Odds and Ends

Plastic corks - The main reason that wine bottles are now corked with plastic is to prevent the wine from being tainted from a chemical abbreviated as TCA. The wine that has cork taint is usually described as having a moldy taste or smell, sometimes referred to as a musty smell or wet dog smell. It can occur from different sources, but it is usually the cork that has the chemical 2,4,6 – trichloroanisole. To the best of my understanding, the chemical is created when a naturally occurring element of the cork oak tree is combined with chlorine used to bleach the cork wood. Isn’t it interesting that there are cork TREES. There is a little controversy going on as the plastic corks gain market share – consumers don’t have a choice so much, it is the wine makers that purchase the corks. I was conflicted at first myself – thinking that the trees were a resource to value and that plastic was inherently evil. The trees however can be preserved if harvested appropriately and this type of cork is responsible for employing a good number of persons. A campaign out of Portugal which has the highest share of the real cork market will be spreading this message “"Harvested correctly, a cork tree can last up to 300 years. Unfortunately a plastic cork can last even longer." The largest plastic cork marker is in NC – a state I am partial to – and the company owner states that the plastic is recyclable and uses less energy in production. So I am still conflicted. Some of this information was learned from the WSJ.

Vaccine – A company has had its vaccine for prostate cancer approved by the FDA. That is rather a misleading name for it though – we think of vaccines as preventing an illness altogether and this one, Provenge, is used in men who have prostate cancer that has not responded to other treatments. It is very expensive and not meant for every person with prostate cancer. I have searched, but have not found any studies in print – my interest? I want to know the racial breakdown of the people who were in the clinical trial. I say this because I have noticed that there continues to be racial disparity in disease outcomes. As more black men die from prostate cancer than white men, I hope that they were included in the study. At the same time, black men may be reluctant to participate in studies due to some significant past history. I have emailed one study author to see if I can learn more.

French Fries – One day this week I was at a stoplight and in the auto next to me I saw a large (obese) , unhealthy looking woman (her hair was stringy and her complexion had a pastiness) . She was steadily placing French Fries in her mouth and as she followed behind me after the light changed, I saw her pick up her fast food bag and dig out a sandwich as well. I thought about this because people often ask me if I miss eating that type of food and the answer is NO. I would not trade my body (by this I mean, my biomarkers of health – glucose level, triglycerides, cholesterol and BMI) or my life - for that woman’s or her fries. I would further expect that she would like help to live a more health promoting life – which society does not always make easy.

Good fat/ PB – Currently running on my You Tube channel is a video instructing people how to stir the world’s best peanut butter – Smucker’s All Natural. You have to watch it to understand why I even made the video – here is the link – after you watch it you will understand how I almost popped a cork (ha ha) when my running friend proclaimed this morning – “oh I just pour that oil down the sink.”

LT - I am stunned and disappointed that my NYG hero, Lawrence Taylor is now pitching Nutrisytem. Serious LT - I could help you with Volumetrics.

Grapes – I wanted to tell the man at the store when he plucked some grapes from a bunch and fed them to his daughter – PESTICIDES dude. Sigh.

Organic – USDA label 95-100% pure - To have some confidence that the food you are buying for being organic is – look for the USDA organic label. Choosing organic can limit your exposure to pesticides.