SoYummi Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Whipped Mousse

SoYummi is primarily known as a maker of soy equivalents of meat products. (Notice the spelling: SOYummi.) But Kate Lawson of The Detroit News pointed out a new line of theirs.

You'd never know that this naturally delicious line of organic treats is lactose/dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and sweetened naturally with beet syrup.

Oh, it also contains prebiotics, has no trans fats, is low in sodium, is a source of fiber and is nut-free.

Now people with celiac disease and those who are lactose-intolerant or suffer from allergies can enjoy a lightly whipped mousse as a snack or dessert, thanks to SoYummi.

They're available in a variety of flavors, but my favorite is the lime-flavored whipped pudding. It's delicate and delicious.

So I went to SoYummi.com to check out their products page. I found no whipped mousse there. No dairy-free snacks of any kind, in fact.

Usually this is the point at which I start complaining about company websites. But this time the total absence of the product has a different and probably weirder explanation.

You have to go to their Canadian website, SoYummi.ca to find their whipped mousse. And like any good Canadian website, there's no mention of their sales in the U.S.

You're better off being a Ken Jennings than a Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery. Any good trivia maven or fifth grader who studies geography knows that Windsor, ON and Detroit, MI are twin cities, staring at each other across the Detroit River. And Windsor is south of Detroit. (Just like Reno, NV is west of Los Angeles in triviaworld. You got to know these things.) So Detroit probably gets a lot of Canadian goods before the rest of us.

It's in Whole Foods there so it may become available in the rest of America. If not, hey, Canada's a gorgeous place.

Once Again, Animal Milks and Lactose Intolerance Don't Mix

Appropriate and timely for Halloween: the Nonsense That Just Won't Die!

Remember when I beat my head again the wall because of the lady who claimed that goat milk had smaller lactose molecules?

I found another one.

Yayi International is a leading manufacturer and distributor of goat milk powder products in China. While the Company's main focus is premium infant formula goat milk products, its product portfolio currently includes goat milk powders, goat milk formula tablets, and goat foremilk powder. ...

Compared with cow milk, the molecules of lactose in goat milk are smaller, making the milk more easily absorbed by individuals who are sensitive to milk products.

They vant your money. Bevare!

And they're not alone. Camel milk has equally magical properties!

If Dr. Millie Hinkle has her way, camel milk will someday be as easy to find in North Carolina as barbecue.

For 3,000 years, camel milk has been revered for its medicinal properties in the Middle East and Hinkle, a physician in Raleigh, hopes to bring it to the U.S. and make it legal to sell.

"We know that folks who are diabetic or lactose intolerant have absolutely no allergy to camel milk, so it's a great thing for those people as well," she said.

Lactose intolerance doesn't involve an allergy. Neither does diabetes. Camel milk affects those with either in exactly the same way as cow's milk.

This particular nonsense is too dangerous to make jokes about. It's such extreme nonsense, though, that I have to wonder if the reporter is quoting Dr. Hinkle correctly. Unfortunately, it's within the realm of possibility. Dr. Hinkle is an ND, of Naturopathic Doctor, which North Carolina does not regulate or allow to prescribe medications, according to Wikipedia. Her site does include citations of medical journal articles about the possible efficacy of camel milk for diabetics, but also includes the false "fact" that "Camel milk can be easily digested by lactose-intolerant individuals."

No. It can't. Camel milk has almost exactly the lactose content of cow's milk. The protein segments are slightly different from those in cow's milk so that the immune systems of people with milk allergies may not get triggered by camel milk.

So where is the backing for that weird fact?

There's a link on that page of Dr. Hinkle's website that leads to Camel Milk for Food Allergies in Children by Yosef Shabo et al., Israeli Medical Association Journal, vol. 7, December 2005, pp. 796-798.

It does contain the following line:

Lactose is present in concentrations of 4.8%, but this milk sugar is easily metabolized by persons suffering from lactose intolerance [5].

But if you go to footnote 5, you find this:

5. Hanna J. Over the hump. In: Jack Hanna’s Animal Adventures. TV series (USA) 2001 season; #2190. www.animaladventures.com.

I kid you not. The justification for human lactose intolerants "easily metabolizing" camel's milk in an article in a medical journal comes from a syndicated television show for kids.

We're beyond surreal here. I can't compete with a guy who brings cute cuddly animals on television for a living. Why would anyone listen to me while they're watching Jack Hanna hold a bottle to the mouth of a baby camel? Awww. But he's not right about this.

And nobody in a medical journal should be citing his television show.

Lactose-Free Milk and Lots of It

I mention frequently that I learned I was lactose intolerant back in 1978, long before dairy products made without lactose could be found in any supermarket. That's not to impress you with my age or launch into incoherent screeds about how easy you kids have it today. It's more like sheer astonishment at the changes.

Like this week's shopping trip to a local supermarket. The "dairy" case long ago stopped being merely dairy. Or a case. Today it's a bank of vertical refrigerators, six shelves high. Juices of every possible fruit take up three banks at one end, eggs are at the other. In between are milks. Lots of milk, this being a gigantic store, the flagship of the Wegmans chain and the busiest supermarket I know.

And one whole case, top to bottom, was lactose-free milk. Six full shelves of it. No, seven. The next case over had an additional shelf full. Four separate brands of lactose-free milk were represented there, Lactaid, Real Goodness, Hood, and the Wegmans store brand.

