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The foods we eat can go a long way in boosting our moods. Here are our favorite snacks for happiness, according to science. Achieving happiness is top of mind for many people, and we'll try just about anything to get it. Whether it's therapy, exercise or meditation, we all want to bring more peace and joy into our lives. When we think about what makes us happy, our diet isn't usually at the top of the list (unless your favorite fast-food joint brings joy to mind). The foods we eat actually play a major role in how we feel. Studies...

he U.S. has suspended imports of Mexican avocados—as the lucrative fruit continues to play a key role in the turf wars between drug cartels. Mexico's Agriculture Ministry said U.S. health authorities notified Mexico of their decision to suspend avocado shipments "until further notice" after a U.S. plant inspector working in Uruapan in Michoacán, a major producing region of avocados, received a threatening phone call. In a statement, the ministry said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) is carrying out an investigation "to assess the threat and determine the necessary mitigation measures to guarantee the...

Randomized controlled trial found that families with high avocado consumption self-reported reduced caloric intake and an overall healthier diet. In a novel study, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science conducted a randomized controlled trial comparing the potential health effects between families that consumed a low allotment of avocados (three per week) and families that consumed a high allotment (14 per week) over six months. All families were of Mexican descent. They found that the high avocado allotment families self-reported lower caloric consumption, reducing their...

A convoy of vigilantes snakes along a road in western Mexico, vowing to defend their avocado orchards from gangs sowing terror in a country reeling from a new wave of bloodshed. Armed with assault rifles and other firearms, the masked men travel between plantations and maintain checkpoints in Ario de Rosales in Michoacan state, the scene of a bloody cartel turf war. Before they began patrolling the area, residents lived in fear of kidnapping, extortion and theft of avocados, according to a member of the self-defense group Pueblos Unidos, which says it has 700 members.

Unfortunately, more often than not, the environmental consequences of a healthy diet are disastrous, particularly in the case of avocados.Guacamole, or so BBC has claimed, is “undoubtedly one of Mexico’s most popular dishes,” dating back to the times of the Aztecs. Thanks to Pancho Villa and Old El Paso’s spice mix, guacamole has conquered European lunch and dinner tables from Norway to France, from Switzerland to Spain. Served as an appetizer or a side dish, guacamole is a versatile culinary delight. The basis of guacamole is smashed ripe avocados. Most of the avocados sold in European supermarkets originate from a...

A compound in avocados may ultimately offer a route to better leukemia treatment, says a new University of Guelph study. The compound targets an enzyme that scientists have identified for the first time as being critical to cancer cell growth, said Dr. Paul Spagnuolo, Department of Food Science. Published recently in the journal Blood, the study focused on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is the most devastating form of leukemia. Most cases occur in people over age 65, and fewer than 10 per cent of patients survive five years after diagnosis. Leukemia cells have higher amounts of an enzyme called...

We know how great avocado is in salads, sandwiches and especially on toast, but have you ever thought to have it as a dessert? We certainly hadn’t, so when we heard that local sweets chain Café comme ça was selling an avocado tiramisu cake, we immediately knew we had to pay them a visit. Unusual cakes like these tend to be incredibly popular, so we called ahead to reserve a slice as soon as they were released on March 18. When we arrived to pick it up at 3 in the afternoon, we were glad we’d thought ahead, because all...

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Thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia, there could be a side of guacamole to go with all the Mars potatoes. Ph.D. student Chris O'Brien successfully developed a liquid nitrogen cryopreservation technique for avocado shoot tips. It's the same kind of method used to deep-freeze human sperm and eggs. "The aim is to preserve important avocado cultivars and key genetic traits from possible destruction by threats like bushfires, pests and disease such as laurel wilt -- a fungus which has the capacity to wipe out all the avocado germplasm in Florida," O'Brien said in...

The cartel members showed up in this verdant stretch of western Mexico armed with automatic weapons and chainsaws. When locals protested, explaining that the area was protected from logging, they were held at gunpoint and ordered to keep quiet. The newcomers, members of a criminal group called the Viagras, were almost certainly clearing the forest to set up a grow operation. They wouldn’t be planting marijuana or other crops long favored by Mexican cartels, but something potentially even more profitable: avocados.

