Scientists at Wageningen University in The Netherlands have been studying how heme, the iron carrier in red meat, may be involved in colon cancer. They have found that heme, which is abundant in red meat but negligible in white meats such as chicken and fish, metabolizes during digestion into a substance that is toxic to the colon lining. In a recent study, the toxicity of heme in the colon was totally inhibited when spinach or an equal amount of purified chlorophyll was added to the diet of heme-fed rats, which seems to suggest that Morn was right in admonishing us to eat our spinach and green vegetables!

Cereal Effects

We've already written a lot about the virtues of cold breakfast cereals, but recent studies have come up with even more good reasons to chow down on those "grrrrrreat!" grains, not only in the morning but for late-night snacks as well.

One reason is that eating cold cereals is linked to lower levels of homocysteine, the metabolic substance whose presence in the bloodstream is an independent risk factor for heart disease. People who eat cold breakfast cereal more than 30 times a month enjoy a 7.4 percent lower level of homocysteine than those who never eat cold breakfast cereal, according to a recent study involving nearly 6,000 people.

Cold cereal also may be helpful to dieters. Wayne State University scientists found that overweight people who ate a bowl of cold cereal with low-fat milk 90 minutes after their evening meal consumed significantly fewer calories during a four-week diet study than those who did not eat cereal. The reason: the cereal helped eliminate night snacking, a common activity that can really wrack up the pounds.

Last but not least, cold cereals are counted in the three or more servings of whole-grain foods daily, which the USDA Agricultural Research Service has found can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Tips from the Kitchen

• Microwave garlic cloves for 15 seconds; the skin will slip off easily.

• Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and you will get double the juice.

• Celery will keep for weeks in the refrigerator if wrapped in aluminum foil.

• To remove the silk from corn on the cob, brush downward with a damp paper towel.

• To test an egg's freshness, feel the shell. Fresh eggs are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and shiny.

Benefits from Tea …

Soothing Chamomile

For centuries tea drinkers have sipped chamomile for relief from problems ranging from colds to menstrual cramps to jet lag. Now, scientists are beginning to investigate how chamomile works. A study at Imperial College London found recently that the tea raises the body's levels of hippurate, a substance that increases antibacterial activity. Chamomile also increases glycine, an amino acid that relieves muscle spasms. The beneficial effects of chamomile appear to last for as long as two weeks after drinking it.

In the Flow with Black Tea

Drinking black tea reduces LDL and total cholesterol, and it may do more. Researchers in Japan have found black tea also improves blood flow. They measured the coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) of men given various types of hot drinks. The CFVR indicates the amount that blood flow can speed up when demands are put on the heart. CFVR improved two hours after drinking black tea.