Labels on bottled tea beverages are typically plastered with declarations of their rich antioxidant content. But a new study suggests, if you're looking for high doses of healthful antioxidants, you might be better off brewing your tea at home.

Many of the popular beverages included in the study contain fewer antioxidants than a single cup of home-brewed green or black tea, the researchers say. Some store-bought teas contain such small amounts that consumers would have to drink 20 bottles to get the antioxidants, also called polyphenols, present in one cup of tea.

Read more on LiveScience.com

Dear EarthTalk: Is the dairy industry really trying to stop soy milk makers from calling their products "milk?" They must feel very threatened by the preponderance of soy milks now available in supermarkets.
– Gina Storzen, Weymouth, MA

Indeed, just this past April the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), a trade group representing dairy farms, petitioned the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to crack down on what it calls "the misappropriation of dairy terminology on imitation milk products." NMPF has been asking for such a ruling for a decade, and argues that the soy industry's "false and misleading" labeling is now more common than ever.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) would
like to stop soy drinks from being labeled "milk,"
arguing that the terminology is misleading. Soy
proponents argue, however, that consumers know the
difference between soy milk and dairy milk, that soy
milk is less fatty than dairy milk, and that NMPF's
efforts are a ploy to hurt the soy industry, which is
rapidly gaining market share at the expense of
dairy products.
Photo credit: Timothy Valentine, courtesy Flickr

According to NMPF president and CEO, Jerry Kozak, the FDA has let the issue slide so that the meaning of 'milk' and even 'cheese' has been "watered down to the point where many products that use the term have never seen the inside of a barn."

Furthermore, Kozak adds, the use of "dairy terminology" on non-dairy products can lead people to think they are eating healthier than they really are, especially because non-dairy products "can vary wildly in their composition and are inferior to the nutrient profile of those from dairy milk."

The website FoodNavigator-USA.com reports that on the other side of the Atlantic, the European Dairy Association (EDA) has also called for the term 'soy milk' to be replaced with 'soy drink'. EDA also suggests other options including 'soy beverage', 'soy preparation' and 'soy-based liquid'. It's no wonder the soy industry isn't quick to give up the milk moniker, given how catchy the alternatives could be! Read the rest of this entry »

There are foods associated with a lower risk of getting cancer. While that's positive news, remember that this is based merely on what goes on in Petri dishes and in mice and in human epidemiology studies revealing, largely in retrospect, that people who ate A, B and C for "x" years had a y-percent reduction in a cancer risk compared with a bunch of slackers who did nothing to stay healthy.

So, there are no guarantees. Consider that among the leading proponents of the macrobiotic diet — the grain- and vegetable-based diet purported to cure cancer — Aveline Kushi and her daughter Lilly died of cancer, Michio Kushi had a tumor removed from his intestine, and founder George Ohsawa died at the relatively young age of 73, likely of a heart attack.

Many causes of cancer are environmental, largely from tobacco, excessive sun exposure and workplace hazards such as chemical solvents and fumes. Avoidance is the best prevention strategy here.

Aside from that, if you want the odds on your side, the foods in this list do seem to carry some cancer-protection properties.

Read more on LiveScience.com

Coming soon: Salmon that grow to full size in half the time?

With all sorts of genetically modified crops on the market and in the grocery store in the United States, genetically modified animals have been the next step waiting to happen. The New York Times reports that salmon could be the first up: This year the Food and Drug Administration will weigh approval of a GM salmon created by the company AquaBounty, which could be the first GM animal eaten by Americans.

It is an Atlantic salmon that contains a growth hormone gene from a Chinook salmon as well as a genetic on-switch from the ocean pout, a distant relative of the salmon. Normally, salmon do not make growth hormone in cold weather. But the pout's on-switch keeps production of the hormone going year round. The result is salmon that can grow to market size in 16 to 18 months instead of three years, though the company says the modified salmon will not end up any bigger than a conventional fish [The New York Times]. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear EarthTalk: I know that local food has health and environmental benefits, but my local grocer only carries a few items. Is there a push for bigger supermarkets to carry locally produced food?
– Maria Fine, Somerville, MA

By eating locally sourced foods, we strengthen the bond between local farmers and our communities, stay connected to the seasons in our part of the world, promote crop diversity, and minimize the energy intensive, greenhouse-gas-emitting transportation of food from one part of the world to another. Also, since local crops are usually harvested at their peak of freshness and typically delivered to stores within a day, customers can be sure they are getting the tastiest and most nutritious forms of the foods they like.

