Saturday, November 23, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
US moves to ban artificial trans fats in food
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed measures that
would all but eliminate artificial trans fats, the artery clogging
substance that is a major contributor to heart disease in the United
States, from the food supply.
Under the proposal, which is open for public comment for 60 days, the agency would declare that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, were no longer "generally recognized as safe," a legal category that permits the use of salt and caffeine, for example. That means companies would have to prove scientifically that partially hydrogenated oils are safe to eat, a very high hurdle given that scientific literature overwhelmingly shows the contrary.
The Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no safe level for consumption of artificial trans fats.
"That will make it a challenge, to be honest," said Michael R Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the FDA. Margaret A Hamburg, the agency's commissioner, said the rules could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.
The move concluded three decades of battles by public health advocates against artificial trans fats, which occur when liquid oil is treated with hydrogen gas and made solid. The long-lasting fats became popular in frying and baking and in household items like margarine, and were cheaper than animal fat, like butter.
But over the years, scientific evidence has shown they are worse than any other fat for health because they raise the levels of so-called bad cholesterol and can lower the levels of good cholesterol. In 2006, an FDA rule went into effect requiring that artificial trans fats be listed on food labels, a shift that prompted many large producers to eliminate them. A year earlier, New York City told restaurants to stop using artificial trans fats in cooking. Many major chains like McDonalds, found substitutes, and eliminated trans fats.
Those actions led to major advances in public health: Trans fat intake declined among Americans to about one gram a day in 2012, down from 4.6 grams in 2006. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that blood levels of trans fatty acids among white adults in the US declined by 58% from 2000 to 2009.
But the fats were not banned, and still lurk in many popular processed foods, such as microwave popcorn, certain desserts, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers. "The artery is still half clogged," said Thomas R Frieden, the director of the disease centers. "This is about preventing people from being exposed to a harmful chemical that most of the time they didn't even know was there."
He noted that artificial trans fats are required to be on the label only if there is more than half a gram per serving, a trace amount that can add up fast and lead to increased risk of heart attack.
Even as little as two or three grams of trans fat a day can increase the health risk, scientists say. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Under the proposal, which is open for public comment for 60 days, the agency would declare that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, were no longer "generally recognized as safe," a legal category that permits the use of salt and caffeine, for example. That means companies would have to prove scientifically that partially hydrogenated oils are safe to eat, a very high hurdle given that scientific literature overwhelmingly shows the contrary.
The Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no safe level for consumption of artificial trans fats.
"That will make it a challenge, to be honest," said Michael R Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods at the FDA. Margaret A Hamburg, the agency's commissioner, said the rules could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.
The move concluded three decades of battles by public health advocates against artificial trans fats, which occur when liquid oil is treated with hydrogen gas and made solid. The long-lasting fats became popular in frying and baking and in household items like margarine, and were cheaper than animal fat, like butter.
But over the years, scientific evidence has shown they are worse than any other fat for health because they raise the levels of so-called bad cholesterol and can lower the levels of good cholesterol. In 2006, an FDA rule went into effect requiring that artificial trans fats be listed on food labels, a shift that prompted many large producers to eliminate them. A year earlier, New York City told restaurants to stop using artificial trans fats in cooking. Many major chains like McDonalds, found substitutes, and eliminated trans fats.
Those actions led to major advances in public health: Trans fat intake declined among Americans to about one gram a day in 2012, down from 4.6 grams in 2006. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that blood levels of trans fatty acids among white adults in the US declined by 58% from 2000 to 2009.
But the fats were not banned, and still lurk in many popular processed foods, such as microwave popcorn, certain desserts, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers. "The artery is still half clogged," said Thomas R Frieden, the director of the disease centers. "This is about preventing people from being exposed to a harmful chemical that most of the time they didn't even know was there."
He noted that artificial trans fats are required to be on the label only if there is more than half a gram per serving, a trace amount that can add up fast and lead to increased risk of heart attack.
Even as little as two or three grams of trans fat a day can increase the health risk, scientists say. NYT NEWS SERVICE
Gourmet’s lodestar: Tarla Dalal tickled our palate with the delights of India’s eclectic vegetarian traditions
RELATED
While the tributes paid to Tarla Dalal
following her death in Mumbai on Wednesday have been fulsome, they do
not quite reflect the enormity of her contribution to expanding the
culinary horizons of her compatriots. Before she arrived on the scene
with the publication of The Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking in 1974,
food writers tended to focus on their local culinary traditions.
