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‘Gluten-Free’ Labeling Standards Kick In

August 5, 2014 0

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting this week, “gluten-free” labels on packaged foods have real meaning. Until now, the term “gluten-free” had not been regulated, and manufacturers made their own decisions about what it means.

This new requirement is especially important for people who suffer from celiac disease and don’t absorb nutrients well. They can get sick from the gluten found in wheat and other cereal grains.

Under a rule announced a year ago, food manufacturers had until Tuesday to ensure that anything labeled gluten-free contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten — ensuring that those products are technically free of wheat, rye and barley. That amount is generally recognized by the medical community to be low enough so that most people who have celiac disease won’t get sick if they eat it.

Currently, wheat must be labeled on food packages but barley and rye are often hidden ingredients.

Celiac disease causes abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea, and people who have it can suffer weight loss, fatigue, rashes and other long-term medical problems. Celiac is a diagnosed illness that is more severe than gluten sensitivity, which some people self-diagnose.

Ten years ago, most people had never heard of celiac disease. But awareness and diagnosis of the illness have grown exponentially in recent years. It’s not entirely clear why. Some researchers say it was underdiagnosed; others say it’s because people eat more processed wheat products, such as pasta and baked goods, than in past decades, and those items use types of wheat that have a higher glutencontent.

The standard will ensure that companies can’t label products “gluten-free” if they are cross-contaminated from other products made in the same manufacturing facility. The rules don’t apply to restaurants, but the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging them to comply.

Gluten-free foods have become big business in the last several years. Millions of people are buying the foods because they say they make them feel better, even if they don’t have celiac disease.

Alice Bast of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness says the gluten-free trend has been good for those diagnosed with celiac because of the increased variety of options in the grocery store. But she says it also may have prompted some companies to lose focus on the people who need those foods the most.

The new regulations are “raising awareness that there is a disease associated with the gluten-free diet,” she said.

Steve Hughes, CEO of Boulder Brands, which owns leading gluten-free food companies Glutino and Udi’s, says his company’s products all have 10 parts per million of gluten, less than the new standard. He praises the FDA regulations for being a “stake in the ground” that can increase the integrity of the gluten-free market.

“If consumers can’t have confidence in the products long-term, it’s going to hurt the overall trend,” he said.

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Watch a Dirt Biker Jump Over 50 Gallons of Homemade Ramen

August 5, 2014 0

Evel Knievel could successfully jump over 16 cars, but he never cleared a 50-gallon vat of ramen. That distinguished achievement went to some guy on a dirt bike nicknamed Tim “Mud Dog” this past weekend. First, an important detail: “We did cover the soup with Saran wrap before he jumped over it with the bike. A lot of people have been really […]

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Underloved Fish

August 5, 2014 0

We all know something is broken when 91% of all seafood consumed in the U.S. comes from outside the U.S, and over two-thirds of all seafood we eat is shrimp, salmon, tilapia (almost all farm-raised under dubious conditions) or canned tuna. Our vast oc…

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Here’s Why Nutritional Yeast Is The Magical Ingredient You Didn’t Know You Needed

August 5, 2014 0

Chances are you have at least one friend who is vegan, because, really, who doesn’t these days? And you may have heard them talking about eating some questionable items, like a bowl of mac and cheese or some homemade pizza.

How, you might wonder? Friends, they were eating nutritional yeast. Before those eyebrows get any higher, let us explain.

Nutritional yeast, affectionately called “nooch” by those who are in the know, is a magical substance found in the bulk or supplement section of most health food stores. The name doesn’t sound too appealing, but nutritional yeast is just an inactive yeast made from sugar cane and beet molasses. It’s very similar to the active yeasts found in breads, but has no leavening ability. And it instantly allows for some amazing variety in a vegan diet — specifically for its cheesy, umami-like flavor.

The best part? Nutritional yeast doesn’t have to be reserved for only vegans. It can be a healthy and delicious addition to anyone’s diet. Before you dismiss the idea that nutritional yeast might be the ingredient you never knew you needed, consider all of these fantastic things you can do with it.

1. First things first, nutritional yeast can replace cheese in almost every single recipe that calls for it.

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“The Best Cheesy Uncheese Sauce” by Gluten Free Goddess

A lot of people love nutritional yeast for it’s strong semblance to parmesan cheese. It can serve as a healthier alternative to real cheese sauces.

