Chi-elements

I recently saw an interesting program aired by ABC and hosted by Peter Jennings. In this program, they turn an investigative eye on how the food industry is contributing to making Americans fat. In the US, 2/3rds of the population is overweight, with 1 in 3 being obese. The report poses some interesting questions around the link between US Agricultural policy and how this contributes to people eating bad food. Here are some of the highlights of this program: Agriculture in the US works with subsidies. The government gives out subsidies to grow specific types of crops. According to critics, the government gives out subsidies without considering the health impact. It is clear that if certain types of foods are subsidized more; those are the ones that are being produced on a larger scale. If you look at the USDA food pyramid, meat, sugars and fats are the food groups we should eat the least of. Now get this, these food groups receive 20 times more subsidies than fruits and vegetables! N...

Many of you have undoubtedly heard of the health benefits of drinking green tea. Many studies have shown that the greatness of green tea comes from the high level of antioxidants that help protect the body against cancer and heart disease. Interestingly enough, black tea (which in the last few years has been taking a back seat to green tea), appears to have more disease-fighting antioxidants than green, oolong, white or red teas according to findings presented at the recent American Dietetic Association meeting in Honolulu* (*as presented in Self Magazine May 2007 issue). The reasoning seems to stem from a long misconception that the processing removes the antioxidants and that green tea was less processed than black. The important point is that all tea gets the thumbs up from a health point of view. But take note, adding milk to your tea may block the tea’s benefits. The reason is casein – a milk protein which will bind itself to the molecules in tea and inhibit its benefits from bein...