Culprit in Heart Disease Goes Beyond Meat’s Fat

The researchers had come to believe that what damaged hearts was not just the thick edge of fat on steaks, or the delectable marbling of their tender interiors. In fact, these scientists suspected that saturated fat andcholesterol made only a minor contribution to the increased amount of heart disease seen in red-meat eaters. The real culprit, they proposed, was a little-studied chemical that is burped out by bacteria in the intestines after people eat red meat. It is quickly converted by the liver into yet another little-studied chemical called TMAO that gets into the blood and increases the risk of heart disease.

That, at least, was the theory. So the question that morning was: Would a burst of TMAO show up in people’s blood after they ate steak? And would the same thing happen to a vegan who had not eaten meat for at least a year and who consumed the same meal?

The answers were: yes, there was a TMAO burst in the five meat eaters; and no, the vegan did not have it. And TMAO levels turned out to predict heart attack risk in humans, the researchers found

Link

Hours After A Meal, It's The Memory That Matters

It's no surprise that how much a person eats determines how full they feel right after a meal. But it's the memory of that meal, and not the meal itself, that matters a couple hours later. So does this mean you trick yourself into thinness? Probably not. But it does tell us something about the role that manipulating memory may play in calorie intake.

Link

Ciao's

For all local Reno-ites, if you haven't checked out "Ciao's" lately, I would highly recommend it. In fact, this is the first time I have been inspired to write a restaurant review on this blog! We had a fantastic dinner with great friends their last night.

The dining area is elegant and subdued-the tables spaced out far enough to allow initimate conversation with our friends. We all agreed that from the mojitos on, the entire meal was delectable.

Items we tried included a mushroom and cream soup topped with fontina cheese, after which one of our companions remarked "I am balanced and in harmony with the world." Every bite was to be savored... The most interesting of the salads we ordererd was one with succulent heirloom tomatoes, festooned with caramelized watermelon slices, and fresh mozarella-- drizzled with a balsalmic reduction. For the entrees, we had eroasted escalade with a basil chiffonade and ricotta stuffed pascilla pepper, halibut with zucchini flowerettes, and filet mignon with olive oil shipped potatoes and calabria chile demi glace--all elegantly presented and perfectly prepared. The desserts were a flourless chocolate torte (which my wife orders every time we dine here) and a savory dessert consisting of heirloom tomatoes and some minimally sweet cherries in a pie crust accompanied by a basil and mint sorbet.

Overall it was a wonderful time shared with our friends in a charming and intimate setting, whilst enjoying exquisitely prepared cuisine. Not only was great detail evident in the preparation of each component of the meal, but our waiter was attentive and actually quite entertaining in an "English or perhaps it was "Welsh" sort of way...

Give it a try. There is also a quaint outdoor patio to enjoy our pleasant summer evenings and an extensive Italian wine list!