Exceptions to this norm - such as Madhur Jaffrey and Thangam E Philip -
were few and far between. It is Tarla Dalal who pioneered efforts to
expose our palate to the exuberantly eclectic range of Indian vegetarian
dishes, sweets, savouries, pickles, chutneys and preserves (including,
in the first place, those of Gujarat) as well as to flavours from other
climes such as Italy, Thailand and China.
This singular achievement recalls similar accomplishments of some distinguished food writers of the last century. Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson, for example, were hailed for changing the food habits of the British, much like Julia Child and MFK Fisher earned the gratitude of their fellow Americans for introducing them to the delights of French gastronomy.
These writers however were also praised for their literary gifts and their lively interest in culinary history - something that Tarla Dalal didn't match or even aspire to match. Her ambitions were modest: to provide recipes that used locally-available ingredients and involved uncomplicated cooking techniques. She was also fiendishly health-conscious. That explains the whopping popularity of her books - more than a hundred, many translated into several Indian and foreign languages - as well as of her TV shows and website. The legacy she leaves behind - a celebration of the tastes of India - will continue to inspire and enchant cooks and gourmets for years to come.
This singular achievement recalls similar accomplishments of some distinguished food writers of the last century. Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson, for example, were hailed for changing the food habits of the British, much like Julia Child and MFK Fisher earned the gratitude of their fellow Americans for introducing them to the delights of French gastronomy.
These writers however were also praised for their literary gifts and their lively interest in culinary history - something that Tarla Dalal didn't match or even aspire to match. Her ambitions were modest: to provide recipes that used locally-available ingredients and involved uncomplicated cooking techniques. She was also fiendishly health-conscious. That explains the whopping popularity of her books - more than a hundred, many translated into several Indian and foreign languages - as well as of her TV shows and website. The legacy she leaves behind - a celebration of the tastes of India - will continue to inspire and enchant cooks and gourmets for years to come.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Here’s why you MUST eat garlic
Here’s why you should eat garlic
Reasons garlic is good for you
- Garlic is antiviral and antifungal. It has been used for centuries for its antibacterial properties. The chemical component of garlic, allicin, has been shown to prevent the growth of the candida albicans fungus.
- Garlic can reduce cholesterol. Its powerful antioxidant properties prevent free radical damage to the arterial lining and stop the formation of scar tissue.
- Eat garlic to lower your blood pressure. Garlic has the ability to decrease platelet stickiness, which will help in making your blood thinner.
- Garlic can help to regulate blood sugar levels, which is good for people with type 2 diabetes.
- Baked potatoes and baked garlic with cress salad — this is a simple way to eat garlic and tastes great
- Fight colds and flu by eating garlic whenever you can in soups and salads. It's also delicious as a roasted vegetable
- Garlic is antiviral and antifungal. It has been used for centuries for its antibacterial properties. The chemical component of garlic, allicin, has been shown to prevent the growth of the candida albicans fungus.
- Garlic can reduce cholesterol. Its powerful antioxidant properties prevent free radical damage to the arterial lining and stop the formation of scar tissue.
- Eat garlic to lower your blood pressure. Garlic has the ability to decrease platelet stickiness, which will help in making your blood thinner.
- Garlic can help to regulate blood sugar levels, which is good for people with type 2 diabetes.
- Baked potatoes and baked garlic with cress salad — this is a simple way to eat garlic and tastes great
- Fight colds and flu by eating garlic whenever you can in soups and salads. It's also delicious as a roasted vegetable
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Diu loses its Portuguese palate
RELATED
DIU: Diu has been called Goa without hippies. This island town, spread on 14 sq km island, has successfully been the watering hole for those from dry Gujarat for long. However, the sleepy place seems to be slowly drifting away from a precious heritage - its unique Portuguese cuisine.
While the local food in Diu has long been a mix of Gujarati and Portuguese fare, the effect of the later seems to be fading away. A search for authentic Portuguese cooking can be long and disappointing.
There were only 50 Portuguese-speaking Roman Catholic families left in the town in 2012, according to data provided by the district collector Ramesh Verma's office. Many of the families offered authentic Portuguese delicacies of tourists but most of them have moved to Europe and even to Daman and Goa. Today, you can have your quarter, but you can't follow it up with Lisbon-style shrimp soup.
