You're Only as Healthy as Your Last Meal

State laws making a difference, says study

(NEWSER) - Why do teens in California consume fewer calories a day than young people in other states? It's because they snack less when at school, a new study finds, and they snack less because state laws have curbed the sale of junk food and banned the sale of soda and sugary drinks in schools, reports NPR . California teens ingest 158 fewer calories daily than teens in other states, an amount that can have a big cumulative effect for the better. More»

Hostess' demise is a good thing: Mark Bittman

(NEWSER) - Hostess' bankruptcy filing probably won't mean the death of the Twinkie—rather, a restructuring of the company—but even if it did, it would be a death we should celebrate, writes Mark Bittman in the New York Times . The food columnist admits he ate his fair share of Twinkies as a kid in the '60s, when no one questioned the "mysteriously moist" treat with its "'creamy'—not 'cream,' of course—filling" and 39 ingredients. Of course, those were also the days when doctors had only recently stopped endorsing cigarettes, and "few people could yet conceive of the government lying to us or allowing food manufacturers to do us any harm." More»

David Murdock spending more than $500 million to unlock health secrets

(NEWSER) - The 87-year-old billionaire David Murdock is putting his money where his mouth is—literally, investing more than $500 million to construct the North Carolina Research Campus, a cutting edge food research center that he says will help him live to 125. Murdock, who also owns Dole, the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables, eats up to 20 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, with plenty of seafood, eggs, and nuts, but no red meat, sugar, or salt. “Take the death off the table," he says in restaurants that offer a butter dish. More»

Low-income work schedules make healthy eating difficult

(NEWSER) - The nature of low-income employment promotes unhealthy eating, Time reports. Over half of working parents in low-to-moderate income communities relied on dietary “coping” measures when their schedules couldn’t accommodate a full meal, according to a new Cornell University study. Those strategies included skipping breakfast or family meals, and ordering takeout or heating up packaged meals. More»

Porkgasm and Bacone provide alternative to healthy eating

(NEWSER) - A new class of foodies is scoffing at calorie-consciousness and organic growing—what Robert Ashley dubs the Gross-Food Movement in Gourmet. A few tantalizing treats invented by the movement’s pioneers:

• Porkgasm: a pig sculpture made from bacon, sausage, and ham, filled with smoked sausage, more bacon, and pork belly.