The 6 Worst Natural Ingredients

The 6 Worst Natural Ingredients, by Emily Main on Yahoo! Health.  I am glad this was brought to the net  especially the Fruit Juice Concentrate and the High Fructose Corn Syrup. 

Carrageenan Behind the label: You may not have any idea what this weird-sounding ingredient is at first glance, but it's derived from seaweed and used in dozens of so-called "natural," and even some organic, foods to keep ingredients from separating. The problem is, it's been pegged to inflammation, which itself can lead to chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and

Your move: Carrageenan is used mostly in dairy products, so read labels carefully or shop from this list of organic dairy products that are free of carrageenan.


Carmel Coloring Behind the label: The caramel candies you ate as a kid got their coloring from caramelized sugar, which turns brown as its heated. The caramel coloring you find in your soda--not so much. It's created when sugar is heated with ammonium compounds, and the process creates a cancer-causing byproduct called 4-MI, which exists as a contaminant in caramel food coloring at varying levels. Coca-Cola recently switched to a lower-MI formulation of its caramel coloring, but tests from the Center for Science in the Public Interest recently found sodas sold across the country with widely varying, and dangerous, levels.

Your move: Do you really need that soda? After all, cancer-causing contaminants are just one of many disturbing side-effects of soda, which include kidney problems and liver fat.


Palm Oil Behind the label: Palm oil became the go-to replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted trans-fat-labeling rules on processed foods, but that replacement didn't do much for public health. A number of studies suggest that palm oil is as bad for your heart as the trans fats hidden in by partially hydrogenated oils. The most recent, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, found that it raised bad LDL cholesterol levels as much as partially hydrogenated soybean oil. In addition to its heart-damaging health problems, enormous tracts of rainforests and peat bogs have been razed or filled in to make room for palm oil plantations. Peat bogs are ecologically valuable, because they sequester globe-warming carbon dioxide, and rainforest destruction has led to the endangerment of 140 animal species in Indonesia and another 50 in Malaysia, the world's two largest producers of palm oil.

Your move: Palm oil is mostly used in crackers, cookies, and other baked goods, so scrutinize labels. Safflower or sunflower oil are healthier and don't carry the problems associated with other genetically modified vegetable oils made from corn, canola and soy. If your favorite product does contain palm oil, call the manufacturer and ask how it was sourced. Some companies use palm oil produced under an industry group called the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which is trying to develop standards that would protect vital species habitats.


Evaporated Cane Juice Behind the label: "Evaporated cane juice" may sound benign enough, but it's essentially refined white sugar with a fancier name, according to naturopathic physician Andrew Weil, MD. It's not even really juice, but dried crystals that are left behind after raw sugar cane has been boiled. Those crystals then undergo additional processing, removing any vitamins and minerals that may have existed in the raw sugar cane. Because it isn't juice, the FDA has proposed new rules that would make the term illegal on food packages, opting instead for "sugar" or "dried cane syrup." The agency has even sent warning letters to juice manufacturers who use the term misleadingly, for instance, advertising a product as "100% juice."

Your move: When you do need processed foods, opt for those containing sweeteners with real nutritional value, such as real maple syrup, molasses, raw honey, and others that made our list of the 5 Best Sweeteners.

Fruit Juice Concentrate Behind the label: You probably see the words "fruit juice concentrate" on a jar of jam or in a fruit drink and think it's got to be healthier than sugar, right? Wrong. Apple, pear and white grape fruit juice concentrates are some of the most commonly used sweeteners added to foods, and they're simply empty calories, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. They're used as fat replacements, because their water content provides bulk, yet they still contain high levels of fructose, a form of sugar tied to heart problems and one that can actually lower your ability to remember things.

Your move: Fruit is "nature's candy" so eat it whole. The fructose levels are tempered by the added fiber, vitamins and minerals you get when downing whole fruits. When you do need processed foods, opt for those containing sweeteners with real nutritional value, such as real maple syrup, molasses, raw honey, and others that made our list of the 5 best sweeteners.


High Fructose Corn Syrup Behind the label: There's little redeeming nutritional value to HFCS, the ubiquitous sweetener added to everything from bread to salad dressing. It provides empty calories, which promote obesity, it's been linked to heart disease, and the manufacturing process has the potential to contaminate it with brain-damaging mercury. Yet HFCS still shows up in so-called "natural" foods. Back in 2008, the FDA decided that, due to the highly industrialized process used to create HFCS, using the sweetener in products labeled "natural" was deceptive and misleading. But after backlash from the Corn Refiners Association, the agency reversed that decision two months later.

