Category: Uncategorized

To Eat the Cheese or Not Eat the Cheese, That is the Question

In an apparent contradiction, or perhaps just a case of the right hand not telling the left what it is doing exactly, two agencies of the U.S. government have at once recommended eating more cheese while at the same time warning its citizens about the dangers of eating too much cheese.

Dairy Management, a creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a marketing tool which has made cheese its raison d’etre. Last year Dairy Management teamed up with Domino’s Pizza to develop a new pizza product offering 40% more cheese. Combining this with a marketing campaign, sales soared in the double digits. Too bad cheese, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, is discouraging the eating of the very same foods the Dairy Management agency is promoting in a campaign to reduce obesity through the lowering the consumption of cheese.


Eating more cheesy Domino’s Pizza notwithstanding, Americans have been struggling to change their diets to contain less saturated fats by eating less cheese and other low-fat dairy products. This tendency has created a surplus of whole milk and milk fat foods, thus establishing the need for the Dairy Management agency to promote those same milk and cheese products the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is discouraging. Well it’s no wonder us consumers feel confused.

Worm Might Be Key to Improving Women’s Reproductive Health

A worm commonly used in scientific research, C. Elegans, might hold the secret to helping women to retain their ability to reproduce for a longer span of time and in a healthier manner. It is a sad fact of women’s lives that already by the time they are in their 30s they begin to show a marked decline in their reproductive ability. C. Elegans has this fact in common with women; and just like in women, the worm’s first sign of declining fertility is the lessening of the quality of eggs, rather than their quantity.

This decline in egg quality was found to be caused by the increased secretion of a protein called TGF-beta (transforming growth factor beta) as the worm ages. Amazingly, this very same protein occurs in women as well as in other mammals. In experiments conducted on worms that naturally produced lowered amounts of TGF-beta their reproductive ability was longer and the quality of the eggs remained high.

In women a decline in egg quality can mean an increase in birth defects such as Down syndrome and others. At the moment it is far from certain that the same effect that lowered TGF-beta has on worms will also apply to women, although tests on mice, which are at least also mammals, have shown a similar effect.

The hope is that perhaps one day women entering into their 30s who still want to have children, will be able to take a medication that will perhaps suppress the secretion of TGF-beta, this allowing the production of healthy eggs, which will hopefully lead to healthy babies.

Eat Your Crust!

Since we are on the subject of antioxidants and food, here is another bit of interesting information which can help you achieve a healthier diet without too much extra effort.

German researchers have discovered that the crust of bread is much richer in the disease fighting compounds known as antioxidants than the bread itself. This is the first study which has shown that bread crust may actually be healthier than the inside of the bread, welcome news to those that like to use bread crusts to stuff their holiday chickens and turkeys, but not such good news to those among us who remove the crusts from the bread before they eat a sandwich.


The researchers looked for antioxidants in the crust, the baked bread, and in the flour before baking. What the scientists found was startling. Before the process of baking, there is no trace of a particular and unusual type of antioxidant known as pronyl-lysine. After baking, this compound was found as much as 8 times more abundantly in the crust as compared to the  softer, inside part of the bread.  Darker breads, such as pumpernickel or whole wheat also increase the total amount of antioxidants available in the end product, especially the crust. However, the researchers also discovered that overcooking of the bread reduces the amount of antioxidants and so over baking should be avoided. So all I can say is, “Eat your crust!”

Finally, Something We Like Which is Good For Us: Pizza

You probably already know that pizza is a popular food, but did you know that in the United States upwards of 350 slices are eaten every single second? That astounding number of pizza slices eaten at every moment attests to the infatuation Americans have for this easy to eat, tasty and quite healthy fast-food.  You might be surprised to hear that pizza is healthy, considering its high cheese and oil content, but if prepared the correct way, pizza can be quite a healthful food.

Food chemists explain that the key to preparing a healthy pizza pie is to make the crust with whole wheat flour and to bake in a very hot oven. Using whole wheat flour in place of white flour is the single most important factor in pizza making which causes the release of the disease fighting compounds known as anti-oxidants.  It has been shown that antioxidants can protect people from developing cancer and heart disease. The longer the pizza was cooked, and the higher the temperature, also contributed to raising the levels of antioxidants in the pizza. It also helps to let the dough rise longer. Doubling the dough-rising time from one day to two also doubled the amount of antioxidants found in the pizza.

It is nice to know that with a minimum amount of effort pizza can go from being just a tasty treat to a healthful meal for you and your family. Here is a recipe for healthier pizza crust that you can easily make yourself.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust with Enhanced Antioxidant Availability
Ingredients
1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (100-110°F)
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 ¾ cups whole wheat flour
The day before…
•  Combine yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Stir with whisk until yeast dissolves.
•  Add honey, oil and salt. Stir with whisk until honey and salt dissolve.

•  Measure flour into large mixing bowl. Add water mixture to flour.
•  Mix with wooden spoon until dough forms.
•  Transfer dough to floured surface and knead by hand for 2 minutes. Dough may be sticky.
•  Divide dough into 3 sections and shape each section into a ball.
•  Transfer dough balls to a lightly oiled pan, leaving a few inches for each ball to raise.
•  Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap.
•  Store pan overnight (~18 hours) in the refrigerator.
The day of…
•  Allow dough to come to room temperature. (about 30 minutes)
•  Preheat oven to 500°F.
•  Roll each ball out to a 12 inch circle on a pizza screen.
•  Top with tomato sauce, cheese and desired toppings.
•  Put pizza in middle rack of preheated oven. Bake for 6 – 8 minutes, until crust gets browned.
•  (A pizza pan or stone can also be used to bake the pizzas. Baking times may change.)

Warning: Coaching May Be Dangerous to Your Health

Many people don’t realize just how stressful being a sports coach truly is.  Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio had a heart attack this week, following Saturday’s overtime victory against Notre Dame.  Winning can truly be hazardous to your health in the coaching field.

Certainly, heredity and physical health play roles in your heart’s health, but so do your lifestyle and pressures.  Football coaches earn their big bucks with incredibly long hours of coaching and worries about recruiting and future potentials for the team.


Certainly, other coaches should take heed of the lesson from Coach Mark Dantonio and focus as much on their health as they do on their game.

Wading Through the Health Insurance Swamp

The new health care legislation recently passed by the Obama administration should be of great benefit to those self-employed individuals who, until now, have had to pay for their own health insurance at extremely high rates. As individuals who are not members of a group which can use its numbers as clout to obtain better deals, individual insurance consumers and have had to pay for it, quite literally.

Bringing down the prices for these self-employed individuals and their families now opens up great opportunities for them to choose the perfect health insurance for themselves, at the right price. However, the large number of health insurance providers and their many offers and prices can make choosing the perfect health coverage a daunting task. In 2014 there will be ‘health insurance exchanges’ which, it is hoped, will provide a simple way for consumers to compare the large variety of plans. But until then, consumers are on their own. Or are they?


Savvy consumers can employ the services of an insurance broker who can lead them through the swamp of numerous health plans, helping them find the right insurance coverage at the right price. Sometimes thought of as “relics from the past” insurance brokers have recently experienced a resurgence of demand and find that now they are busier than ever. According to Janet Trautwein, the chief executive of the National Association of Health Underwriters, “Our member brokers are reporting that the number of calls they receive has quadrupled since the president signed the health reform bill in March.” A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation has estimated that about one third of individuals buying health insurance plans engage the services of an insurance broker.  Without the help of the broker, it would be impossible to make an informed choice in such a large marketplace of products available.