HEALTHY DIRT IN FOOD?

Today's editorial by Jeff Leach in the New York Times - title: " Dirtying up Our Diets" - makes some useful points. Yes, the good bacteria in our gut play an important role in protecting us from the bad ones. Yes, antibiotics are overprescribed and tend to wipe them out.

But no, America does not have "the safest food supply in human history." I would argue that that honor goes to some European countries instead. And no, we cannot cure our autoimmune disease issues by eating Farmers Market food.

Really! Does Leach think that most of us never wash our Farmers Markets carrots, but eat them dirt and all? I would bet most of us triple washed them, and if we can't get that dirt off, then we scrub them. I mean, who wants to crunch on soil? If you have ever done it, you don't want to do it again.

And, if you want bacteria, you may well get a worse dose from those squaky clean, triple-washed, safe-to-eat, bagged greens and other produce. But of course, it will not be the kind of nice safe bacteria that your gut needs.

To your good health,
TSF

AVOID THOSE FOREIGN BODIES IN YOUR FOOD

I am convinced that global economic problems are undermining quality in everything. I am finding more grammatical and spelling errors in The New York Times, including in the editorial column, and errors of fact - as well as grammar - on CNBC business news. And, then, there is the quality of our food.

As food processing companies struggle to maintain a profit margin they are likely to save on maintenance and buying new equipment and tempted to reduce quality control. One of the results is that there are more "foreign bodies" such as bits of plastic, metal, wood, glass, and who knows what else, turning up in our food. Such problems have caused fairly regular food recalls in the U.S. But they also occur in other countries.

A recent one in the UK - Chokablok ice cream, made by R&R Ice Cream Ltd containing bits of "lolly stick." That's British for what Americans refer to as "candy" - nothing to do with money! And, believe me, swallowing a sharp piece of wood can certainly harm you. "Billionaire's Dynamite" - as one of the ice cream products is called - could well turn into "Billionaire's Misery."

To your good health,
TSF