Irony of the Day: Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer

This morning on the news I saw a story about pastry chefs around Boston offering special desserts that you can buy to support breast cancer. Or rather, to support breasts, um, to not have cancer. Awkward. Anyway.

So haven't I been reading that sugar feeds cancer? That a diet full of processed foods actually can cause the problem in the first place?

Wouldn't a better message be to donate money to the charity every time someone ordered, say, kale? Or an unusally tasty bean dish? Why perpetuate the myth that diet and health are unrelated? This Mother's Day, sons and daughters will be visiting some of Boston finest restaurants, treating Mom to some lovely charitable cannolis, with every bite creating a greater likelihood of their own disease. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic but come on people! Use this opportunity to inform, not distract! Then maybe we really will help the cause.

The China Study: Less beef. More Broccoli.

In college I never went to Chemistry class, but showed up for exams and got straight A's. (Kudos to my highschool Chemistry teacher.) Anyway, that was probably the last time I paid any attention whatsoever to real science-y stuff. You know, experiments, data, statistics, bell curves.

The China Study is full of that stuff though, and I loved it. The author makes the case, simply put, for eating fewer animals and more plants. This sort of diet has been proven to reduce or eliminate everything from cancer to diabetes to MS.

Not as sensational as the Atkins diet or as sexy as the South Beach Diet, this suggestion of eliminating animal products definitely doesn't sit well with industry and government. Nor does it make for a best seller. But it does make a whole lot of sense when you consider the areas of the world afflicted with the most cancer, heart disease and other "Diseases of Affluence", then consider the diets that prevail in those areas. The China Study compares rural China to America and finds patterns that help us understand how diet is the key to solving so many health problems.

Lentils Schmentils

According to John Robbins' The Food Revolution, people who eat beans, peas, or lentils at least twice a week compared to people who avoid these foods have a 50% lower risk of colon cancer. Awww, shoot, right? Who likes beans that much?

This recipe is easy and fast and flexible--include whatever ingredients you want. If you haven't kicked dairy, consider me somewhat jealous because feta would be a delightful addition.

Mediterranean Lentil Salad
2 cups lentils
4 cups water
Juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbl. umeboshi plum vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbl. barley miso, dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1 tomato, chopped
1 Tbl. capers, chopped
1/2 can black olives, chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Rinse lentils. Combine with water, bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 20 minutes or until cooked but not mushy. Add lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and miso. Mix thoroughly. Let marinate while you chop and prep other ingredients. Mix all together. Serve hot, cold, or room temperature with greens, rice, or alone!