Tidbits

Chicago's star chef Grant Achatz is battling cancer. As reported in the Times yesterday, Achatz released a statement through his publicist: "I wanted to personally report that I have been very recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. I have consulted several prominent physicians and will likely begin aggressive treatment within the next few weeks. I remain, and will remain, actively and optimistically engaged in operations at Alinea to the largest extent possible." We wish you a speedy recovery.
The crew at A Hamburger Today reports on Beef Aficionado's taste of the sliders at the new incarnation of Shopsin's. The verdict? "Not quite White Manna quality but close. They don’t grill the potato roll à la Manna, but the cheese is from Saxelby Cheesemongers next door and is superb. The beef was juicy and moist despite being cooked through, and the patty was bigger than Manna or Sassy's Sliders. Three for $9 is probably a bit steep for sliders anywhere other than New York City."
Two recently released reports address the health dangers of diet soda and sushi. The Sun quoted both studies: "people who drank one or more soft drinks a day, including diet soda, were 48% more likely to have conditions that lead to heart disease," and "a citywide survey that showed that women of childbearing age in New York had three times the level of mercury in their blood stream as did women in the same age group nationwide." The City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is responding by launching a campaign encouraging women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning to have children to curb their sushi intake in addition to limiting their consumption of cooked fish.
Megnut adds her own two cents regarding what pregnant women should and shouldn't eat: "Every pregnant woman needs to find her own balance, and it's not going to be the same for each. For me the anxiety of worrying about what I ate was worse than actually eating it. . . .I found my balance between enjoying food and tolerating risk, and it included the occasional Wellfleet on the half-shell."

Photo courtesy of Beef Aficionado

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By Laren Spirer in Food on July 24, 2007 4:18 PM

Comments [rss]

other_islander

OK, should be cum hoc... not post hoc.

(Please, feel free to insert 'cum' joke here.)

other_islander

Regarding the diet soda story, hasn't anyone ever heard of Post hoc ergo propter hoc?

Ugh, I need a Coke Zero.

Correlation does not equal a causal relationship.

angry_pickle

Yeah, the connection between sushi and mercury is pretty obviously for anyone who has read anything about fish in the last 5 years.

guest

"interesting connection between the sushi and mercury." -3

What's so interesting about that?

Fish = mercury, Sushi = Fish, ergo Sushi = mercury.

guest

Isn't it a bit obvious that unhealthy eaters try to compensate by drinking diet soda. The fact that McDonald's sells any Diet Coke at all is an example.

JMH

The spokeswoman from the American Beverage Association said "This study doesn't prove any link between soft drinks and increased risk of heart disease."

The spokeswoman from the National Fisheries Institute said "It is extremely important to eat seafood during pregnancy."

Gee, those are both just SHOCKING quotes.

guest

The results of the diet soda study can be misleading-- they don't mean that there is a causal relationship between diet soda and heart disease. Most likely the relationship is indirect-- diet soda might cause cravings for sweet or unhealthy food, which in turn leads to heart disease, or perhaps, many of the people in the study who drink diet soda are likely to be on a diet (needing to lose weight) and so prone to heart disease. It is important to be careful when interpreting results of these types of studies...

guest

interesting connection between the sushi and mercury.

BTW, cutting out soda is a pretty easy way to get healthy.

MT

I drink about 4 bottles of soda a day and seriously doubt I'm heading for heart disease since I also work out every day. Maybe that study should have mentioned that these people are probably also fat slobs and maybe that's what's giving them heart issues.