You Are What You Eat

• A pretty long article on cheese and the cheese industry: While Warning About Fat, U.S. Pushes Cheese Sales

"Domino’s Pizza was hurting early last year. Domestic sales had fallen, and a survey of big pizza chain customers left the company tied for the worst tasting pies."

"Then help arrived from an organization called Dairy Management. It teamed up with Domino’s to develop a new line of pizzas with 40 percent more cheese, and proceeded to devise and pay for a $12 million marketing campaign."

"And Dairy Management, which has made cheese its cause, is not a private business consultant. It is a marketing creation of the United States Department of Agriculture — the same agency at the center of a federal anti-obesity drive that discourages over-consumption of some of the very foods Dairy Management is vigorously promoting."

 "Urged on by government warnings about saturated fat, Americans have been moving toward low-fat milk for decades, leaving a surplus of whole milk and milk fat. Yet the government, through Dairy Management, is engaged in an effort to find ways to get dairy back into Americans’ diets, primarily through cheese."

"Dairy Management, whose annual budget approaches $140 million, is largely financed by a government-mandated fee on the dairy industry. But it also receives several million dollars a year from the Agriculture Department, which appoints some of its board members, approves its marketing campaigns and major contracts and periodically reports to Congress on its work."

It makes me really sad that cheese isn't the magical cure to all things, and is actually not good for you. It also makes me sad that government money funds companies whose agenda is to get consumers to eat more of it, and the USDA is just one mess of contradictions and hypocrisies. And why can't we live in a world where cheese is the most important food group?

• Article debunking myths and facts about how different foods affect your mood: The food-mood connection

"Chocolate contains many components with the potential to enhance mood, but the chemical effect of each of them is small. "It does have low levels of stimulants, but you can get a lot more from other substances," she says. "The caffeine content is very low, so coffee is better for that kind of kick. The sugar might give a temporary lift, but it's subtle. And the phenylethylamine that people say is supposed to make you feel in love — well, many foods, including salami, are much higher in phenylethylamine." "

"Kristen E. D'Anci, a researcher specializing in nutrition and behavior at Tufts, found that even low levels of dehydration consistently had a negative effect on mood. "Not enough water made people feel irritable, less energetic and often brought on a mild headache," she says. She and her colleagues recommend people drink 2 liters of liquids per day — or more for those who engage in vigorous exercise or live in hot climates. Water is good, but almost any liquid, including caffeinated beverages, will do. Alcohol doesn't count."

More proof that you are what you eat. And now I'm curious how cheese will affect my mood..

Chloe