The hard work it takes to get a cork into your bottle

JIMENA Isidoro Herrera, retired foreman of Jimena municipal maintenance workers, has just created this lovely piece on YouTube about the workers in the cork oak hills that are in and around Jimena, including several Campo municipalities that border on them. You will have read that the Council voted unanimously to seek help from the European Commission to investigate what is happening to the trees that are drying up for no apparent reason. If the cork oak disappears it will mean the ruin of many local families, not only of Jimena but of all municipalities that have part of the Los Alcornocales Nature Park within their boundaries. And this is a very good reason to insist on buying ONLY those wines that use real cork, not those nasty plasticky wannabes. (To get the perspective of Isidoro's movie, you might also want to read How did that cork get in your bottle? one of several in-depth articles published first on JimenaPulse several years ago. (Thanks to TioJimeno for putting this up so we could find it.)

Government cuts back on official vehicles

MADRID Following our item on the vast number of official vehicles in Spain, the government announced earlier this week that it would be cutting back 'significantly' on this expense. (We'd like to claim some credit, but don't.) The announcement came from the Vice-President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, who said that the measure was passing committees at 'record speed' and is part of the general reforms to Public Administrations. No details were forthcoming but she said that it would principally affect senior officials. This, she added was 'a guideline as to the philosophy of what the Government is doing.' One objective, added the V-P, is for public entities and administrations to 're-examine' themselves so that they become more efficient and 'work within different parameters.' (See also: top of sidebar for Spain's in a mess. Here's Why)

Spain is in a mess: here are some of the reasons

Regular readers will have seen an occasional series on why Spain is in the mess it's in. We, in fact, have been reporting on corruption and other reasons since 2007 (on JimenaPulse back then). We've put some of the series more salient articles on the sidebar for easy access. You will notice that there are only three titled CORRUPTION, but that's mainly because the list would take up the entire sidebar.  You can find them all if you write 'corruption' in the Search facility at the top of the sidebar. Custom-written articles such as these will soon be included on a new website requiring subscription. Watch this space.

Exploding Food Myth 14. Margarine is healthier than butter

This myth exists because margarine is made from vegetable oils that prevent heart disease. Margarine contains hydrogenised fats (unsaturated fats that at saturated with hydrogen to obtain a semi-solid texture). These fats are known as the infamous 'trans', which many studies have associated with effects even worse than animal fats - that is, butter. As to which is better or worse, our research shows that neither and both: both are good if used occasionally and in small quantities; and neither if quantities are constantly abused. The best source of natural, healthy fats of the good variety is, you guessed it, olive oil - which explains the use of it instead of butter on a lovely mollete (bap-like bread), with tomato and a few slivers of jamón serrano, and a great cup of coffee at the nearest non-tourist bar of a morning. (See Exploding Food Myths 13) (This is the last in a weekly series on Exploding Food Myths. Hope you enjoyed it. To see all of them, click here)

Exploding Food Myth 13. Cooking vegetables destroys all their healthy effects

(Photo: featureshoot.com)

Vitamin C and folic acid are soluble in water and suceptible to oxidization, and when they -particularly green vegetables- are cooked in lots of water that is later thrown out, much of the good stuff is thrown out with the water. But it is easy to minimize the loss of minerals and vitamins contained in vegetables if we do not cut them, place them directly in boiling water and serve immediately. However, green vegetables are best cooked in steam or with very little water in the microwave (we knew this, didn't we?). It doesn't help to shoot them, or the child that refuses them, however good they may be. (See Exploding Food Myth 12)

Exploding Food Myth 12. The best source of iron is in spinach and lentils

Lentils and spinach do contain iron, but it is absorbed less easily than that obtained from meat and fish. Sure, spinach is good for you, as is every vegetable, and so are legumes, among which lentils provide more iron, but the myth survives that these are the principal sources of it. However, the higher-absorption sources are in liver and kidneys, red meats, fish, seafood and egg yolk. What spinach and lentils do, though, is help in the digestion, largely through their 'roughage', an out of date word for fibre. This, in turn, will help keep weight off by keeping us 'regular' - but watch it, spinach can be a diuretic and mild laxative, as well as an anti-ageing agent (you makes your choice: live longer, look younger, but at what cost to the environment?) (See Exploding Food Myth 11)

Exploding Food Myth 11. Don't eat anything after drinking milk

Many people believe that the milk will 'curdle' if they eat anything after a glass of the white stuff. True, lactose can cause digestion problems and lead to dairy product intolerance and even full-blown allergies, but this does not mean it will 'curdle'. in your stomach. Another allied myth is that eating citrus after drinking milk will 'cut' the milk inside. This does not happen other than when we are trying to make something that combines both substances - in the open air, in our kitchen. Have you ever thought why animals (except our cat) no longer drink milk naturally once they are weaned? It is because we, and they, don't actually need it to get calcium as that is obtainable in many other foods - as well as at the pharmacy. Remember 'Drinka pinta milk a day'? Creative advertising, indeed! (See Exploding Food Myth 10)

Exploding Food Myth 10. Olive oil is less fattening if uncooked

Virgin olive oil is an excellent source of Vitamin E and certain anti-oxidants; it is also rich in mono-unsaturated fats, which are healthy. But 1 g of olive or any other kind of oil provides 9Kcal per gramme, cooked or not. The only difference is in the cooking process. Frying generates what are called polar composites, which are not healthy and are the reason that oil should be thrown out after only a few uses. Frying also destroys the minerals and anti-oxidants contained in uncooked oil, so, all in all, olive oil is better taken uncooked. The only question is: How d'you fry without oil? (Secret answer, use a wok, which uses a lot less oil - better yet: steam rather than fry, also possible with a wok. Mind you, our research did not include steamed eggs...)

