First, eating red meat is likely to kill you. Large studies have shown that the daily consumption of red meat increases the risk that you will die prematurely of heart disease or bowel cancer. This is now beyond serious scientific dispute. When the beef industry tries to deny the evidence, it is just repeating what the tobacco industry did 30 years ago. [...more]
Air quality in homes and offices is becoming a major health concern. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in indoor air emanate from adhesives, furnishings, clothing, and solvents and have been shown to cause illnesses in people. Researchers tested ornamental indoor plants for their ability to remove harmful VOCs from indoor air. The study concluded that simply introducing common ornamental plants into indoor spaces has the potential to significantly improve the quality of indoor air. [...more]
Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won't bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. [...more]
Bottled water across the country contains a wide variety of toxic substances, according to laboratory tests conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). "Our tests strongly indicate that the purity of bottled water cannot be trusted," the study authors write. "Given the industry's refusal to make available data to support their claims of superiority, consumer confidence in the purity of bottled water is simply not justified." [...more]
As scientific researchers who have spent our careers establishing the link between diet and disease, we find President Obama's directive on "restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making" very welcome news. We hope this will lead to health care policy that is informed by America's most ignored scientific fact on health: That a whole-foods plant-based diet can prevent and in many cases reverse heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases. [...more]
There is no more denying it. Meat contains highly toxic substances that are responsible for many deaths and diseases. Heavy meat consumption increases your risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, according to a federal study conducted by the National Cancer Institute and featured in Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday. [...more]
On the first day of spring — thousands of people in the US and around the world hold informative and educational Meatout events, including colourful "lifestivals", street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables. The public is asked to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains." [...more]
Far from fruit snobbery, the plum is being ushered in after Cisneros and Dr. David Byrne, AgriLife Research plant breeder, judged more than 100 varieties of plums, peaches and nectarines and found them to match or exceed the much-touted blueberries in antioxidants and phytonutrients associated with disease prevention. [...more]
Spicy foods add an incredible amount of flavour to food. As ethnic foods become abundant, chilli and spicy food is increasingly popular. The good news is that adding spice to our food has a range of benefits for our health and wellbeing. [...more]
What if there were a delicious, versatile, meatless, high protein food that could almost magically bring you good health, help prevent heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and keep your weight in check? You’d be willing to travel a way to get this food and pay a lot of money for it, wouldn’t you? Actually, you probably already have some of this hiding in the back of your pantry, and if not it’s available at the nearest grocery story at a very low price. This food is the mighty bean, an overlooked vegetable that is turning out to be a research superstar. [...more]
