Mean Vegetables

Good news. Spinach is safe to eat again, according to the Food and Drug Administration. So dig in if you dare. But beware of carrot juice. Last week, just two days before spinach got the clear, a brand of carrot juice from California was linked to botulism from a bacterium in soil that increases when juice isn’t properly refrigerated.

Maybe you should have some chocolate and red wine instead. Studies in recent years show that they’re linked with phenols that will lower your cholesterol levels.

No need to worry about their extra calories, either. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published last spring suggests that overweight people live longer.

And now that a couple stiff drinks a day are deemed good for men’s hearts and Viagra is under study for the same thing, a longer life may be more appealing.

This is becoming the decade when bad is the new good and vice versa.