"MSN" news and stories

We wrote earlier about some new studies showing that multi-vitamin supplements don't do much to prevent disease, but that vitamin-filled foods clearly do. Well check out MSN's list of nine immunity-boosting foods to help prevent colds and other illnesses this winter. None of it's exactly shocking news, but it's always good to have a reminder, especially when you're sitting on the couch watching Lost and eating shortbread like...some of us. Here's the rundown:

1) Water, eight to 10 glasses a day
2) Probiotic-containing yogurt
3) Vitamin A-filled sweet potatoes
4) Tea
5) Chicken soup
6) Zinc-heavy beef
7) Mushrooms
8) Fish and shellfish
9) Garlic
10) Oats and barley

What are you favorite immune-boosting foods?

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It's time to welcome a new food blog/community to the internet fray. Yesterday, Hearst Digital Media and MSN launched their new joint venture, Delish (and with a name like that, how could it be bad). It's a food hub, along similar lines as Serious Eats (without all the cool brand-name bloggers) and Epicurious (minus the connection to Gourmet).

Right now they're focusing on fall, with rotating billboards tempting readers with features about autumn apples, school lunches and tips on how to avoid cooking disasters (okay, not so fall-ish). Their recipe archive is terrific, chock full of dishes from the Hearst Magazine stable of publications. This means that if you're looking for a recipe that was printed in Good Housekeeping, you've got an excellent new resource.

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Sure, we know that chicken nuggets are "bad" for us because they're deep-fried, but what about chili peppers? Aren't they supposed to be highin vitamin C and have lots of antioxidants? And what about broccoli? Beans? Milk?!?!

Even "good" foods can be trouble for people who have gastrointestinal problems. MSN's Health and Fitness channel has put together a list of 10 Foods Tough to Digest, along with the types of problems they might cause. What are they? Chicken nuggets, spicy foods, chocolate, citrus juice, mashed potatoes, raw onions, ice cream, broccoli, beans and sugarless gum.

In the past, I have disagreed with some of the food-related lists that MSN has put forth and their latest addition is no exception. They put together a list of 15 tips to stay on a diet at fast food restaurants, most of which suggest things like choosing a smaller portion size or sharing desserts, fries, etc. with a friend. And one of their most important tips is to "limit your visits to fast-food restaurants to no more than twice a week," which is still quite a few visits, to say nothing of the fact that it assumes that you already visit three or more times per week.

It's not that their tips are bad, just overly obvious or repetitive. For example, if you're eating at a fast food restaurant every other day, it's pretty safe to say that your diet has a lot of room for improvement. The tips can be streamlined into a much shorter list:

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Ostensibly collected with reader input, MSN has put forth a list of 10 foods that make America great. This list is a step up from last year's, which included a wide variety of regional foods, but not necessarily ones that were "great" outside of their region. Shoofly pie, for example, might actually be considered to be declining in popularity, rather than standing up as an American icon.

This list left off foods like barbecue and pizza, which were deemed to be too broad, but included both regional and national favorites that are more recognizable than previous selections. Maple syrup and Philly cheesesteak are excellent choices, but what about Frito pie? Is that really a dish that makes America great? And isn't a Mission burrito a little specific? It's hard to narrow down the list of great foods to only a handful, but certainly there are things that should be added to the list, like apple pie. Any other suggestions?

1. Lobster Rolls
2. Maple Syrup
3. Philly Cheesesteak
4. Gumbo
5. Shrimp and grits
6. Frito pie
7. Wisconsin bratwursts
8. Hawaiian plate lunch
9. Banana splits
10. San Francisco's Mission Burrito

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