If you’re an avid Eat. Drink. Better. reader, you know sugar’s not exactly ideal. You probably also know that we’re eating an overly-sweetened diet due mostly to corn-based sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. In a recent lecture, University of California San Francisco professor Robert Lustig dug deep into the real hazards of sugar, from its effects on our bodies to its strong link to the obesity epidemic. The complete lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, is below.

The lecture is a little less than 90 minutes, broken into nine videos. It’s a bit of a time commitment, but it’s worth the watch. Lustig does a fantastic job of breaking down not just sugar’s effects but how we got to where we are today and his thoughts on how we can really fight obesity.

Winter pregnancy increases risk of MS due to lack of vitamin D sunlight absorption.

Sunlight is important for our health. In these days when people are afraid of skin cancer and smother on sunscreen, Vitamin D absorption has been reduced.  Vitamin D is also vital to infant development, and new research suggests that mothers who are pregnant during winter months have an increased risk of delivering babies with neurological issues. Of particular concern is the increase in babies with multiple sclerosis (MS) born in April.

According to research published in the European Journal of Neurology, lack of vitamin D in pregnancy “predisposes” individuals to MS.  The Telegraph reports:

Flame retardants found in breast milk to be phased out.
Toxic flame retardants may make products “safer” for consumers, but they have been found in breast milk and are detrimental to our health. Some researchers have even gone so far as to claim flame retardants in breast milk cause autism. Well, at least you don’t have to worry about being burned while nursing.  Seriously, though, there is somewhat good news on the flame retardant front:  decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) will be phased out by 2014.

According to a three-year-old report by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency:

DecaBDE is bioaccumulating in the environment and that levels are increasing in some samples. We also found that humans are exposed to DecaBDE, mainly from the diet, workplace, and home…we were able to report that liver, thyroid, reproductive/developmental, and neurological effects are the most important effects seen in animal studies with DecaBDE and other polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)…

These days there are all kinds of new products on the market claiming to be the new natural cure for all of your beauty issues. Before you spend your hard earned dollar on another new product promising to get rid of wrinkles or magically make the cellulite disappear from your backside, here’s the scoop on some natural ingredients that have been scientifically proven to work. Real Simple Magazine put together a list of some of the most useful and natural ingredients to look for in products in order to brighten up your skin and make your hair silky and shiny. Here are a few of them to be on the look out for.

Feverfew: Reduces Redness
This herb is best at soothing skin irritations and inflammation; it can even stop the redness before it shows up on your face! Look for nighttime moisturizers that contain feverfew to wake up looking refreshed.

The British Medical Journal recently published an analysis on the effects of too much salt in our diets.
According to their research, which looked at 13 studies from 1966 to 2008:

High salt intake is associated with significantly increased risk of stroke and total cardiovascular disease. Because of imprecision in measurement of salt intake, these effect sizes are likely to be underestimated. These results support the role of a substantial population reduction in salt intake for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Yikes!

Last week, while volunteering at my daughter’s classroom Halloween party, I flinched a little as I saw one of the other parents dutifully strolling around dispensing the requisite waterless, chem-filled hand sanitizers. Aside from my skepticism that anti-bacterial soaps will actually do much to kill a virus, I also suspected the ingredients in the sanitizer weren’t much better than the germs they were designed to kill. So when the teacher instructed two of my daughter’s peers that they were supposed to wash their hands with soap and warm water instead (apparently per parental instruction), I quickly chimed in that I wanted Eliana to do the same. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what other chemicals were being sprayed around the room when the cleaning staff arrived.

In a historic shift, the conservative American Medical Association has just voted to reverse its long held position that marijuana has no medical value; the group is also planning to entirely review it current cannabis policy. During a meeting in Houston this week, the AMA’s House of Delegates adopted a new position which demands that:
“Marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods.”

I knew going into having a baby that the mountains of diapers would horrify me from both a personal hygiene and environmental perspective. I also knew that I wasn’t game for potty-training-at-birth philosophies. Sure enough, if I calculate how many diapers I’ve changed for my now 15 month old, I’m horrified.

Kids love to get messy! What better way to let them get that out of their systems than with a little finger painting?

Conventional, store bought finger paints are full of polysyllabic mystery ingredients like mannitol, polyethylene glycol, and sodium benzoate. Some also contain mineral oil, a petroleum product. Rather than letting those kiddos get that stuff all over their hands, clothes, and faces, you can whip up a batch of finger paint in the kitchen! It’s cheaper, easier, and you know exactly what your kids are getting themselves into.

Flue season is coming. With all the concern and worry surrounding the Swine Flu, we may be forgetting that we are also more susceptible to the common cold and other illnesses during the winter months. There are many natural ways you can help to boost your immune system with food choices and healthy regimens. Of course, as you have seen in many articles, the first course of action is to wash your hands regularly for at least 20-30 seconds. By adding the following foods and healthy behaviors to your regime, you can help your body build its resistance to germs and help yourself stay healthy this winter.

FOOD CHOICES:
1) Ginger: Traditionally, ginger has been used to treat the common cold and help to alleviate flu like symptoms. Ginger not only helps the body fight off infection, but is a great natural cure for indigestion or nausea.
Try adding fresh grated ginger with tamari, garlic and basil while sautéing veggies for a quick and healthy stir fry, or enjoy some ginger tea after meals.

Revered in India as “holy” this golden-yellow colored powder is worth its weight in gold, that too nutritionally, but not monetarily.

Any guesses what I’m talking about?

This ingredient has been hailed for centuries for its ability to treat wounds, infections and other health problems. But until recently, the science of the healing remained a mystery.

We’re talking, of course, about turmeric. None else can fill its yellow shoes.

In a Walmart in the suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, a man walked up to Sonya Mathews, whose 2-year-old daughter was crying in the store. He uttered those classic words:

If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.

A couple aisles over, he made “good” on his word and slapped Ms. Mathews’ daughter 4 or 5 times, following the abuse with a smug,

See, I told you I would shut her up.