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:
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?
Toasters have been around for more than 100 years and the
Slate took on the task of testing eight toasters to see which one was really the toast of the town. Using a highly scientific scale which
judged toasting quality, ease of use, cleanup and value, the toasters were put to the test. After too many loaves of
bread to count, the results were in. The high-end toasters like the DeLonghi Aluminum 2-Slice and the KitchenAid Pro Line 2-Slice finished with the
best scores, though they were low in the "value" category. Generally, the less expensive toasters, like the
T-Fal Avanté
Deluxe 4-Slice and Michael Graves
2-Slice, did not perform as well as their more expensive counterparts.
Their list is a great way to start a toaster search, but Cooking.com and Amazon.com's
customer reviews also provide great feedback.
Despite the title of Is Whole Foods Wholesome?, the Slate
article is not about Whole Foods as much as it is about the organic movement. Essentially, the article treats the
increased demand for organic goods as an overly cynical teenager would treat their once favorite band after it
"sells out." The band, having joined up with a major record label and making more money, reaching a wider
audience and popularizing their brand of music, is no longer appealing to the teen who feels that if it isn't small and
under-recognized, it isn't worth his or her recognition.
Organic foods have had a following for a long time, though their potential value was largely unappreciated by the
mainstream population of grocery shoppers. As Whole Foods picked up and popularized the organic foods market, neatly
filling a growing consumer demand with smart store layouts and good timing, they had to look further to find the
organic foods to fit the demand. The question that posed by the Slate is whether it is appropriate to purchase these
goods when they are not grown locally. In California, this is not a problem because most of the organic produce in the
country comes from the state, but New York has a more limited production of those types of goods.
MSN Health published an article about the 10 worst foods you
can eat. It's an appealing concept, though the article was poorly constructed. The author wrote that she wanted to
select "food categories" rather than brands, but she ended up selecting individual food additives and
ingredients anyway, with a few rather narrow categories thrown in. She also failed to identify the criteria she used to
compile the list. The MSN list is as follows, along with their description as given in the article, though
paraphrased here:
Hydrogenated fats - These might contain trans-fats, but it depends on the company's use of
the term vs. partially hydrogenated.
Olestra - You could be eating fruits and non-"junk food" instead of anything with
this fat substitute.
Nitrates - Used as a preservative, they could turn into nitrite, which has been deemed safe by the FDA.
Alcohol - Only acceptable in the form of a fine glass of wine with dinner.
Raw Oysters - Can carry deadly bacteria and should be cooked well.
In the past, I have disagreed with some of the 
Ostensibly collected with reader input, MSN has put forth a list of 
Toasters have been around for more than 100 years and 
Despite the title of 
MSN Health published an article about the 
DIY Foods: Making homemade sausage
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