When people ask me why they can't find more varieties of lactose-free dairy items I have to tell them that they simply don't sell. Nothing does. Except lactose-free milk. And that seems to be doing fine. Four brands! I remember the first appearance of a lactose-free milk in a supermarket and the first time I saw two brands competing. They might have taken up a shelf between them. They have been times since when I've seriously wondered if the whole market was going to collapse for lack of buyers.

No longer. Apparently we're in good shape for the foreseeable future.

Now you need to start clamoring for lactose-free ice cream. And then start buying it. Wouldn't it be nice to have even one whole shelf in the frozen section for ourselves?

Lactose-Free Recipes

Gourmet magazine recently folded operations with a thud so loud that it made national headlines. What happens to purveyors of the world's fanciest dishes? I guess they start roaming aimlessly across America like the Joads, looking for handouts of truffled nitrogen foam in exchange for chopping wood and sharing a few of their more plebeian recipes with the plainfolk.

How to to explain the appearance of the magazine's Ex-Executive Editor "Doc" Willoughby on the CBS Early Show with, of all things, lactose-free recipes?

The Forbes' 400 loss is our gain. The Early Show website shares five recipes with us, Tuscon Yellow Pepper Soup, Grilled Cornish Hens With Coconut Curry Sauce, Black Rice Pudding, Chocolate Sorbet, and Hazelnut Biscotti, a complete meal from soup to nuts, if a bit heavy on dessert..

This is less generous than one would think, since sorbet and biscotti are virtually always lactose-free so you don't need "Doc" to make 'em so. Still. You try making truffled nitrogen foam over a wood stove.

Halloween Allergy Anxiety

Which would be a bigger surprise to you? That 80% of mothers with allergic children "say Halloween causes a great deal of anxiety"? Or that 20% of mothers don't?

The survey, conducted by the MomCentral.com website, also found that 20% of moms get so hyper about the holiday that they are thinking about having their children give up trick-or-treating entirely.

Why? Probably because they are uncertain about how much they know and about what to do. As the survey found:

•61 percent of children have been prescribed an epinephrine auto-injector; however, only 23 percent of them carry it with them at all times.

•One in five moms is unsure how they feel about their school's emergency plans in place to deal with a severe allergic reaction.

•While many moms feel they have good information on food allergies, they also expressed a clear desire for more: 78 percent of survey respondents say they would benefit from additional information on food allergies and how best to prepare for and treat allergy-related medical emergencies.

I've mentioned before that children and teenagers tend not to carry their auto-injectors with them. This is one of those parenting challenges that no outsider can solve. Getting your kids to carry reminders that they are different is a constant battle.

By now you may be guessing that I'm quoting from a press release that is related to injectors. You are quite correct. This one is by the maker of EpiPens.

Unlike all too many press releases, fortunately, they tone down the hype and focus on helpful advice.

Tips for an Allergy-friendly Halloween

For parents of children with food allergies, monitoring Halloween candy is just one way to avoid an accidental allergic reaction. Stacy DeBroff from Mom Central offers additional tips for enjoying an allergy-free holiday:

•Find Allergy-Free Activities: With a little research, you can find many festive activities right in your own backyard. Take the family pumpkin picking, on a hayride or for a scavenger hunt.

•Bring the Fun to Your Child: Consider hosting your own costume party for your child's friends. Invite everyone over for pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples, spooky stories, a scavenger hunt and other Halloween-themed games. This way, your child can still have fun and you can control all the goodies that are being passed out.

For those children who do go trick-or-treating, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) offers these helpful tips:

•Never Go Alone: Always accompany younger children trick-or-treating and have older children go out with friends.

•Inform Others: Make sure all the adults and friends in your group know about your child's food allergies and what to do in an emergency.

•Pack Medication: While out for Halloween, make sure you or your child is carrying an epinephrine auto-injector. Make sure your child's friends or other adults know how to administer this medication.

•Provide Safe Snacks: Provide your close neighbors and even your child's teacher at school with safe treats or even non-food items like stickers that can be given to your child.

•Check the Goodies: Carefully read labels or check the candy company's Web site to make sure the product doesn't contain something that can cause an allergic reaction. It's important to remember that the ingredients of 'fun size' candy bars may differ from the regular-size bars.

•When in Doubt, Throw It Out: If you can't find information on a treat's ingredients or are simply not sure if it's safe, then throw the candy away or stick it in a treat jar that is out of the reach of the child.

•Avoid Snacking: Eating dinner before trick-or-treating might curb your child's urge to sneak goodies from the bag.

Food Allergy Tests You Must Avoid

The Food Allergy Initiative has a page on Unproven Diagnostic Tests that includes some familiar targets of mine, such as Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET) and IgG Testing.

These tests should be avoided at all costs. Getting a false diagnosis, whether positive or negative, is bad enough. However, some of these tests involve eating the allergen itself and that can precipitate a reaction. As the page says, in bold face type:

None of these tests is recommended for the diagnosis of food allergies, and those that involve the ingestion or injection of allergens may increase the risk of a reaction.

The other tests they warn you about are:

Body Chemical Analysis
This type of test analyzes a sample of your hair, body fluids, or tissue to diagnose a mineral deficiency or confirm the presence of toxic substances. Either of these supposedly leads to food allergies or other diseases. Again, there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.

Cytotoxic Testing
In this test, the white blood cells are extracted from a sample of your blood. Then, samples of the white blood cells are applied to slides that contain dried extracts of suspect foods. A technician views the slides under a microscope and analyzes them for changes that supposedly indicate whether you are allergic to any of those foods. AAAAI has concluded that there is no scientific basis for this test.