Your move: Few nutritionists out there would agree with the Corn Refiners Association's assertion that HFCS is "natural," but since they don't make the rules, it's up to you to read labels. HFCS is very common in "low-fat" foods, so read ingredient lists.



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9 Scariest Food Facts

Good article on Yahoo! and Men's Health by David Zinczenko with Matt published 27 July 2011. I imagine the vast majority of people do not know what is actually in the foods they consume. There's a scene in the 1973 movie Soylent Green where food shortages cause people to riot in the street, and the throng becomes so unruly that front-loading construction machines roll in and begin shoveling people up into big metal buckets. These people are hungry,....no, ravenous,.....for a food called soylent green. But here's the twist: They know that they love soylent green, but they have no clue what it's made from.

Sound familiar? It should. That's basically how we eat today. Pick up a random package in the supermarket and look at the ingredient list. Chances are you won't know half the ingredients. Take a look at the downright frightening facts Eat This, Not That! has uncovered. You may never look at food the same way.

1. Nutritious food costs 10 times more than junk food.
University of Washington researchers calculated the cost discrepancy between healthy food and junk foods and found that 2,000 calories of junk food rings up at a measly $3.52 a day. Yet for 2,000 calories of nutritious grub, the researchers plunked down $36. To add insult to fiscal injury, out of every dollar you spend on food, only 19 cents goes toward the stuff you eat. The other 81 cents goes toward
marketing, manufacturing, and packaging. Think about that the next time your grocery bill jumps into the triple digits.

2. Grocers don’t have to tell you where your produce comes from.
With meat, supermarkets must tell you the country of origin, but produce laws aren't as strict. Consider this: In a recent E. coli outbreak, German bean sprouts were implicated as the source of the bacteria, but that didn’t prevent thousands of people from being infected. Many of those people were Americans, and they were clueless as to where their sprouts came from.

3. Fruits and vegetables are losing their nutrients.
According to the USDA, the fruits and vegetables we eat today may contain significantly fewer nutrients than those our grandparents ate. Researchers looked at 43 produce items and discovered drops in protein (6 percent), calcium (16 percent), iron (15 percent), riboflavin (38 percent), and vitamin C (20 percent). The only way to counter this trend: Eat more of them.

4. Calorie counts on nutrition labels aren’t accurate.
Researchers at Tufts University recently analyzed 269 food items from 42 national sit-down and fast-food restaurant chains, and they found that nearly 20 percent of samples contained 100 or more calories than reported by the restaurants. Think about it like this: If every meal you eat has 100 more calories than you need, you’ll gain more than 30 pounds this year. Same thing on food grade labels,....there is no enforcement of what the manufacturer's report or advertise.

5. Chicken today contains 266 percent more fat than it did 40 years ago.
What’s more, today’s chicken also has 33 percent less protein, according to a study from the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University. The problem is modern farming practices. Cramped environments and unnatural diets produce birds that have the same weight problems as the humans who eat them.

6. Milk contains hormones that may cause cancer.
In 1970, a typical dairy cow could produce about 10,000 pounds of milk per year. Today, that same cow produces roughly 20,000 pounds. So did cows change? Nope. It’s their feed that’s different. Today’s cows are routinely fed a hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST. Studies have linked rBST to a multitude of cancers, including those of the prostate, breast, and colon. Milk from rBST-treated cows is ubiquitous in America’s supermarkets, but fortunately some of the biggest players are getting wise. Stores like Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and Kroger now carry only rBST-free dairy.

7. Conventional supermarket peaches can be coated with as many as nine different
pesticides.
Because peaches are prone to bruising, blemishing, and insect takeover, they’re routinely soaked in chemicals in the weeks before being shipped off to the supermarket. That’s why the Environmental Working Group rates peaches among the dirtiest conventional fruits in America. Also on that list: apples, celery, strawberries, and spinach. As a general rule, unless the produce has a thick,
impermeable skin, assume it’s soaked in pesticides. Now wash it with water and mild soap before you eat it.

