Slashfood

• Food debates at Opposing Views
  

  Filed under: On the Blogs, Health & Medical, Food News

  Are you feeling opinionated on a range of food topics, notably diets? On the website Opposing Views, you have the opportunity to view experts' arguments for and against low-carb diets, caffeine use, biotech foods, and on becoming a vegetarian. Afterwards, you can post your own comments.
  
  There are so many overbearingly opinionated blogs. What a relief to finally find a site where doctors and scientists debate over hot topics. And, rather than totally ignoring what everyone else has to say, it fosters continued discussion with comments. Also, the site provides news headlines...
  



• Is flavored water healthy?
  

  Filed under: Water, Business, Trends, Health & Medical

  Wow, the confusion when buying water! These days, when you enter a grocery store and look on the shelf, you can view about 10 different flavored waters, each promising to be the perfect antidote to a specific ailment. There's Vitaminwater, Propel Fitness Water, Function Drinks, Sobe Life Water, Snapple Antioxident water, 24c Vitamin enhanced water, and much more.
  
  Yesterday, I read an article from New York magazine about the entrepreneurs that started Function Drinks. And, for a brief moment, I thought that perhaps all these drinks were not bogus. Dr. Alex Hughes, one...
  



• Michael Phelps' diet: Eat like a champion!
  

  Filed under: Science, Health & Medical, Celebrities, Food News

  One of my favorite early Saturday Night Liveskits was featured John Belushi as an Olympic athlete. The scene opens with clips of Belushi doing a high jump and running around a track, then cuts to a shot of him at the breakfast table. Clutching a cigarette, Belushi looks into the camera with complete gravitas and tells about his secret to staying fit: "I downed a lot of donuts. Little chocolate donuts. They taste good and they've got the sugar I need to get me going in the morning."
  
  The commercial played off the classic "Wheaties" ads, which...
  



• Here's a chance to influence food legislation
  

  Filed under: On the Blogs, Health & Medical

  You may have heard about the recent salmonella outbreak. Or possibly your brain is just generally buzzing about the sorry state of the food safety system here in the United States. I know I've been reading about those topics a lot recently, and I'm quite concerned.
  
  I was happy to learn recently that there is a way to try to help the situation, as there are several members of Congress that are trying to improve the food situation. According to Seasonal Pantry, Representative Diana DeGette has introduced legislation that will improve the traceability of...
  



• Orange County produces the world's most recycled water
  

  Filed under: Water, Health & Medical, Food News

  Why are we so disgusted by the simple fact that all the drinking water on earth is recycled wastewater? Unfortunately, the natural recycling process, involving evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, does not deliver enough drinking water to the drier parts of the world. This Sunday, the New York Times Magazine had an article about Orange County's new facility where it's purifying 70 million gallons of recycled water a day.
  
  Many people are skeptical and revolted by the idea that their drinking water is simply purified toilet water. But, if we were to...
  



• Slashfood Ate (8): Fruits and vegetables that can hydrate your body
  

  Filed under: Vegetables, Fruit, Slashfood Ate, Health & Medical, Summer

  By August, I usually find myself exhausted by the constant oppressive summer heat. The sweltering heat drains all the energy out of my body and leaves me walking to work sluggishly. To combat this end-of-summer lethargy, I hydrate myself throughout the day by drinking water.
  
  Drinking water is not the only way you can refuel your body during the summer. Many fruits and vegetables can help you meet 20 percent of your daily fluid needs. Also, doctors have proven that a diet rich in H20-loaded foods can prevent dehydration and...
  



• Monsanto is trying to sell bovine growth hormone brand
  

  Filed under: Business, Health & Medical

  
  We've most likely all heard about the controversy surrounding rBST, the growth hormone for cows that makes them produce more milk. Well, Monsanto has recently announced that they're selling their brand of rBST, Posilac.
  
  Monsanto states in their announcement that they want to focus on their core business of seeds and traits. However, it is possible to speculate that this decision may have something to do with the current consumer backlash against bovine growth hormones. Though rBST seems to be more harmful to the cows than to humans, most people...
  



• Will France tax some of its traditional delicacies?
  

  Filed under: On the Blogs, France, Health & Medical

  
  According to recent reports and contrary to popular belief, French people can, and do, get fat. In fact, the French government is worried enough about the problem that they're considering raising taxes on food that are higher fat, sugar, and salt.
  
  According to this report on MSNBC.com, the French government has been worried about obesity, especially childhood obesity, for a while now. Some campaigns they've tried in the past have been to encourage commuters to take the stairs instead of the escalator and to put prominent warnings on...
  



• All the food you can click: It's the Weblogs, Inc. weekly food round-up
  

  Filed under: On the Blogs, Lists, Health & Medical, Fast Food, Food News

  I don't know if it's all the summer produce that just happens to be filling the markets or if there's been some allignment of the planets, but it's been a banner week for food writing on the Weblogs, Inc. network. Over in the world of finance, Walletpop offered a couple of useful posts, exploring the relative value of in-store brands, and highlighting a free cereal offer from Malt-o-meal. Meanwhile, sustainability site GreenDaily offered some great suggestions for enviromentally-conscious summer cocktails, and an exploration of Pizza Hut's new quasi-organic vegetable...
  



• Beware kids' menus!
  

  Filed under: Restaurants, Health & Medical

  
  A new report shouldn't be the least bit surprising, but it is definitely sad.
  
  The Center for Science in the Public Interest has published a new study about the reality of kids' menus, which is jam-packed with fatty doom. They've found that 93% of the kid' options exceed the 430 calories (a third of the recommended daily calories for children from 4-8) at 13 big US chains like Taco Bell, KFC, and Burger King. And they're not talking about 10 or 20 calories over.
  
  For example, a "Big Kids" meal with a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk at Burger King weighs...