ELISA/ACT
A sample of your blood is drawn and cultures of the white blood cells are analyzed for their reactions to up to 300 food allergens or other substances. Studies have shown that this test is not effective in diagnosing food or other allergies. Other questionable diagnostic methods that involve white blood cell analysis are the ALCAT and NuTron tests.

Electrodermal Diagnosis
This test uses a galvanometer (an instrument that detects and measures electric currents) to gauge your body’s resistance when you come in contact with a suspect food. Increased resistance to the electric current is supposed to indicate that you are allergic to the food being tested.

Provocation and Neutralization
These tests involve injecting a solution containing a suspect food under your skin or administering it sublingually (as drops under your tongue). Increasing amounts are given in an effort to provoke a reaction. When symptoms appear, you are given increasingly weaker doses of the solution until your symptoms disappear. The last and weakest dose, which supposedly eliminates your symptoms, is called the “neutralizing dose.” This solution may then be provided as a treatment for your food allergy. Provocation tests are not only ineffective, but increase the risk of an allergic reaction. There is no scientific proof that neutralization can prevent or control a reaction.

Pulse Testing
This test is based on the notion that, if you are allergic to a particular food, your pulse (the rate of your heartbeat) will go up after you eat that food. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim.

What's really scary is that each time I've written about NAET, about as pure quackery as exists in fake medicine today, somebody always comments approvingly.

If you have questions about these or other possibly questionable allergy tests, contact the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI).

How to Make Almond Milk

The Instructables website has a multi-page tutorial on making almond milk.

The comments also have a healthy debate over whether almond skins are healthy. Adding them to your milk is apparently optional.

Lactose Intolerance Rate Depends on Definition

How many people in the U.S. are lactose intolerant (LI)? The number that has been given for the past generation has been about 30 - 50,000,000. That the estimate hasn't changed in 30 or more years should give you an instant clue that we're not talking about real firm counts. It's at best a guess, although you can extrapolate it from census information, as I did in my book Milk Is Not for Every Body: Living with Lactose Intolerance.

The last estimate I've seen for the U.S. population is 307,000,000. That would make about 10 - 16% of the population LI.

If you want a better percentage, Nutrition Today published Prevalence of Self-reported Lactose Intolerance in a Multiethnic Sample of Adults by Theresa A. Nicklas et al., September/October 2009 - Volume 44 - Issue 5 - pp 222-227 doi: 10.1097/NT.0b013e3181b9caa6.

Abstract
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, between 30 and 50 million Americans have the potential for lactose-intolerance symptoms. However, lactose-intolerance prevalence rates in practical life settings may be lower than originally suggested. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of self-reported lactose intolerance among a national sample of European American (EA), African American (AA), and Hispanic American (HA) adults.

A nationally representative sample of randomly generated telephone numbers was purchased from a commercial sample provider. A nationally representative sample of randomly selected telephone numbers were called from the Survey Research Unit's Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing facility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Interviews were completed by a total of 1,084 respondents between the ages of 19 and 70 years with 486 EAs, 355 AAs, and 243 HAs. The response rate was 24.2%, and the cooperation rate was 34.2%.

The age-adjusted lactose-intolerance prevalence estimates were 7.72%, 19.50%, and 10.05% for EAs, AAs, and HAs, respectively. For all respondents in the sample, the crude and age-adjusted self-reported lactose-intolerance prevalence rates were 13.38% and 12.04%, respectively.

These results indicate that the prevalence of perceived lactose intolerance is significantly lower than what has been previously estimated. Health professionals need to be aware of the misrepresentation of currently estimated lactose-intolerance rates and should continue to encourage individuals with lactose intolerance to consume dairy foods first to help meet key nutrient recommendations with proper guidance and education.

Several items from this abstract need comment.

The term lactose intolerance has three overlapping but separate definitions. The first is that you get the standard symptoms - gas, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea - after eating or drinking dairy. The second is reacting positively to a lactose intolerance test. The third is having the gene that stops the production of lactase at some time in your life.

That third definition is the one that is normally used to estimate how many Americans are LI. It has to be. There has never been before this a good large-scale study of the issue. And only a small percentage of Americans have ever had a formal lactose tolerance test, certainly nothing like the tens of millions.

Although the full paper is not online so I haven't yet been able to read it, I have to assume that most respondents considered themselves LI because they get - or believe they get - symptoms from dairy products. That's almost certainly a different and much smaller population than those whose ethnic heritage makes them likely to stop producing lactase.

And that's probably why the numbers are being presented as "significantly lower." Here the abstract alone is misleading. A 13% average is obviously not lower than an estimate of 10 - 16%.

However, both Hispanics and African-Americans have always been considered to be groups with very high likelihoods of carrying the LI gene. Estimates range more in the 50 - 80% vicinity than the 10 - 20% actually found.

Genetically that's still likely true. Many earlier studies have already shown the percentage of people who actively get symptoms from dairy is much lower than the genetics would indicate. Those who have little or no dairy in their normal diets or who generally eat low-lactose products like cheese or butter are less likely to have symptoms. We simply don't know what the gap is between definition 1 and definition 3.

