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 casava:

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.

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

Chow.com's blog, The Pick, gave kudos to Arico's Cassava Chips in a post on Friday.

“The Ginger on Fire flavor has a spicy, slightly sweet tang that doesn’t disappoint,” said chow.com blogger Emily Hobson. “The Sea Salt Mist flavor is cleanly salty without being greasy.”

“With less fat than potato chips and twice the fiber, it’s tough to feel entirely guilty about hogging the bag.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Arico’s whole grain cookies and all-natural cassava chips were on hand at Lakewinds Natural Foods, a member-owned cooperative store in Minnetonka, MN, as they celebrated 31 days of Living Gluten-Free this month.

Children with healthy diets perform better in school than their poorly fed counterparts, according to a study in the April issue of the Journal of School Health, a publication of the American School Health Association.

The study surveyed the diets of 5,000 Canadian fifth grade students and administered standardized literacy assessments of the children. Less healthful dietary components included saturated fat and salt, while healthy foods were classified by fruits, vegetables, grains, dietary fiber, protein, calcium and moderate fat intake.

Relative to the students in the study whose diets were deemed unhealthy, the students with healthier diets rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains were 41% less likely to fail the literacy assessment.

Arico's "mindful snacking" display at the country's largest natural foods trade show, Expo West, held March 14-16th in Anaheim, CA:

Consuming foods with a high glycemic index (GI) can lead to a higher risk of certain health problems, according to research published in the March 1st issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The glycemic index ranks carbohydrates based on their effect on blood glucose levels. Foods with a high GI – like sugary cereals or sodas and refined flour products like white bread – are rapidly digested and absorbed, resulting in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low GI foods, which include high fiber fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains, like oats and quinoa, are more slowly digested and absorbed and, thus, produce more gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, try this gluten-free version of classic Irish Soda Bread.

Originally featured on the Whole Foods Market web site, the recipe was brought to my attention by a poster on a celiac listserve. Described as "flavorful and crumbly, rather like an oversized scone," it's best eaten within a day or two of baking.

Irish Soda Bread

Yield: About 10–12 slices

Paper or plastic? The answer to that question is no longer so simple.

Introduced to grocery stores in the 1970s as a cheap alternative to paper bags, plastic bags quickly became the bag of choice for consumers.

Today, they’re known as an environmental scourge - clogging up landfills, choking marine animals and doing their eternal dance across the landscape.

Manufactured from crude oil and natural gas, both nonrenewable resources, plastic bags are not biodegradable and take nearly a thousand years to break down in landfills.