The gruesome display of 19 bodies scattered in Mexico may be linked to a vicious war, not over drugs but avocados, according to a report. Mexican police on Thursday discovered nine bodies hanging from a bridge, seven more slaughtered and another three dumped in what authorities say was a gang-turf massacre in the western state of Michoacán. Falko Ernst, an International Crisis Group researcher who studies cartels, said the fight over the region’s billion-dollar avocado industry was likely the largest factor in the bloodbath. Around 80 percent of the avocados imported into the US come from Michoacán, according to the...

Man went into bank in southern Israeli city of Beersheba and demanded money. He held what he said was a grenade and threatened to throw it if staff refused. Robber went to another branch of the same bank five days later to repeat stunt. He walked away with $8,000 before police tracked him down and found the explosive was actually an avocado he painted black. The 47-year-old man, ... handed a cashier a misspelled note demanding money. When the Postal Bank worker hesitated, the man pulled out what he said was a grenade and threatened to throw it if she...

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, tried rebooting his 2020 campaign on "The View" Tuesday, admitting that he made some missteps in his initial launch earlier in 2019. O'Rourke specifically indicated he regretted saying he "sometimes" raised his son, and that his Vanity Fair cover "reinforced" the perception that he was privileged. When co-host Joy Behar asked if he thought the Vanity Fair cover looked "elitist," O'Rourke nodded his head.

Beto O’Rourke saw firsthand what it's like to be just another presidential candidate during a sleepy town hall event Sunday afternoon as the enthusiasm and star power he sought to generate hit ground truth in Iowa. O'Rourke, 46, a former Texas congressman, started 30 minutes late, and the University of Iowa student union ballroom remained less than half filled as the candidate gave his pitch to fewer than 120 students, families, and retirees before taking questions. Many of those were not committed to O'Rourke. A number of attendees remarked to the Washington Examiner that O’Rourke’s crowd was smaller than they...

There's nothing like the prospect of an avocado shortage to spark fear in the hearts of toast lovers everywhere. And, if President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to close the border with Mexico, it could affect supplies from there, as one importer predicts. Along with Mexico, U.S. consumers also get avocados from California, Peru and Florida.

It’s become a cliché in online journalism to bring up the popularity of avocado toast as an example of how millennials are disrupting restaurants or killing traditional meal structures or whatever. However, it turns out the recent glut of avocados in North America isn’t the fault of toast-eating hipsters. Instead, the blame actually lies with overzealous Mexican drug cartels. While the vast majority of our avocado supply comes from Mexico, the US actually banned the crop in the US until a 1994 trade agreement made it possible to exchange certain goods between the countries, according to a new segment from...

Avocado prices are surging and they could go significantly higher if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to shut the U.S.-Mexico border over the issue of immigration.

The recalled products included California-grown conventional and organic avocados. They were packed at Henry Avacado's facility in California and distributed to six states: Arizona, California, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Henry Avocado, a family owned and managed company, started packing in this facility in late January 2019 and every shipment is subject to the recall. Henry Avacado said it is contacting its retail customers to confirm the recalled products have been pulled from the shelves. The company advises consumers to check the stickers on their avocados. The recalled products have "Bravocado" stickers. Henry Avocado organic products do not...

Keeping apples or avocados from browning after being cut is impossible; within minutes of being exposed to air, these fruits (yes, avocado is a fruit) begin to brown. No matter what you try—adding lemon juice, keeping the pits in place, immediately sealing the produce in an airtight bag—brown discoloration always occurs. However, air is not the only reason that foods like apples, avocados, and lettuce brown: it's also due to the knife you're using. Why Does Browning Occur? Apples and other produce contain both polyphenol oxidase (PPO), an enzyme, and polyphenols, a chemical. Normally, these two are separated and do...

I wish I could say that the worst thing about John Hickenlooper's CNN town hall on Wednesday night was the part where he talked about watching Deep Throat with his mom. The former governor of Colorado, who is one of roughly 173 declared candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, explained that the porno-with-mom thing was not an accident. He said he knew that the movie was "naughty" but thought his mother might enjoy getting out of the house. Apparently after the infamous X-rated flick began she was "mortified." That poor woman... Meanwhile, there is Beto... I do want to know...