Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005. Eighty percent on the city flooded and 90% of the residents had to be evacuated. Nevertheless, a recent vote taken in the Louisiana House of Representatives is an indicator of the city's recovery. By a vote of 62-33, Sazerac was proclaimed the official cocktail of New Orleans. Sazerac is a potent mix of rye whiskey, bitters and absinthe originally concocted by a Creole pharmacist in the 1830's. After two Sazeracs you understand why it's the city's cocktail. After two you worry about your own recovery.



Recovery from high LDL cholesterol is supposedly aided by red rice yeast. According to a Mayo Clinic study, red rice yeast reduces LDL cholesterol as effectively as the drug Zocor. In the study 35 patients were given 40 milligrams of Zocor daily and 35 others were given red rice yeast. After 12 weeks both groups had a 40% drop in LDL cholesterol. That's the good news. The bad news is all red rice yeast supplements aren't created equal. When 10 brands were tested, there were major differences in concentration of red rice yeast, as well as in purity. It seems supplement manufacturers aren't all rice guys.

The guys at Anheuser-Busch, makers of Budweiser, accepted a $52 billion buyout from Belgian brewer InBev, making InBev the world's largest beer maker. InBev says it plans to keep St. Louis as its North American base and keep all 12 North American breweries open. However, InBev also says it plans to sell $7 billion of "non-core assets" to help finance the deal. Yes, InBev increased its offer from $65 to $70 a share; but is the Budweiser label looking less red, white and blue? Has the "King of Beers" been dethroned or am I just crying over spilled beer?

Am I just over concerned or should there be a federal law requiring stores to tell customers where the produce comes from. Half of the shitake mushrooms sold in the U.S. come from China. Without labeling laws, local distributors can sell them under their own brand name and price them as high as domestically grown shitakes. Although Congress is expected to pass a "country of origin" labeling law in 2008, labeling of imported goods was meant to be part of a 1930 Tariff Act. No matter how you say it, it seems our legislators have a problem with the word produce.