Another major reason is finding the right ingredients. As the demand went down over the years, the supply of unique ingredients dried up, says Gelia Brito, who runs a small snack counter right outside Diu Museum.
Piri piri (small, fiery chilli peppers of African origin) is among the unique spices giving Portuguese cooking a unique flavour. The cooking also uses black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and saffron in comparatively larger quantities. Olive oil is one of its bases both for cooking and flavouring meals. Garlic is widely used, as are herbs such as coriander and parsley.
"Inflation is the other reason why I have stopped cooking for tourists. The pomfret costs 60% more than last year and King fish is even costlier," Brito says.
Portugal has Europe's highest fish consumption per capita. It is among the top four fish-eaters in the world and is often referred to as the Seafood Nation. While fish is the staple diet, salt cod and sardine are most popular. These again are not easily available in Diu.
Moreover, as dried and salted fish need to be soaked in water or milk before being cooked, preparing food takes time. No wonder, only a couple of restaurants that do offer Portuguese cuisine do not have such delicacies on their menu.
Cozido de peixe, a kind of fish stew; Penn de calamari, pasta with squid; Caldo de camarao, fresh shrimp soup or cozido de camarao are the general items in Portuguese section of the menu of eateries. Bacalhau com natas, which is fish baked with cream and potatoes, a regular preparation in Goa is also absent. Surprisingly, there is not a single restaurant that serves only Portuguese cuisine.
A patient search may lead you to O'Coqueiro (Coconunt Tree) restaurant in Firangiwada area of the city. Ironically, the places is owned and run by Kailesh Pandey, who hails from Nainital. He says he learnt Portuguese preparations from local matriarchs.
"Despite common roots, Portuguese food in Diu and Goa tastes different as it has more regional influence. I am able to serve Portuguese cuisine as I run a small place; still the menu has to be limited. It just doesn't make sense commercially to offer more," he says.
While the local food in Diu has long been a mix of Gujarati and Portuguese fare, the effect of the later seems to be fading away. A search for authentic Portuguese cooking can be long and disappointing.
There were only 50 Portuguese-speaking Roman Catholic families left in the town in 2012, according to data provided by the district collector Ramesh Verma's office. Many of the families offered authentic Portuguese delicacies of tourists but most of them have moved to Europe and even to Daman and Goa. Today, you can have your quarter, but you can't follow it up with Lisbon-style shrimp soup.
Another major reason is finding the right ingredients. As the demand went down over the years, the supply of unique ingredients dried up, says Gelia Brito, who runs a small snack counter right outside Diu Museum.
Piri piri (small, fiery chilli peppers of African origin) is among the unique spices giving Portuguese cooking a unique flavour. The cooking also uses black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and saffron in comparatively larger quantities. Olive oil is one of its bases both for cooking and flavouring meals. Garlic is widely used, as are herbs such as coriander and parsley.
"Inflation is the other reason why I have stopped cooking for tourists. The pomfret costs 60% more than last year and King fish is even costlier," Brito says.
Portugal has Europe's highest fish consumption per capita. It is among the top four fish-eaters in the world and is often referred to as the Seafood Nation. While fish is the staple diet, salt cod and sardine are most popular. These again are not easily available in Diu.
Moreover, as dried and salted fish need to be soaked in water or milk before being cooked, preparing food takes time. No wonder, only a couple of restaurants that do offer Portuguese cuisine do not have such delicacies on their menu.
Cozido de peixe, a kind of fish stew; Penn de calamari, pasta with squid; Caldo de camarao, fresh shrimp soup or cozido de camarao are the general items in Portuguese section of the menu of eateries. Bacalhau com natas, which is fish baked with cream and potatoes, a regular preparation in Goa is also absent. Surprisingly, there is not a single restaurant that serves only Portuguese cuisine.
A patient search may lead you to O'Coqueiro (Coconunt Tree) restaurant in Firangiwada area of the city. Ironically, the places is owned and run by Kailesh Pandey, who hails from Nainital. He says he learnt Portuguese preparations from local matriarchs.
"Despite common roots, Portuguese food in Diu and Goa tastes different as it has more regional influence. I am able to serve Portuguese cuisine as I run a small place; still the menu has to be limited. It just doesn't make sense commercially to offer more," he says.
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