November 11, 2013

Is Farm-Raised Fish Safe?

Q. I have seen a lot of conflicting information about the safety of farm-raised fish. I stopped buying farm-raised salmon years ago because of the concern. How does farm-raised trout stack up to other fish in terms of nutrition and safety? Where does most of the supply come from in USA? A. Unfortunately, this issue is a moving target.  Exponential growth in aquaculture and the pressure to control costs means that procedures are constantly evolving.  If watchdog groups make enough noise about a safety or nutrition concern, the industry often changes practices in response.  So, something that was a concern […]
February 8, 2012

Red Meat and Stroke Risk: Beyond the Headlines

Red meat is back in the news , and once again it’s being singled out as being uniquely bad for you.  Here’s the sound bite: Eating red meat increases stroke risk while eating poultry reduces it.   But, there’s a little bit more to the story. (There usually is.) First of all, the 28% increase in stroke risk applied to people eating more than half a pound of red meat a day. That’s two or three servings of red meat every single day–or twice the average amount of red meat consumed by Americans.   Surely that should be part of the story. But here’s what […]