Appetite

Those searching for answers to the question " Is medical marijuana good medicine? " will find few in Dr. David Sack's Times Op-Ed article.   On the one hand, Sack concedes, "Marijuana can effectively treat neuropathic pain, and it has been shown to improve appetite and reduce nausea," an acknowledgment substantiating the plant's therapeutic utility. However, he later warns that cannabis' ability to provide relief for certain other conditions, such as lupus and anxiety, remains unproven.

An epic battle is raging in South Florida: man against snail. The state is struggling to contain an invasion of the giant African land snail, a species that thrives in hot and wet tropical climates. These gooey and destructive mollusks grow up to 8.5 inches long, feast on 500 different types of plants and nibble on calcium-rich stucco, which they use to construct their cone-shaped shells. The snails are originally from East Africa but can now be found throughout the world. Aside from destroying plants and buildings, they can also be carriers of a type of meningitis.

“Downton Abbey" is going to look quite different when it returns for a fourth season. On Friday Siobhan Finneran -- better known to fans as O'Brien, Lady Grantham's constantly scheming, severely coiffed maid -- confirmed that she is leaving the beloved costume drama. Finneran follows co-stars Dan Stevens and Jessica Brown Findlay out the door, though it seems likely her character will do so under less tragic circumstances than theirs: In the Season 3 finale, O'Brien was jockeying hard for a new job that would allow her to see more of the world.

SACRAMENTO - As Gov. Jerry Brown toured China over the last week, he repeatedly contrasted that nation's speedy construction of modern transportation systems and other key public works with what he characterized as a lack of vision back home. A pillar of his plan to let the "bulldozers roll" on big projects in California has been an overhaul of the state's landmark environmental law, which can tangle development in litigation for years. Yet before he even boarded his return flight, the governor said he was giving up on any substantial revision this year of the 40-year-old law, which he says stands in the way of progress.

You've heard about the "Wheat Belly" diet, right? Well, technically, it doesn't exist. Dr. William Davis points out that the word "diet" does not appear on either the cover of his bestselling "Wheat Belly" book published in 2011 or on the follow-up, "Wheat Belly Cookbook," which was published last month and already tops bestseller lists. And that omission is intentional, Davis said. "Wheat Belly" is about stripping your plate of a substance that contributes to heart disease, causes joint pain, inflammation, foggy thinking, bloating and much more, Davis said.

As anyone who has ever tried to diet knows, hunger is one of the most powerful human desires. The urge to eat is so strong that one in four Americans is more than 20% overweight, impairing their health and, in many cases, shortening their lives. Some view this powerful urge as a defect in character, a wimpish inability to take control of one's own destiny. Others see it as a "genetic fossil," a lingering vestige of prehistoric eras when a few extra pounds could ensure survival during a period of famine.

In a democracy, and most particularly in this one, it is not considered good form for politicians to seem exceptional. Smart, sure. Successful, yes. Tough, maybe. But exceptional? Hey, who do they think they are! Nowadays, it seems, we like our politicians to look neat and mediocre. We don't like to think that, hiding under those $200 haircuts, there might be extraordinary people with outrageous qualities, because there may well be monstrous egos and appetites to match. Such character traits we would rather discover in histories of biographies written long after our "representatives" have safely passed away.

Now that the Evil Empire is gone, I hope our military complex does not create another one to justify its insatiable budget appetite! Give us time to breath! REMO P. CRUZ, Glendale

MORE EATERIES: Joey's Bar-B-Q, 1339 N. East St., Anaheim. Open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. (714) 991-9040. Meat so tender it melts in your mouth, served dripping in a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce, in portions hearty enough to satisfy most any appetite. This place is rib heaven.

An epic battle is raging in South Florida: man against snail. The state is struggling to contain an invasion of the giant African land snail, a species that thrives in hot and wet tropical climates. These gooey and destructive mollusks grow up to 8.5 inches long, feast on 500 different types of plants and nibble on calcium-rich stucco, which they use to construct their cone-shaped shells. The snails are originally from East Africa but can now be found throughout the world. Aside from destroying plants and buildings, they can also be carriers of a type of meningitis.

What is ailing Apple? There seems to be no simple answer as to why the tech giant's stock took another beating Monday, dragging the company's market value below $400 billion for the first time since January 2012. It was the fourth straight day of decline, leaving Apple Inc. shares 40% below their high in September, when the stock was valued at more than $656 billion. The carnage has left analysts and investors trying to guess whether there is a bottom in sight, and whether the company might have an announcement or new product in the pipeline that might ignite a rally.