Locally-produced foods are now more widely available
than ever. To find local food near you, visit
localharvest.org, which lists organic food sources by
zip code. Pictured: the Kootenay Country Store Co-op
in Nelson, British Columbia.
Donkeycart, courtesy Flickr

Luckily for consumers and the environment, local produce and other foods are now more widely available than they have been for decades. The first national grocery chain to prioritize local producers, perhaps not surprisingly, was natural foods retailer Whole Foods, which was buying from local farmers and ranchers since it opened its first store in 1980 in Austin, Texas. Today each of the company's 270-plus stores in 38 U.S. states prioritizes local sourcing–so much so that its customers take it for granted. Whole Foods' relationships and distribution arrangements with local producers serve as models for the leading national grocery chains, many of which are beginning to source some produce locally when the season is right. Read the rest of this entry »

Question: I recently read an article that warns that soy milk is a rip-off and contains a lot of bad stuff. It advises making your own soy milk using soy beans, water and a soy milk machine. Is commercially available soy milk unsafe? If so, what do you recommend?

Answer: I've seen many articles warning that soy foods in general, including soy milk, aren't healthy and contain hidden substances that are dangerous. Critics of soy allege that it is bad for the thyroid, can cause cancer, Alzheimer's disease and mineral deficiencies.

None of these sensational claims has ever been proven. Read the rest of this entry »

It's billed as an epic story of good versus evil–biology in comic-book form. The villains: free radicals, those nefarious DNA-attacking poisons of modern life. Our fearless defenders: antioxidants, poised to protect us from–well, everything, right? You've heard the claims:

They cure cancer!

They prevent aging!

They supercharge your immune system!

But while we think we know what antioxidants do, few of us know what antioxidants actually are. And food manufacturers are fine with that; the less you know, the more likely you are to swallow the hype. "Antioxidants have a health aura around them," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "They are supposed to fight something bad in your body. Who wouldn't want to consume more of a helper like that?"

There's no doubt that antioxidants can be good for you. But to maximize their benefit, we first have to strip away some assumptions.

Read more on MensHealth.com

Long before the era of big-box grocery stores, people preserved and stored their own foods. But what might be viewed today as quaint homesteading chores undercuts the profound historical significance of food preservation. "Food preserving…made it possible for some of our ancestors to travel, taking their food with them as they journeyed over long distances to explore unknown places," writes Sue Shepard in her book Pickled, Potted, and Canned (Simon & Schuster). The convenience of modern production and shopping has made it easy to buy jams and pickles pre-packed, but learning to preserve your own food will keep your favorite seasonal flavors close at hand year-round, and save you money, too.

Read more on EMagazine.com

In my home state of Arizona, a restaurant named "Heart Attack Grill" does brisk business in Chandler, a Phoenix suburb. Waitresses in nurse-themed uniforms with miniskirts deliver single, double, triple and quadruple "bypass burgers" (featuring one, two, three and four hefty patties, respectively) dripping with cheese, to patrons who wear hospital gowns that double as bibs. The motto: "Taste Worth Dying For!"

Now, there is much for a medical doctor (as opposed to "Dr. Jon," the stethoscope-wearing, burger-flipping owner) to dislike in this establishment. If you visit, I implore you to steer clear of the white-flour buns, the sugary sodas and the piles of "flatliner fries" that accompany the burgers in the restaurant's signature bedpan plates. This is precisely the sort of processed-carbohydrate-intensive meal that, via this and other fast-food establishments, is propelling the epidemic of obesity and diabetes in America.

Read more on HuffingtonPost.com

Dear EarthTalk: I always thought eating fish was healthy, but now I'm concerned about mercury in tuna and other fish. Are there any fish that are still safe to eat?
– Brit Brundage, Fairfield, CT

You should be concerned about contaminants in certain fish, including some kinds of tuna. The non-profit Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recommends minimizing consumption of albacore (white) tuna, a large fish that accumulates moderate amounts of mercury in its fatty tissue. But other kinds of (smaller) tuna, such as skipjack (usually canned as "light"), which accumulates a third the amount of mercury as albacore, are OK to eat in moderation, though consumption by those under age seven should be limited.

The Environmental Defense Fund recommends
minimizing consumption of albacore (white) tuna, a
large fish that accumulates moderate amounts of
mercury in its fatty tissue. But other kinds of
(smaller) tuna, such as skipjack (usually canned as
"light"), which accumulates a third the amount of
mercury as albacore, are OK to eat in moderation,
though consumption by those under age seven
should be limited.
Mark H. Anbinder, courtesy Flickr

To further complicate the issue, some canned light tuna may contain yellowfin tuna, which has mercury levels similar to those of albacore; these products are sometimes but not always labeled as "gourmet" or "tonno"–and their consumption should be limited, even by adults.

Mercury, a known "neurotoxin" (a poison that affects the nervous system), is particularly insidious because it is widespread in our oceans, primarily due to emissions from coal-burning power plants. These smokestacks deposit mercury into waterways, which carry it to the ocean where bacteria convert it into methylmercury. Fish then ingest it with their food and from water passing over their gills. Read the rest of this entry »