Tree Nuts

We've talked about food allergies before. This hypersensitivity is an abnormal response to a food that is triggered by the immune system. True food allergies affect a relatively small percentage of people, but it is extremely important for people who have true food allergies to prevent those allergic reactions because these reactions can cause devastating illness and, in some cases, be fatal.

In the US, most food allergies fall into what is called the Big 8, which account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions: eggs, milk, peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish and tree nuts. What exactly are tree nuts? You'd be surprised how many different nuts grow on trees and what is considered a tree nut from a food allergy standpoint.

This week, a look at tree nuts.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." - Jimmy Buffett (singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and recently a movie producer, 1946 - )

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Aflatoxin and You

Aspergillus flavus is a wide spread saprotroph (an organism that obtains its nutrients from non-living organic matter, usually dead and decaying plant or animal matter, by absorbing soluble organic compounds). It is typically found in soil, seeds, fruits and decaying vegetation. Under favorable conditions, it can produce a toxin known as aflatoxin.

Why talk about it? Aflatoxin can cause acute necrosis, cirrhosis, and carcinoma of the liver in a number of animal species.

Aflatoxicosis (poisoning that results from ingestion of aflatoxins) in humans has rarely been reported; outbreaks occurred in India in 1974 and Keyna in 1982. It is difficult to recognize, so cases are not always readily diagnosed.

This week, a look at aflatoxin.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "So divinely is the world organized that every one of us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German dramatist, novelist, poet, & scientist, 1749 - 1832)

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The World in a Glass - Six Drinks That Changed History

Throughout human history, certain drinks have done much more than just quench thirst. As Tom Standage relates in A History of the World in 6 Glasses, six of them have had a surprisingly pervasive influence on the course of history, becoming the defining drink during a pivotal historical period.

If you want the entire story, I'll lend you the book. This week, a very brief look at the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the 21st century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and cola.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda, 'The Empire Strikes Back'

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The World in a Glass - Six Drinks That Changed History

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Honey, they've shrunk the grocery store

We've talked about how groceries and grocery packaging has been getting smaller. What is left, you say? The store itself.

This week, how grocery stores are getting smaller.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn't come every day." - George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion, Act 2 (Irish dramatist & socialist, 1856 - 1950)

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Honey, They'Ve Shrunk the Grocery Store

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