<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41247-2003Dec30.html" title="The American Burger: How Safe Is It? (washingtonpost.com)">The American Burger: How Safe Is It?</a>: “In October of 2002 the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted an organic labeling system so consumers choosing organic products could know that the food had been produced without pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, irradiation or bioengineering. These standards apply to U.S.-grown food as well as imported food.
“The strict certification process and ongoing inspections of organic farms could make it less likely that meat products from such farms are contaminated by mad cow disease, though all of the ways the disease spreads are not fully understood…
“To be certified organic, cattle must be given a vegetarian diet of primarily foraged grass. Grains such as corn, barley and soy beans are fed for a short time at the feed lot to produce added fat that contributes needed flavor components. Growth hormones and antibiotics are not added to feed.
“‘Under USDA regulations all byproduct feeding is prohibited [on organic farms]. That’s a huge difference right there,’ says James A. Riddle, organic policy specialist for NewFarm.org, a project of the nonprofit Rodale Institute. The Food and Drug Administration allows conventional cattle feed and supplements to include cattle blood, gelatin, tallow and milk protein.
“Knowing when and from where an animal came to a ranch or farm is essential in time of crisis. On organic farms, the tracking of each animal from birth or the source of purchase is mandatory. There must be records of all organic practices, health care and any treatments the animal received. Annual verified inspections are made of feed mills, farms and slaughterhouses.
“Small farming operations that produce pasture-raised, grass-fed beef and all-natural beef farms that do not use growth hormones and antibiotics also follow strict guidelines for feed and animal tracking.
“Organic beef comes with a hefty price. Organic ground beef sells for more than twice the price of traditional beef.”
Make It Fit
Make It Fit: “A Gallup poll conducted last year said that 24 percent of U.S. adults were seriously trying to lose weight — about the same as in 1953.”
No Ephedra? No Loss.
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57453-2004Jan5.html" title="The Lean Plate Club: No Ephedra? No Loss (washingtonpost.com)">No Ephedra? No Loss</a>: “‘Good nutrition and regular physical activity are still the only proven nonprescription approaches to weight management,’ [notes Paul Coates, director of the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health].
“Of course, human nature being what it is, some people will look beyond the dangers of ephedra and seek ways to jump-start their weight loss program. Here's what experts say is generally safe:
“<strong>Sip a cup of green tea.</strong> ‘It looks really interesting for weight loss,’ notes Adriane Fugh-Berman, associate professor of physiology and biophysics at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Studies suggest that beyond the caffeine in green tea (which boosts metabolism slightly), there appears to be a thermogenic effect from the tea itself. Drinking four to six cups of green tea per day seems to burn about 80 calories, says Heber, who cautions that doing so can also raise heart rate and blood pressure — the very same effects that make ephedra dangerous, especially when combined with caffeine. But experts also say there have been no adverse effects reported from drinking green tea.
“<strong>Try a meal replacement bar or shake.</strong> Research suggests that eating one of these with fruit or vegetables for breakfast or lunch can help reduce calories and thus aid in weight loss. At UCLA, studies found that meal replacements could produce a 5 percent body weight loss. Of course, if you add a meal replacement bar or shake on top of a regular meal, you’ll undermine your efforts.
“<strong>Consider psyllium.</strong> This well-known botanical, an ingredient in Metamucil, is a soluble fiber. Oat bran and guar gum are others that, like psyllium, also help reduce blood cholesterol and can help make you feel full on fewer calories. ‘There is also some evidence of mild weight loss with psyllium over placebo,’ notes Fugh-Berman.
“<strong>When in doubt, check it out.</strong> The Office of Dietary Supplements offers a free online database to search ingredients. Known as the <a href="http://ods.od.nih.gov/showpage.aspx?pageid=48" title="Office of Dietary Supplements IBIDS Database">International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements</a> (IBIDS), the database culls information and provides abstracts from a couple thousand scientific journals.”
Tea brews good news on lowering cholesterol
Tea brews good news on lowering cholesterol: “The benefits of a cup of tea continue to be studied. And while there may be positive effects, beware of the advertising claims. Some are overblown, based on kernels of information.
“Here are some of the latest findings about tea:
- The December issue of the Johns Hopkins Medical Letter: Health After 50 reports that for the first time, there is concrete evidence that certain extracts from black, green or red tea may help lower bad cholesterol.
“In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 240 people with elevated cholesterol, all of whom were on low-fat diets, took either a daily capsule containing tea extracts (equivalent to drinking seven cups of high-quality black tea a day) or a placebo. After 12 weeks, those taking the tea capsule lowered their LDL cholesterol by 16 percent, compared with no changes in those taking the placebo.
“The Johns Hopkins letter noted that there is little evidence that drinking tea lowers cholesterol, but that there may be something in tea that could be isolated to help lower cholesterol.”
Cholesterol meds in the spice cabinet?
Cholesterol meds in the spice cabinet?: “A pinch of cinnamon may prevent and control blood sugar and cholesterol levels for patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study done in Peshawar, Pakistan, and reported in the December issue of Diabetes Care magazine. ‘These effects are very substantial, very significant,’ said Richard Anderson, lead scientist at the US Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Md., which worked on the study with the Pakistani Department of Human Nutrition. The study, which involved 60 patients who were not on insulin therapy, found that both blood sugar and cholesterol levels decreased if subjects consumed 1, 3 or 6 grams of cinnamon per day for 40 days. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels in the placebo group did not change. Doctors probably will wait for a larger, more-conclusive study before recommending cinnamon-flavored treats to their patients. ‘The results are interesting,’ said Dr. Om Ganda, director of the lipid clinic at Joslin Diabetes Center. ‘We have to study these herbal and indigenous food products in more detail.’ Anderson said the lab plans a more complete study, focused on isolating the active component in cinnamon.”
