7 Scary Food Ingredients
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Lauren8239
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Avoid these 7 scary food ingredients, author advises
CTVNews.ca Staff
Updated: Mon. Apr. 30 2012 8:48 AM ET
When trawling the grocery store aisles on the hunt of healthy foods, most of us will turn to the Nutrition Facts panel when scanning food labels. But author Andrea Donsky says that's the wrong approach.
"We say: start with the ingredients. Because really, if there are any harmful ingredients – which we call the 'Scary Seven' – then it doesn't matter how much fat and calories a product has," Donsky tells CTV's Canada AM.
Donsky has recently released a book called "Unjunk Your Junk Food: Healthy Alternatives to Conventional Snacks" along with co-authors Randy Boyer and fellow holistic nutritionist Lisa Tsakos.
She says there are seven key ingredients that shoppers should strive to avoid in all their shopping purchases. They are:
High-fructose corn syrup
Trans fats
MSG (Monosodium glutamate)
Artificial sweeteners (this includes aspartame, Splenda, Ace-K)
Artificial colours (any type of artificial dyes such as Yellow #5, Red #1, etc.)
Artificial flavours
Preservatives
These seven ingredients "wreak havoc on the immune system," says Donsky.
The first of the ‘Scary Seven' -- high-fructose corn syrup – often turns up in food we might think of as healthy, such as granola bars. It's sometimes even hidden and listed as "glucose-fructose," but it's the same ingredient.
"High-fructose corn syrup is a cheap sugar that food companies use but that comes at a high cost to our bodies and our health," Donsky says.
"We know that high-fructose corn syrup causes obesity, insulin resistance, which is the step just before Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. So these are important reasons why we want to stay away from this cheap sugar."
Trans fats, too, have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, which is why most researchers say there is no safe limit of trans fat in our diet. But the problem, points out Donsky, is that a food that says it has zero trans fat can actually contain it anyway.
"There's a loophole in Canada that says if a product has less than 0.2 grams of trans fat per serving, they're allowed to write "zero" on its Nutrition Facts label. So this is another reason why we need to read the ingredients first," says Donsky.
"That's why shoppers need to be on the lookout for such words on the ingredient list as "partially hydrogenated,' ‘shortening,' or ‘hydrogenated.' All three of those terms mean they have trans fat in the product," she says.
Monosodium glutamate is another ingredient to avoid and another ingredient that can hide under other names, such as "autolyzed yeast extract."
"The reason why we want to stay away from MSG is that first of all, it's a flavour enhancer, so it makes us want to eat more," she says. "How often do you sit down with a bag of chips and just eat one?"
While it's nearly impossible to avoid these ingredients completely, especially if we eat out, shoppers should learn to look for these ingredients and avoid them as much as possible, Donsky advises.
CTVNews.ca Staff
Updated: Mon. Apr. 30 2012 8:48 AM ET
When trawling the grocery store aisles on the hunt of healthy foods, most of us will turn to the Nutrition Facts panel when scanning food labels. But author Andrea Donsky says that's the wrong approach.
"We say: start with the ingredients. Because really, if there are any harmful ingredients – which we call the 'Scary Seven' – then it doesn't matter how much fat and calories a product has," Donsky tells CTV's Canada AM.
Donsky has recently released a book called "Unjunk Your Junk Food: Healthy Alternatives to Conventional Snacks" along with co-authors Randy Boyer and fellow holistic nutritionist Lisa Tsakos.
She says there are seven key ingredients that shoppers should strive to avoid in all their shopping purchases. They are:
High-fructose corn syrup
Trans fats
MSG (Monosodium glutamate)
Artificial sweeteners (this includes aspartame, Splenda, Ace-K)
Artificial colours (any type of artificial dyes such as Yellow #5, Red #1, etc.)
Artificial flavours
Preservatives
These seven ingredients "wreak havoc on the immune system," says Donsky.
The first of the ‘Scary Seven' -- high-fructose corn syrup – often turns up in food we might think of as healthy, such as granola bars. It's sometimes even hidden and listed as "glucose-fructose," but it's the same ingredient.
"High-fructose corn syrup is a cheap sugar that food companies use but that comes at a high cost to our bodies and our health," Donsky says.
"We know that high-fructose corn syrup causes obesity, insulin resistance, which is the step just before Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. So these are important reasons why we want to stay away from this cheap sugar."
Trans fats, too, have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, which is why most researchers say there is no safe limit of trans fat in our diet. But the problem, points out Donsky, is that a food that says it has zero trans fat can actually contain it anyway.
"There's a loophole in Canada that says if a product has less than 0.2 grams of trans fat per serving, they're allowed to write "zero" on its Nutrition Facts label. So this is another reason why we need to read the ingredients first," says Donsky.
"That's why shoppers need to be on the lookout for such words on the ingredient list as "partially hydrogenated,' ‘shortening,' or ‘hydrogenated.' All three of those terms mean they have trans fat in the product," she says.
Monosodium glutamate is another ingredient to avoid and another ingredient that can hide under other names, such as "autolyzed yeast extract."
"The reason why we want to stay away from MSG is that first of all, it's a flavour enhancer, so it makes us want to eat more," she says. "How often do you sit down with a bag of chips and just eat one?"
While it's nearly impossible to avoid these ingredients completely, especially if we eat out, shoppers should learn to look for these ingredients and avoid them as much as possible, Donsky advises.
