Why Nutrasweet is making you fat
New research from Israel suggests that artificial sweeteners may be making us fatter, and leave us more prone to diabetes. Here’s the scoop:
Health
With killer virus Ebola out of control, Israel’s Protalix shares surge
Ebola was suspected to have spread to countries like Saudi Arabia and even by plane to the United Arab Emirates. Wishful thinkers believe it could kill 20,000 people before it’s contained. Pessimists believe that this killer virus could be a worldwide problem if it’s not stopped in its tracks.
Cannabis made the effects of trauma reminders “disappear” – new Israeli research on PTSD
My startup flux is developing a tool to help people grow plants better. One of the immediate applications could be for helping people cultivate higher quality medical cannabis. When interviewing an advisor for my company, a cannabis master grower from the US, he told me how cannabis helps him with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – […]
“Real” meat photos will make you gag over meat
American photographer Peter Augustus has created a series of images that may change how you look at processed food and help you resist the siren call of snacking. Important images for the Middle East, where fast-food is one of the leading commercial growth sectors with junk-food-mad consumers ballooning apace with corporate profits.
Ebola virus, out of control in Africa, may be in Saudi Arabia
The deadly Ebola virus is spreading rapidly in West Africa and the main concern is its spread from its point of origin and be carried possibly to other countries, including the Middle East.
Ditch your razor or sugar wax instead?
Personal grooming can be murderous! That’s the takeaway message of a two-century-old crime and modern women are taking note, inciting others to join their cause on Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr.
Mysterious, possibly radioactive lake appears out of the blue in Tunisia!
Tunisia offers other-worldly landscapes, fantastical and mysterious. Did you know that four of the Star Wars movies were partially filmed in the southern part of the country? (Tunisia had a starring role as the planet Tatooine). Now, adding to the Atlas mountains and Sahara desert, the tiny republic has another tourist attraction – a newborn lake.
How fast can Africa’s Ebola outbreak move to the Middle East?
As if the Middle East hasn’t already had problems with serious infectous diseases, such as Mid East Respiritory Syndrome (MERS), an even more deadly virus, Ebola, may now be on its way there as well. Ebola is one of the world’s worst virus scourges and is now on the verge of becoming an international pandemic, according to World Health […]
Green spaces make bigger babies
Not great news for mothers-to-be who live in cement-enroaching cities like Beirut: according to a new study pregnant women living near green urban spaces will deliver babies with higher birth weights. Time to start planting trees?
Demand safe work conditions in the Middle East where laws may be lacking
Some workplace environments are naturally going to be considered more dangerous than others, meaning that someone working in an industrial or agricultural occupation is likely to be more exposed to dangerous working conditions than a person working in an administrative role in an office.
Beef much worse than chicken or pork – for the environment
Confirming what we’ve known all along, the consumption of beef is much worse than a vegetarian diet, and also worse than eating other animal meat products like pork and chicken, a new study from Israel confirms.
Sunscreen isn’t enough against skin cancer – new research
So you’ve made a batch of Green Prophet’s homemade organic sunscreen. And you’ve waxed your legs or chest hairs with our Arabian sugar wax. But home remedies are not enough to stave off bigger problems like skin cancer.
Water Farmers get fresh with aquaponics for food in Toronto
Dream of fresh organic food? Have little land in your town or city but plenty of patience? There is a new city gardening movement called aquaponics or AP. The movement is creating missionaries, new converts and maybe even some gurus, but there are also real people doing it in backyards, parks, basements or a garage near […]
Meat laundering, Middle East style
Israel’s dubious meat industry gets more sickening: we’ve already covered exposes of poultry fed with feces and pumped with toxic contaminants. Now it’s all about beef and how it’s frozen, treated laundry style and then resold as fresh.
Asbestos fire survival guide
An important business community in Bnei Brak (Ramat Gan) outside of Tel Aviv has been made toxic by an asbestos fire that broke out last Wednesday. The asbestos fire, which ended up smouldering for days, took place in a one-story building with an asbestos roof that was used to store tires, clothing and electric bicycles.
Dual gender creatures in nature makes us think twice about gender bending
Listen up class. There’s a mind-blowing biological anomaly called bilateral gynandromorphism, a condition where an animal or insect contains both male and female characteristics, evenly split smack down the middle. The end result is a creature that is literally half male and half female. It’s rare and most frequently spotted in birds, insects and crustaceans.
A museum for the History of Medicine in the Holy Land
The blue and white painted ceramic jars stretch up to the ceiling. Marked with the traditional symbol of five crosses, each jar held a medicine ranging from honey to myrrh to the famous Jerusalem balsan. The jars came from the first pharmacy in Jerusalem founded by a Franciscan month in the 17th century. “When the […]
Climate change is sucking nutrition from our crops
Researchers now say in a revealing Nature paper that the most significant health threat from climate change has started to happen.
Bill Gates declares war on world’s (surprisingly) deadliest creature
Something’s bugging Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. So obsessed is the billionaire philanthropist that he’s dedicated the first week of May to raising awareness to the world’s deadliest creature – the mosquito.
8 reasons to go meatless on Mondays – take our challenge!
A new case of Mad Cow disease has been reported in Egypt. It may be the final push to make me pass on meat.
Soylent, a beige goop alternative to eating food?
A liquid formula that goes down easy and provides you enough nutrients for the day. Would you ever start eating soylent?
MERS means ride camels with masks, and pass on the camel burger?
About 500 people have died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) believed to be transmitted by camels. And now Saudi Arabia is issuing a warning to camel handlers. This warning should go into effect for tourists who seek out the thrill of a camel ride as well.
Deadly MERS virus spreading fast out of Saudi Arabia, raising panic before Hajj
Deadly and debilitating viruses are no strangers to the Middle East; especially following the discovery of a SARS-like mystery virus in Saudi Arabia back in 2012. This virus, which since then has become known as the Corona or MERS virus (see photo above) has been said to be spreading fast in the Arabian Peninsula by bats […]
Pomegranates and oranges take this cake! A recipe
Coming up on my fourth year of taste-testing my way through Jordan – where the seasonal foods of the Levant pack a triple punch of being delicious, healthy and affordable – I amp up the smart-eating quotient by always avoiding desserts, filling up on marvelous mezzes and entrees because regional sweets leave me flat.
3-D technology gives birth to lab-grown vaginas
Dubious developments allow us to print 3-D guns, grow “hamburgers” in a petri dish, and design environmentally responsive haute couture. Now a new application of technology radically transforms the human experience! Four women have had new vaginas surgically implanted; organs fully lab-grown.