2. You can make lasagna with that “cheese ” sauce.

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“Creamy Vegan Lasagna With A Tofu White Sauce” by Veghotpot

This version is so creamy and so cheesy… but with no dairy. It’s a true miracle.

3. Or some indulgent mac and cheese.

This dairy-free (!) recipe looks just as cheesy as the real deal.

4. Fact: Smearing your next sandwich with this pesto helps provide you with essential nutrients.

pesto
“Simple Vegan Pesto” by Food 52

Nooch is rich in B vitamins, which are especially important to your body to maintain a good food metabolism, a healthy nervous system and to help your body regenerate red blood cells. And if you’re vegan or vegetarian, you may be missing out on these important nutrients.

5. Nutritional yeast works wonders with potatoes.

potatoes
“Creamy Vegan Scalloped Potatoes” by Gluten Free Goddess

You’ll gobble this up so fast that you won’t even notice these aren’t made with real cheese.

6. And pasta.

pasta
“Creamy Spring Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms and Peas” by Food 52

One bite of this and we can almost guarantee you’ll forget dairy even exists.

7. Perhaps you’re gluten free. Nutritional yeast will also be your best friend.

fritatta
“Garden Pea Tofu Fritatta (Vegan MoFo)” by Veghotpot

Nutritional yeast contains zero gluten and helps provide a savory kick to this tofu frittata, which also happens to be wheat and dairy free.

8. If you’re feeling a bit lazy, all you have to do is sprinkle some on your red sauce.

Instant flavor in one very easy step.

9. And if you’re trying to watch your sodium intake, nutritional yeast works as a superb salt replacement.

popcorn
“Hippie Popcorn” by Food 52

Nutritional yeast contains absolutely zero sodium. So, if you’re trying to watch your blood pressure, sprinkle “nooch” on your popcorn kernels instead of salt.

10. When vegans want gravy on their mashed potatoes, nooch saves the day.

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“Vegan & Gluten-Free Gravy” by Food 52

With its strong umami-like flavor, nutritional yeast is a great substitute for meat stock in gravy.

11. Even your dog will love it.

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“Raw Kibble For Dogs” by Raw, Green & Simple

Lucky for your pooch, nutritional yeast is great for him to eat. You can most definitely sprinkle some “nooch” in his food for both taste and additional vitamins. This will help immensely if you happen to be raising your dog on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

12. Don’t forget about dessert. Nutritional yeast adds depth to sweet treats.

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“Vegan Peanut Butter Cups” by Averie Cooks

These peanut butter cups just take ten minutes to make and only have three ingredients: melted chocolate, peanut butter and, of course, nutritional yeast.

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Is Sugar The New Tobacco?

August 5, 2014 0

By Elizabeth Svoboda for Men’s Journal

You already know that eating too much sugar causes your teeth to rot and can lead to diabetes and obesity. But could it also trigger high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and possibly even cancer? That’s the theory of a group of progressive medical researchers who argue that sugar acts as a toxin in the body and is responsible for not only our rising rates of diabetes and obesity but also increasing incidences of heart disease, cancer and other chronic illness. Because sugar is so prevalent in food today — in obvious items like ice cream, cookies and soda, as well as in “healthy” foods like crackers, energy bars and salad dressings -– experts contend that most people are living in toxic overload.

“Sugar is the biggest public health crisis in the history of the world,” says Dr. Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, whose 2009 speech “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” has received more than 2.5 million hits on YouTube. In an opinion paper published earlier this year in the journal Nature, Lustig and colleagues provoked debate when they stated that sugar is so harmful, it should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco. “Every substance of abuse -– cocaine, heroin, you name it -– has required personal or social intervention,” says Lustig. “For sugar we have nothing, and my prediction is that we will need both.”

At first blush, this antisugar advocacy may seem alarmist. But Lustig and his University of California colleagues argue that sugar is harmful in significant amounts –- not necessarily because it’s high in calories but rather because it triggers a toxic chain of reactions in the body that produce harmful fats, hormones and other metabolic by-products.

Sugar is found in nearly every food except meat, oil and butter. But there’s a big difference between the sugar that occurs naturally in raw, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, milk and whole grains and the type added to prepared or processed foods. Added sugars include every sweetener imaginable: white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, dextrose, honey, agave nectar. It’s these added sugars that experts say are the root cause of our sugar problem because high amounts of them are found in almost every food we eat, most of which are also high in calories and devoid of nutrients. “Nature made sugar hard to get,” Lustig and his colleagues wrote in Nature. “Man made it easy.”

