Dishbase Blog

Several outbreaks of ciguatera fish poisoning have been confirmed in consumers who ate fish harvested in the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

The FDA said that fish such as grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda represent the most significant threat to consumers. They feed on fish that have eaten toxic marine algae. The toxin is stable in the tissue of living fish and does them no harm. But larger carnivores have higher concentrations of the toxin in their tissues. As a result, the greatest risk of poisoning for humans comes from the largest fish.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain. In the most serious cases, neurological problems can last for months or even years. Several outbreaks of the illness were confirmed in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, the FDA said. Overall, there have been at least 28 reported cases across the country, with the first case being reported in late November.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23017442/

Take a moment and consider this logic: 1. Fat-free foods are healthy. 2. Skittles are fat-free. 3. Therefore, Skittles are healthy. Make sense? Of course not. But it's exactly the type of reasoning that food manufacturers want you to use.

You see, in our example, we started with a false premise. That's because the term "fat-free" is often code for "high-sugar" — an attribute that makes a product the opposite of healthy. Case in point: Johns Hopkins University researchers recently determined that high blood sugar is an independent risk factor for heart disease. So high-glycemic foods — those such as sugars and starches that raise your blood sugar dramatically — are inherently unhealthy. (See Skittles, above.)

Unfortunately, faulty food logic is far less obvious when you're shopping outside the candy aisle. Why? Because making healthy choices isn't as simple as knowing that beans are packed with fiber, or that fruits are loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants. After all, manufacturers often add ingredients, such as sugar, that can instantly turn a good snack bad. As a result, many of the products that you think are wholesome are anything but. And that's why we've created our list of the dirty dozen: 12 "healthy" foods that you can — and should — live without.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22915259/

Drinking a couple of cups of coffee a day has long been considered safe during pregnancy, but a new study finds that even this modest amount of caffeine could double a woman’s risk of miscarriage.

Doctors are split on what this means for pregnant women, with some advising avoiding caffeine altogether and others saying buzz-inducing beverages are still safe in moderation.

Previous studies have linked caffeine to an increased risk of miscarriage, but they have focused on higher doses and the connection has been controversial, with some experts arguing that the research didn't account for morning sickness. The nausea and vomiting of morning sickness, caused by elevated hormones, is generally a sign of a reduced risk of miscarriage — and also can lead women to stop drinking their usual coffee or other caffeinated drinks. The concern was that the cutback in caffeine among these women could make it appear caffeine was associated with miscarriage.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718279/

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission proposed simplified food labels Wednesday highlighting fat, sugar and salt contents in an attempt to contain the spread of obesity and junk food in the 27-nation EU.

Under the proposals, six content elements will have to appear on packages: energy, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and salts.

The labels, which must be clear enough so consumers can make quick decisions, will also indicate what percentage of advisable daily intake they represent.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22920642/

The movement to ban artery-clogging trans fats from food has a new venue: cooking schools.

The places that train the people who will someday be feeding the rest of us are cutting back or eliminating artificial trans fats from their classrooms, saying they have a responsibility to teach students how to cook healthy foods.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22867616/

Meat and milk from cloned animals is as safe as that from their counterparts bred the old-fashioned way, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday — but sales still won’t begin right away.

The decision removes the last big U.S. regulatory hurdle to marketing products from cloned livestock, and puts the FDA in concert with recent safety assessments from European food regulators and several other nations.

“Meat and milk from cattle, swine and goat clones are as safe as food we eat every day,” said Dr. Stephen Sundloff, FDA’s food safety chief.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22667305/

Concerns about the safety of eating sushi were raised this week after reports surfaced over the high levels of mercury in tuna and swordfish. Lab tests commissioned by the New York Times found so much mercury in tuna in 20 Manhattan restaurants and stores that eating six pieces a week would exceed acceptable levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency, the newspaper reported.

On Friday, the group that conducted the tests, the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, in Piscataway, N.J. told TODAY that the findings would likely be similar in other cities around the country.

The report generated a strong response from the seafood industry. TODAY’s Matt Lauer quoted a statement from the National Fisheries Institute, saying “The public deserves to have all the facts about the benefits of eating fish, and that is why scaring consumers with misinformation is so irresponsible.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22843389/

When we speak about food that has plenty of health benefits, Garlic is one thing that tops the charts. Everyone knows about its benefits for a healthy heart, but there's more to this stinking(or should I say fragrant!)spice than what meets the eye. Garlic has long been considered a herbal "wonder drug", contributing to cures of everything from the common cold to the Plague...It has also been used extensively in herbal medicines. So here's a comprehensive list of some well-known and some less-known facts about Garlic. After reading this, I think you'd appreciate it more than just for the "garlicky flavour" that most of us love in our food!!

http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2007/08/garlic-packed…

The traditional Mediterranean diet has plenty of benefits for health, but do those benefits extend to the womb?

New research suggests that they do, by reducing a child's risk for asthma and allergies . But an expert on the subject says the study is far from convincing.

In the upcoming issue of the journal Thorax, researchers from Greece's University of Crete report that children born to mothers who closely
followed the traditional Mediterranean diet while pregnant were 45% less likely to develop an allergic disease before age 7.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/15/health/…

The benefits of green tea might include blocking fat and keeping extra pounds at bay, according to preliminary lab tests in mice.

Don't skip over that word "preliminary." There's no proof yet that sipping green tea will do the same for people. Staying in shape continues to be a balancing act between calories and activity.

Here's what those preliminary lab tests in mice show:

* Less weight and fat gain. Among mice with an obesity gene, those that ate chow laced with green tea extract gained less weight and less fat.

* Less fat in the liver. There was less sign of "fatty liver" disease in the mice with the obesity gene that ate chow laced with green tea extract.

* Lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in mice with the obesity gene that ate the chow laced with green tea extract, compared to other mice with the same obesity gene.

A healthy liver isn't fatty. But obesity - in mice or in people - can lead to fatty buildup in the liver and cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

As for that green tea extract, the study used it in doses equal to what a person would get from drinking at least seven cups of green tea a day.