard to believe that not so long ago we were juggling diaper bags and baby wipes, stressing about nap schedules, and blowing out two birthday candles.

"They grow up fast.  Cherish these moments,"  said a stranger in a restaurant as two exhausted parents who hoped to have their first night out in many...many months struggled with a sleeping baby, hungry toddler and a 30 minute table wait.

I wanted to reply, "Are you nuts.  I can't wait for the time I don't have to buckle them in to car seats, cut their food or fall asleep rereading the same bedtime story four times."

Cousins enjoying a cousin's wedding

The same stranger smiled and continued, "they do grow up fast..."

Zero to five years will feel like 18
and
5 to 18 years will fly by like five


So very true!

I know you don't read the blog, but if you do:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANDSOME*!

*After a trip to the barbershop, you'd always slide off the chair, look to the ground, frown, and whisper, "don't call me handsum."

From the Skeptic's Health Journal - Don’t get Vaccinated if You are Pregnant.

Don’t get Vaccinated if You are Pregnant. « Skeptic's Health Journal Club

Instead of the Freshman 15...try The Dorm Room Diet

Daphne Oz, The Dorm Room Diet

The Dorm Room Diet

ABOUT DAPHNE OZ

Daphne Oz is a 2008 graduate of Princeton University, and the author of the national bestseller The Dorm Room Diet, first published in 2006. Daphne and her book have been featured in The New York Times,People, and Teen Vogue, and onGood Morning America and NPR.

Snake oil in your snacks

Terrific post on The Ethical Nag by Carolyn Thomas

Here's an excerpt:

You know something is terribly wrong when the makers of Froot Loops (a breakfast cereal that’s almost 50% sugar by weight) are bragging about health benefits of the product’s added fibre. Why not just throw a couple of Tim Horton’s gooey maple dips at the kids every morning?

Is there snake oil in your
child's breakfast?

And it gets worse. Foods masquerading as drugs are the hot spot in the packaged-food business. The world’s biggest food companies are stuffing ostensibly beneficial bacteria, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and other additives into packaged foods.According to a recent piece in Forbes magazine, these companies are even funding clinical research in order to justify health claims – often deliberately vague – that blur the line between nutrition and medicine.

Continue Reading Post at The Ethical Nag

On the menu, but not on your plate - The Boston Globe

On the menu, but not on your plate - The Boston Globe

Want to Stay Lean & Mean as You Age: Reach for the Protein

This SuperMom-in-training isn't "buying" it.

You be the judge.  Is the article an infomercial from the dairy industry? 

Want to Stay Lean & Mean as You Age: Reach for the Protein

p.s. I found the comments far more telling and interesting than the pseudo industry science the writer is discussing.

We're not buying it? Marketing junk food to our children

Am I so old that I can remember the days when advertising cigarettes and liquor - on television - to adults - was banned?

Today, America (and her children) have never been fatter or sicker and it's so strange... we can't seem to figure out why.  Are we so addicted to highly processed, factory farmed, fake food products that we're letting the food and beverage industry control our lives?

Check out the video "We're not buying It" - Stop Junk Food Marketing to Kids.

$5 Challenge, McMuffins, and the Cost of Food : Slow Food USA

$5 Challenge, McMuffins, and the Cost of Food : Slow Food USA

Steve Jobs - Inspiring

Inspirational

From our friends at Fooducate Blog (read entire post here: Fooducate)

From a commencement speech Jobs gave at Stanford a few years ago:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life…

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. 

I followed his advice. I decided to leave a cushy executive position to start Fooducate and change the way the world eats. It’s still too early to tell if we will succeed, but Steve Jobs inspired me to follow my passion and do the best to make it happen. And for that I am eternally grateful.

May he rest in peace.

-Hemi


(From our friends at Fooducate Blog - read entire post here: Fooducate)

What's on America's Plate? Food Day - October 24th

It's time to Eat Real, America! The most important ingredient is you!

Join the millions of us who want 

real food... 

for real families.... 

from real farms.... 

real fast!

http://www.foodday.org/

Interesting debate - Would you go to an MD who took $$ from Tobacco companies?

A Dietitian Reflects on the Recent Nutrition Conference

Interesting debate in the comment section of this post on Fooducate:

Would you go to an MD who took $$ from Tobacco companies? 

Big food is no different than tobacco.

Three Reasons to Rethink that Diet Coke You’re About to Drink - From Fooducate

Excerpt from Fooducate -

Hmmmm....does diet coke really prevent heart disease?

Care for some water? No way, get me a Diet Coke, or a Coke Zero.

Water is for washing hands, not drinking. And regular soft drinks and juice are full of sugars and calories.

So you decided a long time ago to go with artificial sweeteners. After a while, you didn’t even notice the slightly different taste compared to sugar sweetened beverages. And, diet drinks are zero calories. Win-win. Both taste buds AND body are happy. A no-brainer, right?

Not so fast.

Entire post at Fooducate - Three reasons to Rethink that Diet Coke You're About to Drink

Best diet to lower your cholesterol

Best diet to lower your cholesterol

The Food Revolution: Want the real scoop on what's on your child's school lunch plate?

