‘Super broccoli’ a nutrition giant

By Associated Press
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Popeye might want to consider switching to broccoli. British scientists unveiled a new breed of the vegetable that experts say packs a big nutritional punch.

The new broccoli was specially grown to contain two to three times the normal amount of glucoraphanin, a nutrient believed to help ward off heart disease.

“When you eat this broccoli … you get a reduction in cholesterol in your bloodstream,” said Richard Mithen, who led the team of scientists at the Institute for Food Research in Norwich, England, that developed the broccoli.

How does it taste?

An Associated Press reporter who tasted it found it was the same as the regular broccoli. Scientists said it should taste slightly sweeter.

How was it created?

To create the vegetable, sold as “super broccoli,” Mithen and colleagues cross-bred a traditional British broccoli with a wild, bitter Sicilian variety that has no flowery head, and a big dose of glucoraphanin. After 14 years, the enhanced hybrid was produced, which has been granted a patent by European authorities. No genetic modification was used.

How does it work?

Glucoraphanin breaks fat down in the body, preventing it from clogging the arteries.

When can I get it?

It’s been on sale as Beneforte in select stores in California and Texas for the last year. It will be rolled out nationwide this fall.

Technorati Tags: broccoli, health, super broccoli

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Here is the article/video from CNN, click here.

Technorati Tags: health, pyramid, USDA

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Big question why not give them nutritious food right from the get go. Eliminate the junk!

Read the article here

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Did you know that drinking a can of soda a day for a year adds 10lbs?

A simple solution – WATER, and it’s free (well almost free).

And for a powerful short little video check out this 30 second ad from New York City Department of Health. Bravo!

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Bitter Melon

Bitter melon a common vegetable in China, India and South America could be a magic cure for breast cancer. Scientist have found that the bitter melon extract kills the cancer cells while not killing the good cells. Yes it is in early stages and clinical testing has to happen but this could be a major break through in fighting cancer.

In China they eat bitter melon soup all the time. I wonder if women in China who consume the soup have a lower incidence of breast cancer? An interesting research project.

Maybe we should start to import Bitter Melon Soup and sell in the holistic food stores as a possible cancer cure? Or maybe use it in stir fry mixes. Do we have any takers?

See article here: Click here.

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One way out of Global Warming is a draconian reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, not a simple task by any means.

There are serious economical and technological factors involved.  On the economical side Richard Tol, leading author of the U.N. climate panel, stated that to cut carbon emissions enough to meet the 2 degrees goal set by the industrialized nations, the leading industrial nations would have to slap a huge tax on carbon-emitting-fuels. One that by the end of the century will reach something in the order of $4000 per metric ton of Carbon Dioxide, or $35 per gallon of gas ($9 per liter). According to Tol, the impact of a tax hike of this magnitude could reduce world GDP 12.9% in 2100. Good Luck with that one…

On the technological side of things, at the present moment most of the word’s electricity comes from coal. For two of the biggest emerging economies, China and India, the production of electricity based on coal is about 80%, Ouch!!!  And the worst thing is that there isn’t a clean, dependable and most important cheap source of abundant energy that will entice industrialized and emerging economies to make a quick switch from coal based energy.

So what is the solution?

In my opinion one of the solutions is to pour lots of $$$ in R&D looking for technological breakthroughs in energy generation. Unfortunately our beloved leaders are putting the money in other areas that promise little or no chance to solve the real problem.  Must have listened to Mr. Paul David Hewson when on the issue of Global Warming he quoted Thomas Friedman’s line “Don’t change your light bulbs – Change your Leaders”.

I also think we need to do our part, we need to be mindful on how use the energy resources that are available to us everyday. Think about it this way: we have a time limit to solve global warming, last time I checked we don’t have anywhere else to live but planet Earth. So it’s still a good idea to change your light bulbs to energy efficient ones.

Think about the future generations and the impact that your decisions will have on them, Please.

Technorati Tags: Global Warming, Carbon Dioxide, U.N. Climate Panel

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I love Toro Sashimi and every time I have the opportunity, I indulge myself with more than one piece of this Japanese culinary delicacy. There are however a few things I didn’t consider when savoring my delicious chunk of fatty tuna.

Most of the tuna that we eat in the Bay Area comes from the port town of General Santos City in Southern Philippines, one of the world’s great tuna-fishing ports. The best tuna will sell for about $700 wholesale. After being cleaned and put in dry ice it takes the 10.30 a.m. flight to Manila. The next day, the fish will be in Tokyo, Seattle of California.

So think about the Carbon footprint my nice and delicious little piece of sushi left behind. And it doesn’t end here, in September the European Commission recommended that the European Union support a temporary suspension of the global trade of Atlantic Bluefin tune. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that Alantic Bluefin that spawn in the Mediterranean could disappear from those waters as early as 2012. As you might have guessed the ban was shot down by E.U. members with high stakes in the tuna trade.

Scientists believe stocks of southern bluefin around Australia have probably fallen more than 90% since 1950 and could continue to drop.

In order words the amount of tuna we are consuming worldwide is not sustainable and  the consequences of not having tuna in our oceans could be disastrous for the ocean ecosystem and probably many economies.

So next time I go for sushi I might choose an alternative dish, probably Corn Sushi. With nice supersweet corn grown in the Northwest of the USA.

We can make a difference, one mouth at the time… Leave some of that delicious tuna to your great-grandchildren.

Technorati Tags: Tuna, Sustainable, Carbon Footprint

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What they found out:

• Half customers noticed the calorie count
• 28% of those that noticed said the information influenced their purchase.
• 9 out of 10 of those said they made healthier choices.

What is interesting, is that when the researches checked the receipts they found that the people had actually ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer had before the labeling law went into effect!

• NYC customers had a mean 846 calories after labeling law, before the law it was 825 calories.
• In Newark, it was 825 calories before and after.

Labeling laws, are they effective? Apparently not.

Labeling is also being tossed around in Obama’s health package.

Price and quantity more important than health and quality.

More info at NY TIMES

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We need to spend more time communicating and putting into place the concepts and ideas presented in his talk.

The key, eat less meat and more plants (vegetables), live longer and healthier.

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