Tag: Diet and Health

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More Cheese Please

Relative risks (RR) for colorectal cancer were calculated for intakes of all 97 dietary factors, with significant associations found for 17 of them. Calcium intake showed the strongest protective effect, with each additional 300 mg per day – equivalent to a large glass of milk – associated with a 17% reduced RR. Six dairy-related factors associated with calcium – dairy milk, yogurt, riboflavin, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium intakes – also demonstrated inverse associations with colorectal cancer risk. Dr Sheena Meredith. Dietary Calcium Cuts Colorectal Cancer Risk by 17% – Medscape – 08 January 2025. https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/dietary-calcium-cuts-colorectal-cancer-risk-17-2025a10000e0?

Citation and links to the original study – Papier, K., Bradbury, K.E., Balkwill, A. et al. Diet-wide analyses for risk of colorectal cancer: prospective study of 12,251 incident cases among 542,778 women in the UK. Nat Commun 16, 375 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55219-5 – https://rdcu.be/d6G1Q

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The Best Replacements for Meat and Milk (no, it’s not plant milks, veggie burgers or tofu)

Beans and peas are the best meat and milk replacement from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives.

Our findings suggest that suitable alternatives to meat and milk exist and are available and affordable without necessarily requiring new technologies or product development. This contrasts with discussions in high-income countries on the needs to develop novel replacement foods, especially those that would completely mimic meat and dairy (18). Our nutritional, health, environmental, and cost analyses suggest that if one is prepared to consider foods for their properties instead of whether they are completely mimicking meat or dairy—and surveys suggest that consumers are (49)—then unprocessed legumes are, for the most part, superior to processed alternatives. This is also relevant for low and middle-income countries where legumes are readily available, but discussions on processed meat and milk alternatives are at an earlier stage, despite diets rapidly becoming similarly imbalanced as in high-income countries (1, 50). M. Springmann, A multicriteria analysis of meat and milk alternatives from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (50) e2319010121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319010121 (2024).

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Photo by Digital Buggu on Pexels.com

Keep it simple.

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Trouble in Paradise 2024 (it’s Weight Gain Season again)

I’ve been posting this chart for several years around the Holiday Season. The source has been attributed to the New England Journal of Medicine. but I could never find the original source article.

Obesity prevalence among older Americans has increased at an alarming rate. In a single generation—between 1988-1994 and 2015-2018—the share of U.S. adults ages 65 and older with obesity nearly doubled, increasing from 22% to 40%.13 – Fact Sheet: Aging in the United States https://www.prb.org/resources/fact-sheet-aging-in-the-united-states/

At the beginning of every month I record my weight in my personal journal. I started November at 176.2. I managed to survive two birthdays, one homemade Eddie’s Carrot Sheet Cake, a few cupcakes, and the recurring annual threat of Halloween candy. Two more months to go.

My doctor says I worry too much about gaining weight. But she’s a hell of lot younger so what does she really know about my aging metabolism?

Remember this from two years ago? Well the bakers showed up again this Thanksgiving.

It was so good we did it again.

This year’s Thanksgiving was wonderful and memorable in a number of ways. The first blessing of the season was I didn’t have to drive. Let’s just say The Boss wouldn’t let me drive.

The next blessing was spending time with relatives we had not seen in several years. We shared stories, made fun of one another and had a great time. Thanksgiving was different this year; neither of our kids and their families were with us. So we had to borrow a Tiny Human for the occasion.

One Tiny Human, a lot more aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents.

The best blessing was I managed to gain just two pounds from this year’s Thanksgiving food binge.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Stay well. Stay slim.

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The Last Bag of Organic Frozen Peas I Bought Will Be The Last Bag of Organic Frozen Peas I’ll Ever Buy

The false dichotomy between conventional and organic isn’t just misleading, it’s dangerous. Our constant attention on natural versus synthetic only causes fear and distrust, when in actuality, our food has never been safer.

Eating fewer fruits and vegetables due to fear of pesticides or the high price of organic food does far more harm to our health. Conventional produce has the same nutritional content and is as safe to consume as ‘organic’ produce. Most of Americans already don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, and produce contains important nutrients, fiber, and other substances that are extremely important to our health.

From a scientific point of view, organic foods are not superior. If you want to spend more money on them, go for it. But don’t buy organic because you think it’s better for you or for the planet, because it’s not. Organic foods are not healthier…or pesticide free. — https://news.immunologic.org/p/organic-foods-are-not-healthieror

I’m beginning to think I read too much. But every now and then I come across very interesting and useful information. The entire article is about a 10-15 read and is worth your time.

The amount of product labeled Organic in my freezer and pantry are minimal compared to everything else. But if the quality isn’t better or the nutritional value isn’t superior then my choice is to save money at the store whenever I can.

Nutritional quality of organic foods: a systematic review – https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)26563-6/fulltext

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Still Not Vegan 2.0

What do you get when a blogger https://theveganword.com/about/ analyzes the number of vegan restaurants from a vegan restaurant listing website https://www.happycow.net/?

You get modern day journalism. You get this:

The Cities With The Most Vegan Options Worldwide – https://www.statista.com/chart/19612/share-of-restaurants-classified-as-vegan-friendly/

Once a fringe movement, it is now firmly mainstream, something that is being reflected by increasing vegan options in restaurants and supermarkets.

Nope. Still a trendy thing on the fringe. Don’t take this the wrong way. I haven’t eaten any meat in several days. But please try to do just a little bit of serious research before jumping to conclusions.

Oh sorry, I forgot this was a food blog. If you’ve read this far, thank you for reading my mini-rant. And to think I started this post thinking about making a new to me chickpea recipe.

Electronic Sticky Notes

25 Vegan Chickpea Recipes – The First Mess

30 Recipes with a Can of Chickpeas

Keep it simple. Eat more plants.

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