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Excerpt from Food Revolution Home Page:

When kids drink chocolate and strawberry milk every day at school, they're getting nearly two gallons of extra sugar each year. Too much sugar is threatening the health of our kids and we've got to do something about it. Support this campaign asking schools to choose plain milk, and make the sweetened varieties an occasional treat  

Get the real scoop on our food supply in America - More on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and what's on your child's plate...

p.s. Still don't understand why our high school athletes don't have access to free water in school lunch lines...oh, wait, yes I do.  It's because the Federal government see no nutritional value in water and won't reimburse your child's school lunch program if it is offered.  But they can choose between four types of cow's milk...including chocolate.  Last time I checked they don't run off the football field, basketball court, our pitcher's mound looking for a milk bottle.

What' s on the United Nation's plate this week in NYC?

Doubt the United Nation's will solve the world's problems in two days, but thankfully they have diet and disease on their plate!

Saw President Obama's motorcade as it whizzed through the city and "frozen zones" were created.  Complete with sharp shooters on rooftops, pedestrians behind barricades, and street traffic closed.  New Yorker's were grumbling why can't  they hold the UN General Assembly on a remote island?  And, why does the president have to stay overnight?

Anyway, on my way back from a meeting in NYC and wanted to share an excerpt of this terrific post on  Fooducate about the United Nation's discussing diet and diseases.

Excerpt from Fooducate - Eat a bit better:

United Nations. In New York today and tomorrow, The United Nations is hosting global leaders for a High-Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs). Unlike contagious disease and plagues, these diseases are totally preventable at the personal level. The 4 NCDs are:

1. cardiovascular diseases
2. diabetes
3. cancers
4. chronic respiratory diseases

The first 3 diseases are food related, and the last is smoking related. With global diabetes rates soaring (up from 30M in 1985 to 366M in 2011), governments must step up to the challenge by making sure consumers have access to cheap healthy food. Incentives and subsidies to farmers and manufacturers must be aligned to make this happen( hint: US Farm Bill).

Will be interesting to see what the UN comes up with. Usually we don’t expect much to come from this (unfortunately) toothless organization. As Prof Marion Nestle reminds us:

In 2004, the U.N. caved in to pressures from food companies and weakened its guidelines and recommendations.  The health situation is worse now and affects people in developing as well as industrialized countries.  Let’s hope the General Assembly puts health above politics this time.

Fooducate - Eat a bit better

Harvard releases its own version of healthy plate - The Boston Globe

Harvard releases its own version of healthy plate

Harvard School of Public Health

By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff

When the federal government unveiled its food plate icon in June to replace its ridiculously confusing food pyramid, nutrition researcher Walter Willett, chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, told me that the new plate was a “step in the right direction” with “reasonable proportions,” but that it doesn’t provide enough information to really guide Americans. He also wasn’t thrilled with the glass of milk on the side of the plate that implied a serving of dairy with every meal.


Yesterday Willett and his Harvard colleagues unveiled their own version of the healthy plate (above) that replaces milk with water and includes a small bottle of oil on the side to signify heart-healthier fats.


It’s also text heavy with explicit instructions to limit dairy, eat whole grains like whole-wheat pasta, limit trans fats -- yes, you should know what those are -- and to not include potatoes or French fries as vegetables.


The government’s version is far simpler with no words beyond “fruits, grains, vegetables, protein, and dairy” -- aiming to get us to focus on the visual portions rather than the nitty, gritty details; for those, you’d need to head to its website.


A larger issue, said Willett in a press conference yesterday, was the politics involved in the government’s decision to include milk and not to distinguish between the types of protein on the plate. The US Department of Agriculture, which developed the food plate, also represents the interests of dairy, potato, and cattle farmers, and Willett contended that the resulting icon lacks detailed information so as not to offend anyone in these stakeholder groups.

Fallen Comrade

Healthy School Lunches / Golden Carrot Award

Healthy School Lunches / Golden Carrot Award

Golden Carrot Awards

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) established the Golden Carrot Awards in 2004 to recognize food service professionals doing an exceptional job of improving the healthfulness of school lunches. PCRM looks for programs that encourage kids to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and that offer plenty of vegetarian, low-fat, whole grain, and nondairy options. Children who are raised on a healthy vegetarian diet have a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers compared with those who grow up on an average American diet.

PCRM is currently seeking nominations for its Golden Carrot Awards for outstanding school food service professionals. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 and a $3,000 check made out to her or his school or school district. Up to four additional awards will be given, with $500 going to the food service professional and $500 to benefit the school food service program.

To nominate an outstanding school food service professional, download the form

Got the facts on milk?

Seems there's a documentary that is "a little different than what the dairy industry tells you." Hopefully coming to a theater near SuperMom101 soon.

Got the facts on milk?

Got the facts on milk? Dairydocumentary.com

p.s. There won't be any butter on my popcorn.

FDA Creating New Nutrition Facts Label

If we are what we eat...are you cheap, fast and easy? - Bumper Sticker

If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't. - Michael Pollan

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals. - Ben Franklin

An (organic) apple a day helps keep the doctor away. - Ben Franklin

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. - Hippocrates­

It's so strange...­America (and her children) have never been fatter or sicker and we can't seem to figure out why.

