Scariest Food Facts Article-- check this out
Aross83
Posts: 936 Member
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.
INSTANT WEIGHT LOSS SECRETS: Follow me on Twitter for the fat-melting tips I come across every day as the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine—and lose your belly without ever dieting again.
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.
DID YOU KNOW? You don't need to make big changes to your diet to lose 10, 20, or even 30 pounds. You just need to make the right small tweaks. Change how you look and feel—fast and forever—with this must-see report on the 25 Best Nutrition Secrets Ever!
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.
SUPERMARKET SWINDLES: Stretch your dollar and shrink your waist with 18 Supermarket Lies Revealed.
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.
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.
FOUL FOWL: Even more frightening than mutant chickens is what the nation's restaurants do with them. Don't miss our shocking list of The Worst Chicken Dishes in America.
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.
20 NEW TERRIBLE FOODS! Some restaurant foods have an entire day's worth of calories and several days' worth of fat and salt. Avoid these shocking diet disasters at all costs: The Worst Foods in America!
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.
MAKE GREAT FOOD AT HOME! USDA scientists found that people eat 500 more calories on the days they consume fast foods compared with days they don't. But preparing your own meals doesn't have to be complicated. Start simple and start today, by learning How to Cook the Perfect Burger. It's healthy food, made the way you like it: delicious!
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.
INSTANT WEIGHT LOSS SECRETS: Follow me on Twitter for the fat-melting tips I come across every day as the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine—and lose your belly without ever dieting again.
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.
DID YOU KNOW? You don't need to make big changes to your diet to lose 10, 20, or even 30 pounds. You just need to make the right small tweaks. Change how you look and feel—fast and forever—with this must-see report on the 25 Best Nutrition Secrets Ever!
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.
SUPERMARKET SWINDLES: Stretch your dollar and shrink your waist with 18 Supermarket Lies Revealed.
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.
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.
FOUL FOWL: Even more frightening than mutant chickens is what the nation's restaurants do with them. Don't miss our shocking list of The Worst Chicken Dishes in America.
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.
20 NEW TERRIBLE FOODS! Some restaurant foods have an entire day's worth of calories and several days' worth of fat and salt. Avoid these shocking diet disasters at all costs: The Worst Foods in America!
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.
MAKE GREAT FOOD AT HOME! USDA scientists found that people eat 500 more calories on the days they consume fast foods compared with days they don't. But preparing your own meals doesn't have to be complicated. Start simple and start today, by learning How to Cook the Perfect Burger. It's healthy food, made the way you like it: delicious!
0
Replies
-
Loved that movie. Charlton Heston still rocks...0
-
Did this article have links to go along with it? It seems like some of the statements are teasers to longer articles possibly found elsewhere.
EDIT - I found a link to the article showing the links within it. Check out: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/9-scariest-food-facts0 -
Loved that movie. Charlton Heston still rocks...
ditto, but not one to think about when talking about food. ~chuckles~0 -
Yeah it was an artical posted on Yahoo news.
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/9-scariest-food-facts0 -
Scary isn't it? I've definitely become a label reader especially for sugar, sodium, dyes, and fat.0
-
bump0
-
I found a link for what looks like a similar article, but showcasing 20 scary facts:
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-scariest-food-facts#sharetagsfocus0 -
Did this article have links to go along with it? It seems like some of the statements are teasers to longer articles possibly found elsewhere.
EDIT - I found a link to the article showing the links within it. Check out: http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/9-scariest-food-facts
I would love to have the link to this as well0 -
Sorry, but what we have here is a lot of fantastic unsupported conclusions.
If the author would site the studies it may help his credibility. I positively hate "reporting" that states things such as "experts say"... really? what experts?
And another thing to think about... quote: Yet for 2,000 calories of nutritious grub, the researchers plunked down $36. unquote.
Really? Nutritious grub costs that much? What were they comparing? We are talking Ribeye steak cost territory here.
Sorry, I'm not that gullible. Leave the sound-bite news to someone who is...0 -
bump0
-
Sorry, but what we have here is a lot of fantastic unsupported conclusions.
Blame the author, not the news. (BTW: The author is not the OP, but by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding, see http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/9-scariest-food-facts)
As far as I can tell, the #1 Scariest Food Fact in the original article is wrong about the cost. (Where did they get $36?) But the conclusion has formal research to back up the claim.
Read what Tufts University has to say: http://www.tuftshealthletter.com/ShowArticle.aspx?rowId=545
The article is written as 'sound bites', but has some basis in fact. Notice that all the supporting links go to Men's Health, not the research supporting the statement. That is to generate advertisement revenue for the website. You'll have to find the research on your own, but it isn't too difficult to track down the information with a search engine.
BTW: These issues are the primary reason I buy organic. Not because I think organic is somehow superior, but that genuine organic foods are subject to stricter labeling laws and I know what's NOT in my foods.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 397K Introduce Yourself
- 44.2K Getting Started
- 260.9K Health and Weight Loss
- 176.3K Food and Nutrition
- 47.6K Recipes
- 232.8K Fitness and Exercise
- 456 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.7K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.3K Motivation and Support
- 8.3K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.5K Chit-Chat
- 2.6K Fun and Games
- 4.5K MyFitnessPal Information
- 16 News and Announcements
- 18 MyFitnessPal Academy
- 1.4K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 3.1K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions