Could a Madison County, Illinois man have found a mouse in his can of Mountain Dew? PepsiCo says no, but not because their manufacturing standards are infallible. Rather, they argue that the mouse would have dissolved before the man could have found it. more ›

Or at least give up meat for a month. Dr. Terry Mason went on Fox Chicago to argue the health benefits of the meat-free lifestyle. more ›

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi argues for moderation, which is reasonable - but not all of her claims are entirely honest. more ›

Or at least they were, until Tennessee state health officials found out about them. more ›

This isn't an excuse to increase your alcohol intake. more ›

Another recall - not a great week for Illinois food producers. The Tribune reports that Walnut Cheese Company, based in Bureau County, IL, is recalling some batches of its mozzarella products because they may be contaminated with antibiotic residues. Yummy. According the the Illinois Department of Public Health, eating the contaminated cheese may cause "anaphylaxis, cardiac arrhythmia, endocrine abnormalities, and cutaneous eruptions," but no illnesses have been reported. more ›

The Center for Study of Traumatic Encephalopthy at the Boston University School of Medicine released their report on the brain of former Bears great Dave Duerson and, to no one's surprise, found signs of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy related to his playing career. Dr. Ann McKee, a co-director at the center, said Duerson "had the classic pathology of (the brain disease) and severe involvement of all the things that affect judgment, inhibition, impulse, mood control and memory." more ›

The Illinois House approved legislation yesterday to ban trans fats from restaurants and school cafeterias throughout the state. Under the terms of the legislation, trans fats would be banned in restaurants, movie theaters, and school vending machines in 2013, with school cafeterias following suit three years later. If the Senate approves and Gov. Quinn signs the bill into law, Illinois would become the second state in the Union to ban trans fats, after California. more ›

The brain of former Blackhawks and Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert showed signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Boston University researchers revealed Wednesday. Probert, who died of a heart attack at the age of 45 last summer, was worshipped in some hockey circles for his fights and his toughness. more ›

The budget deficits states are facing is leading to some tough decisions as to where to spend funding. Among many programs that could be adversely affected are HIV treatment programs, including here in Illinois. more ›

The Chicago Public Schools Board approved a measure yesterday offering free breakfasts at all of its schools, giving its 410,000 students an opportunity to have a healthy meal before the start of classes. more ›

City officials announced yesterday that they'll start testing the city's water supply for hexavalent chromium. A study released late last month showed that Chicago's water supply contained higher levels of the metal than what was the standard allowable level in California. The announcement closely followed a memo released by the EPA to more closely monitor levels of the metal made infamous in the movie Erin Brokovich. more ›

Howard Brown Health Center, which has provided health care and wellness programs for the LGBT community for over three decades, announced yesterday that they're in pretty bad financial shape and may have to cease operations by year-end if they can't raise $500,000. That's going to be a lot of second-hand shopping at the Brown Elephant resale shops. more ›

Taking time away from responding to media questions in monosyllables and grunts, Urlacher took the time to string together actual sentences to express his displeasure with the news. more ›

Who knew that Mayor Daley wore energy bracelets? Guess anything's possible. Fox News' Anna Davlantes caught up with His Elective Majesty at the Dr. Oz Health Expo yesterday and asked him about why he wears energy bracelets. more ›

It's amazing to read this town's sportswriters and hear the sports radio blowhards turn on a dime from praising the "stay the course" leadership of Bears head coach Lovie Smith during a 3-0 start, to crucifying Smith and his coaching staff for not making the necessary adjustments to protect Jay Cutler from the concussion he ultimately received Sunday night against the New York Giants. more ›

It's been quite a week for 5th Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston. After putting feelers out about running against Daley for mayor of Chicago she then backpedaled and played the "misunderstood" card. So it was only a little awkward yesterday when she appeared before the fourth estate with Mayor Daley to laud the opening of a Walgreens that sells fruit and vegetables in a South Side food desert that only a mega-corporation could love. more ›

According to Feeding America, 1 out of every 4 children in the country are food insecure,which means they live on the brink of going hungry. In her 2009 Food Desert Progress Report, researcher Mari Gallagher estimated over 600,000 Chicagoans lived in areas of the city that weren't easily accessible to fresh groceries. Of that number, one-third are children. What serves as a grocery store in these areas is often a corner convenience store with limited options for fresh, canned or frozen food. Ultimately, residents of food deserts are typically buying junk food with their money or SNAP assistance, which increases the childhood obesity epidemic in these neighborhoods, as well as increased health risks. more ›