Common sense is not so common. - Voltaire
Read the Article at HuffingtonPostPublish Post

'Risk' exposure

The word pops up often in ads and stories about health, but misunderstanding what it really means can cause problems

By Neena Satija

Globe Correspondent / September 5, 2011

Why misunderstanding the term 'risk' can be a problem - The Boston Globe

Excerpt from article:

STUDY ON PERCEPTION OF RISKS BY DOCTORS AND PATIENTS

A new drug for a viral disease has just come onto the market. It has severe side effects, but in clinical trials, it decreased the risk of dying from the disease by 33 percent, or one-third. Sounds impressive, right?

Now let’s look at the data a different way. Out of all patients who were given the new drug, 96 percent survived and 4 percent died. For those on the old drug, 94 percent survived and 6 percent died. So, the mortality rate decreased by one-third - from 6 percent to 4 percent.

Is the new drug better than the old one? And by how much? In a recent study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, doctors and patients were presented with these two scenarios. Both populations were more likely to rate the new drug as very effective when they were only presented with the data showing a decrease in mortality by one-third - the relative risk reduction.

If they also saw that death rates fell from 6 percent to 4 percent - the absolute risk reduction - patients and doctors were far less likely to consider the drug as effective as before.

Heart disease can be reversed by diet? Former President Bill Clinton on CNN

Thanks to vegsource for posting the entire CNN interview.  Would love to hear what you think!

www.vegsource.com

Corporate Welfare and Factory Farm Subsidies - EWG Farm Subsidy Database

• $261.9 billion in subsidies 1995-2010.
• $167.3 billion in commodity subsidies.
• $39.2 billion in crop insurance subsidies.
• $35.0 billion in conservation subsidies
• $20.5 billion in disaster subsidies.

- According to EWG Farm Subsidy Database

For more corporate subsidy details visit their web page at:EWG Farm Subsidy Database

Public Debt

Found this quote on the side of a tea box many...many...years ago:


“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.”   - Thomas Jefferson

The Politics of Breast Cancer

Politics of Breast Cancer

Every Mother's Nightmare: Bacteria in Recalled Ground Turkey Is Resistent to Antibiotics

Dear Ms. David,

Great article although (unfortuna­tely) I'm not certain more government funding will stop contaminat­ed food from entering our food supply.

I wager that many more thousands of children and adults were sickened by the ground turkey "meat" since March than reported and those individual­s were sent home from hospitals with "the flu or a 24 hour bug."

Until Americans stop buying highly processed, factory-farmed, franken-fo­od from these so called "farms" and food processors they will continue to manufactur­e and serve us contaminat­ed antibiotic resistant products. The USDA already tells us it's our fault because we under cooked the meat.

We need to feed our families "real" food and focus on the quality not the quantity. Heck, maybe we might even shed a few pounds.

Here's an idea that might solve the problem: What are they going to do with 35 million pounds of recalled ground turkey meat? How about Thursdays are Turkey Taco Day at the USDA and Congressional Cafeterias. Wonder if they'd have a problem eating the ground turkey meat even if we assure them that's it cooked to their standards.

Best health always.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

"All natural" and food labels - what does it really mean?

When food shopping this morning I came across a store roasted chicken that was labeled "all natural".  Not sure what that really means.  Here's a link to some other interesting USDA Meat and Poultry Labeling Terms:


"MEAT" DERIVED BY ADVANCED MEAT/BONE SEPARATION AND MEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS: 

Mechanically separated...
USDA Meat & Poultry Labeling Terms

The definition of "meat" was amended in December 1994 to include as "meat" product derived from advanced meat/bone separation machinery which is comparable in appearance, texture and composition to meat trimmings and similar meat products derived by hand. Product produced by advanced meat recovery (AMR) machinery can be labeled using terms associated with hand-deboned product, e.g., "beef" or "pork" trimmings and ground "beef" or "pork." The AMR machinery cannot grind, crush or pulverize bones to remove edible meat tissue and bones must emerge essentially intact. The meat produced in this manner can contain no more than 150 milligrams of calcium per 100 grams product. Product that exceeds the calcium content limit must be labeled "mechanically separated beef or pork." 




MECHANICALLY SEPARATED MEAT is a paste-like and batter-like meat product produced by forcing bones with attached edible meat under high pressure through a sieve or similar device to separate the bone from the edible meat tissue. In 1982, a final rule published by FSIS on mechanically separated meat said it was safe and established a standard of identity for the food product. Some restrictions were made on how much can be used and the type of products in which it can be used. These restrictions were based on concerns for limited intake of certain components in MSM, like calcium. Due to FSIS regulations enacted in 2004 to protect consumers against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, mechanically separated beef is considered inedible and is prohibited for use as human food. However, mechanically separated pork is permitted and must be labeled as "mechanically separated pork" in the ingredients statement.




The USDA on Mad Cow disease (same as BSE - stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and why one can no longer feed dead cow ("mammalian protein") to cow's in animal feed: