Interesting…
Japan : The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25 
Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11 
Archive for October, 2009
OneVoice listed as one of the five ways Obama should spend his Nobel Prize money
Published under Leadership, Mideast Negotiations, OneVoice Movement, United States Oct 15, 2009Great suggestion by FastCompany!
Fiber Fiber Fiber
Published under Health, Marketing, New Product Development, United States Oct 15, 2009Interesting article about fiber….
Copyright 2009 Sentinel Communications Co.
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
October 13, 2009 Tuesday
FINAL
HEALTH & FITNESS; FLORIDA; Pg. D1
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Fiber, fiber everywhere |
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Janet Helm, Special to Tribune Newspapers |
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Your mother called it roughage, and prunes were once the poster child. Now fiber holds the coveted spot as the new "it" ingredient. Throughout the years, fiber has fallen in and out of favor. (Remember the oat bran craze of the late ’80s?) Today it’s back on top and popping up in some unexpected places — ranging from yogurt, cottage cheese and ice cream to cookies, toaster pastries and snack bars. You can even drink your fiber. No, we’re not talking about Metamucil, or other laxatives — which, by the way, have been transformed into "fiber supplements." Now you can buy fiber-fortified juices, powdered drink mixes and bottled waters, or sprinkle packets of Splenda with fiber in your coffee. "Fiber has emerged as a functional food favorite," said Tom Vierhile, director of Datamonitor’s Product Launch Analytics. The New York-based market research firm reports that 7 percent of all new food products introduced in 2009 had a "high fiber" claim. (Functional foods, or products that provide a specific health benefit, typically rely on some type of fortification.) A true indication of the power of this trend is the rise of fiber-based brands, or products whose entire value proposition relies on fiber, according to Krista Faron, a senior analyst at Mintel, the market research firm. She cites General Mills Fiber One — a brand that started with cereal but has branched into an entire family of products that range far beyond the breakfast aisle. The Fiber One promise is, "Cardboard no, delicious yes." This modern approach to fiber is a far cry from a bowl of bran. The new high-fiber foods are spiked with isolated fibers — a type of purified powder that differs from the intact fiber that is naturally found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. These so-called functional fibers, often inulin and polydextrose (see accompanying story), do not have a grainy or gummy texture, so they allow manufacturers to add fiber into creamy yogurts, clear drinks and other previously fiber-free places. This type of fiber fortification is often behind the claim "35% Daily Value of Fiber" or "Double the Fiber" that is showing up on the front of package labels. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but these fibers are different from those that are naturally occurring, said Joanne Slavin, a University of Minnesota researcher and one of the country’s leading experts on dietary fiber. Studies continue to document the numerous health benefits of eating a high-fiber diet, but the evidence on these isolated fibers is much skimpier. "This concept might make sense, but it’s less researched," said Slavin. "It’s an up and coming area." For example, some studies do suggest that inulin may help boost the beneficial bacteria in our digestive tract, but there is little or no evidence that this type of fiber helps lower cholesterol or aids regularity. Additionally, the obesity-related research is linked to people eating high-fiber, lower calorie foods like fruits and vegetables. The weight loss benefits would not likely apply if you loaded up on high-fiber, calorie-dense foods such as chocolate-granola snack bars and ice cream. Even so, Slavin said these isolated fibers may help make it easier for people to get more fiber. Most of us only get about half the fiber we need. (Current recommendations are 25 to 38 grams of fiber per day.) "There are a lot more choices to get fiber, and that’s the upside," she said. "If fiber doesn’t taste good, people won’t eat it." Still, she worries that these new fiber-fortified products may give people an "out." She doesn’t want people to think "I’m off the hook" just because they snacked on a cookie or snack bar spiked with fiber. "We have to keep the [spotlight] on whole grains, fruits and vegetables," she said. These foods naturally contain fiber along with other health-promoting nutrients. If you eat three fiber-fortified chocolate bars, you can meet your fiber goal, but it’s not the same as if you ate an abundance of foods that naturally contain fiber. It’s also a lot easier to overdo it on fiber with the sudden onslaught of fortification, Slavin said. Your health may not be in danger, but you could pay for it in digestive discomfort. Despite the differences between isolated and intact fiber, they all look the same on a nutrition label (grams of fiber per serving). You’ll need to check the ingredient list to know the source of fiber. Bottom line, all fiber is not created equal, and a mixture is best. Plus, there may be benefits of getting a bulk of your fiber the old-fashioned way. Know your fiber Soluble fiber: Naturally found in oats, barley and beans. Helps lower blood cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of heart disease. May help manage blood sugar levels to lower diabetes risk. Insoluble fiber: Naturally found in whole grains, bran, seeds, nuts, vegetables and fruits. Helps aid regularity and may reduce the risk of colon cancer. Functional fibers: Isolated or extracted chemically from various plant sources. Ingredients include inulin, polydextrose, resistant maltodextrin, oligosaccharides and cellulose. Prebiotics: A type of fiber that feeds probiotics, the good bacteria in your digestive tract. Primary source is inulin (from chicory root or Jerusalem artichoke). |
Focused Advertising for Retail Establishments
Published under Advertising (good vs misleading) Oct 09, 2009How do you make buttons and tassels fun?
