Free Republic

The foods we eat can go a long way in boosting our moods. Here are our favorite snacks for happiness, according to science. Achieving happiness is top of mind for many people, and we'll try just about anything to get it. Whether it's therapy, exercise or meditation, we all want to bring more peace and joy into our lives. When we think about what makes us happy, our diet isn't usually at the top of the list (unless your favorite fast-food joint brings joy to mind). The foods we eat actually play a major role in how we feel. Studies...

INTERNATIONAL HAPPY GOSE DAY Every year on November 17th beer lovers gather together to celebrate International Happy Gose Day. Instead of rhyming with rose, Gose (ɡōzə) rhymes with Rosa. #InternationalHappyGoseDay Gose is a fermented sour wheat beer that originated during the sixteenth century in Goslar, located in Northern Germany. In later years, Gose became more associated with the city of Leipzig. The beer became so popular that it gained exemption for the country’s purity law called Reinheitsgebot. This law stated that German beer could only contain water, barley, yeast, and hops. But Gose is also made with malted wheat and...

My appreciation for the cranberry knows no bounds. I am the rare fan of unsweetened cranberry juice, the kind that makes your face pucker. I brew cranberry iced tea in summer, and I make cranberry edibles. Because of all of that, I suspect I have the urinary health of a racehorse. (I actually have no idea if racehorses have healthy urinary tracts or not, but it sounded like a good flex). Admittedly, there are a limited number of things you can do with a cranberry. You can juice it. You can jam it. But I rarely see a truly creative...

Squirrel in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, accidentally ate a fermented pear and became intoxicated She said the squirrel appeared healthy the next morning, arriving for a 'hangover breakfast of seeds and corn 'I found a very old bag of pears in the bottom. Instead of throwing them away, I threw two onto our deck for Hamlet,' said Kathleen, referring to the family's pet pig. Fortunately, the squirrel arrived outside the home the next morning for a 'hangover breakfast.' 'He is back to his normal self and is back at the feeder daily,' Kathleen said.

While processing backyard chickens last summer, Sveta Yamin-Pasternak thought how nice it would be to bury those fresh carcasses in the ground and let microorganisms preserve her food the easy way. When the time was right, she could dig up the fermented fowl and enjoy them.

Do you know that the most medicinal soy food is miso? MEENA SREENIVASAN finds out more NOT many of us know of the goodness of “miso”. Current scientific research supports its historical health claims, and this delicious food is undoubtedly an effective therapeutic aid in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, certain cancers, radiation sickness and hypertension. According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, miso soup consumption is also linked with up to a 50 per cent reduced risk of breast cancer. As it is fermented with a B12 synthesising bacteria, it has been commonly recommended as...

Eating high levels of some soy products - including tofu - may raise the risk of memory loss, research suggests.

JERRY Completano finally decided to undergo chemotherapy in August 2003. By then, his chronically high uric acid levels had spun off into what doctors called the nephrotic syndrome, a pre-cancerous condition that targets the kidneys. The chemical effects were swift. Jerry lost his appetite, lost weight, and felt increasingly weak. His hair started to fall. He was often constipated. And every day, for four agonizing hours, he would sit through debilitating headaches that, despite the painkillers, would only get worse with time. Desperate, he followed the advice of a friend to take food supplements that were being tested for commercial...