People Think Snacks With Green Nutrition Labels Are Healthier

By Shaunacy Ferro, in Popular Science: No matter how smart we think we are, humanity continues to be fooled by simple marketing tricks. Various experiments have found wearing the color red is more likely to get you a date. Another new study suggests that a green hue can convince you that a candy bar isn’t really that unhealthy.

As part of a study published in Health Communication, Jonathon Schuldt,  of Cornell University, asked 93 college students to imagine they were in a grocery store checkout line, hungry and looking at candy bars. Then he showed them an image of a candy bar with a green or a red calorie label, and asked them how healthy they thought the candy relative to other candy bars, and whether they thought it had more or fewer calories. They thought the candy bar with the green label was a healthier option than the red one, despite the fact that had the same number of calories. Continue reading »

Red Lentil Soup with “C” Spices

It’s hard to find time to make healthy dinners during the busy holiday season.  Here’s help: a simple, quick vegetarian soup that takes ten minutes of preparation time and twenty minutes to simmer. Coriander, cardamon, cloves, and cinnamon team up with more traditional soup spices like cumin, cayenne pepper, chili pepper and curry to add an exotic flavor. You probably have many of these “C” spices on hand for holiday cookies. With this soup, you’ll pull them out more than once a year!  Customize the spice combination and vary the flavors the next time you make it.  It’s high in protein and fiber, low in fat and calories, and doesn’t really need salt. Enjoy!

1 small onion, chopped (use pre-diced onions to save time)
1/4 cup chopped red pepper, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
1 cup red split lentils, rinsed well
4 cups water (or broth)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne and/or chili pepper (more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Saute onion (and red pepper) in oil in a thick-bottomed pot until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, rinse the lentils in a sieve.  Add the rinsed lentils to the translucent onion in the pot alnog with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and add spices. Simmer for 20 minutes.  Adjust spices as desired.

Antibacterial Personal Care Products Are Linked to Allergies in Children

 From Science Daily (June 19, 2012) This study gives us yet another reason to use more natural products! Cathie— Exposure to common antibacterial chemicals and preservatives found in soap, toothpaste, mouthwash and other personal-care products may make children more prone to a wide range of food and environmental allergies, according to new research from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.  Results of the NIH-funded study are published online ahead of print June 18 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

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Little Bit of Exercise, Big Benefits

ScienceDaily: A new University of Colorado Boulder study shows that a small amount of physical exercise could profoundly protect the elderly from long-term memory loss that can happen suddenly following infection, illnesses or injury in old age.

In the study, CU-Boulder Research Associate Ruth Barrientos and her colleagues showed that aging rats that ran just over half a kilometer each week were protected against infection-induced memory loss.

“Our research shows that a small amount of physical exercise by late middle-aged rats profoundly protects against exaggerated inflammation in the brain and long-lasting memory impairments that follow a serious bacterial infection,” said Barrientos of the psychology and neuroscience department.

“Strikingly, this small amount of running was sufficient to confer robust benefits for those that ran over those that did not run,” Barrientos said. “This is an important finding because those of advanced age are more vulnerable to memory impairments following immune challenges such as bacterial infections or surgery. With baby boomers currently at retirement age, the risk of diminished memory function in this population is of great concern. Thus, effective noninvasive therapies are of substantial clinical value.”

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