Unless we do now. Or do we? If I'm reading that abstract correctly it took over 13,000 phone calls to get the 1084 people to complete the survey. (One in 4 responded and only one in 3 of those cooperated. So you need 12 times as many calls to get that number of completions.) Without a better view of the demographics of the final sample it's hard to know how representative the final group actually was.

An interesting survey. It will need close checking, though, to see if there is less here than meets the eye.

Gluten-Free Asian and European Travel Cards

Translation cards - cards with the words, phrases, and questions you need to know about food sensitivities in other languages - are a handy travel item. I've written about the SelectWisely firm before, in both Food Sensitivities Translation Cards and in Food and Travel Translation Cards.

They're back in the news with a new offering, as the title indicates, Gluten-Free Asian and European Travel Cards.



The inevitable press release tells us more.

The new gluten-free cards have been developed to help people with gluten intolerance improve communication when dining and purchasing meals. All of the cards feature English text describing what foods to avoid along with a picture of a stalk of wheat within the international prohibitory sign (red circle and slash). The European cards also have the English text translated into Spanish, French and Italian. The Asian cards have the English text translated into Chinese, Japanese and Thai. The card is laminated, simple to use and easy to carry, allowing travelers to keep them in their pocket or wallet to use when they are ordering meals at restaurants.
... All cards have English text, a picture and multiple language text allowing restaurant wait staff and kitchen staff who speak different languages to understand.

About the allergy and medical translation cards:
22 types of cards are currently available in the following categories:

Food Allergies
Gluten-free/Celiac Disease
Diabetes Emergency and Pharmacy
Asthma Emergency
Lactose Intolerance
Penicillin Allergy
Smoke-Free
Low-salt Diet
Vegetarian and Vegan
General Emergency
Special Orders

15 common languages are available (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc), plus an additional 40 languages through our Special Order program. The Special Order program provides translations for unique food allergies and medical conditions in less common languages (Catalan, Vietnamese, Khmer, Croatian, Czech, Laotian and more).

Over 130 common food allergens are available including nuts, peanuts, wheat, milk, shellfish, soy, sesame and others. Additional non-food allergens are available for translation including latex, sulfites, MSG, bee stings and penicillin.

Planet Lactose: The Best of the Blog

Many, many, many months in the making, I can finally announce the official publication of my new book, whose full title is Planet Lactose: Reports from the worlds of lactose intolerance, milk allergies, and dairy-free alternatives [The Best of The Planet Lactose Blog, volume 1 (2005-2008)].

As the title indicates, I've taken the best posts on the blog and put them into a handy trade paperback book. Blogs are wonderful things for daily updates and specific searches, but nothing beats a book to collect and organize information to make the whole more than the sum of the parts. You can quickly turn to your greatest subject of interest, whether lactose intolerance, veganism, baby feeding issues, or cookbooks, and find a whole chapterful of posts that should capture your attention.



The cost of Planet Lactose: The Best of the Blog is a mere $16.00 and postage is free. For that you get a thick slab of a book, 376 pages covering almost 250 topics, and weighing more than a pound.

Buying the book is just as easy. I've set up a website for Planet Lactose Publishing. On the Purchase Books page, you can order Planet Lactose: The Best of the Blog. My collection of f&sf short stories, Tyrannosaur Faire, is also available for purchase there. All purchases need to be made through PayPal.If that's not possible for you, or if you live outside the U.S. or Canada, then go to the Contact page for information on sending checks or the equivalent.

As you probably know all too well, there are few books that talk about living dairy-free. Planet Lactose: The Best of the Blog packs more and varied information about all things non-dairy than any other book available today. It's a book I'm proud of. I hope you'll spread the word.

Daiya Vegan "Cheese"

Daiya is a vegan cheese substitute that is making inroads into restaurants and stores. It's big distinction is that instead of soy or rice or the usual bases, Daiya uses cassava and/or arrowroot flours. They claim that this makes it unusually allergen-free.

What is Daiya?
Daiya is a revolutionary new dairy-free vegan cheese that tastes, shreds, melts and stretches like dairy based cheese. Daiya is not made with casein, the protein found in dairy products or soy, common to many other non-dairy cheese alternatives. In fact, Daiya does not contain any common allergens, animal products or cholesterol. Daiya is made with nutritious planted-based ingredients and is:

▪ 33% less fat than dairy-based cheese with equivalent[sic] attributes
▪ Cholesterol free
▪ Trans Fat free
▪ Dairy free
▪ Free of all animal products (Vegan and Parve)
▪ Free of common allergens including:
▪ Soy, Casein, Lactose, Gluten, Egg, Wheat, Barley, Corn, Whey, Rice, and Nuts
▪ Free of Artificial Ingredients
▪ Free of Preservatives
▪ Free of Hormones & Antibiotics
▪ An excellent source of a naturally occurring vegan vitamin B-12 as well as an excellent source of B vitamins in general

The pizza chain is adding Daiya cheese to its menu to complement its gluten-free crusts.

You can also buy it at selected Whole Foods stores as well as online. Check their store locater page.

Desensitization Injections Cured Boy's Milk Allergy

Back in August I posted about a series of videos made by the Children's Hospital Boston. The videos followed the progress of eleven-year-old Eric Nasuti as he underwent a series of injections to try to desensitize him to the 15 foods he was born allergic to.

The last in the eight-part series has now been posted. Eric tries drinking a full eight-ounce glass of milk. Will he be cured? Will he be rewarded with a pizza party?

Hint. They posted the video. What do you think? I'm writing this before I'm even bothering to watch it.

