Friday Food Fables Nov 10th edition

It has been a slow week this week for science news. Something about an election over here is distracting people. While I keep away from politics on this blog I do love this fact: A Woman’s Place is in the House.

Asparagus and pee, also try stinky aspargus pee. All I can say is that I must be a super senstive asparagus sniffer!

Dave Munger reports that chocolate does not cause hyperactivity.

Molecule of the Day reports on potassium iodide.

Does healthy food taste bad, or is it just our subjective opinion? Jonah at the Frontal Cortex reports.

Eating Fabulous reports on probiotics and eczema.

New Scientist (subscription required) on Fake Food.

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Friday Food Fables (Nov 3 06)

I started these links as I didn’t have time to keep up to date with all the food news occuring each week.  Now Friday Food Fables have taken a life of their own.  Do you find them helpful?

Fat people are being blamed for global warming! I particularly liked the comments to this post. Overweight people cause less than 1% increase in gasoline usage!

PZ can’t chew gum and walk at the same time because his gum dissolves when he eats it. He also doesn’t have to worry about it twisting around his heart and all those other mother’s/wife’s tales to do with swallowing a wad of gum. I admit that I first thought he had severe dental problems!

Jake has a cool video on exploding food.

Shelley reports on how resveratrol on red wine can extend life spans. Pass that glass! Abel Pharmboy adds his comments about this study as does Cortunix. Keep my glass full!

Hallowe’en candy taxonomy. Visit World’s Fair and see if you agree! Being a Brit, I always have to remember that Smarties are not the Smarties I grew up with. Follow links for that to make sense! Also Hershey chocolate should not be listed – it is nasty stuff.

Tomorrow in Slower Lower DE is the punkin chuckin’ competition. Visit Page 3.14 to find out more about it.

Microwaving French fries before frying might reduce the formation of acrylamide.

Is the food production and supply system breaking down. Tomatoes have been linked to the latest food borne illness outbreak. Accidental Hedonist reports…

New Scientist (may need subscription) lists the ten roads to fatsville.

Sort of food related: NO MORE SEA FISH in 50 years.

Tumeric may help with arthritis. The Beeb and Eating Fabulous both report…  Mmmm, I’m going to have curry tonight.

I have my own opinions on diet and colorectal cancer being that I have been vegetarian for 20 something years, and still had a large precancerous adenoma which required surgery last year.  Still  grape seed extracts may help.

The Guardian reports on the intergovernmental meeting to end World Hunger.  Only unfortunately, the number of malnourished people in the world has increased in the last ten years.

Food Fables 27 Oct Edition

Bora writes about how sleep can affect your weight. Also if you sleep longer, there is less time to think about food. Then he links to this old New Yorker Shouts and Murmurs article. ‘Scuse me a minute, while I catch up my sleep – I need to lose a few pounds.

FDA to approve cloned meat and dairy for food consumption.

Don’t forget to check out Eating Fabulous. This week articles on strawberries, fluoridated water, cranberries and the failure of the dietary supplement, DSHEA, to counteract the effects of aging. The study on DSHEA lead to a discussion on what should happen with dietary supplement research. Starting with an an editorial by Robert Bazell, which was then discussed by Tara, Abel Pharmboy and Orac who also discuss what should happen to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, now dietary supplements have been proved to be mostly worthless.

David Ng over at World’s Fair describes the effects of roasting on coffee, even mentioning my favorite reaction, the Maillard reaction. Hey, it so cool that some one else is writing about my research!

Vegetables better than fruit for maintaining memory.

Advertising junk food to children – problems with loop holes with UK junk food laws.

Molecular gastronomy does not exist says the so called father of molecular gastronomy. Ha, lets call it food science again, shall we!

Isn’t this called anorexia? Starvation dieting.

This reminds me of one of my favorite jokes:

Man goes to see his doctor.

After a physical exam, the doctor says:

“You should give up smoking, drinking, sex and eating fat, chocolate, junk food, snack food and meat”

The man looks stunned and stummers:

“Why Doc, I didn’t know it was so serious. This will make me live longer, right?”

