HISTORY:
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a species in the onion genus, and thus genetically similar to onions, leeks, shallots, and chives. Garlic originated in central Asia, and humans have grown garlic for at least 7,000 years throughout Eurasia and Africa for use as a panacea for gastrointestinal and other health problems. Garlic has long been treasured for its ability to flavor foods, but what makes garlic especially potent is how it stimulates production of antioxidants.
How it works:
Does cooking food release toxins and carcinogens?
The short answer is “yes,” based on numerous government studies around the world (including the U.S. CDC, NIH, EPA, etc.), but only if you cook at higher-than-steaming/boiling temperatures. Studies indicate probable links between cancer rates and food fried/grilled at high temperatures (see below).
Thus if you’re serious about maintaining good health, you may want to reduce high-temperature cooked foods in your diet. It doesn’t mean you have to avoid such foods entirely, because your body can detoxify itself to some extent, via organs like the liver. But the less you abuse your body, the greater your chance of having a healthy life and old age.
There are four common ways to get carcinogens in your diet:
I’ve been meaning to write an entry elaborating about how food can have different calories or bioavailability of nutrients when cooked or combined (e.g., salads are more nutritious if you add a little dressing), but this WaPo article does a fine job of that already. I find it ironic that some people in the world have trouble getting enough calories, while others try to reduce the calories in what they like to eat.
“When you make it the right way, you get the minerals and the exact building blocks of what makes up our joint surfaces,” DiFranceso said. “He’s recognized in the last few years, since sort of pointing him in the direction, of how important that will be.
As baby formula labels continually admonish mothers, breastfeeding is better than formula. But if you can’t breastfeed or don’t produce enough milk–as in our case–formula can be a lifesaver.
Infant formula is a highly regulated food and contains the same minimum nutritional content.12 However, be aware that formulas differ in quality.
Q: Are store brands as good as name brand foods? (Or even better?)
A: The answer is basically yes.
There are three different ways to look at store brands:
There are a few exceptions where a manufacturer has a patent on a specific process or product, so you can’t get the item anywhere else (e.g., Dreyer patented slow-churn ice cream or probiotics in tea and coffee). Otherwise, even though the recipes are different, there is not much difference between name brand and store brand food.
What isn’t on my list? Safety or quality. The USDA and FDA have rules about food manufacturing and safety where everyone has to meet the same basic criteria. And regardless of whether a product is a store brand or name brand, all food products are subject to the same labeling requirements when it comes to claiming health/nutrition benefits:
“From a food science perspective, it is difficult to define a food product that is ‘natural’ because the food has probably been processed and is no longer the product of the earth. That said, FDA has not developed a definition for use of the term natural or its derivatives. However, the agency has not objected to the use of the term if the food does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances.” [9]
In conclusion: Because all food is regulated and meets basic safety criteria you are left buying based on the taste, price, and marketing. Often the best value will be the store brands and they are just as good as the name brands. Some stores have multiple tiers of store brands: a low-budget brand, a brand intended to compete with national brands, and a premium brand that may be better than the leading national brand. So the next time you have a choice between a store brand and name brand, you might want to try them both out side-by-side. The results may surprise you!