En Route to Dadaab

In Somalia, the first shipment of food was delivered Wednesday to Mogadishu, the first shipment since the official declaration of a famine just over a week ago. But the U.N. said it cannot get aid to more than two million people who are unable to flee the country’s south – territories controlled by rebels linked … Read more

East Africa’s Pending Famine

An unfortunate mix of drought, failed harvests and rising food prices have brought severe food shortages to the east and the Horn of Africa. The severe food crisis is already affecting around 10 million people in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Rains have failed over two seasons, with a strong La Niña event … Read more

Staying Healthy — The Super 6

The Super 6 are the best medicine we have for preventing cancer and other chronic disease, and all are good for health anyway. The only real potential side effect of their use to prevent cancer is that you might also get healthier in ways you didn’t intend. Regular physical activity is associated with weight control, … Read more

And the winner is … the DASH diet!

In a ranking of 20 diets by U.S. News & World Report, the magazine concluded the DASH diet was best overall. The magazine’s panel of nutrition experts chose Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension for, among other things, being nutritious, easy to follow and protecting against heart disease and perhaps diabetes. DASH is chock-full of the … Read more

Breastfeeding and Nutrition

Your breast-milk is always going to be top-notch for your baby; but a poor diet may zap energy at a time in your life when energy is already something that is hard to come by. Below are a few tips for maintaining a healthy diet while breastfeeding: Eat when you are hungry and drink when … Read more

Warding Off Famine

Managing the Mautam The predator satiation hypothesis holds that by fruiting at the same time, a plant population increases the survival rate of their seeds by flooding the area with fruit so that even if predators eat their fill, there will still be seeds left over. Certain species of bamboo, for instance, have a flowering … Read more

Navigating a Sea of Fats

Knowing your way around fats can help you beat the Reaper   Trans Fat These fats are created during food processing when liquid oils are converted into semi-solid fats — a process called hydrogenation. This creates partially-hydrogenated oils that tend to keep food fresh longer while on grocery shelves. The problem is that these partially-hydrogenated … Read more

Tests Reveal Mislabeling of Fish

Scientists aiming their gene sequencers at commercial seafood are discovering rampant labeling fraud in supermarket coolers and restaurant tables: cheap fish is often substituted for expensive fillets, and overfished species are passed off as fish whose numbers are plentiful. Recent studies by researchers in North America and Europe harnessing the new techniques have consistently found … Read more

Ten Commandments for Tree Seedling Survival!

Dr. William Carey, Auburn University Professor, outlines a ten point system to help improve forest tree seedling survival. At a meeting, sponsored by International Forest Company, Dr. Carey explains his planting techniques and insists you give seedlings “tender loving care” from the time they leave the nursery until planted in the field. Commandment Number One … Read more