Cynical as I am about public relations exercises, the fact that these injections worked in this trial is very exciting news. There are bunches of links of the page of the video with more information for parents. We'll just have to see how fast they can go from a small trial to a larger rollout.

"Milks" Galore: Soy, Rice, Almond, and Hemp

Over at the Los Angeles Times, Elena Conis writes an amazing piece comparing cow's milk and goat's milk to a wide array of milk substitutes, soy "milk", rice "milk", almond "milk", and hemp "milk."

It's amazing for two big reasons. One is that no errors pop out at me the way they normally do in articles written by reporters. The second is that it's dated Oct. 19, 2009, today being Oct. 17, 2009. Sunday paper articles often come out early, but Monday articles? Tis truly strange.

Conis also glancingly covers most of the major claims made by the various sides in the issues and looks at the medical studies on them. Most of what she says is that there isn't much good evidence either way for milk or the various milk substitutes being globally harmful or helpful. You can drink them without fears but they're not a cure-all. That's also the right approach to take.

The link goes to the single page version of the article. There is also a separate nutrient breakdown comparison chart accompanying the article.

Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30pm

We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses.

Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides.

For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch



http://reindeerranch.com/

Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30pm

We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses.

Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides.

For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch



http://reindeerranch.com/

Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30pm

We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses.

Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides.

For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch



http://reindeerranch.com/

Dairy-Free Chocolates Are Healthier

Chocolate has sometimes been mentioned as a healthy food. Turns out it's not all chocolates. They have to be... Dairy-Free.

That's the claim made by this Premium Health News Service story by Lisa Tsakos of NaturallySavvy.com. I found it on the website of an Arkansas television station.

Q. Is chocolate actually healthy? I've heard a lot about the antioxidant properties of chocolate.

A: The antioxidants (polyphenols) in chocolate are very powerful -- as long as no dairy has been added. Research shows the health benefits of chocolate (or cacao) are negated with the addition of dairy. Bottom line: Yes, dairy-free chocolate can be healthy (the more antioxidants the better), however, those same nutrients can be found in tea and red grapes. So as much as we'd like to think of chocolate as an "essential" food ... oh, go ahead, eat it anyway.

Is this true? Are there any studies on this?

Who cares? I love dark chocolate! (70-72% cocoa powder content is best.) Do you think I'm going to even try to disprove such a wonderful report? Facts that you want to hear are always true!

Fortunately for my morals and ethics, Lisa Tsakos' contention is backed up by some scientific research.

A story by Daniel J. DeNoon on WebMD in 2003 reported on an Italian study.

Dark chocolate -- but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk -- is a potent antioxidant, report Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy's National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, and colleagues. Their report appears in the Aug. 28 [2003] issue of Nature. Antioxidants gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.

"Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate ... and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."

Nature is one of the world's premier science journals. Did I mention that they printed a story of mine on their back page "Futures" section that features one page science fiction hard science stories? It's in the September 24, 2009 issue for those with access to bigger libraries. (Or you can buy it as part of my collection of short stories Tyrannosaur Faire. Its title is "A Kiss Isn't Just a Kiss".) Why didn't I tell you about it sooner? Because I didn't know when the story was going to be published and I only found out about it when they sent me an issue - an issue that didn't arrive until the next week's issue was already out.)

Digression, Sorry.

I have to point out that this study was on a grand total of 12 people and only tested their blood an hour after eating so there's no way of knowing whether any long-term good was done.

ScienceDaily.com reported on a different study from the U.S. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in 2005. The ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The researchers found natural cocoa powders contained the highest levels of TAC and procyanidins, which were found to be the dominant antioxidant in chocolates. Milk chocolates, which contain the least amount of cocoa solids, had the lowest TAC and procyanidin levels. Baking chocolates contained fewer procyanidins, because they contained more fat (50-60 percent) than natural cocoa. Alkalinization, used to reduce the acidity and raise the pH of cocoa, such as Dutch chocolates, was found to markedly reduce procyanidin content. Researchers concluded that chocolates containing higher amounts of cocoa ingredients have higher procyanidin contents, therefore, higher antioxidant capacities.

Nine major manufacturers provided commercially available chocolate and cocoa samples and the National Institute of Standards and Technology provided its Standard Reference chocolate for analysis. The study was partially funded by a grant from the American Cocoa Research Institute.

Wait. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has a "Standard Reference Chocolate"? Why isn't this better known? Why aren't there public tours?

Anyway, other research indicates that the chocolate should be at least 70% cocoa for best results, a nice bittersweet amount. (I find that anything over 80% is too bitter, but I'm extremely sensitive to bitter tastes.) Remember that the rest of the chocolate will be fat, so don't overindulge.

There are zillions of dark chocolate bars on the market. I've tried many and found that they are remarkably different from one another. Unfortunately, the more expensive ones really are better. You can get good results inside a good supermarket if you explore the shelves carefully and sample the brands. If the bar doesn't tell you the cocoa percentage you can assume that it isn't high enough.

Dark chocolate. Daily. Have a piece while checking out my blog. Both are proven to be good for your health.

'Ntolerance Allergy Free Store

'Ntolerance. Not a typo. A pun. It's a store that sells allergy free foods. As usual it was started and is still run today by people who have a personal connection to allergies. Sue and Mark Egbers founded the store in 2004 after discovering that their son Matthew had coeliac disease. It was taken over by Heather Faulkner, herself a coeliac, in 2008.