Doc looks at the man before he says:

“No, but it will feel like it”

Food Fables

Not so many links this week – I’ve been busy with research ideas. I like weeks like this. Enjoy the food reading for your weekend.

Michael Pollan in NYT on Sunday

A melting chocolate igloo

Buy yourself a cute microbe – hmm, Lab Cat is thinking who should get this for Christmas. Actually, the common cold one looks very cute. Also Orac asks if you are ready for Pee and Poo? Are you?

Freshman 15 misunderstood? NYT investigates.

Is decaffeinated coffee really caffeine free?

Disney is only going promote healthy food

Onion Radio on Butterworth’s new more absorbant pancakes

Does lacking omega-3 fatty acids lead to violence?

Friday Food Fables (Oct 13 2006)

I could be better at spotting Food Links but there seem to be a lot of food news this week.

So for your food reading pleasures:

I forgot this last week: Interview with Michael Pollan

Make your own gummy worms

Friday Woo (from Oct 6th) – H2Om

Lactisole and 2E-6Z nonadienal from Molecule of the Day

Coke and Osteoporosis – one of the biggest problems with soda is that it replaces milk as a drink. This reduces calcium intake. Colas have an additional challenge to bone health as the phosphoric acid present may pull calcuim from the bones. A research study may have confirmed that the more cola drunk, the worse the bone density.

Spice Test – don’t do it at home. Be prepared to suffer – just watching this is painful!

WSJ on alternative medicine:Abel Pharmboy reports on WSJ on alternative medicine. Does it matter if the medicine is effective or safe? Pop over and see.

Chocolate really does help. Really. But when you are eating make sure you put it in something small since portion size alters how much we eat. After you’ve eaten that chocolate – head out for some exercise as it is good for you.

Omega 3 fatty acids and marijuana reduce risk of Alzheimer’s? Perhaps I should try and make a food product that combines these. I wonder if hemp will be as effective as marijuana? If so, I could make hemp and flaxseed muffins – muffins to keep the brain sane!

This is the book review I’ve been meaning to write – too slow and busy as usual. I might comment on the review when I have had some time to read it. I got there via here. Alternatively, I could just get a move on and write my own review of these books.

Interesting article on Food Engineering in the NYT.

Food Fables Oct 6 2006

Food science reading for your weekend pleasure.

Article on Raw Milk in the Washington Post

How hard it is to remove pathogens from fresh produce?

Fancy a discworld cake?

Food rant

What makes food disgusting?

Are Americans getting enough folate?

Watch the video – the cookie monster wants healthy food!

Heart Disease cured by berries from the Ghengis Khan Era

Not sure about this study but drinking 100% fruit is not making pre-school children overweight. What about causing dental caries?

Curcumin cures cancer? Part 1 and Part 2.

Food molecules of the week (from Molecule of the Day): Eugenol Stevioside and Furfuryl Mercaptan

What are antioxidants? This is one I might have to answer from a food chemistry perspective in a future post.

Not food – but this is a great video

Finally I registered for the 2007 Science Blogging Conference in N. Carolina. Have you?

See who else is going. For more info click on the cool logo below:

Late Breaking Food Fables Sep 15

Cheerful Oncologist reports the shocking news that Vitamin D is good for you.

The Guardian on Mum’s junk food delivery service, too heavy to be a waitress? and don’t try this at home – a study copies Morgan Spurlock’s example.

New Scientist on faeces in food crops being safer than we think – it still sounds yucky! I wonder if they still think so after the recent E.coli O157 H7 outbreak traced back to spinach.

Food Fables Sept 15

I decided to call my weekly food links “Food Fables” to fit with “Cat Tails” and “Yarn Yarns”. As I am trying to post food links every Friday, the cat and yarn stories will wait until the weekend.

The Nation has an forum about how to resolve current food issues

World’s Fair summary of above forum.

Over at ScienceBlogs the question of the week is to do with organic food:

What’s up with organic foods? What are the main arguments for buying organic? Is it supposed to be better for me, or better for the planet, or what? Are organics, in any sense, worth the higher price?