Here is an ad that is part of a very creative campaign by Samuel & Sons. The "candy" are actually actually buttons, and what is most strategic is that the company seems to have contracted to place targeted ads in the bus stop right outside of their store. The ads do the job beautifully: they make the passerby stop and take notice of the store next to them.
If only I needed to buy buttons.
Here is an earlier ad with tassels in the shape of ice-cream cones:
TIME Magazine names KIND/PeaceWorks as Pioneers in Social Responsibility
Published under Entrepreneurship and Management, KIND Snacks, Kinded, Media and Alternative Media, PeaceWorks Business, United States Oct 05, 2009KIND was honored as a Responsibility Pioneer in the September 20, 2009 edition of TIME. Richard Stengel, Managing Editor of TIME inc. described it as such:
our first list of 25 Responsibility Pioneers, which includes a range of social innovators, from individual activists and nimble nonprofits to megacorporations [includes companies like Starbucks, Gap, General Electric and PeaceWorks.]
Here is the feature on KIND/PeaceWorks.
Additionally, in the same issue our new KINDED website (www.kinded.com) was featured as one of their recommended “New Ways to Make a Difference."
First Generation Values
Published under Economics, Entrepreneurship and Management, United States Oct 05, 2009David Brooks wrote an interesting column on the working values America desperately needs to regain in order to forestall a national economic decline amidst hedonistic indulgence and overspending beyond its peoples’ and its government’s means.
Immigrants with nothing to fall back on tend to work hard and build themselves. Children of rich and successful people are less likely to have that same work ethic. At a macro level, the same challenge befalls nations as a whole. How do we regain the work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit tied to long-term value creation rather than short-term debt escalation?
Also forwarded by my sis – Jewish version of confusian wisdom:
If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?
Be here now.
Be someplace else later.
Is that so complicated?Drink tea and nourish life;
with the first sip, joy;
with the second sip, satisfaction;
with the third sip, peace;
with the fourth, a Danish.Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health, or a life without problems.
What would you talk about?The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Oy.
There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life,
you never called,
you never wrote,
you never visited.
And whose fault was that?Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkis.The Tao does not speak.
The Tao does not blame.
The Tao does not take sides.
The Tao has no expectations.
The Tao demands nothing of others.
The Tao is not Jewish.Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the
least of your problems.Let your mind be as a floating cloud.
Let your stillness be as a wooded glen.
And sit up straight.
You’ll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders.Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.Be aware of your body.
Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a
symptom of a terminal illness.The Torah says,
Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Buddha says,
There is no self.
So, maybe we’re off the hook.
As forwarded by my sis:
Lacking fins or tail
the gefilte fish swims with
great difficulty.Beyond Valium,
peace is knowing one’s child
is an internist.On Passover we
opened the door for Elijah.
Now our cat is gone.After the warm rain
the sweet smell of camellias.
Did you wipe your feet?Her lips near my ear,
Aunt Sadie whispers the name
of her friend’s disease.Today I am a man.
Tomorrow I will return
to the seventh grade.Testing the warm milk
on her wrist, she sighs softly.
But her son is forty.The sparkling blue sea
reminds me to wait an hour
after my sandwich.Like a bonsai tree,
is your terrible posture
at my dinner table.Jews on safari —
map, compass, elephant gun,
hard sucking candies.The same kimono
the top geishas are wearing:
I got it at Loehmann’s.The shivah visit:
so sorry about your loss.
Now back to my problems.Mom, please! There is no
need to put that dinner roll
in your pocketbook.Seven-foot Jews in
the NBA slam-dunking!
My alarm clock rings.Sorry I’m not home
to take your call. At the tone
please state your bad news.Is one Nobel Prize
so much to ask from a child
after all I’ve done?Today, mild shvitzing.
Tomorrow, so hot you’ll plotz.
Five-day forecast: fehYenta. Shmeer. Gevalt.
Shlemiel. Shlimazl. Meshuganah
Oy! To be fluent!Quietly murmured
at Yom Kippur services,
"Yanks 5, Red Sox 3."A lovely nose ring,
excuse me while I put my
head in the oven.Hard to tell under the lights.
White Yarmulke or
male-pattern baldness.
More on the "Center for Consumer Freedom"
Published under Advertising (good vs misleading), Health Oct 01, 2009Further to my post about "The Center for Consumer Freedom", and to their campaign to spin how HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is good for you, I just did a little bit of research about this group and it turns out that it is a front group doing dirty work for the tobacco, alcohol and restaurant industry. Google them and you’ll learn they systematically oppose the work of independent scientists, doctors and health advocates.
Their mission is reminiscent of the bad-for-you-food-products-industry-backed version of the cigarette lobby of the 70s….
…oh, and now I learned why: The very same people running this group got off the ground with a donation from Philip Morris.
Learn more about the guy behind this.