Healthy Bytes

(NOT) All Natural

read time: 504 words, about three minutes

Oopps, Kraft Foods is being sued AGAIN for a product label.
As reported in the Palm Beach Post, Linda Rex of Boyton Beach, Florida has filed a “deceptive packaging” lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

The Kraft legal department and hurry up and re-label it department must be much too busy for any time off these days.

The product in question:
Capri Sun juice drink

The deception:
“All Natural”

Capri Sun in fact contains the way too prevalent ingredient HFCS – High Fructose Corn Syrup.
We’ll concede corn is “natural”, but as for this concoction… home chemistry buffs aren’t well equipped enough to produce it. It’s strictly an industrial product.
I’ve assigned it to the worst food products team.

HFCS is a sweetener. Much cheaper than cane or beet sugar. But, by golly, it’s not actually a food… it’s a concoction. Not recognized by the body as food.

So? Well here’s some so… when you eat calories from real foods, they tickle your satiety center and turn off hunger signals in your brain.
HFCS isn’t recognized as food. No effect on satiety. So you keep eating past “full”. Which of course is over eating. Which of course translates into weight gain… you’ve seen the movie, probably even had a starring role more than once.

HFCS has become VERY prevalent in packaged foods since it hit the market in 1967, INCLUDING “low fat” foods. People tend to choose low fat foods for the single reason that they perceive they are consuming fewer calories.

***Once again, reading the label is wonderously illuminating***

side note: the word “natural” has no regulated definition. You’ve no doubt noticed how frequently the word graces the labels of food and cosmetic products. Terms such as “low fat” and “organic” do have regulated definitions. So don’t fall for the perception that natural on the label means healthy.

George Bray, professor of medicine at Louisiana State University is an authority on obesity. According to Bray, consumption of HFCS increased more than 1000% between 1970 and 1990, mirroring the upward trend in obesity statistics.
Americans now consume 36 pounds of HFCS a year… 128,000 calories.

HFCS has been associated with liver toxicity, specifically – non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It’s also believed to decrease the effectiveness of insulin… leading to overeating and diabetes.

Another issue with high fructose corn syrup - by continually upping the sweetness in products, your tastebuds become less sensitive to small amounts of sweetness. You come to “demand” more sweetness. Same with salt. Folks that eat heavily salted foods don’t detect mild saltings.

Marc Firestone, Kraft’s executive vice president for corporate and legal affairs, said well shucks, we’ve been reformulating that line and packaging for about a year. By golly, the new Capri Sun will be going into production in two weeks.

Firestone said:

“The new packaging … will say that Capri Sun contains ‘no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives’ …With this action, the phrase ‘All Natural’ is being removed from the package”

Hmmm, Kraft folded pretty quickly on this lawsuit. I guess the stars were (almost) aligned for them being just two weeks from label makeover.

You’ve seen it with trans-fats. I predict you’ll next see a big push against HFCS.

Life Cycle labels

Meanwhile, across the pond… Prince Charles is a major “green” guy. Not sarcasm there. He not only does a lot to promote sustainable farming and eco-friendly habits, he lives his own life that way, runs his farm that way.

He started a company called Duchy Originals that sells organic and eco-friendly products.

Their products will soon have a “life cycle” label which will quantify emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other gases blamed for warming the climate.

Holy guacamole… flavoring and coloring

read time: 328 words, about two minutes

Kraft Foods is being sued by Brenda Lifsey of Southern California. The lawsuit alleges fraud because the guacamole dip made by Kraft actually contains just a wee bit of avocado… less than 2% actually.
Lifsey said “It just didn’t taste avocadoey”.

What’s in Kraft guacamole dip:
partially hydrogenated soybean and coconut oils, corn syrup, whey and food starch. Yellow and blue dyes give it the green color.

Kraft said no way were they deceiving customers. In fact Kraft’s VP of Corporate Affairs, Claire Regan said:

“We think customers understand that it isn’t made from avocado. All of the ingredients are listed on the label for consumers to reference.”

Oh my gosh.

I think what she means is:
Chose your food based on the ingredients rather than the front of the label and the hype or promise of the advertising. Yes, I believe the Kraft Food conglomerate is advocating that you - the consumer - should read the label.

If we extend the logic here, I would deduce that Kraft believes customers want avocado free guacamole. And similarly, customers want other chemical imitations of food.

Afterall, their spokes person there says customers understand the dip is some chemical avocado imitation. Customers buy it; therefore, they want chemical imitation food products. Afterall, Kraft is a for profit company. If no one wanted what they marketed… no sales, no profit, no company, thank-you, goodnight.

Thus either customers want chemical imitation food products, or, they believe they’re buying wholesome products. Either way, Kraft stays in business as is.

Funny how customer Brenda Lifsey just didn’t understand it wasn’t made from avocados. Oh and California avocado growers didn’t seem to understand either. They’ll be following the case.

Meanwhile, back in LA, you’d be hard pressed to find the marvy, lacking-in-avocado, guacamole dip on store shelves. It’s off for a label makeover.

Avocados are a great source of Vitamin E, potassium, folic acid and fiber. Guess it’s better to make your own guacamole.

Labels - what’s really inside

Sticking with our Thanksgiving theme, I popped into a neighborhood chain grocery store… camera in hand.
I took a bunch of pictures of labels… I take bad pictures :<

So I pulled these up on line...

Some Nutrition labels are hard to find.
Ocean Spray is one of them. Here’s the Nutrition Data for Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce from NutritionData.com.
It doesn’t include the ingredient list, but as you can see: SUGAR… 105 grams

Next on the list - stuffing:

You have your Nutrition Facts from Nutrition Data which show… yep, once again: SUGAR. 3 grams
Then you have the ingredient list - ouch. Sugars, trans-fats and other fun things.

