Let’s pretend there is an apple in front of you. Can you tell us how many nutrients are in it? We’ll give you a moment to think about this. How many nutrients was everyone able to come up with? 20? 100? Try nearly 400. That’s how many phytochemicals have been found in a whole, fresh, clean apple, according to the Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) Herbs. This gives new meaning to the adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

Here at FoodFacts we like to stress the importance of eating whole, fresh foods. They give you proper nutrition that’s beneficial to your health. For example, studies have shown that nutrients in apples have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, brain cell damage, and certain cancers. Furthermore, according to research in the Journal of Nutrition, some nutrients in apples work better together than separately. Meaning that, while science has the capability to isolate each nutrient and turn it into 400 different supplements, eating just one apple is far better ( not to mention easier) for our health. These are just the nutrients we know about in an apple. We all know the food industry is constantly changing and emerging research will shed more light into the positive health benefits of foods we already knew were good for us, but never understood why.

As a FoodFacts reader, we are sure you have noticed front of label health claims on packaged food products. The latest over- priced product on the market may claim to have high amounts of every nutrient known to man. There may even be big, bold statements that link single nutrients to positive health benefits and so on. While those claims may have truth to them, we ask ourselves – is a product high in one nutrient good for us if it comes with the added sugar and/or manmade ingredients you struggle to pronounce the name of? Do we want to risk our health and well being by introducing items into our body that it does not recognize? Can we find all the nutrients in an apple in a s supplement, or even apple juice? We could waste time trying or we could take the simple approach and eat a delicious, good for you, nutrient packed apple. Whole foods for our whole bodies – a simple, straight forward approach that can keep us healthy for years to come.

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FoodFacts knows that reading (and understanding) a foods nutrition label is key to a healthy diet – whether you are counting your calories, increasing your fiber or watching fat intake. After what seems like way too long, you may have finally found your holy grail of healthy foods to replace a high fat, high calorie favorite. Low and behold, a product that is fat free! Before you rejoice, keep reading.

…The ingredients list that is. The ingredients list will give you a better picture of the nutrients in your food. So is there an item on the ingredients list that didn’t end up on the nutrition panel? If you happen to notice “mono and diglycerides” on the list – these are fats. They carry the same amount of energy per gram (9) as a triglyceride (3 fatty acids and a glycerol), yet the food item in question has “0 calories,” and “0 fat.”

Two things are at play here. Number 1 is the definition of a fat. The FDA requires fats to be listed as triglycerides, which mono and diglycerides are not. Number 2 are the labeling laws – if a product has less than 5 calories or less than 0.5g fat per serving , it can be listed as “0.” As an example, let’s say we have cooking spray X that is listed as having “0 calories” and “0 fat” per 1/3 second spray ( I’m not sure about you guys, but we don’t stop spraying at .33 seconds, nor can we operate a stop watch and spray at the same time, but that is our short coming). Further reading shows one of the first ingredients are mono and diglycerides aka oils, aka fats, that are magically fat free. Since we don’t live in a magical world where somehow fat has become fat free, let’s assume that one serving contains 5 calories of fat. That means one seconds worth of spraying has given us 15 calories and approximately 1.7 grams of fat. Let’s say you sprayed for 5 seconds. That would run you 75 calories and 8.3 grams of fat. That is, sadly, not as fat free as the nutrition panel suggests.

However, FoodFacts understands that if we are watching what we eat and we do our homework, then we have a better idea of what we are putting into our bodies. And bravo to us, since that is not always easy!

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FoodFacts knows that for years consumers have been concerned with serving sizes as a way to control weight. If one serving from a package fits into someone’s caloric intake goals for the day, it can help make the decision to purchase a particular product.

But when you really look into a processed food product’s serving size, there are so many other issues besides calories to be concerned about. That’s especially true when we talk about “fun” foods. Those are the foods we usually limit in our diets because they aren’t incredibly good for us. We use them as treats … foods like ice cream, chips, cookies and cakes. FoodFacts sometimes wonders if the serving size information is a way to ease us into being comfortable with a food that might not be healthy for us.

