Worldwide, there are 2,000-plus species of cultivated and wild edible mushrooms. All provide solid nutrition—even the seemingly vacuous white button variety. Some produce medicinal compounds. Whether in the kitchen or the clinic, mushrooms are the subject of rising popular interest these days.
Big Food companies have spent billions of dollars manipulating nutrition science and food policy for their own gain, especially to the detriment of poor, less educated consumers. And it’s affecting the nation’s health.
On March 6, New York Times subscribers came upon a full-page open letter—in print and online– from the popular snack food company Clif Bar, challenging competing brand, KIND, to live up to its name and go completely organic. Was this an earnest plea for corporate responsibility or a shrewd marketing ploy? Either way, the ensuing “bar fight” underscores both the massive size of the “healthy” snack market, and the rapid growth of consumer demand for healthy and eco-friendly foods.
A small independent company based in Ohio launched a feeding tube formula called Liquid Hope, comprised entirely of organic whole foods like chickpeas, sprouted quinoa, almond butter, turmeric, kale, sweet potato, and other high-energy, anti-inflammatory ingredients. Unlike most conventional enteral nutrition formulas, Liquid Hope is free from sugar, corn syrup, omega-6 laden oils, and dairy ingredients. It is making a profound difference in the lives of many patients.
We’re witnessing a vegan cheese explosion these days. US sales of these plant-based, non-dairy cheeses jumped by 43% in 2018 , according to the Plant-Based Food Association, and are forecast to hit the $4 billion mark by 2024. Venture capital firms are all over it, and the market is thriving. These products have evolved a long way in the last decade. How healthy are they, and for whom?
There are well over 10,000 chemical additives–flavorings, colorings, preservatives–that the federal government permits for use in food products sold in the US. While a few occasionally grab headlines–think monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame–the vast majority garner very little public attention.
After decades on the margins of both polite society and medical research, psychotropic compounds such as psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and the like, are once again the focus of serious clinical investigation as potential therapies for a host of psychological and neurological conditions. In his newest book, How to Change Your Mind, popular author explores the resurgence of psychedelic medicine without bias, agenda, or pretense.
Call it what you will, tissue cultured meat is closer to market than it has ever been, and may very well find its way to the nation’s dinner plates by year-end. A look at the pros and cons of this fascinating–and freaky–new method of food production.
The connection between food choices and wellness goes back at least as far as ancient Greece. Yet it’s taken two millennia for Western medical schools to make food part of medical training. Innovative medical schools around the country are beginning to introduce Culinary Medicine into their curricula.
Philippe and Ethné de Vienne an explorer by nature. He and his wife Ethné travel the world, sourcing organic spices and herbs where they’re grown. That’s their job as the owners of the Montreal-based spice company, Épices de Cru. But five years ago, when Philippe was suddenly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, their search took a very different turn–one that led to important discoveries about how to use foods and spices to alter the course of serious autoimmune diseases.
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