Print a Meal, the New Shake 'n' Bake

The team at Cornell University's Computational Synthesis Lab (CCSL) are building a 3D food printer, as part of the bigger Fab@home project, which they hope one day will be as commonplace as the microwave oven or blender......more from the BBC

To Burn Fat, Exercise Before Breaking the Morning Fast

New York Times     Dec 15, 2010           
The Benefits of Exercising Before Breakfast
A recent study by scientists in Australia found that after only three days, an extremely high-fat, high-calorie diet can lead to increased blood sugar and insulin resistance, potentially increasing the risk for Type 2 diabetes. Waistlines also can expand at this time of year, prompting self-recrimination and unrealistic New Year’s resolutions.

But a new study published in The Journal of Physiology suggests a more reliable and far simpler response. Run or bicycle before breakfast. Exercising in the morning, before eating, the study results show, seems to significantly lessen the ill effects of holiday Bacchanalias......

exercising in a fasted state (usually possible only before breakfast), coaxes the body to burn a greater percentage of fat for fuel during vigorous exercise, instead of relying primarily on carbohydrates. When you burn fat, you obviously don’t store it in your muscles........read the complete article at The New York Times

Are Your Friends Making You Fat?

Harvard Gazette

Nov. 5, 2010

Researchers at Harvard University say America’s obesity epidemic won’t plateau until at least 42 percent of adults are obese, an estimate derived by applying mathematical modeling to 40 years ofFramingham Heart Study data.

Their work, published this week in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, runs counter to recent assertions by some experts that the obesity rate, which has been at 34 percent for the past five years, may have peaked. An additional 34 percent of American adults are overweight but not obese, according to the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Harvard scientists say that their modeling shows that the proliferation of obesity among American adults in recent decades owes in large part to its accelerating spread via social networks.....read more at the Harvard Gazette

Protien and Healthy Fats in the Morning and Cereal Grains at Night?

 Yes! Save the cereal grains, granola, jam and toast for a sleep inducing late night snack. 
Breakfast is the time to break the fast, and let your body know it's not going to be starved for the day.
The key is to watch your serving sizes, practice mindfulness while you eat, don't gobble and eat slowely...stop when you are 80% full

Hearty and delicious breakfast suggestions from around the globe: 
•Eggs Benedict  •veggie and cheese omelet  •broiled fish and the slightly sweet Japanese omelet Tamagoyaki  •Chinese dim sum dumplings of delectable seafood's  •Vietnamese seafood or poultry Pho  •Indian curry, dal or sag paneer  •Mexican breakfast burrito with regular or soy chorizo • Quiche, Strata or Italian Fritata


Los Angeles Times 
April 2, 2010 
 A new study suggests our bodies are primed to eat high-fat meals upon waking, and that high-carbohydrate breakfasts (mmm, pancakes) set us up to be unable to process high-fat meals later in the day.....
Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Baylor College of Medicine kept two groups of mice. One group got a high-fat meal upon waking and a low-fat meal before bedtime; the other had the low-fat meal first and the high-fat meal for dinner. Both groups of mice consumed “identical” amounts of total calories and calories from fat.  But the mice with high-fat breakfasts had “significantly lower body weights and body fat composition” than their counterparts who ate high-fat dinners, according to their study published this week in the International Journal of Obesity.
Those weren’t the only differences. The mice that began the day with more carbs developed insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. They also wound up with more insulin, leptin and triglycerides circulating in their blood, which are also associated with diabetes and heart disease....more from Los Angeles Times

Time-of-day-dependent dietary fat consumption influences multiple cardiometabolic syndrome parameters in mice.....full article from Pub Med

BBC

Alcohol: Is it really good for you?

By Sue Nelson
Writer and Broadcaster

...................."It's an absolute myth that red wine is good for you," says Professor Valerie Beral from the University of Oxford and lead author of the Million Women study."The evidence is not there."Professor Roger Corder, author of The Red Wine Diet, would disagree."Our research identified a group of chemicals called procyanadins which are polyphenols, and the key component in terms of protecting from heart disease."Polyphenols, such as the antioxidant resveratrol, are found in the skins of red wine grapes."In high doses it does seem to enhance the lifespan of mice. But," he adds crucially, "you need huge doses."......more from BBC..