Your average, nameless brand of peanut butter cup ice cream, for example, cites a serving size of half a cup. This weighs in at 150 calories, 10 g total fat (4 of which are saturated), 25 mg cholesterol, and 15 g carbohydrates. In order for this information to be correct, it would be necessary to physically measure out a half cup of ice cream in a measuring cup prior to consumption. In addition, it would require that you only have one serving of said ice cream. If you don’t stick to that one serving, you’ll be getting double the fat (20 g total). You might not even realize that while it’s happening.

Cookies are another of our favorite examples of the serving size dilemma. Chocolate chip cookies are probably the most popular cookies. Almost any brand of chocolate chip cookies carries a serving size of 3 cookies. Those three cookies carry a calorie count of 190, with 8 grams of fat (2.5 of which are saturated, but 0 g trans fat) and 22 g carbohydrates. If you didn’t read the ingredient list, you won’t realize that they’re made with partially hydrogenated oil. That one ingredient means that the product DOES, in fact, contain trans fat, but they can claim to be trans-fat free because there’s less than .5 g in a single serving. So, if you have 6 cookies, instead of three, you just consumed one gram of trans fat, no matter what the label said.

How about potato chips with an average serving size of 12 chips? When was the last time you ate exactly 12 potato chips? We couldn’t tell you if we had 12, or 24 or 36. It would probably depend on the desirability of the accompanying dip. And that could have elevated trans-fat consumption up to 2 grams. For that one food product.

When you realize that every food we consume has a suggested serving size and that the nutritional information listed is applicable to that serving size, you can see the opportunities we have all day long to turn foods that might not seem so bad into unhealthy items.

FoodFacts wants our community members to keep in mind how certain food items can appear innocuous on the food label, while in reality hold more serious implications for your healthy diet. It’s always about education. .5 grams of trans-fat might not make you uncomfortable. But 2 grams for two separate food items during a one day period might make you stop and think. So don’t just read the label. Understand how that food product fits into your day and your goals for diet and health.

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Recently, FoodFacts came across the book, “I’m Fat, Help Me”, written by Laura Michina. We were so excited about the straight forward, no-nonsense approach the book takes to losing weight, eating well, and improving lifestyle habits, we just had to share the information with our community.

Laura Michina’s important book is written as a handbook for those who are trying to lose weight. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and are looking for a way out of their problems. Most, however, will turn to traditional diets for their solutions. Sadly, it’s proven that those diets, while they may have an initial effect, do nothing to alter the long-term outcome of most dieters.

This book can help those who are looking to make the changes in their diets and lifestyles that will result in weight loss and a return to better health. If you’re looking to lose 15 pounds or over a hundred, this is the book that can help you accomplish your goals. It’s honest, straight-forward and is not at all politically correct. So you’ll have to make sure that you can handle the advice. But, if you can, it will help you make the significant changes that will stay with you for a lifetime. Laura also includes FoodFacts.com in the book and cites our database information in several topic areas.

Laura has it all covered — from why diets don’t work, to making sure you exercise, to the ingredients your body doesn’t need and aren’t good for you. It’s a real and fresh approach to an age-old subject … one that you won’t find in every book on dieting written, and, more importantly, one that can truly help the committed re-establish the healthy relationship with food that can last a lifetime.

Thanks for the mentions, Laura! We’re happy to know that FoodFacts.com can help people achieve their healthy lifestyle goals.

And for anyone who’s interested, you can visit the I’m Fat, Help Me website here.

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FoodFacts.com was just reading up on a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation regarding fast food. We’ve all known for awhile that there’s absolutely nothing redeeming in the ingredient lists of fast food products. They’re just bad for you. They have too much fat, too much salt, and tons of controversial ingredients. But now on top of that, it’s been found that there’s a very real possibility they cause brain damage.

In this new study, fatty foods were found to damage the hypothalamus region of rodent brains. The hypothalamus produces the hormones that control hunger, thirst, sleep and moods. It’s thought to be the “self-regulation” center of the human brain, helping us to determine how many hours of sleep we need, when we’ve eaten enough, etc.

During this study, rats and mice were fed a high-fat diet, similar to a fast-food heavy American diet. After 24 hours, their hypothalamuses were inflamed. In about a week, the rodents’ brains activated cells to repair the damage. But after several seeks, the inflammation returned and stayed for the remaining eight months of the study. The findings show that a diet can actually re-program the structure of the brain. It’s felt that this could explain why it can be so hard to lose weight and keep it off permanently. The rodents on the high-fat diet had a 25% decline in a special kind of cell that’s devoted to regulating appetite and fat control. The findings point to the idea that when we’re consuming an unhealthy, high-fat diet, we aren’t able to control our habits because the diet has actually affected the brain.