8. You’re probably eating trans fat without knowing it.
Slack FDA regulations allow food processors to claim zero trans fats even if the food contains 0.49 grams. To be clear, that’s 0.49 grams per serving. That means by the time you finish, say, an entire bag of Cheetos, you might be ingesting nearly 5 grams of trans fat. Sure, the bag says “0 GRAMS TRANS FAT” right on the front, but if you look at the ingredient statement, you’ll see partially hydrogenated oil, the primary source of trans fat.

9. The number of daily calories available to each American has increased by 500 over the past 40 years. USDA data shows that the food industry supplies 2,700 calories to every man, woman, and child in America. In 1970, that number was 2,200. That increase translates into 52 extra pounds of fat per person, per year.

MyAchingKnees.com comment: Nine reasons while you should taking the highest quality nutritional supplement you can find. Nine reasons while you, the consumer, need to be responsible to educate yourself and take charge of your health.

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Let the Buyer Beware

Because of some people knowing my interest in, and study of nutritional supplements, I am asked fom time to time to sign petitions or write politicans in support of no more FDA regulations concerning supplements.

This I just cannot do. In fact, I am leaning towards just a little more regulatory effect on the nutritional supplement market only because the majority of Americans believe a lot what they read or are told via commercials without the requisite individual research to be a informed consumer. Let the buyer beware...but lets not make it too easy on manufacturers to pull the wool over the people's eyes.

The joint pain relief market is one such area where people with honest chronic joint pain will reach for about anything that promises a reduction of pain and an increase in mobility.

I know the difference between quality supplements, not just based on Science, independant test laboratories, third party comparisons, but on personal experience and results. Same with buying a car, I would not invest my health or my hopes of pain reduction on a product that does not have a certification and guarantee. Not just a money back guarantee either. Some companies make their money because most people will not seek a monetary refund,...and, the cost of shipping and "handling" often pays for the cost of manufacturing inferior products so there is no loss to the company.

So when people with an interest in food grade manufacturers of Nutritional Supplements ask me to write a congressman or sign some on-line petition to reduce FDA regulations or fight proposed stricter rules, I just can't do it. It fact, the company I have partnered with for my Science based, pharmaceutical grade supplements would probably profit from stricter regulations on the food grade products as it would help clean up the market and showcase our products. Anyway, until then let the buyer beware.

There is a new proposed FDA regulation or maybe best described as simply a "tightening up" of food labels because most people are not very well educated on nutrients. I thought this article on food label ingredients would help some people better understand some common labeling of ingredients.

Beware: Misleading ingredient names explained

by The Editors of Eating Well Magazine, Sep 17, 2010

My general rule is to buy foods that list ingredients I can pronounce, but there are at least two things I additionally watch out for: ingredients that sound healthy but aren’t (I try to avoid those) and obscure ingredients that sound scary but are basically harmless.

The latest ingredient to request a “healthier-sounding” name change? High-fructose corn syrup. This week, the Corn Refiners Association, which represents firms who make the product, petitioned the FDA to change the ingredient’s name to “corn sugar.” The group has many reasons for wanting the change, including changing public perception of this controversial ingredient. But two respected nutrition watchdogs, EatingWell advisory board member Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, and Michael Jacobsen, director of a Washington, D.C.-based nutrition and health advocacy group, Center for the Science in the Public Interest, told the New York Times that the new term “corn sugar” is a more accurate description for high-fructose corn syrup, which is a mixture of glucose and fructose.

I talked to EatingWell’s nutrition editor, Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., about HFCS and 4 more ingredients that sound healthier than they are, plus 4 obscure-sounding ingredients that are basically harmless. (Note: This is not a complete list, just some highlights to pay attention to.) Here’s her advice on how to decode them:

WATCH OUT: INGREDIENTS THAT ARE SCARIER THAN THEY SOUND

1. Fruit Juice Concentrates

* What it is: An alias for added sugars, which supply calories but little to no nutritional value. This also applies to: corn sweetener or syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, agave, invert sugar, malt sugar, molasses, syrup and sugar molecules ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, sucrose).
* Why you should watch out: Because high intakes of added sugars are linked with increased risks for high blood pressure and high triglyceride levels, risk factors for heart disease, The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars, advising that women eat no more than 100 calories per day from added sugars, or about 6 teaspoons, and men should stick to less than 150 calories, approximately 9 teaspoons. (A 12-ounce can of cola has about 8 teaspoons.) Added sugars in processed foods are difficult to track. "Sugars" on Nutrition Facts panels include added sugars and natural sugars found in healthful foods (fructose in fruits, lactose in dairy). In general, the closer added sugars are to the top of the list, the more the food contains.

