Genetics may explain why some people hate meat
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(CBS News) Love meat? Hate meat? The reason for your answer may come down to genes. In a new study, scientists investigated whether people with a stronger sensitivity to the smell of pork are more likely to be meat-eaters.
Flavor is a combination of factors including taste and smell. According to the study, some people have receptors that detect a steroid called androstenone, which is found in high concentrations in male pigs - and in turn pork. Most commercially raised animals in the U.S. are actually castrated to get rid of the smell, but previous research has found that people who have two copies of the gene that helps sense androstenone still smell the odor - and might have a mixed reaction to pork.
Continue »Study examines red wine's anti-aging ingredient
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(CBS News) Red wine has long been touted for its health benefits, including its anti-aging properties. But the question is how does it work? A new study provides insight into how the anti-aging ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, functions in the body.
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The study, published in the May issue of Cell Metabolism, tested the effects of resveratrol on mice. According to Dr. David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School, resveratrol works by acting on the SIRT1 gene, a gene that is believed to control the function and longevity of cells. Deleting the SIRT1 gene from mice causes developmental defects, but for the latest study, Sinclair and colleagues were able to produce mice without the SIRT1 gene that were healthy enough to be studied.
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U.S. obesity costs soar as nation packs on pounds
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(CBS News) Obesity is rising in America, that's no secret - but are people aware of the rising economic costs of those extra pounds? According to a new study from the Campaign to End Obesity, spending due to obesity is actually twice the amount previously estimated - and exceeds the costs of even smoking, Reuters reports.
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What's more, those medical costs affect everyone, not just those who are obese. Higher health insurance premiums lead everyone to cover those extra medical costs. The U.S. spends an excess of $190 billion a year, the study found.
Gross grub: 18 ingredients hiding in your food
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That's not to say it isn't safe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration and other agencies spend lots of time and energy to make sure you're not eating stuff that will kill you. But the idea that something seems "just plain wrong" often isn't part of the calculation.
From Health.com, here's a list of food ingredients that rate high in the yuck factor. Read at your own risk!
Debate rages over 2,4-D-resistant corn
(CBS News) A debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is raging across the country from farms to the federal government. A company called Dow Chemical is on the verge of getting approval for a new genetically engineered corn that's supposed to be immune to the chemical weedkiller "2,4-D" - a primary component of Agent Orange, the New York Times reported.
Environmental advocates call the chemical a carcinogen that's also linked to birth defects, dubbing the product "Agent Orange Corn" and saying it has no place near food grown in the U.S.
Continue »Study: Berries stall cognitive decline in seniors
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(CBS News) Berries might provide a safe and easy way to boost brain power, a new study suggests. The study from Harvard researchers shows eating berries could stave off the cognitive decline and memory loss that comes with aging.
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For the study, researchers looked at data from the long-running Nurses' Health Study of nearly 122,000 registered nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 who completed health questionnaires starting in 1976. Every four years the nurses were surveyed on their eating habits and between 1995 and 2001, researchers began testing memory in 16,000 of the nurses who by this time were over 70 years old.
Continue »Study confirms dark chocolate's heart benefits
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(CBS News) Previous research has linked eating dark chocolate to healthy heart benefits such as reduced risk for stroke and heart disease. A new study that compared dark chocolate against white chocolate adds to the evidence of why eating dark chocolate may help your health.
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For the study, presented August 24 at the Experimental Biology 2012 conference in San Diego, researchers assigned 31 "fortunate" subjects to eat a daily serving of 50 grams of either dark chocolate (which contained 70 percent cocoa) or white chocolate (0 percent cocoa) for 15 days. The researchers performed a battery of blood tests on the participants before and after the study, and found those who ate dark chocolate had lower blood sugar (glucose) levels, lower levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and higher levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
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Pizza Hut Middle East creates cheeseburger crust
Pizza Hut Middle East
(CBS News) You're no longer the top dog, pizza with a hot dog stuffed crust.
Pizza Hut Middle East offerings now include the "Crown Crust Cheese Burger" pizza and "Crown Crust Chicken Fillet" pizza. "The most royal pizza ever!" the ad proclaims.
Pizza Hut unveils hot dog stuffed crust pizza, Burger King offers bacon sundae
So, how does one go about creating a cheeseburger pizza? Mini cheeseburger patties are set along pizza crust and covered with melted cheese. Then the round center of the pizza is topped with beef and vegetables and drizzled with Pizza Hut's special sauce.
Another heart attack at the Heart Attack Grill?