Now for the Sweet Potatoe course…

More SUGAR - 35 grams - (and we’re not even close to desert yet). Ahh, but check out the Vitamin A.

And now for desert…

Finally, a manufacturer that doesn’t hide the label.
This is Libby’s Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix. Comes in a can.
Trans-fat. It says 0g, but total fat is 0.5g. The FDA allows the label to say 0g if it is 0.5 of less. The FDA only likes whole numbers I guess.
And of course, there’s sugar. Natural Flavors is a code phrase for MSG. Vitamin A is good.

As we say (repetatively), the back of the label can be quite revealing.

Trans-fat free… free from what?

read time: 561 words, about 4 minutes

As reported in Business Week (and elsewhere), The Colonel has gone trans-fat free.
Kentucky Fried Chicken joins three other fast food chains (Wendy’s, Ruby Tuesday and Chilli’s) in switching to trans-fat free products.

What are Trans-Fats (Trans Fatty Acids)?
Saturated fats are generally derived from animals, (ex: butter). Unsaturated fats are typically derived from plants, (ex: olive oil). Molecularly speaking, Unsaturated fats by nature have fewer Hydrogen atoms and are liquid at room temp (versus saturated fats which are more stable and solid at room temp).

Trans-fats result from taking an unsaturated fat and “hydrogenating” it so that it partially solidifies and is more like a saturated fat. The process typically involves putting a reactive metal such as cobalt into a tank of vegetable oil. Hydrogen gas is then bubbled through the oil until it partially solidifies.

For the chemistry nerd: the double bonds between carbon atoms are in the trans rather than cis configuration

What’s with the hydrogenation?
It takes a less costly and less stable fat (vegetable/unsaturated) and converts it into a more stable fat such as shortening.
For trivia nerds: Crisco was the first commercial application of this process in the early 1900’s. It was a replacement for lard.
About two years ago Crisco came out with a trans-fat free version.

Because it doesn’t go rancid as quickly, a restaurant can use the same oil in their deep fryer for weeks, rather than days.
This more stable shortening product is also used to extend the shelf life and increase the flavor stability of baked products (cookies, crackers, doughnuts).
Additionally, it’s typically found in the soft, spreadable margarine products.

What’s the big deal?
Essentially, the liver can’t properly metabolize trans-fats. Trans-fats interfere with a particular enzyme (Delta 6 desaturase). This enzyme is needed to convert Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3 and Omega 6) to support proper cell function.
Americans consume about 4.7lbs. of trans-fats a year

Research has shown trans-fats:
- Increases LDL (the bad cholesterol), decreases HDL )the good cholesterol;
- Increases artery plaque buildup;
- Increases the risk of Coronary Heart Disease;
- May increase weight gain and abdominal fat;
- May increase the risk of diabetes;
- Reduces the absorption rate of essential vitamins and minerals

There is a published report from The Institute of Medicine and National Academies of Science which says:

“because they are not essential and provide no known health benefit, there is no safe level of trans fatty acids and people should eat as little of them as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.”

The FDA now requires food labels to list trans-fats in the product. But do note:
“trans fat does not have to be listed if the total fat in a food is less than 0.5 gram (or 1/2 gram) per serving and no claims are made about fat, fatty acids or cholesterol content.”
Hmm, there’s a little math they can wiggle around with.

What to look for on the back of the label:
partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soybean oil or other oils

Do note: the absence of trans-fat does not in and of itself make it a healthy product. Nor does it decrease the number of calories. Nor is trans-fat free mean it is fat free.
But avoiding trans-fats is a good thing to do.

For more on what the FDA says about trans-fat:
FDA Q&A Trans-fat food labeling
FDA Facts about trans-fats

Let’s do some back of the label exercises…

Chips Ahoy hasn’t joined the trans-fat free snack group,
In fact…

Even the “Reduced Fat” Chips Ahoy hasn’t shed it’s trans-fat.

More on sugar - sucrose versus fructose

read time: about three minutes

Sucrose (table sugar) is made from cane or beet sugar. Fructose is made from corn. Well fructose is found naturally in fruits, but the fructose used in food products is generally from corn.
Corn is a lot cheaper than cane. Additionally, fructose is about twice as “sweet” as sucrose, absorbs only 40% as quickly and causes a lower increase in blood sugar.

Cheaper and more efficient. Sounds good so far.

Since fructose absorbs more slowly and causes less rise in blood sugar, Doctors reasoned that it would be good for diabetics.
The food industry was delighted to come out with a plethora of fructose products (after all, it’s a lower cost ingredient).

Do you see where this is going?
Yep, sometime AFTER we fell madly in love with fructose, “we” decided to look a little more closely at it. And low and behold, there are some warts under that mask…

- Fructose has no enzymes, vitamins, and minerals… so it takes micronutrients from your body to assimilate itself.
- Fructose is not converted to useable glucose, but instead is removed by the liver.
- Fructose converts to fat more than other sugars leading to greater weight gain.
- Fructose raises serum triglycerides.
- Fructose increases total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.
- Fructose reduces insulin sensitivity.
- Fructose interferes with the metabolism of minerals and chelates minerals out of the body including iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper.
- Fructose browns food more easily which decreases protein quality.
- Fructose increase lactic acid in the blood.
- Fructose can cause bloating, gas and diarrhea.

In 1980 sugar consumption per year for the average person was 84 lbs. of sucrose and 39 lbs. of fructose.
1994 it was 66 lbs. of sucrose and 83 lbs. of fructose. That’s a 113% increase in fructose.

Try this…
next time you go to the grocery store, randomly pick out any five food products and flip them over. Do the ingredients include “corn syrup”, “high fructose corn syrup”… how close to the top are those ingredients?

check this out:

Looking at that bowl of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes from a different perspective.