It’s important to remember that while this is compelling, researchers have yet to determine if the damage observed in rodent brains is analogous to what happens in the human brain. However, this is the first time that a study has found actual changes in brain structure based on fat consumption.

FoodFacts.com feels that this is important information for everyone in our community to note and share with others in their lives. Getting this new word out about fast food will give people another reason to stay away and recommit to preparing fresh foods at home.

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FoodFacts does its best to keep our community members in the know regarding news in nutrition. Sometimes the latest news puts to rest some long held beliefs about the foods we eat. This latest information does just that.

For years now, we’ve believed that we should keep our consumption of beef low. It hasn’t been considered the best source of protein, even for nutritionally conscious folks who follow a healthy diet plan, based on its fat content. A new study published in the January 2012 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is actually taking a new stance on the subject matter. The study shows that, in fact, beef can play a role in a cholesterol-lowering diet. Every day consumption of lean beef can be effective in lowering total and “bad” cholesterol.

Conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State University, the study evaluated adults with moderately elevated cholesterol levels. It measured the impact of diets including varying amounts of lean beef on total and LDL cholesterol levels. Those involved in the study experienced a 10% decrease in bad cholesterol from the beginning of the study while consuming diets including between 4 and 5.4 oz of lean beef daily. The remainder of the diet was rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products. It was concluded that diets including lean beef are as effective in improving heart health risk factors as other diets which emphasize plant proteins.

It is important to note that beef consumed in this study were lean cuts and 95% lean ground beef. It is also important to note the amount of beef consumed daily during the study. While this is all great news for beef lovers everywhere, we all need to be conscious of the cut, fat content and portion size of beef in order to consider it a healthy option in our diets. The good news is that the most popular cuts of beef (top sirloin steak, tenderloin, t-bone steak) do, in fact, meet government guidelines for lean beef. A 3 oz. serving of lean beef contains about 150 calories and in addition, is a great source of protein, zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, niacin and selenium.

FoodFacts is happy to share this news with you and to remind all of us that a healthy lifestyle includes real foods, in combination with one another and in moderation. It’s always a better plan than anything that comes from a box.

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This week, if you search for New Year’s Resolutions, you’ll find everything from weight loss tips to tips for going green in 2012. FoodFacts thought it would be appropriate to put together our own short list of resolutions you can make that will help you become healthier in the new year.

1.   Avoid processed food 
We talk about it constantly. The more processed food you consume, the more you’re asking your body to deal with foreign ingredients. Those ingredients, like MSG or sodium benzoate are things your body doesn’t need and may react to badly.

2. Commit to cooking at home more often. 
If you’re going to avoid processed foods, you’ll need to commit to preparing meals at home. Don’t forget that should include breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner. Many times, we can look at breakfast and lunch as “quick meals” that require convenient products that won’t disturb our set schedules.

3. Read the ingredient list on every product you purchase at the grocery store. 
There are some products, like canned beans or pickles for instance, that we can’t assume only contain the things we’d expect to find in them. Sadly that assumption isn’t always the case and the only way we can ensure avoiding those ingredients we really don’t want in our diets is to make a consistent habit of reading those lists.

4. Read the nutrition label, too. 
 The basic nutrition information is important. We all need to understand how much fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol exist in the serving size of any product we consume. We also need to understand what our daily intake of those things should be. So find out what’s right for your body and eat accordingly.

5. Eat your vegetables
… and if you already eat them, eat more of them! Experiment with veggies you’ve never tried before. Try to make sure eating the same vegetables over and over doesn’t bore you – it’s easy to get into a veggie rut … especially if you have kids that will only eat two or three.

6. Eliminate something you already know isn’t healthy. 
 Try to give up something for the New Year that you already know isn’t healthy for your body. Maybe you drink too much diet cola. Maybe your favorite cereal is really a sugar rush. Pick just one thing in your diet today that you know shouldn’t be there and commit to eliminating it in 2012.

7. Try to fit organic foods into your budget
. Certified Organic Food is one of the best ways to know you’re avoiding things you want to keep out of your diet. While it can be pricey, there are food products you may be able to replace with organic versions that won’t destroy your budget.

