7 Ingredients to AVOID

Beach!!  I intentionally loaded up on several snacks and treats at the grocery store for our last year’s summer beach vacation.  It was fun to treat our kids with fun snacks they do not typically get at home.  As much as I was enjoying the moment and some of the snacks myself,  I couldn’t resist the urge to say something.  
It was about the second day when I realized every box or bag was open and I finally said, ”How much junk are we going to eat?” in my half playful voice, which means the other half of my voice was expressing alarm.  One of our boys shrugged his shoulders and matter of factly said, “I don’t know…as much as we have.”  He nailed it!

Are your children as smart as mine?!  Of course they are.  Kids simplify and say it like it is.   As a matter of fact, studies show, the more food choices you have, the more you will eat.  In addition, the more convenient a food is to take with you, the more you will eat.  

There are processed and packaged foods everywhere.  The sooner we start grabbing an apple for a snack instead of a package of something junky, the better off we will be.  As a matter of fact, I feel confident to say if you bring a packaged bar of some sort with you to work, you will eat it regardless.  If you bring an apple, for example, you will eat it only if you are hungry.  Can anybody relate to this? 

I want you to avoid processed foods. I will share 7 ingredients you should avoid, and give you good reasons why.  By reading the ingredients panel on every food you consider putting in your basket and avoiding these 7 ingredients, you will naturally eliminate many processed foods from your pantry and fridge.  At the very least, it will help you make better choices.  

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS):  Think chemical and processed.  It is used as a liquid sweetener replacement for sucrose (table sugar) and introduced to the food and beverage industry in the 1970s.  There was a review and study published on HFCS by John S. White in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dec. 2008  The author says there is not a difference in sweetness of HFCS and sucrose and that the theory that HFCS contributes to obesity is not true.  The author is also a consultant to the food and beverage industry.  Here is my take:  HFCS is in processed foods. Processed foods will have added sugars, fats and calories.  If you are avoiding foods with HFCS, you are avoiding junk food.  With negative public awareness around HFCS, maufacturers are using sucrose again instead, and the use of HFCS and sucrose in processed foods is balancing out.  Sugar is sugar and is still something you want to avoid, unless it comes in the shape of a real apple (fructose) for example, that comes packed with antioxidents, fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals.  5 grams of sugar = 1 tsp. of sugar.  Easy on the sugar.   My next blog will be on sugar, artifical sweetners and fruit.
2. Artificial sweeteners:  Think chemicals and processed.  The fact that I watch doctors and executives pour Crystal Light (aspartame) into their water for flavor rather than a splash of juice will perplex me for the rest of my life.  These are some of the most highly educated people in the world.  The choice of chemically made sweeteners that are carcinogenic (in large amounts of course) to laboratory rats are their choice.  I suggested a splash of juice to an executive last week and he shook his head no and said, “Sugar”.  An orange and its juice has anticancer properties.  At the very fundamental level of thinking, an orange is a real food, and an artificial sweetener is just that; artificial.
3. Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil:  Think chemical and processed. These are trans fats and are associated with heart disease, and arteriosclerosis.  Trans fats are worse for you than saturated fat.  Hydrogenated oils are found in junk foods as a way to extend shelf life.  This will be found in many cakes, pastries and pizzas and in an abundance of processed everything. If you see it on the ingredient panel, step away from the box.
4. Artificial Colors:  Think chemical and processed.  The word “artificial” should be a glaring clue of what NOT to buy.  Artificial dyes are petroleum based and are found in thousands of foods.  There have been numerous studies on food coloring to test carcinogenicity and behavior changes in children.  Most specifically studying Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6 as those are found in 90% of the foods that have food coloring. Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 contain benzidine, a human and animal carcinogen permitted in low, presumably safe levels in dyes. The FDA calculated in 1985 that ingestion of free benzidine raises the cancer risk to just under the “concern” threshold (1 cancer in 1 million people).  The take away?  It is artificial.  It was made in a lab.  A much better choice is to buy foods colored naturally with carrots or beet juice, for example. 
5. Palm Oil:  Think tropical oil and saturated fat.  Because of our heightened awareness of hydrogenated oils, manufacturers are using palm oil instead.  Palm oil is artery clogging.  Don’t let them fool you.  I just wanted you to be aware.
6. Benzoates/Benzene/BHT/BHA/EDTA:  Think chemicals, coal tar and formaldehyde.  These are used as preservatives and some are used in plastics. There is sufficient evidence of BHA carcinogenicity in animals and no proof in humans.  BHT is far down the list of carcinogenicity; however, to give you perspective, these are preservatives, made in a lab, and derivatives of carcinogenic substances.
7. Nitrates/Nitrates:  Think chemicals and processed meats.  Nitrates and nitrites are cacinogenic.  You can buy meats without nitrates and nitrites.  

The best approach to a healthy diet is choosing real foods in their purest form.  Shopping the perimeter of the grocery store where your produce, meat, fish, poultry and dairy are, is the best place to shop.  Make sure to buy whole grains that are just the grain and no other ingredients (“brown rice” for example) and a few bags of frozen veggies to help you eat healthy throughout the week when your fresh veggies run out, or when you are in a time pinch.  Moderation, portion control and variety are key.  I do not like the idea of “food science” which is anything artifical and made in a lab.  I love the idea of real food and I love the practice of moderation.  Have your favorites sometimes, choose wisely, and mostly eat plant foods.  We have many choices.  Let’s make good ones!

Health Inspires. 

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