Tag Archives: children’s health

Weekly Round Up, 10.26.12

Good Bacteria

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • Could Prebiotics Be Healthier Than Probiotics? – Consumers and doctors tend to think all probiotics and prebiotics are beneficial, but it’s becoming clear that they have different effects. Could prebiotics, the food for the good bacteria known as probiotics, have more benefits than a dose of the microbes, particularly for people with serious health problems like preemies? Baby formula manufacturers have started adding prebiotics. Continue reading →

Ruby Roth: Children’s Author and Vegan Advocate

Vegan is Love

When Ruby Roth decided to try the vegan lifestyle a few years ago, it was for health reasons, not activism. But as her health improved so did her resolution, especially after research led her to conclude that veganism was more in line with her morals and values.

Later, at an after-school program, her art students were fascinated by her choice to abstain from the snack they were served each day. Roth looked for books that would help explain her decisions to children; when she couldn’t find any that “didn’t have talking animals and vegetables,” she decided to write her own. That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals is currently going into its second printing and is distributed in multiple languages. Vegan is Love, her recently released second book, secured her role as an author and advocate for the vegan life.

We caught up with Roth at Clean Plates-approved Sage bistro to eat well and talk about her voyage into writing, the controversy surrounding her books and veganism. Continue reading →

Weekly Round Up, 9.21.12

Healthy School Lunch Fights Obesity

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • Billionaire Philanthropists Fund Massive Nutrition Science Initiative – 38-year-old hedge fund manager John Arnold, with his wife Laura, put $5 million in seed money towards the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), whose lofty goals are to perform scientifically valid studies to discover what truly causes obesity and thus reduce the U.S. obesity rate from its current 35% to 15%, and reduce diabetes incidence from 8% to 2%, all by 2020. Continue reading →

Weekly Round Up, 9.14.12

Farewell large soda

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • It’s Official: NYC Health Panel Bans Big Sodas – The New York City Board of Health approved a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters on Thursday – the first restriction of its kind in the country – in an effort to reduce skyrocketing obesity rates. Convenience stores, vending machines and some newsstands would be exempt.
  • Greater Variety Increases Vegetable Intake – A study performed at Penn State and published in the August issue of Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that when participants were served three different vegetables that filled up half their plate, both men and women ate over one half-serving more than when served only one veggie — even when it was their favorite. Continue reading →

Weekly Round Up, 8.24.12

Waste Not Want Not

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • Study Finds Americans Waste Up to 40% of Their Food – A new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council found that American trash up to 40% of the nation’s food supply every year, which creates the largest amount of solid waste in landfills. The study found the average family of four wastes about 20 pounds of food per person per month, and about $2,275 per year.
  • Lawyers That Took on Tobacco Now Targeting Big Food – Attorneys who won millions of dollars in record class action settlements against the tobacco industry have turned their sites on Big Agribusiness. In the last four months a dozen of those lawyers have filed 25 cases against ConAgra, Monsanto, General Mills, PepsiCo, Heinz and Chobani, claiming that the companies have wrongly labeled ingredients and products in violation of federal regulations.
  • New Scanner App Gives Gluten-free, Dietary Alerts – Fooducate has come out with a new smartphone app that scans barcodes on packaged foods; users can choose up to three alerts that will warn them if products contain gluten, peanuts, eggs, soy, tree nuts, fish, shellfish or milk. It also informs gluten-free users if the food was processed in a facility with gluten. The app costs $4.99.
  • Kids State Dinner at White House Celebrates Healthy Eaters – First Lady Michelle Obama, as part of her Let’s Move! initiative, hosted a State Dinner — well, luncheon — to honor the 54 kids (and their folks) from each state and territory who won the contest to develop a healthy, delicious recipe. (The link above includes the free cookbook.) The President dropped in to say hello. The menu included kale chips, a corn, bean and quinoa salad, and fruit smoothies.
  • “Good Food on a Tight Budget” Guide Helps Families – The Environmental Working Group reviewed government surveys and tests for nearly 1,200 foods, then factored in prices, nutrients, pesticides, environmental pollutants and artificial ingredients, and chose the best 100+ foods for their guide. The site also includes tools for tracking food prices, plus menu planning and shopping list tools.

What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for links like these all week long.

Photo courtesy of goblinbox.

Weekly Round Up, 8. 17.12

How You Like Them Apples?

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • Bagged Apple Slices Recalled for Possible Listeria Contamination – Packaged apple slices across the country were recalled this week due to potential contamination by the bacteria listeria monocytogenes, all from one processing plant. They’re sold nationally under the labels Ready Pac, Wawa, Wegmans, Safeway Farms and Hannaford, plus fast food chains McDonald’s and Burger King. Want fries with that? Continue reading →

Weekly Round Up, 8.3.12

Maine Lobstah

Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week:

  • Lobsters Swim North Due to Ocean Warming – The seas are following the climate as global temperatures continue to rise, and this has led to a shift in American lobster habitats. These crustaceans’ locale is closely linked to the temperature of the ocean floor; in the last several years, lobsters in the Atlantic have been migrating north in search of cooler waters. There is also evidence linking rising seawater temperatures to a spread in a lobster shell disease. Continue reading →

Weekly Round Up, 6.29.12

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Here are some of the best food stories we came across this week: