Are you wondering if too much coffee, salt, and grilled meat and poultry could be detrimental to your health?  Here’s the latest news from the scientific world—and its good news for a change.

Variety and surprise—these are what keep us eating with enthusiasm.  We do it even when it’s dull, but it’s infinitely more fun when an unexpected new taste comes along.  Here are a few edibles you may not have tried yet, so they should perk up your summer taste buds. 

Plumcots, Pluots, and Aprium: These fruit hybrids are a combination of plums and apricots.  According to ShopSmart, the plumcot is “a true blend of plum and apricot flavors, the pluot (pronounced PLOO-AUGHT) “has a strong plum taste with hints of apricot,” and the aprium tastes more like an apricot than a plum but its skin isn’t fuzzy.

Fruits and vegetables that we eat raw (lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, melons, etc.) are one of the main causes of food-borne illness outbreaks.  Therefore, you may be reassured to know that the federal government’s Microbiological Data Program (MDP) tests about 15,000 annual samples of vulnerable produce for salmonella and E. coli, including the most deadly types of this latter organism.  And you may be apprehensive and enjoy your summer fruits and salads less if you read that last month the House voted to stop funding this program.  Will the Senate do the same?  Should you be writing to your senator asking him/her to vote against this effort to end MDP?  Let’s look at what the arguments are on both sides.

Got a lot on your plate?  Well, whatever the amount, half should be produce.  The latest government guidelines for healthy eating (unveiled in late May, 2011) have replaced the familiar food pyramid symbol with a very appropriate round plate.  The plate is divided in half and then into four unequal sections. One side of the diameter is for produce, with veggies getting more space than fruit.  On the other side are compartments for grains and protein, with grains getting the larger space? What about dairy? That’s a separate smaller circle implying a glass of milk or a cup or yogurt.  Though the plate image is lacking in specificity, a USDA website fills in the gaps.