Let me be very clear. I do not like beets. I’ve spent over fifty years disliking beets.

I’ve tried them boiled (gag-inducing), roasted (almost tolerable, but no), raw (the additional chewing required just prolongs the misery), and picked (where’s the bathroom?).

To me, beets taste like garden dirt laced with a little bit of sugar. Interestingly, there is validity to that perception. Beets contain a naturally-occurring compound called geosmin, and geosmin gives beets their dirt-like . . . er. . . earthy flavour.

Some people like this earthy flavor.

I’m not one of them.

Just as interesting – at least

July 1, 2023 · 2:15 PM

Mucho protein, amigo

I found a review article at Animal Frontiers that makes the argument in favor of meat consumption. The authors admit little focus on the downsides of eating meat. I’ve been cutting back on my meat consumption out of sympathy for the animals. Here are some of the key points verbatim:

• Aspects of human anatomy, digestion, and metabolism diverged from other primates, indicating evolutionary reliability on, and compatibility with, substantial meat intake. Implications of a disconnect from evolutionary dietary

June 7, 2023 · 8:50 AM

If so, it may well be because of your genes according to an article at SBS.com. Particular genes determine whether you can detect a bitter chemical (called PTC) in broccoli and other brassicas like cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

“On average, about 70% of us can taste something bitter in broccoli or PTC, but those with two copies of the bitter sensitivity gene are closer to 20%, and they are much more likely to hate it.”

US President George HW Bush said in March 1990, “I do

Arsenic-based pesticides have been used in agricultural practices for many years, and, accordingly, soils and groundwater in the US are contaminated with varying levels of arsenic. Because arsenic exists in soil and water, it finds its way into our food supply. And nearly all foods contain some level of arsenic.

What Foods Have the Most Arsenic?

Studies show that most of the arsenic in the American diet comes from meat, milk, poultry, pork, eggs and seafood. Poultry is the worst offender. Some chickens exceed the EPA safety limit for arsenic by 2,000%. Meat and poultry are high in arsenic because

Natasha Sharpe, the former chief executive of Bridging Finance Inc., was a part-owner of a luxury condo development known as The One when the troubled lender secretly backstopped the project with investor funds, a recent court action alleges.

Until now, only two people have been identified as co-owners of The One: Developer Sam Mizrahi and Jenny Coco, a former road-paving magnate who co-founded Bridging with Ms. Sharpe in 2012.

However, Bridging’s receiver has alleged in a new court filing that Ms.

Are you trying to lose a few pounds? Do you find yourself hungry all the time?

Just because you’re trying to lose weight, doesn’t mean you have to deal with a grumbling stomach. Here are some easy tricks to make you feel fuller longer.

Tip 1. Eat more whole grains

While refined grains, like white flour, white pasta, and white rice will cause you to feel hungry just a short time later; whole grains, like brown rice, oats, millet, and teff will leave you feeling much satisfied longer.

When eating pasta, be sure to choose whole-grain pasta, such as brown

December 12, 2022 · 7:00 AM

“Is the room spinning, or is it just me?”

A few months ago I ran across a thoughtful article by Morris van de Camp entitled Love Drinking Less. It’s well worth a read if your alcohol consumption is out of control or heading that way.

Alcohol is a two-edged sword. On the one hand it makes life fun and turns strangers into intimate friends in the course

Higher borrowing rates, a relentless surge in the cost of living, a downturn in the housing market and a softening of the jobs market have Canada wondering whether the economy is headed for a recession.

Here’s where some Bay Street and other economists stand on the fate of Canada’s economy:

Calling for a recession

BMO Economics

BMO Capital Markets expects a “moderate and short-lived” recession in Canada through the first half of 2023 as a