What’s Happening: Food for Thought

Zebras might not get ulcers, but chimpanzees apparently do get PMS – at least, if they’re stuck eating zoo food. This week, Dr. Emily Deans analyzes the behavioral neuroses affecting captive chimpanzees fed modern processed foods, how those problems disappeared when the chimps were given their natural diet instead, and what we can learn about them to help humans stay sane and healthy throughout our lives. Animal research isn’t always directly translatable to humans, of course (for one thing, 45 pounds of vegetables a day is unlikely to give a human anything but a stomach ache), but it still gives us some fascinating results to think over.

Besides the monkey business, this week’s news also includes:

• Wrapping up a three-part series about animal production claims on the Mark’s Daily Apple blog comes this post about beef, and how to avoid all the sneaky labeling tricks companies use to try to slide unethical or unhealthy practices under the radar.

• Have you ever tried to read all the way through a study…and then given up with a headache 10 minutes later? This week, Chris Kresser posted a guide to evaluating studies: make yourself a little more immune to sensationalist headline tricks by understanding what you’re actually looking at.

• Got pork chops? What about spare ribs? Tenderloin? As tasty as bacon is, the rest of the pig is just as deserving of your culinary affection – at least that’s what the Paleo Parents argue in their brand-new cookbook Beyond Bacon, which just came out this week.

• For anyone interested in the history of the USDA Dietary Guidelines, food culture and obesity in America, or the never-ending carbs vs. fat debate, Adele at Eathropology recently posted Part 1 of a series discussing all those issues and then some.

• A guest post at the Perfect Health Diet delivers some tips for working outside, so you can get soak up some of that depression-busting summer sunshine even when you have things to get done.

Also, make sure not to miss our latest Paleo Journey contest: send us your story for a chance to win some delicious Chomps snack sticks! Even if you think you aren’t a good writer, or you don’t have a dramatic before-and-after, we still want to hear your story.