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The March issue of the USDA's journal of food economics (what, don't you subscribe?) has some really interesting time series data on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of tracking what Americans eat. These charts of what we eat and how it's changed over time are awfully interesting. We used to eat lots of sweet potatoes, virtually no turkey, more eggs and much less processed fruit. Now we eat too much meat and grains, and not enough vegetables, fruit, and dairy.
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Barefoot-running fans can't say enough about how great it is, but I never understood why it should be any better than running while wearing shoes. As this article explains, when you run barefoot, you don't strike on your heel—you strike on the ball of your foot, or perhaps the middle. Biomechanically, this is a very different thing, and it's how we evolved to run.
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Anybody interested in barefoot running (or human evolution and biomechanics) should give Christopher McDougall’s “Born to Run” a read. It’s (mostly) about the Tarahumara runners who live in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. It combines science with a good yarn (much like “A Perfect Storm”).
Sarcasm Alert:
And the USDA figured that out without the census!
I try to play ultimate frisbee as much as possible barefoot but it’s difficult when others play in cleats.