I love the Daily Show. John Stewart's diatribe/expose on the American Diet is funny and scary as all get out. He makes some great points about the lack of regulation of ingredients in what we eat and the overall health. But what he misses is even scarier.

Watch the whole video through, but pay attention to the news sections in the last half where news shows are announcing what different manufacturers are doing. What John misses is that those bits of actual news content - aren't news content at all. They're paid commercials.

Who aired that paid-for infomercial masquerading as a a news story? Good Morning America - or ABC News.

So if ABC News is willing to sell out the content of their news show to the highest bidder, how can you know what is news - and what is a sales pitch?

The reality is that you can't. It's time to filter everything - from any source - no matter how reputable (including here) through your brain for a sanity check. Is it real? Is it news? Is someone paying or making money on this?


As for Robin's Nest Cottage - we're a small Home and Garden Magazine that gets paid by the ads you see around the page. Hopefully they're not to bothersome. We don't get to pick what they are. They just show up. We don't have millions of dollars in advertising trying to sway opinion. 99% of our advertising is word of mouth (so, seriously - like share this on Facebook or something...)

And as for how to eat - check back regularly, follow us on Facebook, or sign up for our email (links on the side, and probably above and below as well...) We'll be releasing our Eat Healthy Guide later this year. It's free. No sales pitches. We don't want your money or to sell you a product - we just want to help you eat right.

Weird, huh? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Dave Hampton

Most people have wondered if they should start eating Organic or not. Here at Robin's Nest Cottage, we decided a long time ago that eating Organic was something we would strive to do. It's not always easy. It's hard to find organic items - especially if you are on a budget.

But what really is the fallout from not eating Organic? What gets in your body? Is it harmful? The research always seems to be skewed by whoever paid for the study. But one thing we can be sure of is that when you eat pesticides, herbicides, growth regulators, hormones - etc. - They do end up in your body.

So it's really your decision. Since no one is going to tell you whether a certain chemical is safe or not - and our own FDA really no longer regulates food in order to protect our food supply - it's up to you.

Here's the shocking results of tests showing the results of your eating habits. It's only a minute. Watch it.

I wish I could shop there (but it's in Sweden.) So... Are you going to change what you eat? Tell us what you think in the comments below. Dave Hampton

It turns out that rice plants are particularly good at picking up arsenic as they grow. As a consequence, all rice products have some Arsenic. Arsenic is not one of those things you want ANY of in you. It is a progressive toxin and carcinogen, meaning that even low levels can be harmful, sort of like radiation.

For most people in the USA, the amounts of arsenic in our tap water isn't very high, but there are a few places that isn't true, and in some parts of the world, like Bangladesh, the water is very high in Arsenic. Thus, unless you happen to have a spouse trying to slowly poison you with arsenic(a large box of rat poison in the pantry might be a clue - I know, I've been watching too many of those crime shows), Arsenic in your food might not be your worst concern. Consumer Reports found the alarmingly high Arsenic levels in rice a few years ago.

The good news is that you can cut out about half the arsenic in your cooked rice by starting to cook it with an over abundance of water, and pouring off the extra water right as the rice starts to boil. Normally for rice, the ratio is an easy to remember 2 to 1, two parts water to one part rice. To clean off the Arsenic, start with 6 parts water to one rice, and then pour off 4 of those parts of water, and finish the steaming. I'd actually measure the amount you pour off, so it doesn't come out too wet or dry. Of course be careful pouring off the boiling water.

Rinsing the rice thusly will also pour off some of the vitamins they spray on the rice, to replace the vitamins they grind off in polishing the rice. If you are otherwise eating your veggies and have a healthy diet, this is probably not a big deal, but some of the fish sauces and raw fish in Asian cooking have things that can further reduce your vitamin B-1 levels called thiaminases. I'd probably take a vitamin pill of this were the case. Alternatively a little Vegemite or Marmite, the Aussie and British yeast pastes could be be added as flavor enhancers that are very high in B vitamins.

Here's a chart, shared by a friend - original source unknown to me - that helps describe arsenic levels in different strains of rice and other grains.

Chuck Goecke

I'm finding more and more people who have a problem with US Wheat. Take this comment:

"My daughter has a wheat allergy and is studying abroad in Scotland. When eating anything with gluten in it in US she instantly gets nauseous and feels terrible. She has tried a couple of items in Scotland that were flour based and had absolutely NO ill effects from it! What are we doing in the US to our foods and to our citizens???"

Here's what we do know:

1. It's not caused by GMO wheat - there is no GMO wheat.
2. Some people claim being affected only by wheat containing potassium bromate.
3. Some people claim being affected only by wheat containing gluten.
4. Certainly, people have issues with non-food additives like calcium propionate.
5. Some see a difference in Organic vs Non-Organic
6. Some see a difference in the type of Yeast used: slow rising (used in Europe or authentic sourdoughs) vs fast rising (used in the US)
7. Many people have no adverse affects when eating wheat products in Europe.
8. Some "European Bread" is made from wheat produced in the US.
9. Europe does have different (more strict) laws regarding wheat production than the US.

Dave Hampton

Chocolate = Awesomer!

Just when you thought science couldn't get any more awesomer(sic), those brilliant African (and Belgian) Chocolate Scientists have done it again. In a week, when Sri Lankan Rice Scientists published how to halve the calories in rice and make it a super prebiotic(food for your gut microflora), and we were reminded of how Italian Pasta Scientists had found something very similar with Pasta(simple really, for both just cook one day, refrigerate and eat the next day, cold or reheated).

Now, the African and Belgium Scientists, discovered easy methods the cocoa bean processors can greatly increase the really really good things in chocolate and at the same time, improve the taste too! And the best part is that there are no added chemicals, weird processing, or other additives to make this happen.  Actually, a caveman could do it.

Essentially what they found was to simply add a step of storing and aging the large pods the chocolate beans come in for a week, and then roasting them slightly cooler but for a little longer.

Chocolate pods are typically split open immediately and the beans set to ferment a few days, and then roasted at a moderately low temperature(compared to roasting coffee).  Roasting is what brings out the awesome chocolate flavors.  Both the immediate fermenting and the roasting degrade the polyphenols, the antioxidant good guys in chocolate.  The aging before fermenting and slightly lower roasting temperature seem to greatly protect those antioxidants, while at the same time making the flavors fine or even better.
The really good things in chocolate are in the dark chocolates(look for 55% plus cacao) and in the cocoa, not so much in milk chocolates and not all in white chocolates.  You gotta love science!!!!

So can you really eat all the chocolate you can handle? Well, not yet.  But soon, eating Chocolate will be a whole lot better for you - and tastier.  So eating more chocolate should cause more good than harm!
Links:

• http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-a-way-to-make-chocolate-better-for-you-and-sweeter

Chuck Goecke