Tag Archives: Food
WWII Propaganda Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help See in Dark
The science is pretty sound that carrots, by virtue of their heavy dose of Vitamin A (in the form of beta carotene), are good for your eye health. A 1998 Johns Hopkins study, as reported by the New York Times, even found that supplemental pills could reverse poor vision among those with a Vitamin A deficiency. But as John Stolarczyk knows all too well as curator of the World Carrot Museum, the truth has been stretched into a pervasive myth that carrots hold within a super-vegetable power: improving your night-time vision. But carrots cannot help you see better in the dark any more than eating blueberries will turn you blue.
Food Waste – A Story of Excess
We grow enough food to feed every single person on the planet, yet millions of people go to bed hungry. Discover the startling facts about global food waste and what we can do to solve this problem.
Really? The Claim: Fresh Produce Has More Nutrients Than Canned – NYTimes.com
Really? The Claim: Fresh Produce Has More Nutrients Than Canned – NYTimes.com By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
One way to make healthful meals more economical is to incorporate canned fruits and vegetables, which are often cheaper and more convenient than fresh produce. But does that mean sacrificing nutrients?
Thankfully, it does not. Studies show that like frozen produce, canned produce – provided it is free of added salt and sugars – has a nutrient value that is often as good as, if not better than, that of fresh produce.
Freshly picked fruits and vegetables typically do start with more vitamins and nutrients. But degradation occurs during shipping, and produce sold in many markets often sits on shelves or in storage for days before it reaches a shopper’s basket.
Canned produce can lose some of its nutritional value as well, particularly water-soluble nutrients like vitamins B and C. But over all, the nutrients in canned fruits and vegetables tend to be relatively stable because they are protected from the deteriorating effects of oxygen, a fact emphasized in an extensive report on the subject published in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture by researchers at the University of California, Davis.
“Fresh fruits and vegetables usually lose nutrients more rapidly than canned or frozen products,” the researchers wrote. “Losses of nutrients during fresh storage may be more substantial than consumers realize” and may not be reflected on nutrition labels.
At the end of the day, of course, either option is a healthy one.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Despite their reputation, canned fruits and vegetables retain many of their nutrients, in some cases better than fresh produce does.
Does Exercise Distort Your Perception of Hunger?
By Chelsea Bush
Should you trust your hunger meter after a workout? Two studies published this year reported that contrary to popular belief, exercise doesn’t make people hungrier. In fact, results showed that brisk exercise can decrease interest in food.
But other experiments have turned up evidence to the contrary. Some researchers have found that not only does exercise cause a perceived need to eat more, but that our pleasure response to food is heightened following a workout—and that even thinking about exercise can whet our appetites.
So does exercise make us hungry or doesn’t it? And if it does, should it? Read more »