Here are some of their answers: Adventures in Ethics and Science, Discovering Biology, The World’s Fair.

Eureka Alerts on Cranberry Juice benefits, brown seaweed contains fat fighting chemicals, combining two of my interests; what I don’t eat I can knit by turn food waste into yarn.

Cognitive Daily on the language of color and on how eye structure influences color categories. And a related post on eye evolution by Pharyngula. I intend to write more on colour – a continuation of an earlier post.

Molecule of the Day on Tyramine (toxic cheese), trans fats and diallyl sulfide (garlic smell).

An article found through Tangled Bank at balancing life on finding a sour receptor in mice.

Via Megnut: A good article about Roquefort Cheese. While I don’t agree with the biases of this article, Bread and Money writes about why people love raw milk.

Article from the Guardian suggests that in the future food allergies will no longer be a problem.

The Dynamic of Cats on the effects of hard water.

The Frontal Cortex on Frappuccinos.

Food Links Sept 8

Terra Sigillata on Grass Fed Beef labeling

Via Pure Pedantry and The Daily Transcript is a link to an animation of cellular processes

Hey, a newish Food Science related blog is Eating Fabulous. From her first post in July:

The star of the show are foods that does more than simply fill in an empty stomach. More than satisfying nutritional requirements, functional foods and nutraceuticals provide specific health benefits. We’ll be talking about why and how tomatoes help in reducing heart disease and some cancers. Or how probiotic yoghurt helps keep disease-causing bacteria in the gut in check. Or, hey, did you know that apple cider vinegar can help lower blood sugar? Such are the stuff this blog will be made of: Fabulous foods!

Consider yourself blogrolled!

The BBC reports that Iceland is about start trading in whalemeat. Yummy!

And the Beeb also reports on a study showing why high protein diets work. Keep eaten that whalemeat.

This week is the British Association “Festival of Science” held in Norwich. It is from there that the New Scientist reports on the possibility that probiotics might help autism. Or it would if the trial could be completed properly.

A new book is coming: An Appetite for Profit and the author has a blog (via US Food Policy).

EurekaAlerts:

Fishing trade may help Africa.

I’m reading Peter Singer and Jim Mason’s Why We Eat at the moment so I still have my doubts as to whether fishing can ever be sustainable.

Children with lactose intolerance should be given dairy

Edible coatings are the packaging of the future

Finally not food but cancer, The Cheerful Oncologist reports that there is decline in death rates from most common cancers. Interestingly he reports from a study that shows that the first puff of a cigarette…

“may represent the beginning of a process that leads rapidly to symptoms of nicotine dependence and escalating cigarette use in some young smokers.”

So my parents’ brainwashing me to believe that one cigarette would make you addicted wasn’t incorrect after all.

Food Links Sept 4

These are some food links I’ve collected over the past week. I meant to post them Friday but we had a power outage in the evening. I’ve been enjoying a screen free weekend up to this point. It is nice to rest my eyes and convince myself that I am not addicted to the computer and blogging.

The Cheerful Oncologist says that the party is over.

Pharyngula asks which fair food would you inflict on some one?

A High School Senior complains about the restrictions on junk food in his high school at the Lawrence Journal World (KS).

San Fransico Journal reports an an increase in rickets (yes, you read that right) in youngests in the bay area.

The Salt Lake Tribune discusses how carrying out research will increase the cost of dietary supplements

For more information on dietary supplements visit NIH’s Office of Dietary Supplements

Chicago Tribune gives information how to keep food in the fridge safe

GrrlScientist reminds you to have fun with food

I was going to comment on the fact that C&EN, the weekly magazine from the American Chemical Society, has two interesting articles in their Newscripts section about food from a food science perspective. Unfortunately, this section is only available to subscribers. However, Discovering Biology blog also refers to ACS’s What’s Stuff website

Nothing to do with food, but this is science on the ground floor. The Closing Session from the 16th International Aids Conference can be heard here and The World’s Fair has the transcript of the remarks by Stephen Lewis, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.