Exploding Food Myth 9. Brown eggs are healthier than white

There is major difference between brown eggs and white eggs: brown eggs are brown and white eggs are white. That's it. The colour of the shell is totally irrelevant to the nutritional values of the egg's content. However, egg shell is porous and the brown pigmentation is more solid and less permeable than white, and thus allows for a longer shelf life. Other than that, the difference is in the chickens, not the eggs, and, according to our research and that of others from whom we've stolen information outrageously, the hens that lay brown eggs eat more than their 'white' counterparts. So which came first? (See Exploding Food Myths 8)

Exploding Food Myth 8. Raw eggs are healthier than cooked

(Photo: David Santos.com

The opposite is true, as raw eggs are more difficult to digest than cooked because the liquid state of the white resists the effect of our gastric juices, absorbing only about half. When coagulated by cooking, 92% of the white is digestible. But is there a nutritional difference about how you cook an egg? Not a lot, really, unless you want to be persnickety. For instance, comparing raw with fried, both are an excellent source of Vitamin B12, riboflavin, phosphorous and selenium, as well as Vitamin A, iron, folate - in about equal amounts. However, eggs do contain cholesterol, as anyone with a high count of the bad stuff will tell you. An egg contains about 210 mg of cholesterol, no matter if fried or hard-boiled - and the intake of cholesterol should not exceed 300 mg in a day, according to most advice. Yet eggs are the most complete foods we can consume because they contain all seven essential amino acids. Like everything else, if you eat too many eggs, it won't be good for you (but will give your cholesterol count a wonderful time), so balance is the thing.

Exploding Food Myth 7. Wholemeal foods help reduce weight

(Photo: BBC - Good Food)

No foodstuff of any kind, in and of itself, can reduce weight by themselves. Wholemeal flour and cereal have almost the same amount of calories as their non-wholemeal, refined counterparts. The difference is in the fibre and minerals they contain - which is why they are recommended in a healthy diet. The fibre has a 'filling' effect, which stops us from eating more quantity of other foods in a meal, and which is evidently where the 'thinning' effect is. Fibre also helps in minimizing constipation, another 'thinning' effect, and a healthy habit at that. (See Exploding Food Myth 6)

Exploding Food Myth 6. 'Light' foods will help keep off the weight

A 'light' product should contain a minimum of 30% of the energetic values than the product of reference (i.e. 'light' ham vs. ham). The lower caloric indicator is obtained by reducing or substituting one or more of the components of the product of reference. It is a mistake to believe that all products marked 'light' are low in calories as they will be only up to 30% less so. It's a tiresome mathematical game that we don't have time for in the supermarket - which the producers count on and therefore use clever advertising.  And 'creative' advertising is  much more creative than we think - so don't believe all the "white background, blue-lettering, airy-fairy flowing gowns in a commercial for 'light' food," says a recently retired ad man. Incidentally, 'light' refreshments have very few calories - especially those that do not supposedly contain sugar - but all our, and everyone's, research says that water is always the best and healthiest refreshment. (See Exploding Food Myth 5)

Exploding Food Myth 5. Drinking water during a meal is fattening

Water contains no calories, so it is not fattening at any time. However, good health indicates that it is vital to drink between 1.5 and 2 litres per day, as water is 60% of our body mass weight. It is also important to drink water before being thirsty, as feeling thirst is a clear indication of dehydration. This is especially so in the heat of summer. This myth possibly arises from the fact that after a particularly thirst quenching drink of water, we may feel bloated. And another thing that will be confirmed by just about everyone: try not to drink too much water before going to bed or you'll be up all night (this is true for most people over 50). (See Exploding Food Myth 4.)

Exploding Food Myth 4. Honey is more fattening than sugar

Actually, it's the opposite as one gramme of honey provides 3Kcal against the 4 in a gramme of sugar. In any case, the argument is irrelevant because both are used as sweeteners and the difference in Kcals in a day, in an intake of one or the other, will be between 4 Kcal and 10. Like everything else, an excess of anything can be harmful. But one important thing about honey that is not true of sugar: it contains excellent minerals and vitamins, including carbohydrates, riboflavin, niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Sodium and Zinc, to name just a few. And then there is nothing (except maybe ants) that compares to the miraculous work carried out by bees. Compare them to a field full of beet ...

Exploding Food Myth 3. Bananas are more fattening than other fruits

Even some health professionals believe this myth and may well be why so many diets tell you to have an apple as a dessert, rather than a banana. Who knows, but here are the facts: Most diets do not offer bananas or grapes or anything so specific to be taken as dessert, though almost all of them do mention fruit as a very important part of a balanced diet. To remove bananas from any diet is absurd and illogical: it is true that 100g of banana contains more calories than 100g of apple, but an average sized banana weighs 120g and an average apple, 230g. So the calories in each is about the same. In any case, fruit of all kinds can only be good for you, providing you are aware that some contain more sugar, for instance, and may not be too good for diabetics. Now, if only we could get rid of chucherías (sweeties) and chicles (chewing gum) and replace them with fruit ... (See Exploding Food Myth 2)

Exploding Food Myth 2. Fruit is fattening when taken as a dessert

(Photo: behance.net)

Any piece of fruit will contain the same amount of calories whether it's eaten before or after a meal - so the energy value they provide throughout the day will be the same. Our stomach doesn't contain separate compartments where one thing tops another; in the end, everything gets mixed into the gastric juices. The advantage of eating fruit before a meal is that, thanks to its fibre and water content, it gives us a sense of satisfaction, so we tend to eat less of the main meal. (See the first in our Exploding Food Myths series.)