Showing posts tagged health
The studies have been out for years, but a recent NYTimes article reminded me that drinking Diet Soda causes one’s risk of obesity to increase. The article indicates the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, (which is basically just a group of risk factors for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc) was 34% higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none. That’s higher than the risk increased by eating fried foods. Those in the study who ate a lot of fried foods increased their risk by 25%. A different study found that for each can of diet soda consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%. For regular soda drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:26% for up to 1/2 can each day30.4% for 1/2 to 1 can each day32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.For diet soda drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day37.5% for 1/2 to 1 can each day54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.However, correlation does not imply causation. No study concludes that diet soda causes metabolic syndrome. Yet.

The studies have been out for years, but a recent NYTimes article reminded me that drinking Diet Soda causes one’s risk of obesity to increase. The article indicates the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, (which is basically just a group of risk factors for obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc) was 34% higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none. That’s higher than the risk increased by eating fried foods. Those in the study who ate a lot of fried foods increased their risk by 25%.

A different study found that for each can of diet soda consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%. For regular soda drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

  • 26% for up to 1/2 can each day
  • 30.4% for 1/2 to 1 can each day
  • 32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
  • 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.

For diet soda drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

  • 36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
  • 37.5% for 1/2 to 1 can each day
  • 54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
  • 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.

However, correlation does not imply causation. No study concludes that diet soda causes metabolic syndrome. Yet.

yuck: fish bladder in beer, bugs in strawberry yogurt

A scintillating 3 hour brunch yesterday at David’s Bagels (best bagel shop in the East Village by the way) brought my cronies & me to the subject of beer, and how it’s made with stomach lining.

Further investigation shows that indeed, many beers are made with Isinglass which is a form of gelatin from the lining of fish gas bladders (the air-filled organs they use for buoyancy). It’s used to expedite the flocculation of the yeast, forming a jelly-like substance that settles at the bottom of the beer which is then filtered out. Although the bladder lining gets filtered out with other impurities, some trace amounts are left in the beer. Here’s a list of which beers contain Isinglass and which don’t.

Also interesting is that Natural Red 4, also called carmine, found in red, pink, or purple beverages, yogurts, ice creams, and, of course, Campari, is made of bugs! Yes, bugs! The red dye is made from an insect called the cochineal which lives on cacti in Mexico and South America.

Info on bugs, bladders, and other delicious components of what you consume from Chow.