Reuters, Recession an Inflated Waistlines

By Ed Stoddard

DALLAS (Reuters) - Americans may reduce the amount they spend on food in response to a sour economy but some experts fear they may pick up weight in the process.

The specter of "recession pounds" is a concern weighing on health professionals, who point to numerous studies linking obesity and unhealthy eating habits to low incomes.

They fear that as people cut food spending they will cut back on healthy but relatively expensive items such as fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and whole grains, in favor of cheaper options high in sugar and saturated fats.

"People ... are going to economize and as they save money on food they will be eating more empty calories or foods high in sugar, saturated fats and refined grains, which are cheaper," said Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Nutrition Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"Things are going to get worse," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "Obesity is a toxic result of a failing economic environment."

Drewnowski's own research has highlighted the link between income and obesity.

"In Seattle we have found that there are fivefold differences in obesity rates depending on the zip code -- the low-income zip codes have a much higher proportion of obese people," he said.....

The rate of new cases of diabetes soared by about 90 percent in the United States in the past decade, fueled by growing obesity and sedentary lifestyles, U.S. health officials said in October.........more

Melamine and Food

San Francisco Chronicle

Mark Schlosberg,Elanor Starmer

Cookies. Candy. Instant coffee. Pretzels. Ice cream. Yogurt. Crackers and biscuits. Eggs and products containing powdered eggs. Cake. Powdered and condensed milk, and products containing them. Livestock and fish feed. Soy milk. Pie. Wheat gluten. Cereal. Tea.

Chances are good that you have consumed one of these products recently, or will in the coming days and weeks. If any of them are from China - and no, you may not be able to tell by looking at the label - then you may want to sit up and pay attention.

These foods of Chinese origin have been found by authorities in the United States, Canada, Australia, or parts of Asia to contain an industrial chemical called melamine that is used to make plastic. In recent weeks, the Chinese government has admitted that adding melamine to food - which raises protein levels, making poor-quality products look more nutritious - is common practice in China.....more

Will Eating Red Meat make us more susceptible to E-Coli?

According to a breakthrough study, e-coli survives and thrives on a sugar molecule contained in red meat and unpasteurized dairy and not naturally produced by the human body. When humans consume red meat and dairy they ingest the sugar Neu5Gc, and store it in the intestines and kidneys (kidney failure is an extreme reaction to e-coli infection). This non human sugar molecule is exactly what the E-coli organism/toxin seeks out and needs to survive, and if it is found, infection to the host will result. Humans that do not consume red meat and unpasteurised dairy lack the sugar and are seemingly, immune.
One of the most remarkeable parts of the study, the food is the carrier of the catalyst for the toxin that is also carried by the same food.....very trippy
The study has not explored how long the sugar is stored or how the body breaks it down and how long that would take.

Study:Dr Travis Beddoe from Monash University in Melbourn and reported in Nature

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Red meat primes body for intestinal germ: study

PARIS (AFP) — A steady diet of red meat makes the body more susceptible to a virulent form of intestinal bug that can cause bloody diarrhoea and even death, according to a study to be published on Thursday.
Researchers in the United States and Australia said persistently eating red meat appears to prime the body for exposure to this potent form of Escherichia coli (E. coli).
The meat naturally contains sugar molecules called Neu5Gc that accumulate in cells lining the intestines and blood vessels.
These molecules also act as a sort of magnet for the toxins exuded by the E. coli strain, thus making it easier for the poisons to enter the blood stream, they said.
"Prior meat eating would set one up for the toxin to bind when it shows up," explained Ajit Varki, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego, one of the study's co-authors.
The Neu5Gc molecule is virtually absent in other foods such as fish, poultry and vegetables and fruits, Varki told AFP in an email exchange.
The investigation, published in the London-based journal Nature, is led by Travis Beddoe of Monash University in Melbourne.
In experiments, the team first tested the affinity of the E. coli bacteria for Neu5Gc using cultured human cells in a lab dish...........more