WikiHow is fun. It’s a community tutorial wiki site. Being a wiki, anyone can change the text themselves in the web browser to improve on each of the tutorials for everyone else. Delicious concept. Also an occasional source of humor such as the useful How to sneak candy into your room. This article on creating OpenCola was the perfect one to share here at Snackhunting. I love the idea that we can be snack innovators. Open Cola, unlike say Coca Cola is a recipe that you can copy, modify and share. Open, unlocked, free. If you like, you can even start a company and sell it. You’ll have no royalties to pay. Most people probably won’t do that because most people don’t want to be in the soda business. But we all want to snack on good drinks. Plus, the ingredients call for Granulated sugar, not corn syrup. Depending on what your take on corn syrup is, you may turn to Open Cola above the more popular drinks. As my good friend Tim from back in my movie theater days would say, “Mmmm, good soda!”

Here’s a recipe for Open Cola from WikHow

Thanks for protecting us USDA. You and the FDA already have tainted reputations. It’s already difficult enough to wade through the mass confusion of ingredients trying to find what is legitimately healthy. As if government organizations weren’t already a little too susceptible to corporate lobbying, then we hear about this.

An article from the Common Dreams center:

Another Sneak Attack on Organic Standards: USDA to Allow More Conventional Ingredients in Organics

WASHINGTON - MAY 17 -The USDA has announced a controversial proposal, with absolutely no input from consumers, to allow 38 new non-organic ingredients in products bearing the “USDA Organic” seal. Most of the ingredients are food colorings derived from plants that are supposedly not “commercially available” in organic form. But at least three of the proposed ingredients, apparently backed by beer companies, including Anheuser-Busch, and pork and food processors, represent a serious threat to organic standards, and have raised the concerns of the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), as well as a number of smaller organic companies and organic certifiers.

And the best part? The general public has only been allocated 7 days to comment. Again, thanks USDA. And I mean that in a harsh totally sarcastic, disappointed, steaming citizen kind of way. What is it with this “well if no one says anything, we’ll get away with it.” style of lawmaking?

So what’s the point, why do they want to sneak these in? No doubt for companies to be able to lie through food labels, to encourage more sales, and to get some tax breaks or large food service contracts. What if Nabisco could lobby and bribe the USDA to “make” every ingredient and chemical in Oreos (there are a lot) become suddenly organic on paper? Do you think the public would be served by this?

Well, I can do my part and spread the word. Hurry and sign the petition if you feel you want to take my side of this debate.

An article from the BBC news website. It is reported that the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition studies have found that Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers, UK nutritionists found. Experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.

Tea Healthier than water? (From BBC News)

FTA:

Dr Ruxton said: “Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it’s got two things going for it.”

She said it was an urban myth that tea is dehydrating.

“Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid.

“Also, a cup of tea contains fluoride, which is good for the teeth,” she added.

I personally don’t find this surprising, but I have to say, I disagree with the flouride comment. In fact, I think flouride in the water is not only useless, but harmful. Flouride has been known to be most effective through direct application to the teeth, through brushing. I believe flouride is harmful. I don’t believe it’s good for human ingestion, especially not by adding it to our water supply. What the heck is up with that?

Men’s health has a story called Genius Junk Food which reminds us that some bad snacks actually have a good side. Chocolate, pork rinds, and sour cream to name a few. Believable? Sure, why not.