Apparently, a lot of you. I have a recipe that will change your mind.
 Discover Magazine’s Discoblog is doing an ode to college professor/researcher/self-described “informal” numbers cruncher John W. Trinkaus this week. Until about 15 minutes ago, I’d never heard of the guy. But a few Google searches later, I turned up this 2004 profile from Fortune Magazine, which explains that Trinkaus has made a bit of career out of quantifying human behavior—counting a show of hands, so to speak—on all sorts of subjects: grocery checkout habits, stop sign compliance, waiting times at doctors offices. You get the picture.
Discoblog unearthed a 1991 Trinkaus report which looked at the preference for Brussels sprouts among business school students. A very specific sample set, yes, but I’m assuming it was the best one he had at his disposal at the time. Anyway, his research found that half of respondents found the veggie to be “very repulsive” or “somewhat repulsive,” 40 percent were indifferent, and about 10 percent (that’s rounding up!) actually liked them.
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Our dietician found plenty to nosh at this Stephen Starr eatery.
 Photo courtesy Starr Restaurants A popular lunch spot for shoppers, business people and locals, the menu at Continental Midtown promises quick, tasty and—yes—healthy options for diners. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: Opt for sharing. Choose an appetizer or soup, then share a salad. Or skip the starter altogether and sink your teeth into a sandwich. Hold the fries, of course.
Here are my picks for Continental Midtown.
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From pole dancing to burlesque to naked yoga (for guys!), here are Philly's sexiest ways to get in shape.
Burlesque Fitness
Studio 1831, 1831 Brandywine St., 484-716-8432
Instructors encourage you to bring props like feather boas to this class at Studio 1831. The hourlong session includes choreographed routines that incorporate resistance conditioning and Pilates core training. Classes ($12) are on Tuesday evenings at 6:15.
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Learn from experienced choreographer Kip Martin in his Center City studio
 Challenge your balance and strength with ballet. Photo from dancewellness.com. Symmetry Dance Wellness welcomes seasoned vets and absolute beginners alike. Every Thursday from 7:30 to 9 p.m., instructor Kip Martin— who has choreographed and performed in Tokyo and New York and a dozen places in between—leads a Basic Beginner class to solidify foundational concepts in new dancers. Buy a class card or just drop in to learn about the graceful but challenging form of dance.
$15, every Thursday, 7:30 to 9 p.m., Symmetry Dance Wellness, 1923 Chestnut Street, 3rd Floor, 267-269-5986
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MRIs can miss tiny tumors, but a new spray turns them bright green so doctors can find them more easily.
• Japanese scientists have developed a sprayable substance that causes cancerous cells to glow up to 20 times brighter than surrounding ones, helping doctors locate the tiniest of tumors—even ones missed by MRIs or other diagnostic tests. The spray reacts with an enzyme to cause the tumors to light up. And, so far, it has shown no serious side effects. The Huffington Post has more, including a video of how it works.
• The New York Times opened a can of worms yesterday in its Room for Debate column. The topic: “Should legislation protect obesity?” Six experts weigh in officially, but at last count, there were more than seven pages of reader comments. Have at it over here.
• Now, this is pretty darn cool. CNN reports on artificial pancreas technology, which could pretty much eradicate type 1 diabetes. The artificial pancreas would do the glucose regulating that a healthy pancreas normally does, allowing type 1 diabetics to lead, well, normal, healthy lives. The technology’s already well established in 40 other countries, but developers of the product are currently seeking FDA approval for its use in the States.
• Serious soccer players could be at risk for brain damage, if they “head” the ball too often, according to new research. Thing is, you have to head over 1,300 balls a year to begin to suffer traumatic damage. That seems like way more headers than the average Joe Soccer would take. Right?
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An afternoon of holiday shopping to benefit CHOP
 Here’s a way to kill two birds with one stone: Get your holiday shopping done and help support the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia at the Daisy Day Shopping Day on December 8th. Held at the Blue Bell Country Club, the event includes over two dozen vendors, like Saks Fifth Avenue, J. McLaughlin and Nicole Miller. Twenty-five percent of all sales will go to CHOP’s neurosurgery division, and the $25 admission fee covers lunch, too.
Online registration ends on Friday, December 2nd, but walk-ins on the day of the event are welcome. Register here.
$25, December 8th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Blue Bell Country Club, 1800 Tournament Drive, Blue Bell, 267-426-6477
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Eat a snack in the afternoon, rather than the morning, if you want to lose more weight.
Dieticians have long derided the notion of limiting daily food intake to the three-squares-a-day model. Snacks to supplement smaller meals are they way to go. But just when should you actually chomp down on a between-meal snack?
New research in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that women who snack mid-morning—as opposed to mid-afternoon or in the evening—lose significantly less weight than their counterparts. Morning snackers also reported eating more snacks throughout the day than those who snack at other times, adding up to more calories consumed overall.
And researchers found differences in snack quality, too. Women who ate two or more snacks a day actually had a higher fiber intake than those who reported snacking once or never. And afternoon snackers ate more fruits and veggies in a day than non-afternoon snackers.
The takeaway? Eat more protein at breakfast so you can skip the a.m. snack. Do snack mid-afternoon, but make it a container of carrot sticks and hummus or an apple with peanut butter. The weight loss—11.4 percent among afternoon snackers versus just 7 percent among morning snackers—is definitely worth it.
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Even thinking about women makes men stupid. Man, men are dumb.
Thank God we have scientists who are studying stuff like this. Researchers at a Dutch university have proven that men become cognitively impaired when they interact with a woman over the phone or on the Internet. What’s more, men become cognitively impaired if they even think they’re about to interact with a woman over the phone or on the Internet. Suddenly, so much in life has become more clear.
To no one’s surprise, the same findings did not apply to women interacting, or thinking about interacting, with men.
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Join Anna Maria Floria at Reading Terminal Market to get tips on tasty side dishes
 Make delicious veggie sides, Italian style. Photo from lacucinaatthemarket.com. If you’re hosting holiday parties this season, make time for this lesson on Holiday Side Dishes at La Cucina at the Market. Italian cooking expert Anna Maria Florio will show you how to make veggies fun, leading a demonstration on sweet potato soufflé, roasted root veggies with maple-balsamic reduction, Yukon gold galette and sauteed broccoli rabe. Sessions fill up quickly so sign up now to reserve your spot.
$65, December 8th, 5:45 p.m., La Cucina at the Market, Reading Terminal Market, 51 North 12th Street, 215-922-1170
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It happened to one 200-pound third grader in Ohio.
• Fact: We all want our kids to be healthy. But what lengths should we, as a society, go to ensure that our kids are just that? Social workers in one county in Ohio went this far: They placed an obese third-grader in foster care recently after determining his mother wasn’t adequately watching out for his waistline. County officials are saying the case qualifies as medical neglect, but lawyers for the boy’s mother say he’s not in any imminent danger, medically speaking. The boy’s weight? Two hundred pounds. What do you think? Did they go too far? Were they justified? I’m not entirely convinced that the psychological damage of being taken from your home to live with strangers is worth any gains—or, well, losses—the kid might see on the scale. But that’s just me.
• Speaking of mothers and children, here is one place I would not like to have a baby: a public restroom in an airport.
• Some interesting news on the autism front: A new study found that some boys with autism actually have brain growth spurts, resulting in brains that are up to six times larger than peers without the disorder. Researchers say the study gives credence to the notion that there are different types of autism with “different neurobiological underpinnings.” AFP has more.
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