2. Soybean Oil

* What it is: A plant-derived oil
* Why you should watch out: Soybean oil, along with corn oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil, is high in omega-6 fats, which compete in your body with healthy omega-3 fats (the kind that benefit your heart and brain). Many nutrition experts say that Americans get too many omega-6 fats in their diets, mostly from processed foods. Joe Hibbeln, M.D., a captain in the United States Public Health Service takes it a step further and blames alcoholism, depression and a host of other illnesses on the excess of omega-6 fats in our diet. In fact, it’s quite difficult to find commercial salad dressings, mayonnaise, even crackers, breads, pasta sauces and granola bars, among other products, that don’t include oils with high levels of omega-6 fats.

3. Palm Oil

* What it is: Oils derived from the fruits of palm trees.
* Why you should watch out: Now that the heart-damaging effects of trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils) are widely known, many food manufacturers are replacing them with palm oil. EatingWell’s Dietitian and Nutrition Advisor Sylvia Geiger, M.S., R.D. reports that while palm oil is trans-fat-free, about half of its fat is saturated, adding about 1.5 grams sat fat to each 2-tablespoon serving. Have we traded one “bad fat” for another? Could be. While you may have heard that palm oil has less of a cholesterol-raising effect than other tropical oils, the research isn’t conclusive. Your best bet is to choose natural products that contain neither added palm oil nor trans fats. (Note: Products labeled “0 trans fats” can still contain up to half a gram of trans fat per serving. You can assume that “trans-free” products still contain a small amount of trans fat if partially hydrogenated oil is listed as an ingredient.) In addition, recent research shows that palmitic acid, a saturated fat found in palm oil (and beef, butter and cheese) caused mice to become resistant to the appetite-suppressing hormones leptin and insulin, which in theory could make them eat more.

4. Wheat Flour

* What it is: Refined wheat flour, also a synonym for white or all-purpose flour.
* Why you should watch out: Wheat flour is different from “whole-wheat flour.” Wheat/white flour contains barely any fiber, vitamins or minerals, the building blocks of healthy food. So you’re missing out on all the benefits of whole grains. One slice of white bread has 65 percent less fiber, magnesium and potassium than whole-wheat bread. The bran alone in whole-wheat bread gives it 20 times more antioxidant power. A diet high in whole grains, on the other hand, is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, less weight gain, fewer cases of type 2 diabetes and reduced risk of colon cancer and metabolic syndrome. People who eat more whole grains also tend to have lower bad (LDL) cholesterol and higher good (HDL) cholesterol, all good reasons to opt for a chewier loaf and more foods made with whole grains.

CHILL-OUT: SCARY-SOUNDING INGREDIENTS THAT ARE BASICALLY OK

1. Inulin

* What it is: Not to be confused with insulin, a hormone that regulates energy and glucose metabolism in the body, inulin is a soluble fiber found naturally in bananas, onions and some plants.
* What it does: It is added to processed foods to replace sugar, fat and flour. Bonus: It can help increase calcium absorption and can help promote the growth of beneficial bacteria added to yogurt.

2. Ascorbic Acid

* What it is: This is a pseudonym for vitamin C, a water-soluble vitamin perhaps best known for its role in boosting our immune system, it also helps the body absorb iron from plants we eat, acts as a protective antioxidant and has been linked with younger-looking skin.
* What it does: It is added to products to prevent discoloration; in bread-machine yeast it acts as a dough conditioner to promote volume.

3. Xanthan Gum

* What it is: You’ll see this powdery substance, fermented from glucose, in a lot of products— from salad dressings to ice creams.
* What it does: It thickens salad dressings and maintains the smooth consistency of ice creams. Bonus: Increasing the viscosity of lower-fat dressings gives them the richer “mouthfeel” associated with full-fat versions—making it a little easier to reach for the healthier choices.

4. Maltodextrin

* What it is: This ingredient, along with vegetable gum and methylcellulose, is one of the starches or fibers derived from natural plants (including bushes, trees, seaweed) and bacteria.
* What it does: You’ll find maltodextrin, or its pals, in nearly every processed food, including veggie burgers, in which they act as a binder and stabilizer to hold everything together in a neat, firm patty.

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