A person eats a "bypass burger" at the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas
/ CBS(CBS News) Another patron of the Heart Attack Grill has reportedly fallen ill during a meal at the hospital-themed Las Vegas restaurant.
CBS affiliate KLAS-TV Las Vegas reports that a woman is recovering after collapsing unconscious and suffering a possible heart attack at the restaurant that serves up fatty fare.
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Restaurant owner "Dr. Jon" Basso told KLAS-TV the woman was "doing everything society tells you not to do" Saturday night at the restaurant, including eating high-calorie foods, drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Her current condition or cause of the medical episode was not immediately known but Basso said the woman is expected to recover.
Marijuana-infused wine produced in Calif.
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(CBS News) Just in time for 4/20, reports have surfaced that an increasing number of California winemakers are turning to another locally produced intoxicant. The Daily Beast reports several California winemakers are creating blends of marijuana-infused wines on the sly.
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According to The Daily Beast, pot wine is made by placing a pound of marijuana in a cask of wine, leading to about 1.5 grams of marijuana per bottle. The fermentation process converts sugar from grapes into alcohol, and the alcohol extracts the THC from marijuana over a nine-month process.
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Caffeinated potato chips aim to boost snack time
ARMA Energy Snx
Arma Energy Snx foods are made with salt, spices, B vitamins, caffeine and taurine, the latter two ingredients commonly found in energy drinks.
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Salt in fast food varies worldwide, U.S. highest
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(CBS News) Not all fast food is created equally when it comes to salt, according to a new international study of fast food chains. The study found salt content among popular fast food items vary by country for six of the most popular fast food chains in the world.
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For example, the researchers found salt concentrations are 2.5 times higher in U.S. "Chicken McNuggets" than their British counterparts, Canadian researchers said.
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20-state salmonella outbreak tied to sushi: Details
Sushi from yellowfin tuna lies on a customer's plate at a sushi restaurant on November 23, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. Nearly 59,000 pounds of frozen yellowfin tuna have been recalled by Calif.-based Moon Marine USA Corporation, the FDA said.
/ Getty Images(CBS News) Yellowfin tuna has been flagged as the culprit associated with a 20-state salmonella outbreak that has sickened 116 people, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
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The agency announced Moon Marine USA Corporation of Cupertino, Calif., will voluntarily recall nearly 59,000 pounds of a frozen yellowfin tuna product called "Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA." The product is tuna "backmeat" scraped from the bones to look like a ground product, and is not sold to customers directly in stores.
The product however is sold to restaurants and grocery store chains around the country to make sushi, sashimi, cerviche, and other raw fish-dishes. Out of the 116 people who have been sickened, 12 have been hospitalized and nobody has died.
"Consumers who think they might have become ill from eating possibly contaminated raw Nakaochi Scrape should consult their health care providers," the FDA said in a statement. "Many of the people who became ill reported eating raw tuna in sushi as "spicy tuna."
Has the sushi outbreak hit your state? The FDA notes the number of cases in each of the 20 states: Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (5), District of Columbia (2), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Illinois (10), Louisiana (2), Maryland (11), Massachusetts (8), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (7), New York (24), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (5), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5), and Wisconsin (12).
Earlier this month, health officials said they were "honing in" on sushi as a potential source of a salmonella outbreak which had sickened 90 people across 19 states at the time, HealthPop reported. A leaked FDA memo that contained hospitalization information pegged sushi as the source, but officials at the time would not confirm.
To report side effects related to eating sushi, contact the FDA district office consumer complaint coordinator for your area.
Most people with a salmonella infection will develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within 72 hours of exposure. The infection typically lasts four to seven days and most people will recover without treatment. However if the infection spreads from the gut into the bloodstream, it could spread throughout the body and cause hospitalization or death without antibiotic treatment. Infants, the elderly and pregnant women are especially at risk.
The FDA says since sushi is uncooked, it's not considered as safe as cooked seafood.
FDA asks pharmas to curb livestock antibiotics
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(CBS/AP) Citing concerns over potentially deadly strains of drug-resistant bacteria, the Food and Drug Administration called on pharmaceutical companies Wednesday to help limit the use of antibiotics given to farm animals.
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It's a decades-old practice, in which antibiotics are mixed with animal feed to help livestock, pigs and chickens put on weight and stay healthy in crowded barns. Scientists have warned that this routine use leads to the growth of antibiotic-resistant germs that can be passed to humans.
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Pizza Hut adds hot dog stuffed crust pizza in U.K.
Pizza Hut UK
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Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.K. will now offer a "Hot Dog Stuffed Crust" pizza with a mustard drizzle. Sorry America, you won't see it on this side of the Atlantic any time soon.
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