Among all the different types of sugar, fructose may be the most harmful, many experts believe. Fructose is found naturally in small amounts in fruit, but is also combined with glucose (the other basic sugar molecule) to make nearly every type of commercial sweetener, including table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. Why is fructose so harmful? “It’s unique,” says Dr. Miriam Vos, a gastroenterologist at Emory University. “It’s primarily metabolized by the liver,” so when you eat it, it’s processed and then stays in your liver and starts producing harmful blood fats called triglycerides.

Sugars that don’t contain fructose, on the other hand, like pure glucose and corn syrup, are processed by the liver and then sent out into the bloodstream, whether you need the fuel or not. Eat enough fructose and build enough triglycerides, and the result can be a fatty liver and insulin resistance -– when the body can’t produce enough insulin to break down the sugar you eat.

For years, researchers have known that insulin resistance can lead to weight gain and diabetes. More recently, though, they’ve also discovered that it can cause heart disease, in part because eating too much sugar suppresses “good” HDL cholesterol. Eating too much sugar of any kind also seems to increase blood pressure, yet the effect is worse when glucose and fructose are consumed together, which is the case with high-fructose corn syrup and white sugar. Some researchers suspect that the effects of sugar on insulin metabolism may even cause cancer or accelerate its growth. “The cancer story is very early,” says Lustig. “But we know that sugar drives insulin resistance, and insulin resistance drives cancer.” One theory is that the high levels of insulin drive tumor growth, as the hormone already stimulates cancer cells to grow faster in the lab.

Unfortunately, exercise can’t entirely save you from the negative effects sugar has on the body. While exercise may improve your cholesterol numbers by a few points, it’s usually not enough to bring levels into a healthy range. “If you’re a thin, active person, having a diet high in sugar is still harmful,” says Vos. If you’re an athlete, you may not want to cut out sugar entirely, especially before and during hard workouts. “There’s some evidence for the super-athlete that small amounts of fructose are good,” says Dr. Richard Johnson, a nephrologist at the University of Colorado, noting that the effect is beneficial only when sugar is consumed in moderate amounts before or after intense activities.

Other experts insist that sugar isn’t as much of a threat to anyone -– including those of us who don’t exercise intensely –- as Lustig and others have claimed.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center, says that while too much sugar isn’t great for us, Lustig’s dismissal of it as “poison” goes too far, pointing out that our bodies manufacture it naturally as an energy source. “The notion that sugar is toxic is silly,” says Katz. “You can show dreadful effects of a high dose, but so what?” He’s also skeptical of experts who push elimination of sugar to the exclusion of all else. “This is exactly the sort of dietary boondoggle we’ve been bogged down in for decades. We fell in love with low-fat; we fell in love with low-carb. If we fall in love with low-sugar, we won’t improve our overall nutrition. It’s a classic missing-the-forest-for-a-single-tree scenario.”

Though Katz does agree that most Americans probably eat too much sugar, he doesn’t recommend giving up the sweet stuff entirely because that can lead to food bingeing. Instead, he and most nutritionists advise learning to keep your quantities under control. For men, this means limiting yourself to nine teaspoons of added sugar per day and six for women (a can of cola has eight) if you want to meet the American Heart Association’s recommendation. To gauge that limit, start scanning the nutrition labels of the packaged products you eat every day for at least one week. Add up your daily intake, keeping in mind that four grams of sugar on a food label is equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar. If you exceed the recommended limit on a regular basis -– and most of us do -– start by substituting lower-sugar options for foods that shouldn’t taste sweet, like crackers and salad dressings. Ditch all sugar-sweetened drinks, like soda and even fruit juice, which packs a condensed amount of fructose without the fiber or other healthy nutrients of real fruit. Finally, prioritize eating whole, unpackaged foods, which don’t contain added sugars.

More from Men’s Journal:
5 Things That Make You Fat
The Most Misleading Health Food Claims
The 10 Most Dangerous Foods and How to Avoid Them

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Last Night’s Leftovers: Road Trip Edition

August 5, 2014 0

Eight best foodie road trips around D.C. [Zagat]
Townhouse Tavern closes in Dupont. [Barred in DC]
Song Que deli in Eden Center to close Sept. 15. [Post]
Uptowner Cafe closes in Columbia Heights. [PoPville]
A taste test of Chaplin’s boozy dumplings an…