Healthy living today: goodbye Happy Meals, how not to fight colds and benefits of bathing less
Is organic produce better for you? (The Independent): “A team of Danish scientists measured the amounts of antioxidant polyphenols, compounds known to protect against cancers and heart disease, and discovered no differences between organic produce and produce grown using pesticides and fertilizers. However, the team acknowledges that there are still plenty of good reasons to pay a premium for organics - environmental protection, better taste, and no pesticide residue. The study was recently published in the American Chemical Society's bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.”
San Francisco bans Happy Meals (L.A. Times): “The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat. The ordinance would also require restaurants to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys. "We're part of a movement that is moving forward an agenda of food justice," said Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. "From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate. It's a survival issue and a day-to-day issue."
Turmeric has many health benefits (Poughkeepsie Journal): “Some researchers believe turmeric may prevent and slow the growth of several cancers, particularly tumors of the esophagus, mouth, intestine, stomach, breast and skin. Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering indicates it makes sense to drink green tea along with a meal spiced with turmeric for a double-boost of anti-cancer protective effects.”
How not to fight colds (New York Times): “Here was a new insight in cold science: the symptoms are caused not by the virus but by its host — by the body’s inflammatory response. Chemical agents manufactured by our immune system inflame our cells and tissues, causing our nose to run and our throat to swell. The enemy is us. So susceptibility to cold symptoms is not a sign of a weakened immune system, but quite the opposite. And if you’re looking to quell those symptoms, strengthening your immune system may be counterproductive. It could aggravate the symptoms by amplifying the very inflammatory agents that cause them.”
The great unwashed (New York Times): “Resist the urge to recoil at this swath of society: They may be on to something. Of late, researchers have discovered that just as the gut contains good bacteria that help it run more efficiently, so does our skin brim with beneficial germs that we might not want to wash down the drain. “Good bacteria are educating your own skin cells to make your own antibiotics,” said Dr. Richard Gallo, chief of the dermatology division at the University of California, San Diego, and “they produce their own antibiotics that kills off bad bacteria.”
