"low" news and stories

An Italian study found that people who ate five or more slices of bread a day, or 35 per week, were twice as likely to develop Renal Cell Carcinoma, a leading cause of kidney cancer, as those who ate bread only half as often, or less. The scientists behind the study felt that an increase in blood glucose levels might be a factor in the increased cancer risk. High GI foods are usually things that are highly processed with a lot of sugar or contain a lot of refined white flour. Some sources are saying that the study linked eating white bread with cancer because of this GI link, but "the study did not specify what type of bread [participants] ate," so statements of that sort are just speculation. The study did not actually "establish exactly what in bread may be to blame."

Besides, it seems that a significant portion of the food-related media tries to convince us that in Italy everyone only eats the best bread from their local bakeries, not processed white bread. If the results of the study turned out to be a result of eating three loaves of Wonder Bread each week it might make sense, but baguettes?

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Nearly extinct at the turn of the twentieth century, buffalo currently number about 400,000 in the U.S. and Canada. Europeans were to blame: trophy hunting, sport hunting, plain slaughter. For Native Americans though, bison were the perfect compliment on the prey side of a predator/prey relationship as they provided not only nutritious meat and organs, but, as most people know, no part of the animal was wasted. Shelter, sewing material, weapons were all made from what wasn't eaten.

As to what was eaten and why you ought to consider buffalo now: it is lower in cholesterol than other meats, not to mention calories. Buffalo meat is also higher in protein than very lean beef, and pork, and nearly equal to skinless chicken breast; it is lowest in fat of all the common meats. Buffalo burgers, steaks, even prepared fajitas are now easy to find in most supermarkets. You can order from any number of sites online. I have eaten many a buff burger and even tried a buffalo pate. One thing I could never stomach was Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I've known folks with progressive palettes that savor these delicacies...

Buffalo meat is quite lean, so be aware to baste often and cook at low heat when roasting or BBQing a large cut. I recommend thin tenderloin steaks with garlic, onion, dill, and olive oil. You can even find organically raised buffalo to boot.

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Whole Foods is rolling out new ads to emphasize the low priced items they say they've been selling all along, according to an article in the New York Times. Apparently "whole paycheck" has just been hiding their competitively priced light under a bushel. Prices of certain items will now figure prominently in the new ads. According to the NYT article, Business Day ran some price comparisons between Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, a Manhattan Walgreen's and Food Emporium. Kashi cereal and Philadelphia Cream Cheese were both cheaper at Whole Foods. I've done a few informal price comparisons between my local Whole Foods and Publix supermarket and also found that prices on items like Nature's Path cereals (my beloved Optimum Power Breakfast) and Blue Diamond almond milk are generally cheaper at Whole Foods. The ads will run in New York City for the next 10 weeks.

[Image: NYT]