It’s not just what you eat–what you COOK it in can affect your health too. Children and teens with higher blood levels of the chemicals used non-stick cookware and waterproof fabrics have elevated total and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. Other ways they could have been exposed to these chemicals are through drinking water, dust, food packaging, microwave popcorn–and even air. A recent national survey results detected them in almost all} samples of human blood.read more

Do you have a finicky eater at your house? Scientists are studying some of them, trying to figure out what it is that’s driving them so crazy. But almost EVERYTHING tastes better grilled, and on holidays like Labor Day, we tend to do more of this.

When we not using propane, we use charcoal, and it turns out that charcoal is one of the most ancient fuels around: It was first used by Cro-Magnon Man 38,000 years ago, meaning that it may have been the first synthetic material produced by humans. Besides cooking, they used it to create cave art.
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Poor can’t eat well if they can’t buy good food – Even if they stick to the center, people in poor neighborhoods often have trouble buying healthy food, just like they have problems buying safe cars. No one wants a mixed salad tossed with extra bacteria, mold and yeast, but those are just what you might find when you try to eat a healthier diet in poorer neighborhoods. The level of bacteria found on the fresh produce can vary according to the income level of the neighborhoods where it’s for sale.
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It turns out that there are more problems with dining on sushi than just the fear of eating an endangered mammal. According to scientists, eating hot dogs can lead to genetic changes, but can it be the same for a healthy food like sushi?

Sushi can transfer specific genes into the human intestines, but ONLY if it is wrapped in seaweed, since the enzyme responsible for this comes from bacteria living on seaweed called Nori, which is the kind traditionally used to wrap sushi rolls.

In BBC News, Victoria Gill quotes researcher Mirjam Czjzek as saying that when they tested Japanese people, “Five out of the 13 people had this same gene [in their gut bacteria].” But when the researchers tested the gut bacteria of people in the US, “None of them had the gene.” read more