Eating Chocolate May Help Eyesight

Previous research suggests eating chocolate can make your brain sharper, that dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure and also appears to have a favorable effect on cholesterol levels, platelet function and insulin sensitivity.

Add improved eyesight to the list. A recent study found that dark chocolate might improve your ability to see in low-contrast situations, such as poor weather.

This week, a look at another benefit of chocolate, improved eyesight.

TTFN, Fred.



Eating Chocolate May Help Eyesight

For Soda, The Genie is Out of the Bottle

Who killed the soda fountain? Was it Franklin D. Roosevelt, who signed the 1933 repeal of Prohibition, allowing American adults to return to saloons and bars? Or one J. G. Kirby of Dallas, who opened the first drive-in restaurant in 1936, sparking a new national craze? Or was it William Painter who patented the crimped metal bottle cap, ultimately making fortunes for companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Royal Crown?

Dunno for sure, but perhaps like Mark Twain, the reports of its death were greatly exaggerated. As usual, looking for something new requires looking to the past.

This week, a look at a resurgence in soda fountains.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, 1929 - 1968)

For Soda, The Genie is Out of the Bottle

Is This Food Still Good?

It's a topic that, in many households, is worthy of calling in an expert in arbitration: expiration dates on food packaging. Put a person who considers them gospel in the same kitchen with someone who views them as a rule of thumb and you'll definitely find a conflict in need of resolution. So who's right? Well, you're not going to like this, but both are. Much depends on the specific food product in question and how it has been handled.

This week, a look at dates on foods.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars." - Rabindranath Tagore (Bengali poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright, 1861 - 1941)


Is This Food Still Good

Annatto

Consistency, it has been said, is the goal of any quality process. Such is the mantra of most cheddar cheese and butter manufacturers who desire the color of their product to be the same all year long, regardless of the changing weather and feed available to the cows who produce milk, the precursor of both butter and cheddar cheese.

Enter annatto, long used as a spice and a dye, to give both their characteristic shades. Honestly, would a little variation really matter? I prefer my cheddar to be white (or uncolored), but that's just me.

This week, a look at annatto.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "It is not what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." - Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known by his stage name Molière (French playwright and actor, 1622-1673)

Annatto

A Cautionary Tale - 1931 Botulism Poisoning Tragedy in North Dakota

Canning is a great way to preserve vegetables and fruits for your own use or for gifts. The basic principal is simple: during the canning process, food is heated to a high enough temperature to stop the decaying action of enzymes and/or bacteria and other microorganisms in the food. The food is then stored in sterile, airtight containers to prevent contamination.

This isn't a process you should treat carelessly. In the United States, an average of 22 cases of botulism are reported each year. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur are usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods.

This week, a cautionary tale on canning your own food.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." - Anthony J. D'Angelo (American author and motivational speaker, 1972- )

A Cautionary Tale - 1931 Botulism Poisoning Tragedy in North Dakota

Virtual Supermarket

Quick Response codes are a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) designed to be read by smartphones. The smartphone train left the station without me, as I continue to use a cell phone with little intelligence (as I recently described it, an abandoned caboose on a spur line no longer in use). QR codes are everywhere, with a recent and explosive 1200% increase in their use in North America alone.

There is literally no end to how they can be used, including shopping for groceries in the subway. Since I found this article, China has also added this technology in cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

Not quite shopping in your jammies, but still pretty convenient. This week, a look at Virtual Supermarkets.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932, 1841-1935)

Virtual Supermarket

Food Like a Drug?

A 2010 study with rats suggests that high-fat, high-calorie foods affect the brain in much the same way as cocaine and heroin. When rats consume these foods in great enough quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.

Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.

This week, a look at how food may be like a drug to our brains.

TTFN, Fred.

Quote of the week: "The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper." - Eden Phillpotts (British novelist, poet, and dramatist, 1862-1960)
Food Like a Drug