Wellness for All

Food Borne Illness: The Good, the Bad, and the Hopeful | TakePart - News, Culture, Videos and Photos That Make the World Better

2011-09-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

Food Borne Illness: The Good, the Bad, and the Hopeful | TakePart - News, Culture, Videos and Photos That Make the World Better

State scientists ignored in pesticide's approval | California Watch

2011-09-04T17:42:00.000-07:00

State scientists ignored in pesticide's approval | California Watch

What Does It Mean to Patent Life? | TakePart - News, Culture, Videos and Photos That Make the World Better

2011-09-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

What Does It Mean to Patent Life? | TakePart - News, Culture, Videos and Photos That Make the World Better

Engineered Pest Problems - The Equation

2011-09-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Engineered Pest Problems - The Equation

Cancer and the Environment

2011-08-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Environmental causes of cancer-pesticides, air and water pollution, chemicals in consumer products-has historically been given short shrift in the field of cancer research, but that may be changing. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently posted Cancer: Belatedly, Environmental Causes Get their Due in which they highlight a new Duke University study showing the changing attitudes about cancer-causing environmental factors among cancer doctors. It seems the medical community is coming around.

Like EWG, I welcome these new attitudes and am hopeful about what role they might play in helping to protect humans from the unnecessary health implications of unwisely used chemicals. However, I fear that these changing attitudes will have little impact on the larger issue at hand which is that true research has been co-opted by mercenary scientists. I am halfway through David Michaels' Doubt Is Their Product in which he describes a product defense industry so calculated that I am convinced now more than ever that real change will happen outside of the realm of science by the hands of social change agents. More power to all those in search of truth.

Supermarket Secrets...that's how they getcha!

2011-08-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Law: Something for Everyone's Health

2011-07-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Jim Moran are set to bring us some very important legislation next month: the Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011. I worry about its political viability in this political climate, but will be looking for every opportunity to support it!

Why I'll Avoid Tyson Foods

2011-06-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Tyson bribed workers tasked with protecting our safety, the DOJ and the SEC charged the company with crimes and Tyson settled by paying millions in fines. The people responsible for the crimes have moved on without a scratch.

Dr. Barnard's Blog: Agricultural Subsidies' Impact on Health in Institute of Medicine Report

2011-06-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Dr. Barnard's Blog: Agricultural Subsidies'; Impact on Health in Institute of Medicine Report:"PCRM - Dr. Barnard's Blog"

Our Food Choices are Dwindling

2011-06-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Our Dwindling Food Variety

E. coli Outbreak: What will it take for us to learn?

2011-06-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

Good Guide reminds us of some lessons from the E. coli outbreak in Europe. I appreciate that we are in the midst of some real financial troubles here in the US, but is this really the time for the House of Representatives to be voting to lower the President’s budget for food safety measures? Specifically, can we afford to spend $87 million LESS than last year on FDA food supply oversight?

This is the wrong direction for our health and wellbeing.

Watch Out for Food Adjectives...That's How They Getcha

2011-06-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

Fooducate reminds us of the reality of the world we live in: front of package labeling is not about health or nutrition, it is about selling you the product.

In their recent post--Dieters More Likely to be Duped by Food Labels--they show us how some people can be led astray from their own good efforts to eat healthfully by the use of carefully placed words by marketers.

Fooducate's reminder to us:

Don’t fall for “naming traps” or other nutritional tricks. Make sure to ignore the marketing information (aside from the product name) and head straight for the ingredient list and nutrition label.

Here's a little more about how the food industry is trying to find ways of getting into your diet.

Roundup Ready Known to Cause Birth Defects

2011-06-09T01:53:00.000-07:00

According to this article at HuffPo Green, regulators know Roundup (the world's best-selling herbicide) causes birth defects.

After observing the newly discovered organism back in February, Don Huber, an emeritus professor at Purdue University, wrote an open letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack requesting a moratorium on deregulating crops genetically altered to be immune to Roundup, which are commonly called Roundup Ready crops.

In the letter, Huber also commented on the herbicide itself, saying: "It is well-documented that glyphosate promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can cause animal disorders."

