Medicine
Caveman Cereal Raises a Question: Do Humans Need Grains?
According to an article in the latest issue of Science, our ancestors may have been more sophisticated eaters than we've been giving them credit for.After analyzing starch residue on dozens of ancient stone tools found in a cave in Mozambique, archaeologist Julio Mercader of the University of Calga...
December 17, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Whether, and What, to Feed a Cold
Is it "feed a cold, starve a fever" or "feed a fever, starve a cold"? If you're like me, you can never keep the adage straight. No matter, though, since doctors say it's probably more folklore than solid medical advice either way.According to Cecil Adams, the know-it-all who writes the syndicated c...
December 02, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Learning to Love Olive Oil
Olive oil has never been a particular passion for me, although I cook with it almost daily. Its main appeal is utility—creating texture and moisture; browning without sticking—more than taste. But after attending a recent Smithsonian Resident Associates event about Italian foods, I won't be taking ...
November 30, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Cinnamon as Health Food
The chatty coffee-shop employee's comment confused me. I had paused at the condiment station to add a sprinkle of cinnamon* to my cappuccino, and he was wiping down the counter in front of me."Ah, yes, for your eyes?" he asked, gesturing at the cinnamon shaker."My...eyes?" I fumbled in response. "N...
November 09, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Eat Your Carrot Greens
Last weekend, I picked up some beautiful carrots—the kind that Bugs Bunny would drool over; classic orange cones topped with plumes of greenery—at an organic farmstand. From childhood experience, I already knew that the sweet crunch of garden-grown carrots tastes far better than those mass-produced...
November 03, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
The History of Health Food, Part 3: The Birth of Dieting
This is the third in a three-part series about the history of health foods, from antiquity to medieval times to the present day.If we don't count the Diet of Worms in 1521, which sounds like it would certainly induce weight loss but in fact has nothing to do with food (or creepy-crawlies), the mode...
October 15, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
The History of Health Food, Part 2: Medieval and Renaissance Periods
This is the second in a three-part series about the history of health foods,
from antiquity to the present day.
Medieval concepts of a healthful diet were largely based on theories from antiquity, especially the idea that the body's four humors, or bodily fluids—blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black...
October 13, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Food Safety, and the Ten Most Dangerous Foods in the U.S.
Everyone's talking about food safety—or rather, the lack of it—in the American food system these days.The New York Times published a deeply disturbing account this week of the trauma inflicted on one young woman by E. coli-tainted beef. At age 22, Stephanie Smith was left paralyzed by the simple ac...
October 08, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
The History of Health Food, Part 1: Antiquity
We tend to think of health food as a modern invention, but humans have made the connection between food and well-being at least since the beginning of written history—although it's always been as much a matter of educated guesswork as solid science.Ancient Greeks believed that good health was depen...
October 07, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Frank Bruni on Being "Born Round"
Frank Bruni, who recently stepped down from what is quite possibly the world's best job---the New York Times' restaurant critic---was in town Tuesday night to discuss his new memoir, "Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-Time Eater."And as if he didn't already provide enough star power to pack...
October 01, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
The Fatal Consequences of Counterfeit Drugs
In Southeast Asia, forensic investigators using cutting-edge tools are helping stanch the deadly trade in fake anti-malaria drugs
October 2009 |
By Andrew Marshall
Can Eating Healthy Be Bad for Your Health?
First off, for all you semantics sticklers, the answer to the question in the title is, strictly speaking, no. (If it were bad for your health it wouldn't be healthy, right? And let's not get started on the healthy/healthful distinction.) However, contrary to the popular saying, you can be too thin...
August 26, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Cooking with the Season
As I explained a few months ago, my husband and I have been participating in a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program for the first time this year.I can't recommend the experience strongly enough; if you have the chance to sign up for one in your area next year, do it! Our half-share worked ...
August 24, 2009 |
By Amanda Bensen
Ramadan—A Moveable Fast
This weekend begins Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, when the Islamic faithful fast from sunrise to sunset each day. This year religious devotion promises to be more challenging than usual, at least for those in the northern hemisphere. Because the Muslim calendar follows the lunar cycle, it occurs ...
August 21, 2009 |
By Lisa Bramen
Mad About Seashells
Collectors have long prized mollusks for their beautiful exteriors, but for scientists, it’s what inside that matters
August 2009 |
By Richard Conniff
The Culture of Being Rude
A new biological theory states that cultural behavior is not just a regional quirk, but a defense against the spread of disease
August 03, 2009 |
By Rob Dunn
The Recession is Making You Fatter
When some people are stressed, they eat "comfort foods" or increase the amount of food consumed, and as a result gain weight.But what types of stress trigger weight gain? A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology tackles that question.John Ayanian of Harvard University and colleagues set ...
July 20, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Why Modern Foods Hijack Our Brains
As head of the Food and Drug Administration, David Kessler once battled tobacco companies to protect American lungs; now he’s worried about our stomachs. “We’ve turned America into a food carnival,” he said in an interview—fat, sugar and salt, the Trinity of Tastiness are “hijacking our brain circu...
July 14, 2009 |
By admin
The Culture of Obesity
Humans clearly have a sweet tooth, but now that high-calorie food is available to many people with little physical effort, obesity rates are skyrocketing.In a recent issue of AnthroNotes, produced by Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, anthropologists Peter J. Brown and Jennifer Sween...
July 08, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
High Hopes for a New Kind of Gene
Scientists believe that microRNA may lead to breakthroughs in diagnosing and treating cancer
July 2009 |
By Sylvia Pagán Westphal
