on my mind monday 08.06.12

news | photo: mconnors

It's never the same two weeks in a row.  A collection of what I find interesting in the world of food, nutrition and holistic health.  Here's what's on my mind.

GMO Sugar Beets Approved - Quite frankly this is bad news, in my opinion.  We do not need more GMO foods, we need less.  We also need to clearly identify which foods are GMO.   Add beet sugar (if you use it) to the list of foods that now need to be purchased organically in order to ensure that you do not get GMO contamination.

Waterbeds for Cows - seems like an interesting concept.  Apparently it's healthier for the cows and more sanitary as well.   I'm all for health and sanitation.  I just wonder if the cows notice the difference.

Mashed Potato Machine - And in the totally disgusting category...we now have a machine that dispenses mashed potatoes.  No doubt chemically laden, definitely a cheap, fast source of carbohydrates.  Not sure why anyone would want to eat machine made mashed potatoes.  All this will do is contribute to ill health.

The Last Days of Low Fat - Adding to the confusion that many eaters have about food the pendulum is at least swinging in the right direction.  It has been shown a number of times that low fat has, quite possibly, contributed greatly to our epidemic of obesity.  This is because when you remove fat and replace it with trans-fats, simple carbs, and sugars, you overwhelm the system.  Fats are not bad for you, if you choose healthy fats.

Lentils in your yogurt? - Lentils are a source of inulin which is a prebiotic food (something that feeds probiotics).  Recent studies have shown that adding green lentil powder to yogurt inoculated with live cultures increased the probiotic activity.  Too much lentil, however, caused very high levels of fermentation activity and caused the yogurt to look curdled.  I'm guessing it won't be long before we see lentil powder as an ingredient on the yogurt label.