Why on earth would we be deregulating Roundup Ready crops when there is evidence that it is not healthy for consumption?

GMO Tidbits

2011-06-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

These GMO Graphics from the Chicago Tribune make it easy to see what percentage of corn and soy made in the US is GMO, which states have proposals to require GMO food labeling (glad my state of OR has such a proposal), and some of the countries that are ahead of us with required GMO labeling.

Pyramid Turns Plate

2011-06-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

Dr. Weil's take on the new nutrition plate

NW Food Desserts

2011-06-03T13:58:00.001-07:00

NW Food Desserts

Plastic's History

2011-06-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

A Brief History of Plastic's Conquest of the World

Pesticides: Who's Working for You?

2011-05-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

Parke Wilde teaches and writes about U.S. Food Policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Here's what he has to say about pesticides and the USDA's and EPA's work on this topic.

The Free Market and Food Safety

2011-05-05T17:24:00.000-07:00

In this US Food Policy post (Sharing information about food safety) , Parke Wilde writes that

Economists see many food safety problems as a type of information failure. If consumers and institutional buyers only had good information, market incentives would solve many food safety problems.

I think this idea has merit, but how do we make relevant food safety information available and usable so consumers can make informed choices? People don't go to the grocery store armed with the Emerging Pathogens Institute's recent report about the Top 10 riskiest food/pathogen combinations or the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service's (FSIS) reports on failing poultry establishments (heck, no one seems to go to the grocery store with even a shopping list any more).

And who is going to make food safety information usable and available?

The Future of Food Conference

2011-05-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Eric Schlosser talks about why everyone needs organic food, including the people working in the fields at The Future of Food conference

Save Antibiotics Action Items

2011-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Moms Weigh in on Animal Antibiotics

Agricultural antibiotic action items:

Sign up for relevant news at saveantibiotics.org
Demand that supermarkets, shops and schools use meat and poultry raised without the routine use of non-therapeutic antibiotics
Contact the Food and Drug Administration to influence the agency's new guidelines on animal antibiotic use, due to come out this June, and
Support congressional passage of the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Louise Slaughter and soon to be introduced into the Senate.

We Don't Trust the Food Industry. Now What?

2011-05-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

I am not surprised to learn that people distrust the food industry or that they distrust it more than they did last year. I only wonder what we will do with our mistrust. Will we start seeking food that we do trust or will this mistrust fade into the background of our lives?

Commercials I want to watch

2011-04-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I want to see commericals like this one from New York.

If it were easy to be healthy...there would be no fast food in hospitals.

2011-04-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine recently posted this question on their facebook page:

Do you know of a hospital that has a McDonald's or other fast-food restaurant on the premises? If so, please post a comment with the hospital name, city, and fast-food company. Thanks!

Here's a link to some of the troubling responses.

Available Science Complicates Food Dye Issue

2011-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

In A gray area over food dyes the LA Times reminds us how science can confuse an issue (in this case the dangers of food dyes) as much as elucidate it.

Nourishing Video

2011-04-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Nourish launches video encyclopedia : Slow Food USA

The Not So Sweet Side of Sugar

2011-04-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

While I like Michael Pollan's anti-nutritionism stance and lean against making a bad-guy out of any one nutrient, my own history with sugar makes this NYT article compelling:Is Sugar Toxic?.

I am not particularly bothered by the empty-calorie aspect of sugar per se, though there is mounting evidence implicating sugar in our obesity epidemic. I am personally more interested in how sugar's fructose (from sweet stuff), in sufficient quantities, is metabolized differently than glucose (from say, potatoes, bread or other starches).

In animals, or at least in laboratory rats and mice, it’s clear that if the fructose hits the liver in sufficient quantity and with sufficient speed, the liver will convert much of it to fat. This apparently induces a condition known as insulin resistance, which is now considered the fundamental problem in obesity, and the underlying defect in heart disease and in the type of diabetes, type 2, that is common to obese and overweight individuals. It might also be the underlying defect in many cancers. If what happens in laboratory rodents also happens in humans, and if we are eating enough sugar to make it happen, then we are in trouble.

