Tear A Part Auto Recycling leads the way locally in exploring the use of mushroom mycelium to reclaim heavy metals from polluted soil. We speak with their environmental specialist, Kirsten Brinkerhoff.

The Red Butte oil spill of 2010 dumped 30,000 gallons of crude oil down one of Salt Lake’s main waterways, contaminating not only water but also the soils it came into contact with. Cleanup likely added even more chemicals into the mix. It was a progression from clean water to chemical cocktail. But what if there were an alternative, a way to clean up spilled hydrocarbons that was less harmful than the problem? Some scientists and industry specialists believe that there is, and that solution begins with mushrooms.

At Tear-A-Part, an auto recycling business along Redwood Road on Salt Lake’s west side, petroleum, mercury, lead and other substances leak from the wrecked vehicles on the lot every day. But here, these chemicals aren’t just going down the drain and into the soil. Instead, they are getting gobbled up by oyster mushrooms.

More people are finding improved health when they cut back or eliminate gluten from their diets. We shed light on this sticky subject. Also the latest on super-gluten.

Aren’t wheat allergies like the Snuggies of diseases? Everyone has one this year.
—Crosby Braverman in “Parenthood

If you’ve read about gluten-free diets or seen the gluten-free label added to everything from breakfast cereal to cold cuts, you too might be wondering if this is the latest fad in a long line of diet crazes. The reality is plenty of people need to cut gluten from their diet—not to lose weight, but out of medical necessity.

But are you one of those people? To figure it out, you might have to cut out gluten for a trial period and see how you feel. The good news is you don’t need a doctor’s prescription and you can start today.