BITES : All the Sugar and 2.5 Times the Caffeine

Some companies are checking out the possibility of marketing soft drinks based on the fruit guarana . This Brazilian berry contains a lot of caffeine (2.5 times as much per ounce as coffee). Amazonian tribes have used it for centuries as a stimulant and appetite suppressant.

OK, What Cheapskate Left the 27-Cent Tip?

The L.A. County district attorney’s office has busted Bakers Square restaurants for advertising certain turkey entrees as being made with fresh roast turkey; they were actually made with frozen cooked turkey. In addition to changing the wording on their menus, Bakers Square will pay $33,750 in civil penalties, plus bear the county’s legal costs ($2,500) and investigation expenses ($997.27).

If You Consume Too Much Nutrient, Don’t Drive

“Ethanol [alcohol] increases the level of the so-called good HDL cholesterol,” Linda Bisson reported to the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago on Aug. 21. “The effect of ethanol on metabolism of other energy sources may in part explain its effect in the reduction of coronary heart disease,” said the University of California, Davis, researcher. Her conclusion was that alcohol should be considered a nutrient, rather than a drug.