In a recent article, The balsamic reduction glaze is a craze, I pointed out that “you can drizzle it on cheese, ice cream or fresh fruit or use it as a glaze to add depth to meats or mix it with a little olive oil to create extraordinary vinaigrette dressings for your salad”, in other words I saw fructose everywhere, even used as a dressing on SUSHI.

Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found. They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.

“These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation,” Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.

The American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods have strongly, and successfully, opposed efforts to tax soda.  The industry has also argued that “sugar is sugar“. Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.

Fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different; in comparison with glucose, fructose induces thiamine-dependent transketolase flux and is preferentially metabolized via the nonoxidative pentose phosphate pathway to synthesize nucleic acids and increase uric acid production. These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation. They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth.

Source:
Cancer cells feed on fructose, study finds – By Maggie Fox on MSNBC
Cancer Research – Fructose Induces Transketolase Flux to Promote Pancreatic Cancer Growth

Thursday 8-19-2010 – Harvest-on-Hudson has become a true classic where every Thursday evening at 7pm people gather for the music, the ambiance and the views. 3D Ritmo de Vida, did some outstanding hybrid interpretations of The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel and many more American icons, adding more geography to a repertoire which already spans from Havana to New Orleans, infusing a savory taste of melody and rhythm.
The ambiance in the lounge was as elegant as ever and the outdoor views were stunning. Overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades with dramatic views of Manhattan’s skyline, located right in the middle of the Tappan Zee and the George Washington Bridges, Harvest on Hudson is truly one of the most beautiful and beloved restaurants in the New York Area.

Since the passage of the Clean Water Act, water quality has improved dramatically and over the past several decades, citizen activism has made it increasingly unacceptable for government and industry to treat our rivers as dumping grounds. Read More from Riverkeeper’s site.

Riverkeeper, LDEO and Queens College are sampling water from aboard Riverkeeper’s patrol boat at more than 80 sites on the Hudson from New York Harbor to the confluence of the Mohawk and the Hudson above Troy, NY.

A New Type Of Threat – The Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) is a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine power cable project linking the Montreal area to the New York City suburb of Yonkers.

Now the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) is proposing an underwater cable between Montreal and Yonkers. The CHPE tries to skirt difficulties encountered by other proposals by presenting itself as an “environmentally benign” solution, while the proposed cable electro–magnetic field will have an effect on sensitive fish and wildlife habitat.

The proposed cable would have a length of 335 miles (539 km) between the Canada-U.S. border and its southern terminal, in Yonkers, New York. The two 5-inch (127 mm) cables would be buried at a depth of 3 feet (91 cm) under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River between Albany and Manhattan.

The cable would cross the border under Lake Champlain and would run southward to the northern entrance of the Champlain Canal at Whitehall. On its way to the Hudson, the cables would be briefly taken out of the canal and buried for 2.1 miles (3.4 km), in order to avoid 3 locks. In order to avoid the PCB clean-up site in Hudson River, a 73-mile (117 km) section the line would be taken out of the Champlain Canal, north of Fort Edward and buried along Canadian Pacific and CSX rail rights of way. The cable would re-enter the Hudson River south of Albany, in the Selkirk area*.

The proposed cable would resume its path below the riverbed to reach a HVDC converter station to be built in Yonkers. From this point, the current would be sent to New York by AC cables.

Riverkeeper** called on the DOE to conduct a careful, comprehensive environmental review that focused on the following key concerns; disturbance of sensitive fish and wildlife habitat, impact of the suspension of contaminated sediments on aquatic biota and local drinking water supplies, impacts of the electro-magnetic field generated by the cable on aquatic species, and full analysis of the route ‘alternative’ that would locate the cable along the railroad right of way, rather than in the river.

References:

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champlain_Hudson_Power_Express

Riverkeeper: Swimmable River report, Report authored by: Craig Michaels, Riverkeeper Investigator

* Transmission Developers Inc. (2010), “Project Details: Route Maps”, Champlain Hudson Power Express, http://www.chpexpress.com/background.php, retrieved 2010-08-02

** Call for Careful Review of Champlain Cable Project – Published on 08-16-2010 on Riverkeeper website: http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/news/preserve-river-ecology/call-for-careful-review-of-champlain-cable-project/

This year the peak will be reached between 10 pm of Thursday the 12th and 5am of the 13th of August, and with a crescent moon at 8% the visibility will peak provided the clouds decide to move along. But just in case tonight for one reason or the other does not work for you, remember that the August sky is filled with meteor showers from the 10th through the 20th and Friday the 13th may turn out to be your lucky day after all when at 8:30pm Venus, Mars, and Saturn will all be close to the thin crescent moon.