What I found really cool about the place - and the reason I'm talking about it here when I don't mention the dozens of other local shops that sell allergy-free foods - is the location. Pukekohe. That's in South Auckland. Which is in New Zealand.

I ran across the shop in an article by Virin Gomber on the Auckland Business to Business website. It caught my eye. I used to write similar profiles of local stores and companies for a paper called Business to Business Newsletter. I'd take off during my lunch hour at work, do a 45 minute interview, and write it out at home.

I'd never heard of a store that sold only allergy-free foods back then in the 1980s. I don't think Rochester has such a store today, although it has a couple of gluten-free bakeries. These specialty stores find it difficult to compete against large organic and natural food stores that carry a wider range of products as well as supermarkets that have huge natural food sections of their own.

Even so, most larger American cities, not to mention college towns that are smaller but have a targeted and interested population, have specialty free-from food stores today.

New Zealand does too, but 'Ntolerance is the only store that sells nothing but allergy free products that I can find. (Apologies if I missed any, but I count on your writing in and correcting me.) It's a tough business. In fact, the Egbers, who had started the store in an industrial area - presumably because costs and rents are typically much lower there - were planning to shut the store down. Faulkner moved the store to a site that had better visibility and higher foot traffic. It worked.

Managing the business on her own at the age of 55 - looking after the supplies, sales, customers’ needs, working six days a week and taking care of her own health condition – she has done exceptionally well breaking even just one year into this business. And she has achieved it even while increasing the product range at the shop.

The website also has changed to better suit customers' needs.

The range of products sold at the shop includes gluten free, dairy free, nut free, egg free, soy free and sugar free foods. Besides retail sales, customers can even order online and get the items couriered to them. The products on the website have colour codes underneath them to make identification easier, to denote suitability for different allergies / intolerances.

These specialty businesses aimed at us, our small slice of the market, can survive only if we patronize them rather than their competitors. Faulkner's success seems to be well deserved for her hard work. Yesterday I wrote about the similar Dairy Free Market, a new online site that is wading into the same waters.

Find these stores. Test them out. See how well they meet your needs. Tell them what you'd like and where they need to improve. The better they are, the longer they'll last and the more satisfaction you'll get from them. And that will help all of us.

Introducing Dairy Free Market

Jeff Eder sent me his press release announcing the creation of an online store that sells nothing but dairy-free products, the Dairy Free Market.

An estimated 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant. With them in mind, Free-from Foods, LLC announces the opening of Dairy Free Market at www.dairyfreemarket.com. The online food store exclusively sells food without dairy, including baking ingredients and mixes, cereal, cheese alternatives, non-dairy chocolate, cookies and snack/energy bars.

Many products sold are also free from other common allergens, such as egg, gluten, nut and soy – perfect for anyone with a food allergy, intolerance, or special diet (e.g., celiac, gluten-free/casein-free, kosher and vegan).

"Our site helps take the guesswork out of grocery shopping," said Founder Jeff Eder, who himself is lactose and potato intolerant. "I created Dairy Free Market for people like me, who want to buy foods that meet their dietary needs without the hassle of shopping at multiple stores, or the frustration of settling for the limited choices on local grocery shelves."

The site offers brands such as Cherrybrook Kitchen, Enjoy Life Foods, NuGo and Road's End Organics - popular among adults and children alike.

Dairy Free Market ships everywhere in the U.S. and currently offers free shipping on orders over $100.

Experience a taste of food freedom at www.dairyfreemarket.com.

While all the foods offered are dairy-free, you can also click to bring up those foods which are also egg free, gluten free, nut free, potato free, soy free, sugar free, kid friendly, kosher, organic, or vegan. No wonder Eder's parent company is called Free-from Foods.

As an online company shipping will be crucial. Here are the site's policies.

Shipping
Most orders ship within two business days from the date of purchase. We ship to any location in the United States via all major commercial shipping companies. You will receive a tracking number for your shipment once your order is complete.

For a quote on shipping outside North America, contact us at shipping@dairyfreemarket.com.

Returns
All sales on DairyFreeMarket.com are final – unless items were damaged during shipment or they expired before your purchase date. In those instances, items that are received by DairyFreeMarket.com no later than ten days from the date of purchase are eligible for full refund.

Have questions about your order? Contact us at shipping@dairyfreemarket.com.

**LIMITED TIME OFFER: SPEND $100 OR MORE AND RECEIVE FREE (GROUND) SHIPPING **

You can read an interview with Eder on the Avoiding Milk Blog.

How do you go about selecting products for your store, what standards do you have?
Dairy Free Market selects dairy free foods that fall into a number of different product (cookies, snack bars, baking ingredients, chocolate, etc.) and lifestyle categories (vegan, kosher, organic, gluten-free casein-free, free from other allergens, etc.) and we therefore spend a good deal of time talking to manufacturers to find the latest and greatest dairy free products out there and hope to share as many of them with our customers as soon as possible. However, the primary requirement of all items sold by Dairy Free Market is that they must not contain dairy of any kind (no lactose, no casein, no whey). In some cases, the products we sell may have been made in the same facility or on the same equipment as milk products (a common issue in the dairy free world), however, we try to minimize those cases and if they do exist, we make those instances clear to customers.