8. Be careful of product names. 
It’s so easy for any of us to be fooled. “Natural”, “whole grain”, “smart” are just a few of the words on packaging that can have any of us reaching for them without realizing that for food it’s really not all in the name.

9. Question convenience. 
As we go forward into 2012, we’re all pressed for time. Life does seem to move faster now than it did before. Food marketing relies heavily on the concept of making our lives easier. Instant oatmeal, frozen scrambled eggs and bacon, rice and flavorings in a box with dehydrated vegetables. Do we really need to save time this much? The answer is different for everyone. Make sure you ask the question of yourself in the new year.

10. Remember you won’t be deprived. 
If you follow any of these tips, remind yourself that there’s a big world of food out there. As you remove the things you don’t want in your diet, you’ll most certainly find things to replace them with that are better for you and your family that you’ll actually enjoy even more than what you dismissed for its lack of health value.

FoodFacts wants to wish everyone in our community a happy and healthy 2012!

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FoodFacts remembers years ago, when many of us were children, back before the internet, food companies found creative ways of advertising to smaller people. They knew, even back then, that kids were pretty valuable. Put a toy in a box of cereal, print a great picture of it on the front of the box and we could drive our mothers crazy for however long she chose to keep us with her in the grocery store. Cracker Jacks always had a prize inside. Some of the cereal toys were actually fun, even if they didn’t last very long. Food companies have always understood the value of marketing to children.

As the world has become more technologically advanced, so have marketing tactics which target children. In the absence of real regulation, since 2006, 17 major corporations — including General Mills, McDonald’s, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Burger King — have taken a voluntary pledge to reduce marketing of their least nutritious brands to children, an effort they updated last year to include marketing on mobile devices. Nutrition experts say that the voluntary pledges come complete with loopholes, and that “better for you” is really in the eye of the beholder. Companies are still marketing foods that really aren’t considered healthy. And they’re doing it in highly creative ways.

Take a minute and go visit:
www.babybottlepop.com
www.happymeal.com
www.mcworld.com
www.bkcrown.com
www.applejacks.com
www.luckycharms.com
www.cookiecrispcity.com
www.pfgoldfish.com

We could actually include a full page of these URLs, but this is a good sampling for our community. Click through and you’ll see that kids can play free games, get involved in safe online communities AND be exposed to brand marketing specifically designed to appeal to children. Most of these sites actually tell the kids and parents right there on the site with a call-out in small type that reads something to the effect of “Kids: this is advertising”. We guess this means that if they’re honest about it, they get to do what they want. It seems to be a great way to ensure brand loyalty amongst the smallest in society. If they like the food company’s games and they can play them for free, they’ll probably drive their parents crazy until they buy that particular food product. Of course, that product might contain all sorts of preservatives, food dyes, trans fats and other ingredients you might not expect to see in food meant for consumption by children.

Just like the “toy-in-the-box” concept that started many years ago, this “free-online-games-marketing” is not a healthy thing for our kids. It succeeded in helping a lot of us get used to things in our diets that never needed to be there in the first place like excess sugars, food coloring that serves no purpose other than visual appeal, fake ingredients that we still can’t pronounce, etc. And now, in the online age, those same tactics are working to ensure the same “food future” for millions of children.

FoodFacts knows there are many in our community who may already be aware of these marketing tactics and which companies are utilizing them. For those who may not already have that understanding, we wanted to make sure that you get the information you need to make the decisions that will help you build and maintain your healthy lifestyle.

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FoodFacts knows that orange juice is one of the most popular breakfast choices in the United States, with up to two thirds of all Americans including the beverage in their breakfast routines. We were saddened to learn late last week that on top of coming to terms with arsenic in apple juice, we’ll also have to come to terms with the idea that our premium orange juice is not “All Natural” like we’ve been led to believe.

There’s a “secret ingredient” that is included in any premium, not from concentrate, 100% pure orange juice that manufacturers are not required to put on their labeling.

