Allison Aubrey

Allison Aubrey appears in the following:

Hot Dogs, Bacon And Red Meat Tied To Increased Diabetes Risk

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

You've likely heard about the link between sugar consumption and Type 2 diabetes. But fresh research ties another dietary pattern to increased risk of the disease, too: eating too much red meat.

It's not that we are trying to pick on meat (I'm a meat-eater, in moderation), but the ...

Comment

Why Bill Gates Is Investing In Chicken-Less Eggs

Thursday, June 13, 2013

The egg of the future may not involve a chicken at all. In fact, in the high-tech food lab at Hampton Creek Foods in San Francisco, the chicken-less egg substitute has already been hatched.

"We're trying to take the animal totally out of the equation," Josh Tetrick, founder and ...

Comment

Tender Beef, Without The Pathogens: USDA Proposes Labeling Rules

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

In order to make tough cuts of beef more tender, the industry uses a mechanical tenderizing process that involves piercing the meat with needles.

This is effective in breaking up the tough muscle fibers, but there's a downside, too: a higher risk of surface bacteria making their way into the ...

Comment

Hey, Fellas, Olive Oil And Nuts Tied To Prostate Cancer Survival

Monday, June 10, 2013

Sometimes, it doesn't take a major diet overhaul to get significant health benefits. Small changes can be helpful, too.

This seems to be the take-home message from a new study in JAMA Internal Medicine linking olive oil and nuts to improved survival from prostate cancer.

Researchers studied the fat intake ...

Comment

Hold The Hot Dog: National Park Visitors Can Feast On Bison Burgers

Friday, June 07, 2013

The director of the National Park Service doesn't have anything against hot dogs or pizza being served in eateries in national parks.

"But I wanted more options, and more healthy choices," Jonathan Jarvis told me at a tasting event this week to unveil new standards for the concessionaires ...

Comment

Feeling A Little Blue May Mask Our Ability To Taste Fat

Thursday, June 06, 2013

So, here's the scenario: You're feeling a little blue, then you watch an emotional movie and dig into a bowl of ice cream.

Are you aware of how fattening your comfort food is? Likely not. Especially in the moment.

A new study finds that temporary, strong emotions, like the ...

Comment

Can Going Vegetarian Help You Live Longer? Maybe

Tuesday, June 04, 2013

If you're looking for the definitive study that might persuade meat lovers to become vegetarians, this may not be it.

New research published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that vegetarian diets are linked to a slightly lower risk of early death — about 12 percent lower over a ...

Comment

Wal-Mart Pledges Fresher Produce By Cutting Out The Middleman

Monday, June 03, 2013

The nation's largest retailer announced Monday that it will be delivering produce from farms to stores faster by buying fruits and vegetables directly from growers.

The plan is to source about 80 percent of fresh produce directly, explained Jack Sinclair, executive vice president of the food business for Wal-Mart U.S., ...

Comment

Congress Poised To Make Crop Insurance Subsidies More Generous

Thursday, May 30, 2013

For decades, farmers have been getting checks from the federal government as part of a safety net to help protect against, for instance, the financial ruin of drought or floods.

So last year when a big drought hit the Midwest, who paid for it? You did.

As my colleague Dan ...

Comment

Personalized Coca-Colas, But Not If Your Name Is Mohammed Or Maria

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Remember the disappointment you felt as a kid at the souvenir shop when that personalized key chain wasn't available in your name? For me, it was never finding "Allison" with two L's. My colleague Maria says she was always stuck with "Mary" as her only option.

Facebook fans of ...

Comment

Oh, This Is Fattening? Teens Ignore Fast-Food Calorie Counts

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

"Make that a large fry and Coke!"

This is what came out of my 13-year-old son's mouth this weekend on the way back from a camping trip.

After I'd ordered him a kids' meal at the drive-thru, he interjected to change the order. (I let it go, this time, since ...

Comment

Gals Who Grill: What Will It Take For Women To Man The Q?

Saturday, May 25, 2013

There's a lot of innovation in grilling — everything from fancy briquettes to gadgets that help grill veggies to perfection.

But according to survey data from the NPD Group, one thing that's not changing is who's firing up the grill.

Men are more than twice as likely as ...

Comment

Canned Peaches Are As Nutritious As Fresh. Really?

Thursday, May 23, 2013

I know, I know — I was incredulous, too.

But a new study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture finds that canned peaches (yes, from the grocery store canned aisle) are as loaded with nutrients as fresh peaches. And in some cases, they pack ...

Comment

Nutrition Group Says Chocolate Milk Is OK, No Need For Aspartame

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

A controversial petition by the dairy industry to allow milk sweetened with aspartame or other alternative sweeteners to be labeled on the front of the carton simply as MILK is drawing criticism from the nation's leading group of nutritionists.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is urging the FDA ...

Comment

Can A Piece Of Hair Reveal How Much Coke Or Pepsi You Drink?

Monday, May 20, 2013

One way to know how much soda people drink is to ask them.

The problem? We tend to underestimate, lie or forget what we've consumed.

And this is a challenge for researchers who study the links between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity.

A new study published in the Journal ...

Comment

How Trace Amounts Of Arsenic End Up In Grocery Store Meat

Thursday, May 16, 2013

A study published online recently in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives documented slightly elevated levels of arsenic in samples of chicken purchased at grocery stores in 10 cities in the U.S.

So how did trace amounts of this toxin end up in supermarket poultry?

Well, arsenic-based drugs are approved ...

Comment

Is Eating Too Little Salt Risky? New Report Raises Questions

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Americans are repeatedly told to cut back on salt to reduce the risk of heart disease. But there are new questions being raised about the possible risks of reducing sodium too much.

So, how low should we go? Currently, the government recommends that Americans should aim for 2,300 ...

Comment

Big Ag Agrees to Conserve Cropland, But At What Cost?

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Taxpayers help subsidize crop insurance premiums for farmers to the tune of about $9 billion dollars, a figure that's growing each year. These policies protect farmers from major losses, and help support their income even if there's no loss of crops.

And in return? Well, environmentalists argue that farmers ...

Comment

Step Aside, Gents. Witness The Rise Of Women In Coffee

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The inspiration for NPR's Coffee Week arrived in an email last summer. I had just reported on the growing Third-Wave Movement in Coffee, and the burgeoning interest in coffee cuppings.

One listener, Margaret Swallow, who'd heard the story on her local station, WVXU in Cincinnati, reached out to ...

Comment

Journey Of A Specialty Coffee Bean, From Cherry To Cup

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

When we wanted to know how the growth of the specialty coffee movement is influencing the lives of farmers, we took a trip to the mountainous region of Huehuetenango in Guatemala.

Here, we met farmer Miguelina Villatoro, owner of Finca El Paternal. If you listen to my radio ...

Comment