Your selection of foods has been steadily expanding. What new products can we expect to see in your store?
In the coming months, Dairy Free Market will be adding many more dairy free baking mixes and ingredients, some newcomers to the dairy free snack bar world, a sugar free line featuring brands such as Aunt Gussie’s and showcasing the gluten-free products of Nana’s Cookie Company. Dairy Free Market will also be venturing into carrying a line of dairy free cheese! Finally, as we approach Halloween, Dairy Free Market will be featuring Enjoy Life Foods Choco Boom dairy free chocolate bars, as well as NuGo Crispy Cat candy bars - perfect for the non-dairy trick-or-treater!

That Eder will be adding more products is good news. What causes most of these ventures to fail is the lack of choice, especially for true dairy alternatives rather than products like cookies or pasta which are relatively easy to find dairy-free.

Other minor problems that might get fixed include the inability to search for products that are free of multiple allergens and a lack of an ingredients listing on some foods. Most shopping sites evolve as customers comment on exactly what they'd like to see, so if you try them out offer any helpful hints.

Join our Mailing List! Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30 pm We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses. Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides. http://intcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/ For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch http://reindeerranch.com/ Free Classes about Christianity We're offering a series of three different studies about Christianity. Each study consists of two 45 minute lessons. We will slip out during the International Coffeehouse at 5:00 pm on Fridays. (If you want to do this study but cannot come during this time, let pastor Rob know and we can arrange a second session.) Persons still learning English, visiting scholars and family members are welcome to attend. These classes are informational in nature and there will be no pressure to convert persons to Christianity. Christianity in America Oct 2 & Oct 9 Why are there so many different churches in the United States? What are the differences between the denominations (Catholic, Baptist, Methodist Etc.)? What Do Christians Believe Oct 16 & Oct 23 We will provide a brief overview of the major Christian beliefs such as Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), Incarnation. And Salvation. Also hot button topics like Homosexuality and Abortion. What is the Bible Nov 6 & Nov 13 A summary about how the bible was formed and a brief overview of themes and major stories from the bible. Food Pantry Volunteers Needed - Sign Up Online Each month our Wesley Foundation serves over 1000 persons in need a week's worth of groceries. This is a huge undertaking as we convert our foundation into a food pantry (grocery store) each third Thursday of the month. We need to unload a semi's worth of food, set up tables open boxes and direct traffic. At the end of the evening we need to tear it all down and clean up. You do not need to speak English to help as much of it is "manual labor." This is a great way to see another side of America. Food Pantry volunteers are needed for many jobs throughout the month, but especially the days and hours leading up to, and through, distribution on the evening of the 3rd Thursday of the month. Training for persons who want to help on Thursday between 1pm-8pm and have not yet gone through training will be Wed at 7:00pm. Training lasts a little over an hour. You do not need to be trained to help at other set up or cleanup times. Some of the times you can volunteer include (you do not need to work the full time slot): Wed. Oct 14th 12:30-2:00 pm Truck Unloading, 18 persons each hour Wed. Oct 14th 7:00 pm Training for volunteering on Thursdays Thurs. Oct 15th 1:00 - 8:00 pm Food Distribution 35+ persons each hour (Training Required) Thurs. Oct 15th 8:30 - 10:00 pm Cleanup 18 persons each hour PLEASE sign up ahead of time online so we know who will be helping or going through training. http://wesleypantry.org/volunteering/ Haunted House First Build Day This Sunday October is here and it's time to really get working on our Haunted House Food Pantry Fund Raiser. This Sunday from 12:30 to 4pm we move from planning to actually building our haunted house. Lots of Volunteers needed. Lite snack lunch will be included. Some of our Activities Coming Later this Fall Some of our activities coming later this fall... (please see above for weekly worship activities) Oct. 14-15th Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Sat. Oct. 16th Corn Maze & Bonfire Sun. Oct. 17th 12:30 - Haunted House Set Building Day Thurs. - Sat. Oct. 28 - 30 Haunted House Fundraiser for Wesley Food Pantry Sun. Nov. 15th - Thanksgiving Potluck 12:30 in Wesley Great Hall Nov. 18-19th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Dec. 16-17th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online JANUARY 2010 Mission Trip to Dulac Louisiana

