I can still taste it…my last Filet-o-Fish: warm, flaky, loaded with salt and fat. The tartar sauce dripped from the corners of my mouth like…well you know.

I can still taste it…my last Filet-o-Fish: warm, flaky, loaded with salt and fat. The tartar sauce dripped from the corners of my mouth like…well you know.

"Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food" — Hippocrates. That is the message from the founding father of modern medicine echoed in the controversial new documentary film Food Matters from Producer-Directors James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch. (PRWeb Mar 15, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/03/prweb773104.htm

In The Food Intolerance Bible (Conari Press, April 2008), Antony J. Haynes, a top nutritionist, has devised a unique plan to help readers identify and avoid food intolerances and allergies, which affect nearly all Americans. (PRWeb Mar 26, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/03/prweb796774.htm

The Good Nutrition Guide reveals true health rankings for UK's best-loved food brands.Food packaging and food advertising is rife with vague and exaggerated health claims. Research on which brands really are the healthiest and which are the unhealthiest are revealed for the first time in a new book out on January 31st, The Good Nutrition Guide. (PRWeb Jan 31, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/01/prweb662313.htm

The Good Nutrition Guide reveals true health rankings for UK's best-loved food brands.Food packaging and food advertising is rife with vague and exaggerated health claims. Research on which brands really are the healthiest and which are the unhealthiest are revealed for the first time in a new book out on January 31st, The Good Nutrition Guide. (PRWeb Jan 31, 2008)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/01/prweb662313.htm

The Good Nutrition Guide reveals true health rankings for UK's best-loved food brands.Food packaging and food advertising is rife with vague and exaggerated health claims. Research on which brands really are the healthiest and which are the unhealthiest are revealed for the first time in a new book out on January 31st, The Good Nutrition Guide. (PRWeb Jan 31, 2008)
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/01/prweb662313.htm

A variety of sources are now reporting on the "news" that the amount of nutrients in our food supply has decreased over the past 50 years.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=1671868

I find this fascinating, because I've been telling people about this in my nutrition lectures for years. Would you like the most obvious alert? Compare the food pyramid today from the one originally published about 20 years ago. The intake recommendedation raw fruits and vegetables had increased every time an update to the food pyramid has been released. This is because the amount of measured nutrients in our raw food supply is decreasing.

Of course, that's for raw food. How much raw food are you eating. You also know that cooking depletes many nutrients and therefore increases the amount of food you need to satisfy your nutritional requirements, right? Either that, or take supplements to supplement your nutrient intake.

ABCNews reports that using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Davis concludes that recently grown crops have shown decreases of up to 38 percent in protein, calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus, iron and riboflavin when compared with produce from past decades.

The main problem is attributed the needs of the modern world. There are more people to feed so fertilizers and other "techniques" are being used to increase crop yield and speed the growth of the plants. Unfortunately, the plants can't keep up with the demand and the amount of nutrients distributed to the fruits and vegetables have decreased as a result.

Let's not forget green harvesting…but that's another blog.

A flury of reports today are talking about how people are starting to point their finger at the food companies as the blame of the increasing obesity of Americans.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11823972/
http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2006/03/18/ap2605096.html

We share the blame for this problem. NO ONE needs to drink a 64oz anything. NO ONE needs a Venti anything. Perhaps a treat is fine, once in a while, but not as daily subsistence. Last time I checked, gluttony was still considered a sin. We are choosing these empty calorie blasts and suffering for it. I think the problem is that many people don't actually know they are causing these problems for themselves.

At a certain "QuickieMart" the 12oz cup is referred to as the child's size of soda. Most people then reach for the 32oz version.

In a previous blog, I pointed out that one can of the average soda has about 130 calories. So one can a day is about 47,450 empty, useless, unnecessary calories a year.

Ok, so how about doing the math with a 32oz drink a day? That comes out to 123,370 calories a year.

And how long are you on the Stair Master each day? Are you really burning off those calories?

And don’t even get me started on “diet” drinks. Read a book called Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills for a real eye opener on those “sugar substitutes.”

So how about a whole, Venti Latte? According to the web site that company maintains, that’s 340 calories with 160 of those from fat.

340 times 365 is 124,100 calories a year for your 10:00 AM fix.

But wait, you say, I only drink skim Latte’s. Ok, that’s 210 calories…

210 times 365 is 76, 650 calories a year. Are you still feeling like that’s a slim version of your favorite drink? At least there are zero fat calories with that option…

Oh, and by the way, it has 290 mg of Sodium. 500 gm is about all you should have in a day.

Soy Latte? 270 calories and 70 from fat. You can do the math yourself.

The point of all this is awareness. The food companies say it is your fault if you get fat and sick from their products. I seem to remember the tobacco companies saying the same thing but don’t expect to be part of a settlement here. Courts have already through out cases based on the fact that we call this stuff “junk food.” We should know better.

Here's a round up of some recent news stories on nutrition, health, wellness, exercise and all the rest. There's a lot out there! -

JUST A TASTE | HELEN SCHWAB 
The Fig Tree (1601 E. Seventh St.) hosts a seven-session series called "Scents & Subtleties of the Wines of the World," Monday evenings beginning March 5. Topics include an introduction to tasting, wine and food pairings and storage. Cost is $125 for the entire series or $30 per session and featured wines will be available at a discount; 704-332-3322.

Gambia leader pushes herbs for AIDS 
BANJUL, Gambia From the pockets of his billowing white robe, Gambia's president pulls out a plastic container, closes his eyes in prayer and rubs a green herbal paste onto the rib cage of the patient a concoction he claims is a cure for AIDS.

More Women Having High-Risk Pregnancies 
Obstetricians are responding to a surge in high-risk pregnancies.

Sally Field Still Going Strong 
Sally Field has been fighting long and hard, taking on tough roles, on and off the screen. From workers and womens rights to anti-nuclear protests, the two-time Academy Award winner has always met challenges head on, fighting for the welfare of others.

Your A-Z Health Guide ; DESPITE A WEALTH OF EXOTIC FOOD AVAILABLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD, WESCOTS ARE STILL CLINGING TO … 
By Amanda Keenan THE quality and variety of food throughout Scotland is greater than ever before - yet people are still making poor nutritional choices.

General Mills And Disney Consumer Products Introduce Three New Big G Cereals 
General Mills and Disney Consumer Products introduce three new Big G cereals: Disney's Little Einsteins Fruity Stars, Disney's Princess Fairytale Flakes and Disney's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Berry Crunch

Vitamin D May Cut Elders' Falls 
Vitamin D, taken in a high dose, may help prevent falls in the elderly.

Seniors Taking Vitamin D May Fall Less 
Giving a high dose of vitamin D could reduce the number of falls in nursing homes.

Wrestlers run & chill waiting for state championships 
Spencer Casey has a quiet weekend planned.

In brief