While Chicago waits for various aldermen to review the food truck legislation proposed by Alderman Scott Waugespack and Gaztro-Wagon's Matt Maroni and ask, "Ubi est mea?", one of our neighbors to the north could be on the verge of having fully fledged food trucks on their streets first. One of the agenda items for tonight's Evanston City Council meeting is the subject of food trucks. more ›

Although we ride an average of 30 miles a day during the warm season, have ridden centuries and even biked 500 miles in a week (from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Chicago) once upon a time, it's only been in the past 4-5 years where we've truly understood that proper nutrition can positively effect our bike rides. You're only going to get so much energy from country fried bacon before you hit a wall and start dragging ass until the energy bars kick in. more ›

With the long, sunny days and stormy weather, our tobacco plants are doing great. They're over three feet tall at this point, with large, leafy foliage and thick, firm stems. In fact they're doing so well that they've begun to flower. We've picked the buds off all but one of the plants (as we intend to harvest them as a crop, rather than grow them for ornamentation). Growing flowers will sap the plant's energy, and it will focus on flowering instead of producing leaves. Tobacco is an ornamental plant as well as a cash crop, so either option is fine, depending on your gardening goals. We also added a bit of fertilizer to the pots, as tobacco is a heavy-feeding species. more ›

A report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America's Health finds that adult obesity levels in Illinois increased by nearly a full percentage point in the past year. The Land of Lincoln is now the 26th-ranked state in the nation for adult obesity. more ›

Is “attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD) simply a trendy medical diagnosis applied to unruly, excitable children? Or is there a scientific explanation for the rising incidence of ADHD among kids? A study published in the June issue of the Journal of Pediatrics strongly suggests pesticide exposure, specifically to organophosphates, increases risk of ADHD. more ›

Before firing up the grill, consider that what meats you choose to cook, and how you cook them, may significantly affect your health. We know that one crispy, blackened hot dog is not going to pose significant damage, but there are notable health risks associated with grilled meats. Evidence suggests that the combination of meat and intense, direct heat results in the formation of compounds known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), that factor in to the development of cancer. HCAs are formed when amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and creatinine (a chemical found in muscle tissue, including that of red meat, poultry and fish) react at very high cooking temperatures. Researchers have identified 17 different HCAs that may increase our cancer risk by damaging the DNA of our genes. HCAs are most strongly linked to colon and stomach cancer. more ›

2010 Taste of Chicago is set to kick off on June 24th. If you equate the Taste with a day of over-indulgence, heartburn, or an all-around assault to your diet and digestive system, scouting out the Taste's healthier edible options using this handy Healthier Choices Map, courtesy of Humana. more ›

• Haven't checked in on Grub Street Chicago since Nick Kindelsperger took over as editor. Looks like the site has finally lost that new guy smell. [GS Chi]
• Chicago Magazine lists their best new restaurants of last year. [Chicago Mag]
• Sun-Times food editor Janet Rausa Fuller followed food truck advocate Matt Maroni around the National Restaurant Association trade show. Must-read. [Sun-Times]

The Chicago Tribune's food critic, Kevin Pang, described KFC’s Double Down sandwich as, “unfathomably salty, and the exorbitant sodium levels could melt icy driveways. I'm left with sandpaper mouth for hours and I might as well have someone kick me in both kidneys with steel-tip shoes.” Our own Chuck Sudo contemplated he may have reduced his life expectancy by consuming the Double Down. Comprised of bacon, cheese and a fat-laden sauce tucked between two breaded chicken filets, it’s a meal that could harm your health in just one sitting. The original Double Down sandwich contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1,380 milligrams of sodium. The Double Down Combo Meal has 1,000 calories, 45 grams of fat, and 2,120 milligrams of sodium. more ›

If Mario Batali can commit to Meatless Monday, it’s quite possible anyone can. Recently the meat-intensive celebrity chef announced that all 14 of his restaurants will offer Meatless Monday options. Way to go Mario! And why wouldn’t he go meat-free? Sure, a gooey salty pepperoni pizza will always hold a place in our hearts, but vegetarian food is diverse, healthier, and freakin’ delicious. more ›

It's been a few weeks since we last checked in our tobacco crop, and they've grown quite a bit. With the days getting longer and the weather set to warm up soon, we'll be moving our plants outside into fresh air and better sunlight. In the meantime, though, they've gotten too big for the cells we planted them in. Over the weekend, we repotted the plants, using larger pots and fresh soil, so they can grow a more developed root system and get bigger before we move them outside. more ›

Last year researchers at University of Chicago put this theory to the test on eleven healthy men and women. Results showed their subjects consumed more calories after sleeping 5 1/2 hours than they did after sleeping 8 1/2. Another study published in 2005 found that sleeping less than 7 hours per night puts us at greater risk for becoming overweight, and that risk increases with each hour of sleep lost. more ›