Basic Pursuits

The headlines are raging about the dangers of tomatoes. A bacterial infection has sickened about 100 people and the FDA is frantically auditing the nation's tomatoes.

Meanwhile, millions of Americans continue to gorge on food that will eventually kill them after a long and expensive illness. Why aren't the dangers of sugar-coated doughnuts in the headlines?
Most people with a bacterial stomach infection will recover in a couple of days.

In what can be described as a quickie study, British researchers determined that eating lots of tomato paste did two great things for the skin: first, it enhanced the skin's protection against sunburn by 33%, the equivalent of a low factor sunscreen; second, it promoted a much higher level of procollagen, a molecule that gives the skin its structure and keeps it firm.

I'm forever seeking ways to eat whole grains (yep, I want to live longer). I eat a lot and really can't get enough calories eating just protein, fruits and vegetables. I've got to eat grains. There are a lot of good reasons to eat whole grains.

My three staples are oatmeal, bread and brown rice.

People have thought for a while that omega3 fatty acids are good for the brain. Now according to Science Daily, researchers have proved it.

UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil is indeed a deterrent
against Alzheimer's, and they have identified the reasons why.

Specifically,

Winter is here. What better way to warm up body and soul than with a bowl of chili. Ever in search of ways of making food more nutritious, I got this idea that chili would do well with spinach. I didn't like the idea of sad looking spinach leaves and stems floating in my chili, so I cooked the spinach and put it through a food processor. It had two effects.

First, it thickend the chili. That's not a bad thing.

Second, it changed the color from a nice red to a dark, grayish brown. I didn't find the color appealing, but that didn't stop me from eating it. It was delicious.

If you don't like the heat of the chipotl peppers, try two or three teaspoons of chili powder instead.

If you are a vegetarian, try textured vegetable protein in place of the beef and liquid smoke in place of the bacon. 

More good news for flaxseed eaters. Researchers at Duke say that the little jewels "stunt the growth of prostate tumors."

Earlier studies showed that men who took flaxseeds along with a low fat diet experienced shrinkage in prostate tumors. This study demonstrated that taking the flaxseeds alone shrunk the tumors. Therefore, it's the flax. Just the flax, ma'am.

This is interesting.
A recent study reported in the American Heart Journal suggests that wine drinkers, particularly wine drinkers with coronary hearty disease (CDC), tended to have higher levels of Omega3s in their blood than non-drinkers.
The abstract of the study concluded:

This is a very simple and elegant solution for a very nutritious lunch. The creator is Bob Cavanaugh, a long-time member of the CR society and an expert on low calorie, high nutrition eating. Check out the nutritional profile. Thanks Bob!

Beets and red cabbage are prominent in the vegetable markets in the fall. Here's my take on using them in the hearty favorite from Eastern Europe.

I smiled this morning when on Google Reader I saw a post from LifeHacker.com extolling the virtues of garlic. LifeHacker was referring to an old post in the New York Times.

The article points out that science is beginning to figure out what we've all suspected. Garlic is good for you. The secret is hydrogen sulfide.