This accumulation of fat in the liver is behind what 75 million Americans have-metabolic syndrome-the major risk factor for heart disease and diabetes. And this accumulation of fat in the liver doesn't just happen to people who are fat, it is happening to lean people too. How? Some say because of the amount of sugar we consume.

The good news is that lab animals that gain fatty livers from eating high doses of sugar can turn it all around simply by not consuming sugar. So, to avoid reaching metabolic syndrome and getting any number of related health problems, all we need to do is not consume sugar, right?

I wish it were that easy. I am currently in the process of significantly reducing my sugar intake and I defy anyone to say this is easy. Not only do I seriously crave it, but it is in EVERYTHING making it difficult to avoid. Former FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler made this fact more obvious to anyone who read his "End of Overeating."

How is one to avoid copious amounts of sugar?

What's in Your Gut and Does It Matter?

2011-04-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

Thought you might find this NY Times article interesting: Bacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientists Say

It is about new research discovering that people tend to have one of 3 different types of gut bacteria ecosystems. Scientists are likening the value of knowing which ecosystem you have to that of knowing which blood type you are…pretty valuable information for all kinds of decision making.

It makes me wonder: do kids with autism tend to have one kind of ecosystem and is that ecosystem particularly sensitive to all the chemicals/GMO/food processing we now do and maybe even poorly equipped to manage the bacteria introduced during some vaccinations? Similarly, what about Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and MS?

If I knew more about my gut ecosystem, could I eat more purposefully?

Mom's Food Marketing

2011-04-18T09:35:00.001-07:00

Food Fight: Beating Processed Food Marketers at Their Own Game

History of Our Eating Habits

2011-04-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Click here to see Fooducates interactive graphic of our changing eating habits from 1970 to 2008: Interactive Infographic Reveals the Reason We are Obese. Based on USDA calculations, it shows how many calories we derive from different food groups. We are clearly eating more fat and sugar now than we did in the 70's and, surprisingly, only a little more fruits and a little less vegetables.

Why are we collectively not acting on what we now know?

2011-04-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

I love Good Guide. They really make you think and help get the discussion going. The visuals in their recent post--Two Daily Beauty Routines--depict the frequency with which a typical woman with a typical beauty regimen is exposed to certain chemicals vs that of a GoodGuide informed woman.

What happens to the most common ingredients as you go from the average shopper to the GoodGuide-informed shopper? The colors (red 6, yellow 5 lake) disappear. Petrochemical ingredients disappear. Parabens and DMDM hydantoin disappear. Mica and titanium dioxide virtually disappear. Fragrance occurs less frequently. What replaces these ingredients? Lots and lots of plant extracts and infusions.

Who's Who: Food

2011-04-05T17:09:00.001-07:00

Leading Voices for a Sustainable Food System

Avoiding Food Dyes

2011-04-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Worried About Food Dyes? 4 Tips to Avoid Them

Doctor-Patient Relationship Shifts

2011-04-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

More Physicians Say No to Endless Workdays

Is BPA Harmful?

2011-04-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

Scientific American asks:Just How Harmful Are Bisphenol A Plastics?. Noteworthy point:

hundreds of government-funded studies...found that 90 percent [of BPA studies] had concluded BPA was a health risk. It was the dozen or so industry-funded studies, vom Saal says, that failed to replicate other BPA research.

What color is your hyperactivity?

2011-03-29T12:56:00.001-07:00

FDA Meeting: Do Food Dyes Cause Hyperactivity?

Toxic Irony

2011-03-28T14:59:00.001-07:00

Recalled 'Toxic Waste' Brand Gum May Contain Lead

Organic Equals Less Disease

2011-03-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Organic Broiler Production Dramatically Cuts Salmonella Risk

GMO Loses in Court!

2011-03-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Riceland Foods wins $137 million from Bayer for genetic contamination

Senate panel quietly adopts McDonald's-backed provision that prevents fast-food-toy bans - KansasCity.com

2011-03-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

Senate panel quietly adopts McDonald's-backed provision that prevents fast-food-toy bans - KansasCity.com

GMO Labeling: This BURNS Me

2011-02-28T17:40:00.000-08:00

Why Aren't GMO Foods Labeled?