In the last year, Prudential Financial Inc. has plowed money into lemons and avocados in Ventura County, almonds and mandarins in the Central Valley and strawberries in Santa Cruz County. The insurance giant is just one of many players, including highly specialized investors and large pension funds, that have snapped up California farmland recently. The buying spree has helped push farm and ranch land values to record highs, raising questions about how long the boom might last and what effect it might have on the state's important agricultural sector.

If it's lunchtime at Gardena Serra and 6-foot-7, 360-pound offensive tackle Emerald Faletuipapai walks into a room, everyone hides his or her food. "I eat anything and everything," he said. Said Coach Scott Altenberg : "If there's food anywhere, it must be protected. He's in constant grazing mode. " Faletuipapai is so big that Serra had to order a special helmet to fit his head. "It looks like a flowerpot," Altenberg said. He also wears size 18 shoes. Two of Faletuipapai's brothers played football for Serra.

In a finding that makes clear that appetite is often a case of mind over matter, new research finds that the memory of a hearty recent meal can fill you up. But the memory of a stingy serving of victuals -- even an inaccurate memory -- can make you hungrier, and prompt heavier eating at the next meal, researchers found. The study , published Wednesday in the journal Public Library of Science One, used an ingenious trick to manipulate research subjects' memories of a lunchtime meal they had: At the bottom of a soup bowl filled with cream of tomato soup, they installed a hidden pump, which could be used to surreptitiously refill the bowl while the subject ate or draw down its contents.

On the menu at the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex cafeteria on a recent Friday was petite beef patties on whole wheat buns, a cup of roasted potato wedges, an apple and a carton of 1% milk. Together, the carefully portioned and paired foods amounted to about 730 calories - safely below a recently implemented 850-calorie cap for high school lunches. But walk out of the cafeteria, through the circle of giggling cheerleaders and the huddle of boys eyeing them, to the long line of students snaking around a corner and you'll find another option: the student store.

Guggenheim Partners is looking to make a big impression in Hollywood. The financial services firm, which in March spent more than $2 billion on the Los Angeles Dodgers, has agreed to acquire Dick Clark Productions for $370 million, people close to the deal said. Spending almost $2.5 billion in less than six months might be enough for some investors, but Guggenheim's appetite for entertainment assets is still ravenous. "We would characterize this as the beginning of the beginning," Guggenheim Partners President Todd Boehly said.

Up all night? Been chowing down on rare steaks? Trying to land a job at your local blood bank? If you answered yes to any of these queries, then you might possibly be a vampire. Or, at least, a vannabe. For starters, you're in the right place. The City of Angels is Vampireville to slightly more than 50 vampires, claims the VPR, or Vampire Research Center, in New York, another favorite haunt.

The Product: Experts have been saying for years that there's no such thing as a magic pill for weight loss. But who knows? They used to think no pill could treat bacterial pneumonia or erectile dysfunction. At a time when scientists are unlocking new secrets about our appetites and metabolism, it seems at least remotely plausible that the secret to a slimmer body could someday fit into a capsule. Maybe it's already there.

Bäco Mercat and Ink are the only two Los Angeles-area spots named among Bon Appetit magazine's 50 best new restaurants in the United States. Will they wind up among the Top 10? Stay tuned. Josef Centeno's Bäco Mercat, which opened in November, has quickly become the darling of downtown diners with its big-flavored, enthusiastic pairings of what might sometimes seem unlikely ingredients. "It all started with a 'bäco,' chef Josef Centeno's irresistible taco/pizza/gyro mashup, but this lively downtown spot quickly became known for much more, from veg-centric small plates to big hunks of grilled meats," says BA. Singled out for praise are such dishes as blistered okra, Caesar Brussels sprouts, and the 14-ounce shiitake-crusted pork chop.

Despite concerns about U.S.-made drones ending up in enemy hands, American military contractors are lobbying the government to loosen export restrictions and open up foreign markets to the unmanned aircraft that have reshaped modern warfare. Companies such as Northrop Grumman Corp.and other arms makers are eager to tap a growing foreign appetite for high-tech - and relatively cheap - drones, already being sold on the world market by countries such as Israel and China. "Export restrictions are hurting this industry in America without making us any safer," Wesley G. Bush, Northrop's chief executive, said at a defense conference this year.