And if you happen to join WINEDINEGUIDE or you’re already a member, tomorrow night at Oakland Beach, you will have a chance to enjoy a picnic, fireworks and falling stars all in one night especially since there are no clouds in the forecast.

Legend teaches us that that the shooting stars we see are the sparkles of the bonfire where San Lorenzo was killed. August 10th is Saint Lawrence day in Italian calendars, date which through the years has served as a reminder of the Swift-Turtle, the mother of all the Perseids rainfall. The Transfiguration celebrated on August 6th, counted by the Church as one of the “Twelve Great Feasts,” also marks the beginning of this fantastic event and finally Ramadan, starts on August 11th, the ninth month in the Islamic Calendar, a month during which he month in which the first verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad.

If you like movies instead, the 1982 Italian war drama film “The Night of the Shooting Stars”, based around the partisan struggle against fascism and the dreams of a young girl, actually wishes. So if you are a homebody, watch the movie and have a cozy time at home, and regardless of what you do or believe in just peek at the sky up to the 20th and make a wish, “just in case” what can you loose! It is not by chance that so many races and creeds are simultaneously celebrating this occurrence and worst case scenario, nothing will happen, which is also a good thing.

NORWALK, Connecticut – A difficult economy may be forcing Americans to do without some things, but wine isn’t one of them. Consumers are buying more each year. According to the Beverage Information Group’s recently released 2010 Wine Handbook, the wine industry continued to post positive results in 2009, marking its 16th consecutive year of case gains. Overall wine consumption rose 0.8% to 297.0 million 9-liter cases. Off-premise consumption continues to grow to 14.6 billion, helped by a competitive marketplace exploding with new brands and competitive pricing.

Consumers have become more discretionary in their disposable income since the economic downturn. They have embraced “trading down” as well as searching for better bargains online. This is especially true of the Millennial generation’s 70-80 million members (21-33 year olds) who are willing to experiment and are bargain savvy, using electronic media to find the best deals.

According to the 2010 Wine Handbook, domestics continue to outpace imports. Domestic wines rose 1.8% to 222.7 million cases while imports dropped 2.2%, landing at 74.3 million cases. Growth is still being seen among smaller countries such as Chile, New Zealand and Portugal.

“As the country recovers from the recessionary environment, the wine industry continues to look positive,” says Eric Schmidt, Manager of Information Services for the Beverage Information Group based in Norwalk, Conn. “We expect to see wine consumption increase to 310.7 million cases by 2014.”

The 2010 Wine Handbook is the leading source for U.S. wine sales and consumption trends. It includes wine consumption analysis; the top 50 metro markets; supplier performance; advertising expenditures; consumer drinking preferences; and economic/demographic data.

The cost of the 2010 Wine Handbook is $815; handbook with CD is $985. Shipping and handling is $10 for U.S. residents, $20 for all international orders. The handbook and CD can be purchased at www.beveragehandbooks.com or by calling Cynthia Porter at (630) 762-8709.

About the Beverage Information Group

The Beverage Information Group, a division of M2MEDIA360, serves all segments of the beverage alcohol industry through Cheers, Beverage Dynamics and StateWays magazines, statistical Handbooks, Beverage Research and www.bevinfogroup.com.

Instead of counting how many millions of bags will be sold between now and 2015, you may consider popping kernels in a deep pan with a glass lid and adding your favorite seasonings along with some wholesome butter or a lighter substitute because of your diet concerns may be the way to go.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) seems to be linked to infertility in humans, while in animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer according to a recent study from UCLA. During the micro waving process, perfluorooctanoic acid, a relative of Teflon migrates into the popcorn through vaporization.

Considered the choice, air-popped popcorn is low in fat and calories and one of my favorites followed by the old-fashioned skillet and if you must, a microwaveable glass container will do a good job too.

Did you know, that Native Americans discovered popcorn, and the oldest evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico? Some consider popcorn a healthy choice while others caution against it for a variety of reasons. Unlike other grains, corn has a hard moisture-sealed hull, which is presently being used in the packaging industry as an alternate to plastic.

Personally I try to avoid popcorn all together, because when I eat it, I seem to need an equal or greater amount of time removing the residues of hull and kernels from my teeth. The hull has also been the culprit of numerous periodontal issues, because of its ability of getting between the gum and the enamel surface of the tooth and make its way to the root. If your concern is Nutrional Facts, do keep in mind that reading the label may change your perspective on the food you eat.