So the secret’s out and here it is: Premium orange juice (pretty much all of it) is made and then stored in tanks for up to a year. While it’s being stored it loses much of its flavor and needs to be “reinvigorated” with flavor packets. For the last 30 years, the citrus industry has used flavor packs to process what the Food and Drug Administration identifies as “pasteurized” orange juice. The top brands on grocery store shelves like Tropicana, Minute Maid, Simply Orange and Florida Natural, among others have always used this practice. The addition of flavor packs long after orange juice is stored actually makes those premium juices more like a concentrate. Consumers have never known about this and are under the impression that the juice they are purchasing is better in both flavor and content than juices mad from concentrates. The “not from concentrate” brands are priced higher than their “from concentrate” competitors. And consumers have felt good about purchasing them believing that they were of higher quality.

But it doesn’t appear to be the case. After the oranges are squeezed and pasteurized, if they’re being used in a “not from concentrate” brand, they are kept in aseptic storage. This means oxygen is removed from the juice in a process called deaeration. It is then stored in tanks for up to a year. Prior to packaging and shipped, flavor packs are added to the stored juice. The flavor packs contain orange byproducts such as peel and pulp which compensate for the loss of taste and aroma. Those flavor packs are also how manufacturers are able to maintain a consistent flavor profile for their juices. Each brand has its own flavor pack formula.

In case you missed the news this weekend, FoodFacts wanted to make sure that our community stays up to date on important issues like this one. While the juice isn’t made from concentrate, it really isn’t “100% pure” like the manufacturers have been leading us to believe. And while the manufacturers are saying that their flavor packs are made from the oranges themselves through the pasteurization process, we understand that the addition of the packs really does defy the claims for the product. Let us know what you think.

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FoodFacts wonders if you know what Aunt Jemima Blueberry Waffles, Tropicana Cherry Berry Twister and Betty Crocker Super Moist Carrot Cake Mix have in common.

Food colorings. Blue 2, Yellow 6, Red 40, Yellow 5, to name a few of the more common food colorings in our food supply. But these foods go one step further than using the food colorings … they may in fact be using the food colorings in order to deceive you, the consumer. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reports today that it is urging the FDA to require food companies to disclose on the front of the food labels whether or not a product is artificially colored. We think they have a point. If you see an illustration of fruit on a front label, you may in fact assume that the fruit in the illustration is actually included in that product.

Let’s take a look at a few product ingredient lists and see if the front label packaging is sometimes giving us the wrong impression.

Here’s Aunt Jemima’s Blueberry Waffles.

The product is featured on the front of the packaging. You can see all the “blueberries” in the waffles pictured, as well as some fresh blueberries garnishing the plate atop which the waffles sit. You can also see that in a lighter color type next to the words Blueberry Waffles, are the words “Artificially Flavored”. At least the words are there. The ingredient list cites “Artificial Blueberry Bits” … and that’s the only place you’ll see the word blueberry in that list. You will, however see, Red 40 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. We guess they need to use something to make those dots in the waffles actually look like blueberries.

Next we have Betty Crocker SuperMoist Carrot Cake Mix. This was a featured product in the report from the Center For Science in the Public Interest.

If you look closely at the image, you can see what appear to be bits of real carrot in the cake. Sadly, when you look further into the ingredient list, those bits of carrot are actually listed as “Carrot Flavored Pieces that are made out of corn syrup, enriched flour, corn cereal, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and/or soybean oil, carrot powder and yellow 6 and red 40.” That carrot powder mentioned in the Carrot Flavored Pieces is the only carrot in the entire ingredient list. What leads you to believe the carrot cake mix is made with actual carrots is the photo gracing the front of the package.

Tropicana Twister Cherry Berry Blast is using Red 40 in what appears to be an effort to make the consumer think that the cherries and berries pictured on the label are actually in the product.
The product does, in fact, contain fruit juice, just no cherry or berry juice.

We can also feature Strawberry Cool Whip.

The artwork on the front of the package pictures lovely, whole strawberries surrounding with a dollop of Strawberry Cool Whip sitting on top. Unfortunately, that’s the biggest relationship to a strawberry this product has. When you check the ingredient list, it doesn’t mention strawberries at all. It does, though, mention Red 40 which makes the whipped topping pink and, therefore leads the consumer to believe it actually contains strawberries.

Share your opinions with FoodFacts. We’d like to know if you think the efforts of the Center for Science in the Public Interest will help this situation. Would reading clearly on any of these front labels contains Food Coloring Red 40 or Yellow 6 make this more intelligible to the consumer. Perhaps they shouldn’t be able to picture a fruit on the label that’s actually unrelated to the product. Or maybe you have other ideas that we can share. Let us know.

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