Join our Mailing List! Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30 pm We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses. Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides. http://intcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/ For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch http://reindeerranch.com/ Free Classes about Christianity We're offering a series of three different studies about Christianity. Each study consists of two 45 minute lessons. We will slip out during the International Coffeehouse at 5:00 pm on Fridays. (If you want to do this study but cannot come during this time, let pastor Rob know and we can arrange a second session.) Persons still learning English, visiting scholars and family members are welcome to attend. These classes are informational in nature and there will be no pressure to convert persons to Christianity. Christianity in America Oct 2 & Oct 9 Why are there so many different churches in the United States? What are the differences between the denominations (Catholic, Baptist, Methodist Etc.)? What Do Christians Believe Oct 16 & Oct 23 We will provide a brief overview of the major Christian beliefs such as Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), Incarnation. And Salvation. Also hot button topics like Homosexuality and Abortion. What is the Bible Nov 6 & Nov 13 A summary about how the bible was formed and a brief overview of themes and major stories from the bible. Food Pantry Volunteers Needed - Sign Up Online Each month our Wesley Foundation serves over 1000 persons in need a week's worth of groceries. This is a huge undertaking as we convert our foundation into a food pantry (grocery store) each third Thursday of the month. We need to unload a semi's worth of food, set up tables open boxes and direct traffic. At the end of the evening we need to tear it all down and clean up. You do not need to speak English to help as much of it is "manual labor." This is a great way to see another side of America. Food Pantry volunteers are needed for many jobs throughout the month, but especially the days and hours leading up to, and through, distribution on the evening of the 3rd Thursday of the month. Training for persons who want to help on Thursday between 1pm-8pm and have not yet gone through training will be Wed at 7:00pm. Training lasts a little over an hour. You do not need to be trained to help at other set up or cleanup times. Some of the times you can volunteer include (you do not need to work the full time slot): Wed. Oct 14th 12:30-2:00 pm Truck Unloading, 18 persons each hour Wed. Oct 14th 7:00 pm Training for volunteering on Thursdays Thurs. Oct 15th 1:00 - 8:00 pm Food Distribution 35+ persons each hour (Training Required) Thurs. Oct 15th 8:30 - 10:00 pm Cleanup 18 persons each hour PLEASE sign up ahead of time online so we know who will be helping or going through training. http://wesleypantry.org/volunteering/ Haunted House First Build Day This Sunday October is here and it's time to really get working on our Haunted House Food Pantry Fund Raiser. This Sunday from 12:30 to 4pm we move from planning to actually building our haunted house. Lots of Volunteers needed. Lite snack lunch will be included. Some of our Activities Coming Later this Fall Some of our activities coming later this fall... (please see above for weekly worship activities) Oct. 14-15th Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Sat. Oct. 16th Corn Maze & Bonfire Sun. Oct. 17th 12:30 - Haunted House Set Building Day Thurs. - Sat. Oct. 28 - 30 Haunted House Fundraiser for Wesley Food Pantry Sun. Nov. 15th - Thanksgiving Potluck 12:30 in Wesley Great Hall Nov. 18-19th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Dec. 16-17th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online JANUARY 2010 Mission Trip to Dulac Louisiana

Join our Mailing List! Corn Maze & Bonfire Fri. Oct. 16th 5:30 pm We're carpooling up to Rantoul Illinois to go to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch for their "Alien Invasion" themed corn maze. After wandering in the maze we'll regroup and go to Charles Drennon's farm for a Bonfire complete with Hotdogs, S'Mores and Ghost Stories. $10 should cover your expenses. Please sign up online by Thurs. Oct. 15th so we can share rides. http://intcoffeehouse.blogspot.com/ For a full description visit Hardy's Reindeer Ranch http://reindeerranch.com/ Free Classes about Christianity We're offering a series of three different studies about Christianity. Each study consists of two 45 minute lessons. We will slip out during the International Coffeehouse at 5:00 pm on Fridays. (If you want to do this study but cannot come during this time, let pastor Rob know and we can arrange a second session.) Persons still learning English, visiting scholars and family members are welcome to attend. These classes are informational in nature and there will be no pressure to convert persons to Christianity. Christianity in America Oct 2 & Oct 9 Why are there so many different churches in the United States? What are the differences between the denominations (Catholic, Baptist, Methodist Etc.)? What Do Christians Believe Oct 16 & Oct 23 We will provide a brief overview of the major Christian beliefs such as Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost), Incarnation. And Salvation. Also hot button topics like Homosexuality and Abortion. What is the Bible Nov 6 & Nov 13 A summary about how the bible was formed and a brief overview of themes and major stories from the bible. Food Pantry Volunteers Needed - Sign Up Online Each month our Wesley Foundation serves over 1000 persons in need a week's worth of groceries. This is a huge undertaking as we convert our foundation into a food pantry (grocery store) each third Thursday of the month. We need to unload a semi's worth of food, set up tables open boxes and direct traffic. At the end of the evening we need to tear it all down and clean up. You do not need to speak English to help as much of it is "manual labor." This is a great way to see another side of America. Food Pantry volunteers are needed for many jobs throughout the month, but especially the days and hours leading up to, and through, distribution on the evening of the 3rd Thursday of the month. Training for persons who want to help on Thursday between 1pm-8pm and have not yet gone through training will be Wed at 7:00pm. Training lasts a little over an hour. You do not need to be trained to help at other set up or cleanup times. Some of the times you can volunteer include (you do not need to work the full time slot): Wed. Oct 14th 12:30-2:00 pm Truck Unloading, 18 persons each hour Wed. Oct 14th 7:00 pm Training for volunteering on Thursdays Thurs. Oct 15th 1:00 - 8:00 pm Food Distribution 35+ persons each hour (Training Required) Thurs. Oct 15th 8:30 - 10:00 pm Cleanup 18 persons each hour PLEASE sign up ahead of time online so we know who will be helping or going through training. http://wesleypantry.org/volunteering/ Haunted House First Build Day This Sunday October is here and it's time to really get working on our Haunted House Food Pantry Fund Raiser. This Sunday from 12:30 to 4pm we move from planning to actually building our haunted house. Lots of Volunteers needed. Lite snack lunch will be included. Some of our Activities Coming Later this Fall Some of our activities coming later this fall... (please see above for weekly worship activities) Oct. 14-15th Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Sat. Oct. 16th Corn Maze & Bonfire Sun. Oct. 17th 12:30 - Haunted House Set Building Day Thurs. - Sat. Oct. 28 - 30 Haunted House Fundraiser for Wesley Food Pantry Sun. Nov. 15th - Thanksgiving Potluck 12:30 in Wesley Great Hall Nov. 18-19th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online Dec. 16-17th - Monthly Food Pantry Sign Up Online JANUARY 2010 Mission Trip to Dulac Louisiana