Arico CEO Wins Leadership Award
Arico CEO Angela Ichwan was named the recipient of the Portland Business Journal’s coveted Orchid Award, the publication’s annual recognition of 25 women from the Portland business community who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and accomplishment.
Ichwan was honored for her achievements during a ceremony at The Women in Business Party and Expo, held last night at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Ichwan is profiled in today’s Portland Business Journal’s “Women in Business” issue.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized for this prestigious award,” said Ichwan, who was selected for the award from a pool of more than 250 nominees. The winners were chosen on the basis of their outstanding business and civic accomplishments.
Fore! Autism
Last week’s LA Celebrity Golf Challenge raised more than $360,000 to support Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism advocacy organization. The star-studded event was held April 14th at the beautiful Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, CA. Arico’s delicious snacks were on hand to provide gluten-free replenishment.
Visit Autism Speaks for additional coverage of the event and to view photos of the diverse celebrity golfers – from Alice Cooper to Nick Lachey – who turned out to support autism awareness.
UK Recommends Ban on Artificial Food Colorings
In response to a study linking artificial food additives to hyperactivity in children, U.K. food regulators have called on manufacturers to voluntarily remove six common artificial colorings from their food products by the end of 2009.
This decision by the Britain’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) will affect “hundreds of products” sold throughout the U.K., according to an article in the British newspaper, The Independent.
The move was prompted by the findings of an FSA-commissioned study, published in September in the British medical journal, The Lancet, which showed that six artificial colors, as well as the preservative sodium benzoate, caused increased hyperactivity and decreased attention span in a wide range of children, not just those diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Read more about study in The Lancet.
Learn more about the quality standards of Arico’s all-natural whole grain cookies, which are free of artificial colors and preservatives.
Health Benefits of Going Gluten-Free
New research shows that rheumatoid arthritis patients who follow a gluten-free, vegan diet could have a reduced risk of heart attack or stroke.
According to an article published on WebMD, Swedish researchers studied the effects of the diet on a small group of rheumatoid arthritis patients and noted improvement in several markers for heart disease.
“Sticking to a gluten-free vegan diet lowers the most damaging forms of artery-clogging cholesterol and increases levels of antibodies that may be protective against the inflammation that contributes to both RA [rheumatoid arthritis] and heart disease, researchers report in the March 18 issue of Arthritis Research & Therapy.”
The researchers say larger studies are needed to find out exactly which elements of the gluten-free vegan diet offer the greatest benefit. Read more about the study.
A Tremendous Tuber
A giant cassava root, weighing in at over 65 lbs, was recently discovered on a farm in the Hainan province of China.
The so-called “king of cassava” has attracted curious onlookers to the farm of Fu Chunmei, who told China Daily that she planted the cassava in her sugar cane field about a year ago.
The massive cassava root was reportedly 20 inches long and close to a foot wide. To put that in perspective, the average cassava root grows to about 6 to 12 inches in length and from 2 to 3 inches in diameter.
For the uninitiated, here some facts about our beloved cassava:
* Also known as yuca or manioc, cassava is dietary staple consumed by more than 500 million people around the world.
* A cousin to the potato, the tuberous roots of the cassava plant have tough brown skins which protect the crisp, white, starchy interior.
* Cassava is known as a prolific and resilient crop, producing more food energy per unit of land than any other staple crop and thriving even in dry soil.
* Cassava cultivation originated in South America thousands of years ago and was brought to Africa in the 16th century by Portuguese traders from the Americas.
* In addition to being baked, boiled and fried by many different cultures around the world, cassava is also dried and ground to make flour and fermented to make beer.
* Cassava starch is extracted to produce tapioca flour and pearl tapioca.
* Cassava is the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world.
* Arico launched its line of all-natural Cassava Chips in 2007, featuring the flavors Original, Sea Salt Mist, Barbecue Bliss, and Ginger on Fire.
* Arico Cassava Chips have twice the fiber and 30-40% less fat than leading brand potato chips.
* The cassava in Arico's chips is purchased from farmers on the Indonesian island of Java.
A Guide to Healthier Food Choices
Choosing Arico Cassava Chips instead of higher fat potato chips will bring you one step closer to “enjoying greater energy and vitality,” according to the Body Ecology Diet’s “Eat This Instead of That” guide to making healthier food choices.
As featured in its March 27 newsletter, the Body Ecology Diet’s guide recommends Arico Sea Salt Mist Cassava Chips as a healthier potato chip alternative and praises its use of palm oil, which is naturally high in monounsaturated fat, one of the so-called “good” fats.
The Body Ecology System of Health and Healing is a “back-to-basics approach” to good health and wellness that advocates consuming high quality fats, adding cultured foods to one’s diet and reducing carbohydrates and sugar intake.
World Autism Awareness Day
Today is World Autism Awareness Day.
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2007, the aim of the resolution is to bring the world’s attention to autism, a growing global health concern.
According to Autism Speaks, an autism advocacy organization:
* Autism affects as many as 1 in 150 children and 1 in 94 boys
* Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the world
* More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer and AIDS combined
* Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
* There is no medical detection or cure for autism, but early diagnosis and intervention improve outcomes
Throughout this month, events are taking place worldwide to raise funds and awareness for autism. To learn more about how you can participate, visit our events page, or go to Talking About Curing Autism (TACA) or Autism Speaks.