Maybe I'll rethink how much sodium I eat.

Ever since my grandfather has been on a low sodium diet, I've been reading food labels religiously. It's been very difficult finding food that is low sodium and has some semblance of taste. I'm told going low sodium is an acquired taste but it's something I'm not looking forward to. I've always wanted to know what level is considered low sodium and what products were rated well in many food categories that were low sodium. I did some research and found some great websites. Food that is low sodium has 5 percent of the total sodium count for the day and 100 mg or less per serving is recommended. Any foods with more than 480 mg per serving is not recommended. The other website showed a comparison of fast food restaurants and their foods by category in calories, sodium, fat and carbs. What I found was not surprising. As an example: McDonald's 6 piece chicken nuggets - 250 calories, 670 sodium, Wendy's 5 piece chicken nuggets - 230 calories, 520 mg sodium. Both would be unacceptable. The websites are: http://www.lowsaltfoods.com/ and http://www.acaloriecounter.com/fast-foods.php

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Posted in: Food,Health,Kyle

Food in the Gulf of Mexico?

The thought of food in the Gulf of Mexico would probably fuel certain thoughts ranging from BP's oil spill to the probably devastated seabed. As such, has anyone ever come across the thought of whether or not the locals, that may or may not be dependent on seafood, are able to actually eat what is caught in the gulf? Wait a minute, everything that thrives in that large body of water is dead...Right?

Wrong.

Although humans are able to significantly change the environment in both good and bad terms, the ecosystem's strength is sometimes underestimated. As such, the perfect example would be the status of the Gulf of Mexico, and the associated local seafood businesses, following BP's oil spill. Justine Sterling of Food in the News, a blog affiliated with MSN, provides coverage of local restaurants and how they're doing as of now:

Ralph Brennan, owner of the New Orleans Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection after the spill. He asserted that, "The environmental, economic and societal impact cannot be underestimated, minimized or abandoned." He has personally been working with his restaurants to support the industry and has seen good things come of it.

"After the spill, I mandated each of our chefs add more Gulf seafood to the menu," Brennan told us in an email. Brennan's restaurant, Red Fish Grill, has purchased over 102,000 pounds of Gulf seafood since the spill. He is absolutely certain that the seafood is safe to consume. "Every single test has shown that Gulf seafood is safe to consume," he said. "Today 99 percent of Louisiana waters are open for fishing and our restaurant traffic is up over the same time period last year."

But the coverage also provides insight on how the general population perceives the seafood coming from the Gulf. As such, there are still speculations as to the safety of the food and that's an issue affecting many seafood businesses. Throughout all the testings that state that the food are safe, in addition to the opened waters for fishing that implies the safety of the seafood caught, the public is still not persuaded.

In the end, science tells us it's safe but public opinion still falters and we hope to one day relinquish such fears from both the locals and to the people who provide demand for the exportation of the Gulf's seafood.

Via Food In the News
Photo provided by Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Blog

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Posted in: Food,Health,Ken

Cartooned packages wins kids over in taste

We'll feed your kids cardboard
Image from USATODAY.com

In a recent study done at the University of Pennsylvania, they have found that packaging featuring popular cartoon characters affect kids' tastes. In the study, the kids were given a sample from different types of cereals, one set with cartoon characters on it and another set without. The researchers also told the kids which cereals they were eating. Surprisingly, the researchers found that the kids who sampled the cereals from the boxes which featured cartoon characters generally scored their samples higher than those who ate the same cereal, but featured boxes without cartoon characters.
     It is no surprise that featuring cartoon character is a great way to market to kids. However, it is highly surprising that this factor on its own can affect what kids are willing to eat. Featuring cartoon characters on healthy foods may change their diets for the better. Although on the other end of the scale, this information can be used to force-feed our kids cardboard.

To to read this article in full, go here

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Posted in: Health,Herb,Kids