Can Cholesterol Be Too Low?
<a href="http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?articleID=2003-12-22-8" title="Betterhumans > News > Cholesterol-free Mouse Engineered">Cholesterol-free Mouse Engineered</a>: “Too much cholesterol may be bad, but mice engineered to lack cholesterol completely have proven just how essential the compound is for health.
“Quark Biotech of Fremont, California together with scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Sackler School of Medicine in Israel were surprised that their cholesterol-lacking mouse survived and developed into adulthood at all…
“Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like steroid found in every cell of the body. It is used to help digest fats, strengthen cell membranes and make hormones.
“It is primarily synthesized in the liver, although other sites include the intestines, adrenal glands and reproductive organs.”
Managing cholesterol levels
Managing cholesterol levels important for heart: “Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is the bad kind and tends to build up fatty deposits, called plaques, on the walls of the arteries. High-density lipoprotein is the good kind of cholesterol, which has at least two benefits. It tends to remove the fatty deposits from the artery walls and carry the fat back to the liver where it can be eliminated, and it also is able to stabilize existing plaques so they don’t rupture and start the sequence that can result in a heart attack or stroke…
“LDL and total cholesterol are still important risk factors, and if LDL cholesterol is high, lowering it helps prevent heart attacks and strokes at all ages. That said, the research clearly demonstrates that maintaining high HDL levels protects against cardiovascular disease. For both men and women, an HDL level of less that 40 milligrams per deciliter increases the risk, and a level of 60 mg/dL or more is considered protective. According to Donald A. Smith, MD, a cholesterol expert at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, for every 1 mg/dL increase in HDL, there is a 2- to 4-percent reduction in the risk of heart disease.
“So, how can you pump up your HDL? One proven booster is aerobic exercise. The effect on HDL is directly related to the amount of exercise. Another helper is moderate alcohol consumption. That means one drink a day for women, and no more than two drinks for men. What you drink doesn’t seem to matter, it’s the alcohol content that counts. If you don’t presently drink alcohol, however, this doesn’t mean you should start drinking.
“Triglycerides, another form of blood fat or lipid, should be kept below 150 mg/dL because there is an inverse relationship between HDL and triglycerides. If the triglycerides are high, HDL is probably low. You can lower triglycerides by losing weight and by limiting sugars (like those in fruit juices, soda, desserts and candy) and simple starches. Trans-fatty acids also lower HDL, so most commercially prepared baked goods are on the not-so-good list. Last, but not least, if you smoke, quit!”
Food Log
Breakfast was a few dried apricots and a few dates, a glass of orange juice, and a piece of toasted Italian bread. I weighed in at 160 pounds.
<ins datetime="2004-01-06T13:27:00-05:00">Lunch was a 4½ mile walk around campus (combining my lunch walk with visits to four telecommunications closets for pending designs). I am going to have an orange in a bit. My Mother always sends us a bushel of oranges from <a href="http://www.sunharvestcitrus.com/" title="Sun Harvest Citrus - Fresh Florida Citrus fruit and gift packages.">Sun Harvest Citrus</a> for Christmas. This year’s arrived yesterday, so this will be my first.</ins>
<ins datetime="2004-01-06T20:19:00-05:00">Dinner was a mixed green salad with <a href="http://www.newmansown.com/4a15_lightbalsamic.html" title="Newman's Own - Lighten Up - Light Balsamic Dressing">Newman’s Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette</a>, a slice of Gretchen’s Italian bread, and two <a href="http://www.godiva.com/welcome.asp" title="Chocolate Gifts from Godiva">Godiva</a> chocolates.</ins>
Diet Doghnuts?
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107325539963197900-search,00.html?collection=autowire%2F30day&vql_string=doughnut%3Cin%3E%28article-body%29" title="WSJ.com - Despite Best Efforts,
Doughnut Makers Must Fry, Fry Again”>Despite Best Efforts,
Doughnut Makers Must Fry, Fry Again: “Robert Ligon, a 68-year-old health-food executive, is scheduled to begin serving 15 months in a federal prison Tuesday. His crime: willfully mislabeling doughnuts as low-fat.
“Exhibit A: The label on his company’s ‘carob coated’ doughnut said it had three grams of fat and 135 calories. But an analysis by the Food and Drug Administration showed that the doughnut, glazed with chocolate, contained a sinfully indulgent 18 grams of fat and 530 calories…
“The low-fat doughnut is the Holy Grail of the food industry. Food companies have been able to take most of the fat out of everything from cheese to Twinkies. But no one has succeeded in designing a marketable doughnut that dips below the federal low-fat threshold of three grams per serving. Doughnuts typically range from eight grams of fat for a glazed French cruller to more than double that for a cake-like doughnut.
“Perhaps no other bakery good is so dependent on fat. After the batter is shaped into rings and dropped into hot oil, the deep-frying process preserves the shape, gives the doughnut a crust and pushes out moisture, allowing for the absorption of fat. The fat itself is responsible for most of its flavor. A doughnut contains as much as 25% fat; the bulk of that is the oil absorbed during frying, according to the American Institute of Baking, a research and teaching outfit funded by the baking industry.
“The low-fat doughnut, declares Len Heflich, an industry executive at the American Bakers Association, is ‘not possible.’”
Food Log
Breakfast was a few dried apricots and a few dried dates. I weighed in at 160 pounds.
<ins datetime="2004-01-05T19:27:00-05:00">No lunch today, though I did take a 3 mile walk around campus. Dinner was butternut squash and vegetable au gratin and a slice of Italian bread with two <a href="http://www.godiva.com/welcome.asp" title="Chocolate Gifts from Godiva">Godiva</a> chocolates for dessert.</ins>