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News for Now Update: Week ending June 3, 2023
Today’s News for Now alert contains vital information to empower your health and wellness!
Topics this week include: the chemistry of how “low and slow” meat smoking converts the toughest cuts of meat into the tenderest, a California labor law’s potential to shut down the goat-grazing services now in high demand as a natural wildfire mitigation effort, a coalition advocating for universal free school meals across the US, and more—stories to keep you informed of health news in your community and worldwide.
In our #TBT Pioneer Archives post, Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., MD, in 1956, emphasizes the vital role of fats in the diet, focusing on both quality and quantity and covering different types of lipids, their classifications, and how they fulfill important functions in our bodies, such as cushioning organs, maintaining skin health, and regulating body temperature.
THIS WEEK’S NEWS
Study Sheds Light on Foot Arch Function
A Queen’s University study identified a subtle distinction about how our arches work: Rather than directly propel the next step (which would rely on the calf muscles applying force through the ankle), the arch’s flexible recoil helps to bring the ankle more upright with each step so that the larger hip and leg muscles can successfully engage for propulsion. The effect of shoes creating rigid “arch support” may, as a result, inhibit this function. Read more at Phys.org.
The Magic of Low & Slow Smoked Meats
Matt Hartings, author of Chemistry In Your Kitchen, explains that the magic of slow-cooking meat is in allowing time for the collagen proteins to uncoil and convert into gelatin, while keeping temperatures low enough to retain moisture. With creative spice rubs, aromatic woods, barely visible smoke, and the patience to wait 8 to 16 hours, some of the otherwise toughest cuts of meat can transform into the most tender and flavorful. Read more at NPR.
Firefighting Goats Face Labor Law Challenge
Demand is high for goat-grazing services that clear areas of vegetation that could otherwise provide fuel for California wildfires. But, because goatherders have to be on-call 24 hours a day, California’s new overtime labor laws would more than triple minimum salaries, to $14,000 per month. Many goat-grazing service providers are at risk of having to close their businesses if a fix to the law is not established. Read more at AP News.
Coalition Seeks Free School Meals for All
The Healthy School Meals for All Coalition, made up of advocacy groups, medical associations, teachers unions, and parents organizations who believe that providing nutritious meals to all students in school is crucial for their overall health and academic performance, is urging Congress to reintroduce universal free school meals across the US. States like Minnesota, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Maine have already committed to funding such programs. Read more at Civil Eats.
THROWBACK THURSDAY
Essentiality of Fats in Nutrition, by Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., MD
In this 1956 #TBT article, Francis M. Pottenger, Jr., MD, discusses the essential role of fats in the diet, noting the importance of quality in addition to quantity. He describes various lipids, their classifications, and physical properties; he then relates these to the properties our bodies require, from cushioning organs to maintaining healthy skin to regulating body temperature, and the health issues that can arise from deficiency. Read more in our Pioneer Archives Post.
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News for Now Update: Week ending May 27, 2023
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