Question: On the whole, my diet is well-balanced – it's low in fats, full of greens, and I hardly eat meat. But I can't seem to cut out dessert. Our family meals would hardly seem complete without big bowls of chocolate ice cream or cheesecake. What are your food weaknesses and how do you stop yourself from indulging?

Answer: (published 3/12/10, updated 1/27/05) Having a rich dessert at the end of a meal is definitely an American tradition, one that many families indulge in every night. Like everybody who loves good food and enjoys eating I have certain weaknesses that I indulge in from time to time. Occasionally, I have pizza, dark chocolate, and rarely, even a Coca-Cola. However, while I don't believe people should go without dessert, I do think most Americans are guilty of overdoing it. We can't have just one cookie – we have to eat the whole bag. But if you keep your dessert portions small (that means a small scoop of ice cream, not a small carton) I see no reason why you have to stop this nightly ritual. I decided long ago that my quest for better health is not worth sacrificing the pleasure I get from eating. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear EarthTalk: A friend with many minor health problems recently switched to a diet of only raw plant foods and reports feeling much better. She also insists her new eating habits are better for the environment. Does this make sense or is the strange diet making her crazy?
– Phil C., Reno, NV

A raw foods diet typically consists of unprocessed foods that are not heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit so as to preserve nutrients otherwise lost during cooking. Proponents claim that besides losing weight and feeling more energetic, they are also avoiding the carcinogens introduced into foods by cooking and protecting the environment from drug- and chemical-dependent, water-wasting big-business agriculture.

Humans have been eating raw foods since
they first began foraging for their
sustenance, but the raw foods diet really only
began to catch on in recent years. There are
now upwards of 100 raw foods restaurants in
operation across the U.S.
Getty Images

Some people do short spurts on the raw diet to cleanse their system of toxins, while others maintain a majority raw diet but do eat some cooked or processed foods. Diabetics can especially benefit from a raw foods diet, as shown in the film Simply Raw, which documents the trials and tribulations of six diabetes sufferers who go on a raw foods diet for one month and effectively cure themselves of their disease.

While humans have been eating raw foods since they first began foraging for their sustenance, the diet really began to catch on in recent years when some high-profile celebrities began touting its health and weight maintenance benefits. Carol Alt, Woody Harrelson, Uma Thurman, Sting and Demi Moore are just a few of the big names who swear by the raw foods diet — and now upwards of 100 raw foods restaurants are in operation across the U.S. For a list of raw food eateries by state, check out the SoyStache website. Read the rest of this entry »

Acupuncture has long baffled medical experts and no wonder: It holds that an invisible life force called qi (pronounced chee) travels up and down the body in 14 meridians. Illness and pain are due to blockages and imbalances in qi. Inserting thin needles into the body at precise points can unblock the meridians, practitioners believe, and treat everything from arthritis and asthma to anxiety, acne and infertility.

As fanciful as that seems, acupuncture does have real effects on the human body, which scientists are documenting using high-tech tools. Neuroimaging studies show that it seems to calm areas of the brain that register pain and activate those involved in rest and recuperation. Doppler ultrasound shows that acupuncture increases blood flow in treated areas. Thermal imaging shows that it can make inflammation subside. Read the rest of this article

Question: I'm 60 and from age 35 I have probably had well over a dozen CT scans, first for nodules on lungs. I've also had scans of my brain, back and other areas. None turned up anything serious, but now I feel doomed to develop cancer! Is there is any "after-the-fact" help; any special diet or supplements that can help repair the damage from all these scans? Is this damage to tissue? Genes?

Answer:(published 3/12/10) You ask an important question. I'm afraid that all the scans at doctors' disposal these days are overused for two reasons. The first is defensive medicine: doctors order all these scans not for medical reasons but to protect themselves from the ever-present threat of malpractice litigation. The percentage of diagnostic X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans that fall into this category is high, which is yet another reason for the daunting cost of health care in the United States.

The second reason is, sadly, the profit motive. The machines are costly, and the owners of for-profit health care centers must use them a lot to recoup their investment. Doctors who work for them are often pressured to order scans against their best medical judgment.

You're quite right that all this testing is risky. X-rays and CT scans expose the body to ionizing radiation, which increases the risk of cancer by damaging genes. It is speculated that CT scans being done now will result in as many as two percent of the fatal cancers that will occur in the next 10 to 20 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear EarthTalk: My husband and I want to start a garden this year. I really want to make compost from leftover food scraps and yard materials. He says it will attract unwanted animals, and refuses to agree to it. Is he right? If so, how do we deal with that issue in a green-friendly, non-lethal way?
– Carmen Veurink, Grand Rapids, MI

It's true that outdoor compost piles and bins can be a draw for wildlife — be it bears, rats, raccoons, skunks, opossums or some other creatures of the night — but there are ways to minimize the attraction. For one, make sure everyone in your household knows to keep meat, bones, fish, fat and dairy out of the compost. Not only will these items "overheat" the compost pile, they'll also stink it up and attract animals.

To discourage animals from raiding the
backyard compost, OrganicGardening.com
recommends mixing kitchen garbage with
soil or wood ashes before burying it in
the hot center of your compost pile.
LexnGer, courtesy Flickr

Otherwise, home composters should keep in mind that critters aren't actually eating the compost but are sifting through it to find fresh edible kitchen or garden scraps. To discourage animals, the website OrganicGardening.com recommends mixing kitchen garbage with soil or wood ashes before burying it in the hot center of your compost pile. Washington State's Department of Fish and Wildlife recommends not putting any food scraps in open compost piles, but says that if you must, bury them under at least eight inches of soil and then place a wire mesh barrier over the top held in place with a heavy object or two.

