Overcooking can lead to health problems

Here’s a cautionary tale about the importance of not overcooking your food.

The BBC reports that overcooking foods can cause ovarian or womb cancer in woman. “The fears surround acrylamides, chemicals produced when you fry, grill or roast a wide range of foods,” a BBC article reports. According to the BBC, Dutch researchers quizzed 120,000 people about their eating habits and found that women who eat more acrylamides seem to be at higher risk.

European Union authorities are advising folks not to overcook their foods.

“General advice, resulting from this project, is to avoid overcooking when baking, frying or toasting carbohydrate-rich foods,” a European Union spokesman said. “French fries and roast potatoes should be cooked to a golden yellow rather than golden brown color.”

But Dr Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK says it is hard to tell if the extra cancers are due to acrylamides or another unhealthy aspect of the women’s diets. “Women shouldn’t be unduly worried by this news. It’s not easy to separate out one component of the diet from all the others when studying the complex diets of ordinary people.”

Sarasota filmmaker discovers the power of raw foods

Jenna Norwood, the creator of the documentary Supercharge Me: 30 Days Raw, used to be a junk-food vegetarian. But now that she’s gone raw, she’s lost 30 pounds, and feels a big difference in her life, the Bradenton (Florida) Herald reports.

“There’s nothing like experiencing something first-hand to be convinced,” she said. “What happened to me was visually remarkable.”

Learn more about the award-winning documentary Supercharge Me: 30 Days Raw at www.30daysraw.com.

Raw foods gaining stronghold in New England

We’re always on the lookout for positive stories about raw foods. Here’s one from the Salem News in Massachusetts.

Beverly, Massachusetts is now home to one of the few predominantly raw restaurants in New England, the Salem News reports in a Nov. 12 article, Raw talent: Uncooked diet catching on with the health-conscious.

Organic Garden is now a destination for raw foodists who travel from hours away to “the only place where they can order something they can’t make themselves.”

Swampscott resident Deb Fox is one patron. She’s been on the raw diet for about six years. “The more I did it, the more I noticed how good it felt,” she told the newspaper.

“Since she started making raw food her staple, Fox said she’s lost weight, has more energy, less arthritis, better digestion, and she definitely doesn’t feel like she’s 50. Her mind is clearer, she no longer gets headaches, mood swings or 3 p.m. slumps at work, and she has a greater awareness of her taste buds and her body.”

We’re excited to see raw foods growing in popularity in New England and around the globe!

Vision Magazine publishes article: “Is raw the real deal?”

Author Derek Shaw writes a brief primer about the pluses and minuses of raw foods in this month’s Vision Magazine.

Is Raw The Real Deal?