6 Less Than Perfect Produce: What to Keep, What to Toss

I thought this was a valuable article.  Personally, I always err on the side of "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." but I'm English, so I must be genetically predisposed to survive funny food (and also have troublesome teeth!)

http://www.shespeaks.com/specialeditiondetails/52458

DivineCaroline.com

Posted July 12, 2010

I was having breakfast with a friend recently, and when I peeled my banana, I discovered that the top half was brown and bruised. I nonchalantly broke the banana in half and proceeded to eat the non-offending portion, but my friend was horrified. “How can you eat that?” she said. “Isn’t it dangerous?”  I guess if she was that scandalized by a bruised banana, I shouldn’t tell her about what I do when I find a little spot of mold growing on a block of cheese. She and her delicate sensibilities might never recover.  Fresh food is expensive, and it’s natural to try to get our money’s worth. That’s why it’s so frustrating to come across a half-eaten block of Parmesan with some mold on the edge, or an appleor pear with a soft dent on the side. It seems a shame to throw them out; as my mother used to say, there are starving people in China. Is it safe to eat these older foods?  The Truth About Ugly In America, there’s no denying that we’re obsessed with our food being perfect and beautiful. Supermarket produce managers closely monitor their shelves, throwing out bruised fruit, oddly-shaped vegetables, or other pieces of produce with minor cosmetic flaws, relegating them to the charity bin or the compost heap. Even though we deem them aesthetically inferior, the truth is that the vast majority of these fruits and vegetables are perfectly edible and safe to eat. Produce with bruises or soft spots is prone to quicker rotting and decay and should be consumed immediately, but the surface imperfections are usually minor.  Watch out, however, for bruising that’s accompanied by a broken skin, because it could indicate rotting. If fruit or vegetables have begun the rotting process (complete with a change in color, texture, or odor), it’s best to toss them out. This is most important for items with a high water content like pineapple, peaches, grapes, tomatoes, and cucumbers, because it’s easier for bacteria to infest these items. Since it’s harder for microbes to invade dense vegetables like carrots, bell peppers, or potatoes, it’s the consumer’s choice whether to cut off the offending part and use the rest of the item, or to throw the whole thing away.  Also, just because an item is past its freshness peak, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unusable. It’s safe to cut dry ends off cheeses, slice away the stale parts of bread, or use the rind of old citrus fruits for zest.  Molden Delicious Most people can deal with some slight bruising, but mold is an entirely different story. Mold has roots and tentacles that can reach deep into food, so if there’s significant mold growth on the surface, there’s a good chance that the rest of the food is tainted as well, even if you can’t see it.Harmful bacteria, like listeria, E. coli, and salmonella, can also accompany mold.  Foods You Can Keep: But don’t toss every moldy item out. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are some foods that, when a small amount of mold is present, it doesn’t automatically mean disaster. Hard shelf-stable salami and dry-cured meat products Hard cheeses (Parmesan, Pecorino) Semi-hard cheese (cheddar, gruyere) Cheeses that normally include mold (Roquefort, Camembert, Stilton) Firm, dense fruits and vegetables (cabbage, carrots, peppers)  In these instances, it’s okay to cut off the affected area to one inch below the mold spot, and use the rest of the product as usual. Just make sure not to slice into the mold itself with the knife, to prevent contamination.  Foods You Should Toss: Fresh meat of any kind Soft cheeses (feta, mozzarella, chèvre) Processed dairy (yogurt, sour cream) Jellies, preserves, and jams Soft fruits (apples, peaches, plums) Bread and cooked pasta  These items have high water content, making it more likely that mold spores (along with harmful bacteria) have permeated the entire product. Also, toss out any item that’s been shredded, crumbled, or chopped, since increased surface area means increased risk of contamination.  The next time I get a battered-looking banana, I won’t think twice about cutting out the brown bits and enjoying the rest of the fruit. I’ll save the darker pieces for banana bread. Originally written by Allison Ford for DivineCaroline.com

0 HFCS - Even More Evidence...

To follow up on a previous post of mine about fructose, here is some more disturbing research to show how bad HFCS really are.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Life/Health-Fitness/Health/High-fructose-levels-make-fat-cells-fatter/articleshow/6078353.cms

Fructose- the sugar widely used as high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods-when present in high levels throughout childhood could make maturing human fat cells fatter and less insulin-sensitive.

The researchers, led by Dr. Georgina Coade at the University of Bristol in the U.K., found that when fructose is present as children's fat cells mature, it makes more of these cells mature into fat cells in belly fat and less able to respond to insulin in both belly fat and fat located below the skin.

"Our results suggest that high levels of fructose, which may result from eating a diet high in fructose, throughout childhood may lead to an increase in visceral [abdominal] obesity, which is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk," said Coade.

Defined by a large waistline, abdominal obesity raises the risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The abdominal cavity contains one of two major types of fat in the body: visceral fat. The other type, subcutaneous fat, is found below the surface of the skin.

Although researchers have shown the negative effects of fructose on the fat distribution of rodents, the effects of this sugar on human adipocytes, or fat cells, are not clear, according to Coade.

Thus, the researchers studied biopsy specimens of both subcutaneous and visceral fat from 32 healthy-weight children who had not yet gone through puberty.

From the biopsy samples, the investigators obtained preadipocytes-the precursors to fat cells that have the potential to differentiate, or mature, into fat-containing adipocytes.

They then allowed the precursor cells to mature for 14 days in culture media containing normal glucose (the main sugar found in the bloodstream and the principal source of energy in the body), high glucose or high fructose.

The researchers assessed cell differentiation by measuring activity of an enzyme (GPDH) and the abundance of the adipocyte fatty acid binding protein, which are both present only in mature fat cells.

Fructose, the research team found, had different effects to that of glucose and caused the fat cells to differentiate more-that is, to form more mature fat cells-but only in visceral fat.

For both types of fat cells, maturation in fructose decreased the cells'' insulin sensitivity, which is the ability to successfully take up glucose from the bloodstream into fat and muscles.
Decreased insulin sensitivity is a characteristic of Type 2 diabetes.

Although prolonged exposure to fructose had a negative effect on insulin sensitivity, when Coade and her co-workers exposed mature fat cells, rather than preadipocytes, to fructose for 48 hours, the cells'' insulin sensitivity increased. The reason why is unknown.

However, she said: "Fructose alters the behavior of human fat cells if it is present as the fat cells mature. We can maybe compare this [timing] to periods in children when they are making their fat."

The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

1 Sugar: The Bitter Truth

This is totally brilliant, a long watch, but so worth it, and entertaining to boot. I think everyone should take a peek, it gives me chills watching it. He is proving that HFCS (actually, all fructose) is poison to our bodies, and talking about how changing the Food Pyramid in 1980 was a disaster (recommending lowering our fat intake.)

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [7/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717]