"Forget detox diets", says scientist.

[zotz]

The BBC covers this story here, quoting the chief scientist of the Food Standards Agency, Dr Andrew Wadge, as saying ""There's a lot of nonsense talked about 'detoxing' and most people seem to forget that we are born with a built-in detox mechanism. It's called the liver. So my advice would be to ditch the detox diets and supplements and buy yourself something nice with the money you've saved."

The Guardian, however, continues the quotation, revealing that he continued "Personally, I would recommend the new Neil Young and Steve Earle albums."

There's also a bizarre and less pleasant article about people being burned by an exploding fondue.

Comments

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I am compelled to add
AND FIBRE in the form of PLANTS
to that advice.

[zotz]

Possibly he intended the idea of vegetables to be included in the home-cooked-food bit. They certainly tend to be fresher than the veg in packaged food.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Possibly I am projecting my family's habit of considering meat + potatoes = meal onto everybody else's.

[zotz]

Somebody was telling me recently that for purposes of having X helpings of fruit and veg a day, potatoes don't count. Parsnips, though, do.

I should really check that.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

I've heard that as well. The rationale, as explained to me, was that plain potatoes (versus sweet potatoes, which contain some beta-carotene) are just starch and fibre (if you don't peel them), so nutritionally they occupy the same category as pasta and rice.

[zotz]

It sounds entirely plausible.

[twicezero.livejournal.com]

yur pasta and rice could have a fair bit of protein, so thats a double boo to the sturdy old potato

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

It is certainly what the dietician I saw said. Also mushrooms count. The trick, of course, is to get some variety - which they try to encourage by saying beans can only count as one portion, as can juice (so a friend breakfast with beans, mushrooms, tomatoes and an oange juice and you're nearly there...)

[zotz]

I generally point out that a snakebite and black includes malted barley, hops, apples and blackcurrant - so you're four up already and you've only had breakfast.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I think you're probably OK to count potatoes as ONE portion of your 'five a day' (which is an arbitrary number anyway), but not as all of them! Same deal as for fruit juice.

[joexnz.livejournal.com]

oh! theres a new steve earle album
-goes to look-

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

He really does say the thing about Steve Earle

[seventorches.livejournal.com]

www.savingdinner.com Introduced us to things like kale. Wonderful resource for folks who really don't cook much--the recipes don't suck, are nutritionally adequate, and easily prepared. Sweet potatoes, red bell peppers, and squashes are staples in our house now.

[technotom.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh, I love common sense. I just love it, it's almost a form of comedy in this context, with people being reassured that their body has been around a lot longer than dieting has.

Cheers for sharing me old china.