Fascinating article about lead content in aged balsamic vinegars.
Not something I really wanted to read, considering how I enjoy balsamic vinegar dressing on my salad. Its just amazing to me sometimes how dangerous even the most innocuous foods are these. Its like now matter how hard you try, you just can't escape something in food killing you. Its a fallen world.
The LA Times has an article on movie theater popcorn and how dreadful this stuff continues to be. I'm surprised, though, that there's no mention of hydrogenated oils, which I would have figured to be the biggest health culprit in the stuff (liquid margarine... yuck...) I stopped eating the stuff long ago - actually, I stopped going to the movies years ago too, and only rarely catch a film (I think the last film I saw was the 'Indiana Jones - Crystal Skull' film, which was just ridiculous and silly.)
The best bet for popcorn is to just invest in an air popper, then lightly salt/lightly butter it at home. Cheaper, healthier, and I think tastier than then microwaved versions.
Here's an excellent book for those with hypothyroid. Worth checking out if you have any of the symptoms and discussing with your doctor.
I've just started reading about phthalates, a type of plastic chemical found in a number of products, and some of the detrimental health effects from this stuff. It's one of those things like hydrogenated oils that, once you start reading about it and some of the bad things reported about it, it can just be overwhelming (particularly some of the studies reporting reproductive problems associated with phthalates.)
In terms of plastic, I know that I've had drinks from plastic containers and picked up that "plasticy" taste to the water, so the idea of plastics in material being ingested isn't an alien idea (it;s part of why I try to avoid using plastic bottles and utensils when I can, but it can be hard to avoid sometimes.) This is one of those things that makes me think I'm long overdue for another fast.
Another interesting article from natural news about the "safe" level of melamine in foods, namely infant formula. I know that sometimes formula is the only option for some babies, which is why there should be better safety standards in terms of what goes into infant formula.
Yahoo! had another half-decent article on the negative side of soda, including citing the negatives of aspartame. The article could have gone a little bit further, but I think the article covered a number of important negative aspects of regular soda consumption. I do enjoy non-HFCS soda's from time to time, and these are likely my biggest nutritional vice, and the article points out some good alternatives to soda (such as water, which I really should be drinking more of.)
Read more...
There was an article in the health news today about the FDA to study the negative effects of Lasik. I'm curious to see what, if anything, will come from this.
I remember chatting with the optometrist about this procedure at my last eye exam. I've read a number of things about people getting chronic dry eye (and even worse, chronic pain) from having the surgery done, so I asked about some of this. As I understand it, the laser surgery can potentially damage the tiny optic nerves in the eye, that play a big part in telling the eye how and when to hydrate itself.
This isn't something I'll be getting anytime soon. The contacts I wear work fine (although they tend to get dry around 5 pm, so I transition to glasses around then.)
I'm a big fan of seaweed, so I found this article interesting, both the article and the comment connected to it, about mercury and seaweed. This article has had me curious enough to include a blood mercury test as part of my blood work that I need to do this year as part of my employer's benefit plan. Considering that I was fully vaccinated as a child (albeit by a much lighter CDC schedule years ago) I wonder how much mercury I've stocked up in my brain over the years... :)
Historical Data Shows Vaccines are Not what Saved Us
I read this today, and while I still try to see both sides of the issue, some of the things I hear about vaccine damaging people is just hard to get past.
