Pink Slime Safer Than Regular Ground

Whether you call it "pink slime" or LFTB (lean, finely textured beef), you can call it a much-maligned product at the heart of an emotional controversy fueled by misinformation, according to a meat expert in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.


The stuff made headlines when it was reported that the federal government plans to buy ground beef that contains the product in the coming year for use in the national school lunch program's beef products. After a newspaper broke the story, a national furor erupted, and "pink slime" became the most searched topic on the Internet.

"Claims made that this product is not safe are blatantly untrue," says animal sciences professor Edward Mills. "From a microbial-pathogen point of view, the product has a better reputation than straight ground beef.

The material in question is lean meat that remains on fat trimmings removed from beef carcasses and that cannot be reclaimed with a knife cost effectively. This remaining meat is separated from fat in a mechanical process that involves heating minced trimmings only to about body temperature (100 degrees) then centrifuging to separate lean from fat.

"There was a significant amount of lean going to waste that now is recovered," Mills explains. "The regulatory wing of USDA says that this product fits in the same category as boneless lean meat. It is the consistency of baby food and most often used along with conventional boneless beef to make ground beef."

Because the trimmings may harbor dangerous pathogens that can cause foodborne illness, they are decontaminated with either ammonia gas or citric acid.

"We live in a culture where emotions consistently trump logic and reason, and this is one of those. The only sound condemnation of the product is that it just looks bad. But the fact remains -- it is a low-cost source of very lean ground beef."

When to Eat What
The Meat Buyers Guide : Meat, Lamb, Veal, Pork and Poultry
Artwork: Hamburger Patties

Alcohol is a Fountain of Youth

UCLA biochemists have discovered a fountain of youth in tiny drops of alcohol, for worms at least.

In a recent study, minuscule amounts of ethanol - the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages - more than doubled the life span of a tiny worm known as Caenorhabditis elegans.

The scientists are dumbfounded.

Continued Out There

• Beverages
• good spirits & fine liqueurs
• Out There

Virgin Olive oil, Fish Fatty Acids Can Prevent Acute Pancreatitis

Researchers at the University of Granada Physiology Department have discovered that Oleic acid and hydroxytyrosol found in virgin olive oil and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish affect the cellular mechanisms involved in the development of acute pancreatitis. Including them in one's diet may prevent or mitigate the disease.

In the first study to examine how fatty acids and antioxidants affect the cellular mechanisms that respond to local inflammation in the pancreas, the University of Granada scientists evaluated the role of antioxidants from a preventive approach. In their experiments on mice, they induced cell damage after the mice had been fed the fatty acids and antioxidants.

"There is increasing evidence that there are oxidative-inflammatory processes involved in the origin of chronic diseases and that diet plays an important role in such processes,' said the study's author, María Belén López Millán.


Source:
María Belén López Millán.  University of Granada Physiology Department. Phone Number: +34 958241000 Ext. 2031

• Olive Oil
• Seafood & Fish
• Specialty Foods
• Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies

A Few Squares of Chocolate a Day Keeps the Coronary Away

Some "chocoholics" who just couldn't give up their favorite treat to comply with a study to test blood stickiness have inadvertently done their fellow chocolate lovers - and science - a big favor.

Their "offense," say researchers at Johns Hopkins led to what is believed to be the first biochemical analysis to explain why just a few squares of chocolate a day can almost halve the risk of heart attack death in some men and women by decreasing the tendency of platelets to clot in narrow blood vessels.

"What these chocolate 'offenders' taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack," says Diane Becker, M.P.H., Sc.D., a professor at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Continued in... A Few Squares of Chocolate a Day Keeps the Coronary Away

Chocolates
Farm Kitchen Guide: Chocolate

Vitamin D Reduces Risk of Heart Disease

A new report based on an extensive 75 previous studies strongly suggests a link between low levels vitamin D and increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin D comes from exposure to the sun. Twenty minutes of sun exposure daily is recommended.

Good food sources include fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel as well as cod liver oil, milk and foods fortified with Vitamin D including some orange juices, breads and cereals.

Low levels of Vitamin D have previously been linked with weak and brittle bones.

Sources: Journal of the American College of Cardiology

• Seafood & Fish
• Salmon
• Tuna

Eat Your Chocolate

Recent research suggests there are health benefits related to eating dark chocolate.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are high in natural antioxidants called flavonoids. Antioxidants have been linked to the prevention of diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

The greater the amount of cocoa there is in the chocolate, the higher the level of antioxidants.

"Because dark chocolate has a higher percentage of cocoa than other types of chocolate, it is the healthiest option. Dark chocolate that contains at least 60 percent cocoa is best," says University of Missouri Extension nutrition and health education specialist Christeena Haynes.

According to a nine-year study by the American Heart Association, middle-aged and elderly Swedish women who ate about one to two servings of high-quality chocolate each week decreased their risk of heart failure by 32 percent, while those who consumed one to three servings each month decreased their risk by only 26 percent.

The high-quality chocolate the women were consuming in this study was comparable to the typical dark chocolate eaten in the United States.

"The study also showed that the women who ate one or more servings every day showed no reduced risk of heart failure, which is probably because they were replacing healthy foods in their diets with the high-calorie chocolate," said Haynes.

In other studies, primarily short-term, dark chocolate has been found to lower blood pressure. It has also been associated with decreased risk of blood clots, increased blood flow in the arteries and heart, and improved cognitive function in the elderly.

"Even with these possible health benefits, you still have to keep in mind that dark chocolate is high in calories, fat, and sugar, which can lead to weight gain," says Haynes. "It should be eaten in moderation, as a part of a well-balanced diet. Consuming dark chocolate will not make up for unhealthy eating habits."

According to Haynes, there is no definitive recommendation for a daily amount except that it should be a small amount, like one ounce. One ounce would be about the size of four Hershey's kisses.

"The biggest challenge is not eating the dark chocolate, it is stopping after just one ounce."

Sources:
University of Missouri Extension
Christeena Haynes, (417) 345-7551

• When to Eat What
• Specialty Foods
• Chocolates
• Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods
• Farm Kitchen Guide: Chocolate

Eating Healthy at a Barbecue

The main course is often burgers and hot dogs - maybe some sausages or barbecued chicken. Stay away from the hot dogs and sausages.

However, a simple, small burger would be a diet-friendly choice. These days they may even have a few veggie burgers on the grill, an even healthier choice. If there's grilled chicken available, grab a breast, peel off the skin, and feel comfortable eating a piece about the size of the palm of your hand.

For a refreshing dessert, try to have some sort of fruit, be it a slice of melon or a colorful salad.

~ from When to Eat What by by Heidi Reichenberger McIndoo

Kitchen Supply: Outdoor Cooking
Recipe: Victory Chicken