Nutrition Wonderland

Book Review: Safe Food by Marion Nestle

30. March 2009

In our continuing report on the state of food safety in 2009 America, we review Marion Nestle's authoritative work on the subject entitled, Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism. While the book debuted back in the early 2000's, we felt that, with the recent peanut butter scare, it was time to revisit this work – so let's start with a little hypothetical posturing in regards to peanut butter.

Mailbag: Smart Balance versus Butter

27. March 2009

12 Comments

Is Smart Balance is better than using butter?

Food Safety – The Recent History

24. March 2009

4 Comments

The early part of 2009 has witnessed one of the largest food contamination cases in US history. The Peanut Corporation of America had a salmonella outbreak in one of their factories, contaminating the majority of peanut-butter containing products in the United States. Here, we review the recent history of food borne illnesses and how they relate to the consolidation of the food industry.

Has Cuba Cured Heart Disease? The Policosanol Story

9. March 2009

6 Comments

Immediately after Castro came to power in 1959, the Cuban Institute for Research on Sugar Cane Derivatives (ICIDCA) was formed and began studying - as you might imagine from the name - products that could be derived from sugar cane. They found one compound - called policosanol - that showed promise. This is that compound's story.

Fructose, Insulin Resistance – Together At Last

6. March 2009

20 Comments

Today, researchers from Yale announced new findings that demonstrate the mechanism by which the fructose sugars found in both refined table sugar and high fructose corn syrup cause a reduction in insulin sensitivity, a key stage in the development of both obesity and diabetes.

Integrative Medicine on Capitol Hill

2. March 2009

0 Comments

On Thursday, the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing called, Integrative Care: A Pathway to a Healthier Nation to assess how complementary medicine will be incorporated into President Obama's challenge for Congress to pass health care reform in 2009.

Truvia and PureVia: The Controversy of Stevia

26. February 2009

86 Comments

In our first two pieces about the new sweeteners Truvia and PureVia, we covered the history of saccharin (another artificial sweetener) and the science behind rebiana, the latest sweetener in both Truvia and PureVia. Now, in our final view of Truvia and PureVia we take a look at the political history of stevia - the base of rebiana, opinions of some of the major players in this debate and offer our final views on the subject.

The Science Behind Truvia and PureVia Sweeteners (Rebiana)

23. February 2009

37 Comments

The idea of a real, zero calorie sweetener has been a goal of many agribusiness giants for some time but have Truvia and PureVia been adequately tested? Nutrition Wonderland has gone through the science surrounding these new sweeteners and spoken with some major industry players to get the scoop. We have found some positives and some serious negatives, which we will review here.

Mailbag: Clare Island Organic Salmon Omega-3s

18. February 2009

1 Comment

My local grocery store carries the Clare Island Organic Salmon from Ireland brand. I've learned from you and others that the level of omega 3 in wild vs farm raised salmon is largely based on the diet fed the fish. I'd like to know if the organic fish raised by this company are fed a diet that results in a higher level of omega 3s? Specifically, how does the level of omega 3s in this fish compare to that of wild caught Alaskan salmon?

Truvia and PureVia – A Window to the Past or the Future?

6. February 2009

11 Comments

In the coming weeks, we will be examining two new sweeteners called Truvia and PureVia that are being released into the American food supply in the first half of 2009. They are derivative of a naturally sweet plant called Stevia, which has been used around the world for quite some time now to sweeten drinks and native dishes. But before we dig deeply into the science around the new Stevia-based sweeteners, we think it would instructive to learn the history of synthetic sweeteners in America - as the past is usually the best predictor of the future.

Archive | Posts Authored by John Serrao RSS feed for this section

Book Review: Safe Food by Marion Nestle

Mailbag: Smart Balance versus Butter

Food Safety – The Recent History

Has Cuba Cured Heart Disease? The Policosanol Story

Fructose, Insulin Resistance – Together At Last

Integrative Medicine on Capitol Hill

Truvia and PureVia: The Controversy of Stevia

The Science Behind Truvia and PureVia Sweeteners (Rebiana)

Mailbag: Clare Island Organic Salmon Omega-3s

Truvia and PureVia – A Window to the Past or the Future?

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