Daily Archives: January 17, 2012

Using Contrasting Colors to Reduce Serving Sizes and Lose Weight

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Choosing the right size and color of your bowls and plates could help you eat less, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

“The bigger your dinnerware, the bigger your portion. If you use larger plates, you could end up serving 9 percent to 31 percent more than you typically would,” write authors Koert van Ittersum (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Brian Wansink (Cornell University). The average size of dinner plates has increased by almost 23 percent from since 1900, the authors point out, and eating only 50 more calories a day could result in a five-pound weight gain each year.

In one lab experiment, the researchers asked 225 student participants to pour a specified amount of tomato soup into one of seven different sized bowls: three smaller, three larger, and one control bowl. Consistent with researchers’ expectations, participants served less than the target serving size of soup into the smaller bowls, and they served more into the larger bowls.

Follow-up experiments showed that the “bowl bias” is nearly impossible to eliminate with education, awareness, or practice. During two summer camps, larger bowls led people to overserve up to 31 percent more than normal. Continue reading →

An Easier Way to Remove Gallstones

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For more than 100 years, the traditional treatment for the painful growths called gallstones has been removal of the gallbladder, or cholecystectomy. But a new device, patented in China, promises to make removing the entire organ unnecessary. A group of scientists from the Second People’s Hospital of Panyu District and Central South University in China have developed an endoscope specially designed for locating and clearing out gallstones and other gallbladder lesions.

The authors describe the device in a paper accepted to the AIP’s Review of Scientific Instruments. A tiny ultrasonic probe at the tip of the endoscope locates gallstones, even small ones embedded in the organ’s lining. Surgeons can use the horn-shaped “absorbing box” to get rid of fine, difficult-to-remove “sludge-like” gallstones – Continue reading →

What’s In Your Beef?

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Do your ears perk up when you hear the words of that famous fast food commercial: “Where’s the beef?” More pertinent may be: “What’s in the beef?” If you value your health, you’d better know about the chemicals and pathogens that too often infiltrate meat. Because what’s inside that bun can have serious consequences for your well-being.

Recalls of beef seem to be an almost constant ingredient in the evening news. Last month, for instance, an outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium was discovered in freshly ground beef sold in Hannaford, a grocery store chain headquartered in Maine. Before all the beef could be recalled, 14 people in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York were sickened by the meat. Seven people required hospitalization.

Antibiotic Problem Continue reading →

7 Ingredients to Ban from Your Bathroom

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The following ingredients usually appear in the products we use daily — shampoo, sunscreen and the like — and general scientific consensus concludes that they’re best avoided:

Parabens are a synthetic preservative and antimicrobial agent commonly found in personal-care products with high water content: shampoo, conditioner, lotion, cleansers and body wash. They also turn up in solid products like deodorant. They appear as methyl-, ethyl-, butyl- or propylparaben. Studies have found that parabens mimic estrogen in the body and disrupt normal hormone function, and they have been found in breast-tumor biopsies.

Growing awareness about parabens has inspired a number of manufacturers to banish them in favor of safer preservatives, while some have simply accepted a shorter shelf life as the price of doing healthy business. You can often find personal-care products labeled “paraben free,” which will save you a little squinting in the product aisle. Signers of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics have committed to avoiding their use; you can find the list of these companies at www.safecosmetics.org. Continue reading →