"drinking straws" news and stories

Recently, a friend passed along a tip from a dermatologist: Stop sipping through straws. The doctor said it was the number one cause of wrinkles.

Even more recently, at lunch one day my aunt relayed some info from her husband, an orthodontist. He said that drinking through a straw prevents cavities and tooth decay, since straws allow sugary beverages to bypass your teeth. When my aunt said this, everybody around the table (six women) stuck straws in their drinks. But when I countered with the skincare side of the question, my aunt was the first to pluck her straw right back out again.

The tooth-health argument is supported by copious research. On the other side, Lesley M. M. Blume warns the wrinkle-phobic about the practice in The Huffington Post and adds, "Not to mention that it looks jejune, and not in a charming way."

Blume also mentions smoking, the better-known culprit behind mouth wrinkles. Think about it. Fine lines around the eyes suggest lots of smiles and laughter (hence the term "laugh lines"). A web of creases encircling the lips, on the other hand, cries "nicotine addiction," even if, as my friend's dermatologist claims, a penchant for straws is the more likely cause.

Then again, missing teeth rank even lower on the charm scale. Plus, what about blowing bubbles in chocolate milk?

So, what's it going to be? Would you risk cavities to prevent wrinkles, or vice-versa? Or you could always ire both dentist and derm, and sip everything through a Twizzler.

I know the world of functional foods is really taking off, but pretty soon you could have an even more functional straw to gulp it down with.

Unistraw is slated to make drinking straws that'll add a probiotic boost to anything you drink with it. Using their patented sytem, the straws are designed to deliver "dry stable Unibeads" of probiotics via filters at each end.

They're partnering with the food packaging/processing giant Tetrapak to get the straws out there. Starting from the middle of next year, Tetrapak will include the straws on their carton packaging and both companies will be able to market the new device.

This is probably (hopefully) the only time you'll see the words "straws" and "penis" in the same story here at Slashfood.

The mom of a 3 year-old Kentucky is upset at Wal-Mart for selling what she says are obscene straws. Some of the straws in the package (ahem) she bought are shaped like...well, a penis. Or so she thinks. I'm not sure if I would have thought that at first, especially since the two straws in question are mixed in with other random shaped straws.

You can watch the video from WSAZ-TV here.

So, Slashfoodies, what do you think? Does the mom have grounds to be mad about the straws, or is it just a fun shape (like a rocket ship!) and she's seeing what she wants to see in them?

[via Boing Boing]

Last November, Australia-based company Unistraw rolled out the Sipahh, a plastic drinking straw filled with flavored "soluble beads" of tapioca. As milk passes through the straw it takes on one of four "natural" flavors: strawberry, chocolate, caramel or banana. Each serving contains two grams of sugar, which, according to Unistraw, is far less than most flavored milk products.

Unistraw recently filed a lawsuit against Nestlé, claiming that their yet-to-be-released Nesquik Magic Straw too closely resembles the Sipahh. Nestlé denies the allegations. FoodProductionDaily reports, saying that Unistraw accounts for 25 percent of the multi-million-dollar "milk modifier" market.

Australian television show The New Inventors has a page about the Sipahh, including video footage of the incredibly tranquil Peter Baron, the straw's developer.

While flavored milk seems to be Unistraw's main push at the moment, the company's website also suggests their straws could be useful as delivery systems for sports and energy products and pharmaceuticals.