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Replies
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Do we really need a doctor to tell us chemical and processed foods are not good for us? I just heard results on a 5 year study that concluded "a diet heavy in fat and sugar can lead to several health problems". How much money was wasted on that gem?0
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oh good, more scare-mongering about the big bad corporations. what's so hard about eating smart and avoiding pre-packaged food?0
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I'm surprised I'm not dead already0
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I'm surprised I'm not dead already
Me too. Especially since I HATE veggies and fruits.....unless they're covered in high fructose corn syrup, msg, and transfat to make them taste good.0 -
its only a matter of time before drinking a can of coke will give you cancer.... seriously, my dad pretty much lives on all of that stuff listed and he's just turned 60 and never had a serious health problem. It all just stems down to doctors using scare tactics to make people eat more fruit and veg.0
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Yay for scare mongering. And "preservatives" aren't an ingredient. Preservatives ARE ingredients, but not the way you're wording things.
And trust me, you would rather have preservatives in your food than NOT have them. They aren't just there to scare you. They keep your food from rotting. Oh but I guess we all live near farms...
Oh noes chemicals!! How awful! But do you wanna hear something REALLY scary? Our entire bodies are made up of chemicals!! Quick! Abandon your flesh!!0 -
Quick! Abandon your flesh!!
Ha! This reminds me of that episode of Sponge Bob where Sandy unzips her squirrel fur and hangs it up so she can take a shower, then plankton comes in and steals it.0 -
I'm surprised I'm not dead already
Me too. Especially since I HATE veggies and fruits.....unless they're covered in high fructose corn syrup, msg, and transfat to make them taste good.
...and that's why you're here on MFP, I guess:noway:0 -
Thanks for posting this :flowerforyou:
. And don't listen to the ignorant ones. Let them drown in transfats, preservatives, hormones and antibiotics. I won't.0 -
I thought those were the 7 food groups...
... I must be doing something wrong...0 -
Thanks for posting this :flowerforyou:
. And don't listen to the ignorant ones. Let them drown in transfats, preservatives, hormones and antibiotics. I won't.
Thank you. It was a news article I thought worth sharing for whatever it was worth. Apparently not much to most, lol. Some of us just don't know everything yah know.
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Lol what garbage"We know that high-fructose corn syrup causes obesity, insulin resistance, which is the step just before Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. So these are important reasons why we want to stay away from this cheap sugar."
Oh it causes obedsity now?Trans fats, too, have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, which is why most researchers say there is no safe limit of trans fat in our diet. But the problem, points out Donsky, is that a food that says it has zero trans fat can actually contain it anyway.
Synthetic trans fats are bad, naturally occurring ones not so much, of course she makes no differentiation about them. Also funny her website promotes eating grass fed beef which is higher in trans fats. Go figure"The reason why we want to stay away from MSG is that first of all, it's a flavour enhancer, so it makes us want to eat more," she says. "How often do you sit down with a bag of chips and just eat one?"
And how is MSG different from naturally occurring glutamate found in foods?0 -
Yay for scare mongering. And "preservatives" aren't an ingredient. Preservatives ARE ingredients, but not the way you're wording things.
And trust me, you would rather have preservatives in your food than NOT have them. They aren't just there to scare you. They keep your food from rotting. Oh but I guess we all live near farms...
Oh noes chemicals!! How awful! But do you wanna hear something REALLY scary? Our entire bodies are made up of chemicals!! Quick! Abandon your flesh!!
Thus why I
you! LOL 0 -
Lol what garbage"We know that high-fructose corn syrup causes obesity, insulin resistance, which is the step just before Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. So these are important reasons why we want to stay away from this cheap sugar."
Oh it causes obedsity now?Trans fats, too, have been linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, which is why most researchers say there is no safe limit of trans fat in our diet. But the problem, points out Donsky, is that a food that says it has zero trans fat can actually contain it anyway.
Synthetic trans fats are bad, naturally occurring ones not so much, of course she makes no differentiation about them. Also funny her website promotes eating grass fed beef which is higher in trans fats. Go figure"The reason why we want to stay away from MSG is that first of all, it's a flavour enhancer, so it makes us want to eat more," she says. "How often do you sit down with a bag of chips and just eat one?"
And how is MSG different from naturally occurring glutamate found in foods?
Thank you! This is the type of post I'm happy to see.
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Many "ingredients" seem scary because you don't understand them.
Preservatives may not be so-called nasty chemicals but perfectly innocent salts, citric acid etc... all perfectly natural. And unless you can get locally-sourced produce fresh every day, then you will need something to help keep your food from decomposing.
There are no unhealthy foods, just unhealthy food habits.0 -
Many "ingredients" seem scary because you don't understand them.
Preservatives may not be so-called nasty chemicals but perfectly innocent salts, citric acid etc... all perfectly natural. And unless you can get locally-sourced produce fresh every day, then you will need something to help keep your food from decomposing.
There are no unhealthy foods, just unhealthy food habits.
Technically yes and technically no. Everything is natural by origin. "Natural" food is a stupid concept. Gasoline is technically natural. I won't drink it but it's natural.
No unhealthy foods? False. Synthetic trans fat = horrible for you. Excessive sodium that is prevalant in all our diets = horrible for you. Soda = waste of calories.0 -
Eeek!0
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I'm surprised I'm not dead already
Me too. Especially since I HATE veggies and fruits.....unless they're covered in high fructose corn syrup, msg, and transfat to make them taste good.
...and that's why you're here on MFP, I guess:noway:
Yes....because nobody on MFP eats any of those things.0 -
Oh good. I thought this was gonna be another post about beaver anal glands. Thanks. This is much better.0
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I'm surprised I'm not dead already
Me too. Especially since I HATE veggies and fruits.....unless they're covered in high fructose corn syrup, msg, and transfat to make them taste good.
...and that's why you're here on MFP, I guess:noway:
Be more concerned about why you are here then making assumptions as to why anyone else is.0
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