To Wine or Not to Wine - "Sulfites Added"!

Recently my friend Bev and I were discussing the benefits of wine, how it's fermentation makes it a low glycemic beverage. "But have you ever read the fine print on a wine bottle?" pointing to the label she read, "Sulfites Added", and asked wide-eyed, "What's that?" "I don't know, I will have to look that up." was my response. It usually says somewhere in tiny print on most wine bottles, "Sulfites Added". So just what are these "sulfites"? Another health threat? Well, not really. Like peanuts are a threat only to some, it's the same with sulfites. They are natural substances "found on grapes, onions, garlic, and on many other growing plants, and no wine can be 'sulfite free'." Apricots are naturally high in sulfites, 2 ounces contain about ten times as much as wine, so they are a type of "allergy test" for those predisposed. Throughout history man has added sulfurs or sulfites to wine or wine barrels to prevent dangerous organisms from growing in the wine. Without adding these, your wine will last at best 18 months and that includes bottling, store shelf and your shelf life at home. If you do have an allergy and need a "sulfite free" wine, they are available according to the article referenced. The article enntitled Sulfites and Wine can be found at Wine Intro.com and states "How Free is Sulfite Free?

The ATF, the governing body for wineries in the US, allows wineries to call a wine sulfite free when the levels of sulfites are under 10 parts per million (ppm). This is much lower than many sulfite-rich foods like dried apricots."

So click on Sulfites and Wine to get the details, and, unless you are allergic, enjoy your next glass of wine!

The New "Organic" at Whole Foods Market and Just What is GMO Anyhow?

The Whole Foods Market "Organic Non-GMO" label just kicked it up a notch by submitting to stricter testing! Yeah! "Organic" just got a "whole" lot better, if you pardon the pun. We all knew that a tough economy would produce some wonderful effects in products and services through the wonder of via competition in the various retail markets. We see it here at Whole Foods, still my favorite, most balanced and varied a market for "real" food. While, like any market it does have it's problems (for example: that it leans to cater more to the gourmet than the hard core health nut at times, but as weak human beings no one is complaining as we walk past some flash-in-the-pan products), these recent stricter guidelines will make their "organic" just the right flavor of desirable than the competition's: the "supermarket organic" that we all know is a corrupted organic . So what is "GMO"? I hunted down the best Google link that I could find for you, go here to see why your organic should be non-GMO and why you should avoid genetically modified organisms! For the full story click here.

Busted for Chocolate

ARRESTED, that's right, for carrying chocolate in it's raw form, for carrying Dr. Bonner's peppermint soap, and even tea tree oil in your suitcase at the airport or anywhere that they are using NIK test kits designed to detect illegal substances. That is correct, people are in jail for these tests that are giving incorrect results or for those who can afford the court costs in the thousands, are exonerated. This is a must read. From the article, "The story starts in August 2008, when the two raw foodists were stopped at Pearson Airport carrying their own brand of organic chocolate made of unrefined cacao, maca root, hemp seeds and goji berries. When Canadian Border Services applied a NIK test, their sweet treat registered positive for hash, and Obadia was told he would be charged at a future court appearance." Catch more at: BUSTED FOR CHOCOLATE