This short review of the impacts of bacteria on the body is absolutely fascinating. It’s also a topic that Twyla is passionate about, having devoured every book, article, and online discussion she can get her hands on.

Introducing and maintaining beneficial bacteria in our kids from, literally, the beginning of their lives will be the single biggest determining factor in their lifelong health. It’s also why we treat antibiotics with extreme caution, using them only as a last resort.

It is becoming increasingly clear that different bacteria provide people with different advantages and disadvantages. All over the world, teams of scientists are looking at how bacteria affect the folks they live in. Certain bacteria have been linked to the incidence of stomach ulcers, but take away those bacteria with antibiotics, and young people get more asthma, hay fever, allergies and eczema.

We try to foster good gut health in ourselves and in our kids primarily through the things that we can directly influence, like diet, as opposed to the things we can’t influence as much, like environment (i.e. hands in mouths, etc).

Granted, all of my understanding of the subject comes second-hand from discussions with Twyla but we already know that diet affects behavior and, with some studies linking diet with autism ^[1], it can’t be too much of a leap to start talking about bacterial health and its affects on child development ^[2] and personality.

Implications of this research go even further when you consider the reference to geographical differences.

…a person who grows up in Argentina and another who grows up in northern Alaska tend to acquire different bacteria … these differences seem to matter…

It reinforces the ‘eat local’ mantra pushed by the slow-food/organic/bio-dynamic communities.

Notes:
[1] I realize the link between diet and autism is controversial as it seems to presume that autism is, then, preventable but, nevertheless, the studies exist and the research seems to be continuing.
[2] While not related to a discussion of bacteria, I thought this article about ADHD’s (non)existence was interesting too especially when you start drawing the links between all of these topics.

Speaking of food, I’ve been meaning to write about some of the burger joints in town but why not start with a quick post about our homemade work of art from last week. These bad boys were awesome…

Best burgers ever! Just in case you were wondering, here’s a quick rundown of what you’re looking at:

• pattys are just beef with a little salt and pepper, pan-fried since we don’t have a grill
• grilled onions
• homemade mayonnaise (much easier than you think; tastes better but doesn’t keep long)
• lettuce
• cheddar cheese
• dijon mustard
• all between two slices of sprouted wheat bread
• with some homemade steak fries to round it out

These things were so good, even Twyla ate ‘em…

This article by Michael Pollan begins with the observation that the poorest members of our society tend to be the fattest; a contradiction never seen before in human history. All indicators point to bad governance of food production policy. Essentially, US government subsidies, through the farm bill in particular, disproportionately go to producers of fat and sugar dense ingredients for processed foods rather than to fresh foods (i.e. vegetables other than corn, soy, and milk).

“…the real price of fruits and vegetables between 1985 and 2000 increased by nearly 40 percent while the real price of soft drinks (a k a liquid corn) declined by 23 percent. The reason the least healthful calories in the supermarket are the cheapest is that those are the ones the farm bill encourages farmers to grow.”

But the frustrating angle here is that it is much easier (and would be much cheaper without the subsidies) to deliver the healthier whole foods.

“Compared with a bunch of carrots, a package of Twinkies… is a highly complicated, high-tech piece of manufacture, involving no fewer than 39 ingredients, many themselves elaborately manufactured, as well as the packaging and a hefty marketing budget.”

We eat very little processed foods in our house but I’ve been paying particular attention to food labels here in Australia. The first and most glaring difference with the US is the virtual absence of corn syrup, particularly the high-fructose variety; you will find it in some foods but it’s rare. It’s much more common to find plain ‘ol sugar ^[1][2]. Once again US policy, this time by way of import tarriffs, favors an over-processed (it’s essentially a chemical), unhealthy, and possibly dangerous product over perhaps the cheapest food ingredient in the world.

1. Yes, refined sugar is highly processed and not good for you either but it’s obviously better than the alternative.
2. Anyone else notice “Mexican Coke” becoming much more popular… at least in Texas? It’s made with sugar, not corn syrup like the US version.

Update 05-Nov-2007: More on this topic… First, an excellent article on the recent Farm Bill reform debacle in the US House.

“[The Farm Bill is] a horrible deal. It redistributes our taxes to millionaire farmers as well as to millionaire “farmers” like David Letterman, David Rockefeller and the owners of the Utah Jazz. It contributes to our obesity and illegal-immigration epidemics and to our water and energy shortages. It helps degrade rivers, deplete aquifers, eliminate grasslands, concentrate food-processing conglomerates and inundate our fast-food nation with high-fructose corn syrup.”

And the trailer for a new documentary, King Corn.

Australians and New Zealanders offer two additions to this list, though they could just as easily be considered replacements for the Americano: (1) the short black and (2) the long black.

[via elrubendelmar.org]

The preferred version here in Australia is definitely the plain-ol’ latte… the skinny and soy varieties seem to be popular.

Last weekend we made return visits to a pair of dinner spots: Kamel and Shakahari.

On Friday, without a reservation, we were initially turned away from a packed Kamel but one of the wait staff was nice enough to chase us down the sidewalk when a table opened up. Their dining room is a tight but comfortable collection of maybe ten tables and a bar and the food is served in portions to share, almost tapas style. We started with our two favorite dishes from our last visit. The marinated mushrooms with feta are incredible but I thought the pan-fried muscles, clams, and prawns were a bit bland this time. We also tried an Indian spiced, fried cauliflower, green beans, and tabbouleh. Altogether a nice meal but it wasn’t quite as good as I remembered.

Shakahari, on the other hand, was better this time around. My faith in humanity was restored when I spotted jalepenos in the sweet and spicy Tokyo rice balls; I wasn’t sure they existed on this continent. The baked polenta I ordered was great especially with the medley of root vegetables and mashed peas. I vaguely recall that Pete had quinoa with mushrooms and bok choy but I must have been too enamored with my own meal because I can’t recall what Twyla ordered.

As we left Shakahari we stumbled on Brunetti and spent a good twenty minutes staring wide-eyed at the elaborate desserts and confections. We tend to stay away from sweets but Brunetti overwhelmed the senses and we sampled a flour-less chocolate cake, a cheesecake, and some from fruit for Pete.

• Indian food at Gold An Fork [nice review] was better than the other office favorite nearby, Flora Indian Restaurant & Cafe.
• Ume Sushi House - fast, cheap but not spectacular. Still, my most frequent lunch spot.
• Stalactites - best Greek in town and much better than anything back home. Not a well kept secret in this town though; it’s always packed.
• Eat Drink Bento - quite good but pricey for lunch.

Update 14-Sep-2007 - Almost forgot to mention Amigos on Chapel Street. I liked it and will go back when the Mexican food craving is too much to bare but Twyla didn’t care for it.