Save Bees

2011-02-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Tell the EPA: Ban the pesticide that's killing bees

Bittman's Manifesto

2011-02-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you mark Bittman for his article in the NYT: A Food Manifesto for the Future.

2010-11-11T02:55:00.000-08:00

The Times exposes the craziness of the junk-food industry/USDA alliance

2010-11-02T18:20:00.001-07:00

Neurogenesis: How to Change Your Brain

HFCS in soda has much more fructose than advertised, a new study finds - latimes.com

2010-10-29T16:54:00.000-07:00

HFCS in soda has much more fructose than advertised, a new study finds - latimes.com

$2 Million Granted to Study Antibiotic Resistance

2010-10-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

$2 Million Granted to Study Antibiotic Resistance

2010-10-28T12:01:00.001-07:00

$2 Million Granted to Study Antibiotic Resistance

CPE Webinar Opportunity: Clarifying the Controversies: The Science of Bisphenol A (BPA)

2010-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

CPE Webinar Opportunity: Clarifying the Controversies: The Science of Bisphenol A (BPA)

More of the Estrogen Pollution Found in Waterways Comes from Factory Farms Than from Oral Contraceptives

2010-10-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

More of the Estrogen Pollution Found in Waterways Comes from Factory Farms Than from Oral Contraceptives

2010-10-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

A New Way to Clean Greens Misses the Point

2010-10-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Senate panel examining how chemicals in daily life affect kids' health

Sometimes ya just need a laugh

2010-10-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

Where Front-of-Package Food Labels Are Headed - Marion Nestle - Food - The Atlantic

2010-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:00

Where Front-of-Package Food Labels Are Headed - Marion Nestle - Food - The Atlantic

Want some bug-killer with that?

2010-10-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Want some bug-killer with that?

2010-10-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

Food Politics

2010-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Risks for Youths Who Eat What They Watch

2010-10-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Is Organic Food Stuffed Full Of Marketing Hype?

2010-10-21T10:04:00.001-07:00

Cows on Drugs

2010-10-21T09:51:00.001-07:00

Many public health associations speak up about antibiotics

2010-10-20T11:04:00.001-07:00

What Monsanto’s fall from grace reveals about the GMO seed industry

2010-10-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

Obesity costs U.S. $168 billion, study finds

2010-10-20T10:57:00.001-07:00

Healthy-eating advocates seek ways to fight advertising promoting unhealthy food and drinks to kids

2010-10-18T17:51:00.001-07:00

Special Report: The problem with phthalates

2010-10-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

Consumer Right to Know Food Labeling Act Introduced

2010-10-15T14:05:00.001-07:00

Vote for your favorite villains of food

2010-10-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

Canada Declares BPA, a Chemical in Plastics, to Be Toxic

2010-10-13T08:05:00.001-07:00

Trying to understand our chemical exposure - latimes.com

2010-10-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Trying to understand our chemical exposure - latimes.com

2010-10-09T09:20:00.001-07:00

Do We Really Have Free Choice When it Comes to Food?

2010-10-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

Carrageenan and the Acceptance of Food Additive Toxicity, 1950-2000

2010-10-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

Green, but Still Feeling Guilty

2010-10-04T15:15:00.001-07:00

The Health Risks of GM Foods: Summary and Debate

2010-10-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

"The committee concluded that nutrition education programs in U.S. medical schools are largely inadequate to meet the present and future demands of the medical profession. This perception, reflecting results of prior surveys and conferences, was confirmed by the committee's independent survey and related investigations as outlined above."

2010-10-04T06:45:00.001-07:00

Ban on Milk Labeling Ruled Unconstitutional

2010-10-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

Science for Sale: Protect Yourself From Medical Research Deception

2010-10-02T19:31:00.001-07:00

Food safety auditors are often paid by the firms they audit

2010-10-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

Are corporations allowed to sell healthy food?

2010-09-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

Are Genetically Engineered Foods (Including Salmon) More Allergenic?

2010-09-30T08:47:00.001-07:00

Sugar May Be Bad, But This Sweetener is Far More Deadly