Putting your compost pile in a pest-proof container is another way to prevent tampering with your precious organic soil-to-be. Compost tumblers are popular because they mix and aerate by just being turned occasionally, and they keep raccoons, rats, dogs and other interlopers at bay. Otherwise, compost bins with wire tops or sealed lids work well too, but require a little more manual labor in terms of stirring. Read the rest of this entry »

NAOMI MOST, a devoted brewer of a fermented tea called kombucha, keeps her "big momma" in the garage. The big momma in question is a 20-pound pancake of gelatinous and, well, rather gross-looking bacteria and yeast floating atop a vat of kombucha, a drink that enthusiasts tout as a tonic for digestion, hair loss and all manner of bodily ailments.

It's not for everyone.

"I live with my boyfriend and he finds it really weird," said Ms. Most, 30, a manager for a nonprofit group in Palo Alto, Calif. "He doesn't like the smell."

Looks and aroma notwithstanding, kombucha is gaining popularity among those who favor organic beverages, and it is showing signs of turning into a gold mine for some companies. While the poor economy and worries about health and the environment have diminished the national thirst for soda and bottled water, sales of kombucha and other "functional" juices in the United States topped $295 million last year, up 25 percent over a two-year period, according to SPINS Inc., a market researcher. Read the rest of this article

Forget about crystals and candles, and about sitting and breathing in awkward ways. Meditation research explores how the brain works when we refrain from concentration, rumination and intentional thinking. Electrical brain waves suggest that mental activity during meditation is wakeful and relaxed.

"Given the popularity and effectiveness of meditation as a means of alleviating stress and maintaining good health, there is a pressing need for a rigorous investigation of how it affects brain function," says Professor Jim Lagopoulos of Sydney University, Australia. Lagopoulos is the principal investigator of a joint study between his university and researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on changes in electrical brain activity during nondirective meditation. Read the rest of this article

Question: What can you tell me about the safety of microwave popcorn? I eat a lot of it but recently heard that it could be dangerous.

Answer:(published 3/11/10) There are two safety issues involving the chemicals added into many brands of microwave popcorn. The first stems from the use of diacetyl in artificial butter flavor. Diacetyl has been linked to a rare type of lung disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also called "popcorn worker's lung" because it has been seen primarily in workers at microwave popcorn factories. This disease destroys the lungs and can be cured only by a lung transplant. Diacetyl appears to damage lungs when it is repeatedly inhaled in vaporized form; one case involved a consumer who ate two bags of extra-butter-flavored microwave popcorn daily for more than 10 years and reported that he habitually inhaled the buttery fumes as he opened the bags.

Most manufacturers have removed diaceytl from their products, but there are some allegations in news reports that the ingredient now used to provide the butter flavor is just another version of the same chemical. Government scientists have been quoted as saying that the new "diacetyl free" microwave popcorn poses the same danger as the old stuff. But here the greatest hazard is still to workers in the popcorn factories, not consumers. Diacetyl does its damage when inhaled, not when it is eaten. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2006, the New England Journal of Medicine published a $12.5 million study saying that, for most people, glucosamine and chondroitin do not soothe knee pain much better than a placebo.

Try telling that to patients who swear that the supplements have helped their aching knees or backs — a position that the study's lead researcher, Daniel Clegg of the University of Utah School of Medicine, finds himself in often. Read the rest of this article

Dear EarthTalk: Isn't the interest in electric cars and plug-in hybrids going to spur increased reliance on coal as a power source? And is that really any better than gasoline/oil in terms of environmental impact?
– Graham Rankin, via e-mail

It's true that the advent of electric cars is not necessarily a boon for the environment if it means simply trading our reliance on one fossil fuel — oil, from which gasoline is distilled — for an even dirtier one: coal, which is burned to create electricity.

Coal-fired power — albeit indirectly
used — will be the predominant
source of electricity used by
electric and plug-in hybrid cars
unless we begin to source
significant amounts of electricity
from renewables like solar and
wind. Pictured: the Virginia Electric
and Power Company's Mount Storm
coal-fired power plant in
northeastern West Virginia.
Rich McGervey, courtesy Flickr

The mining of coal is an ugly and environmentally destructive process. And, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) burning the substance in power plants sends some 48 tons of mercury — a known neurotoxin — into Americans' air and water every year (1999 figures, the latest year for which data are available). Furthermore, coal burning contributes some 40 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) estimates that coal mining and burning cause a whopping $62 billion worth of environmental damage every year in the U.S. alone, not to mention its profound impact on our health.

Upwards of half of all the electricity in the U.S. is derived from coal, while the figure is estimated to be around 70 percent in China. As for Europe, the United Kingdom gets more than a third of its electricity from coal, while Italy plans to double its consumption of coal for electricity production within five years to account for some 33 percent of its own electricity needs. Several other countries in Europe, where green sentiment runs deep but economics still rule the roost, are also stockpiling coal and building more power plants to burn it in the face of an ever-increasing thirst for cheap and abundant electricity. Read the rest of this entry »