sutton067

I love this time of the year. The weather is mild and the Farmers’ Market is teeming with life. I’m not talking about the big crowds with families enjoying their morning shopping at the market, or the joy of watching young children tasting fruits and learning about real food. I’m referring to the incredible varieties of produce and rare seasonal treats that appear at farmer's markets and which you will never see at the supermarket. What really caught my eye today were the beautiful freshly cut, right off the tree, green almonds. The almond is native to, and was first domesticated in, the Mediterranean Middle East -- present day Lebanon, Israel, Syria, Jordan and nearby countries. However, almond trees spread throughout the region, and have been a major food in Greece for thousands of years. In ancient Greece, almonds were eaten in a wide variety of states, from dried and roasted, as we eat them, or green and right off the tree. Green almonds are still eaten in Greece. The Greek wor...

Researchers at the UK's University of Newcastle found that eating tomatoes helps prevent sunburn . The volunteers in the study who ate five tablespoons of tomato paste every day were on average 33 percent more protected against sunburn than the control group. Researchers calculated that this quantity of tomatos is the equivalent of constantly wearing a 1.3 SPF sunblock. The scientists attribute this effect to an antioxidant present in tomatoes called lycopene, which is also responsible for giving tomatoes their red color. It's also found in red carrots, watermelons and papayas. Lycopene has also been linked in the past with protection against age-related events like macular degeneration, the formation of skin wrinkles, prostate cancer and the rise in bad cholesterol. The research suggests that we should re-think our understanding of sun damage and skin cancer as not just about exposure, but also diet. In the past few decades, we have seen dramatic rises in both Vitamin D defici...

Most foods are "processed" at some point. For example, if you slice an apple, you have "processed" it. If you cook rice, make a salad or bake salmon, you have by definition transformed them from unprocessed to processed foods. People talk about "processed foods," but it's a confusing term because some processing is good and necessary, and some is bad and unnecessary. The Spartan Diet draws a very sharp distinction between foods processed for eating on the one hand, and those processed for preservation on the other. Although the Spartan Diet is made up almost entirely of raw, whole, unprocessed foods -- at least when you buy or pick them -- foods that have been processed for eating are on the diet. Olive oil, for example, has been processed. The oil has been extracted from olives, and that's a process -- and a necessary one if you want olive oil. However, it has not been processed for preservation. Good olive oil hasn't been pasteurized, irradia...

A group of retired military leaders issued a report recently called " Too Fat to Fight: Retired Military Leaders Want Junk Food Out of America’s Schools ." The report cited Department of Defense data showing that 75 percent of Americans 17 to 24 years old are ineligible to join the military. "Being overweight or obese turns out to be the leading medical reason why applicants fail to qualify for military service." Healthcare experts say the obesity crisis is now so bad that it threatens national security . The report's recommendation focuses on removing junk food from schools. That's a great recommendation, but it doesn't go far enough. It a nutshell, we're growing so soft and weak as a nation that we may soon be incapable of defending ourselves. Most people don't know this, but ancient Sparta faced a comparable crisis. In Ancient Greece, wars were fought mainly by aristocrats -- wealthy land-owners who could afford helmets, shields, spears and sw...

A new study found that foods cooked at high temperatures may harm your metabolism , increasing the likelihood of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Researchers, who published their results in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, fed two groups the same foods cooked differently -- one with low temperatures and another at high heats. Researchers found that "one month of consuming the high-heat-treated diet induced significantly lower insulin sensitivity and plasma concentrations of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins C and E." In other words, foods cooked at high temperatures are probably bad for your health. Another recent study by researchers at the University of Texas found that well-done meat and fried, grilled and barbecued meat can increase your likelihood of bladder cancer . University of Minnesota School of Public Health scientists found last year that charred meat can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer . Another phenomenon ...

A newspaper called the St. Petersburg Times commissioned testing of apple juice from major brands, and found arsenic in more than one-quarter of the samples that surpasses the Food and Drug Administration's "level of concern" for toxic heavy metals in juice . The most likely culprit is arsenic-based pesticides used to grow the apples. According to an article in the paper, more than 60 percent of the apple juice from concentrate sold in U.S. stores comes from China, and most of the rest is grown in Chile, Argentina, Turkey and other countries. A recent University of Arizona study found similar results with both apple juice and grape juice, according to the story. Two years ago, the FDA discovered high levels of arsenic in pear juice from fruit grown in China. The consumption of arsenic over time has been linked to cancer, diabetes, organ damage, hormonal problems and brain development issues. That it's found in juice is particularly troubling because many children dri...

Have you ever noticed that eating too much movie theater popcorn can make you feel a little sick ? That's because it probably is making you a little sick. Popcorn may seem like the one snack available in a movie theater that's potentially healthy enough to make the Spartan Diet cut. After all, popcorn is just corn, a whole grain. If you ask for it without butter, it's healthy Spartan Diet-worthy, right? Well, no. Not even close. As you probably know, some theaters buy pre-popped popcorn, which is warmed up using lights in the theater. Pre-popped popcorn is typically cooked in unhealthy trans fat oils, and flavored and colored with artificial ingredients, often including MSG. And because this kind of popcorn is popped first, then stored for an unknown amount of time, it has preservatives added. A bag of popcorn popped in the theater typically contains four individual concession stand supply products, including the popping corn, cooking oil, "butter" and seasoning s...