Food Colorants in my Cereal Bowl!

Cereals advertised for their
Calcium, Zinc and Iron content

I’ve probably had too many colorants in my system for quite some time when I was kid. My mom used to buy us Trix, and what was she thinking! When talking about snacks and cereals for kids – and possibly adults- one can’t ignore the topic of food dyes!

Colored breakfast cereals are attractive to kids, especially with those cartoon characters on their packages. Other than their high content of sugar and sodium, and putting aside that they are advertised by mentioning their high calcium, iron, zinc, fiber and ‘fruity’ content, my concern here is their dye content!

Testing Food Dyes

Food colorings are tested for safety by different parties and sometimes views on food color safety can get quite controversial.

• In Europe, E numbers are given to European Union-approved natural and synthetic dyes. In fact, in European countries these colorings are considered hazardous until they can be proven safe.
• In the US, FD&C are given to FDA-approved synthetic food dyes that do not exist in nature. In the US, it's totally the opposite >> The colorings are safe until proven otherwise!

So companies that do business in Europe use natural and safe colorings; however, they use harmful and synthetic ones elsewhere! And guess what, yes; Lebanon is considered an "elsewhere" country.

Allowed Common Artificial Food Dyes

In the USA, the following seven artificial colorings are permitted in food as of 2007. You can see E number, FD&C number or the dye’s name. So when you check your label, you can find any of the 3.

• FD&C Blue No. 1 or E133 –Brilliant Blue (blue shade) 
• FD&C Blue No. 2 or E132 – Indigotine (inidigo shade)
• FD&C Green No. 3 or E143 – Fast Green FCF (turquoise shade) 
• FD&C Red No. 40 or E129– Allura Red AC. This dye is approved by the EU in general, but Switzerland already banned it and the UK is on its way!
• FD&C Red No. 3 or E127 – Erythrosine 
• FD&C Yellow No. 5 or E102 – Tartazine
• FD&C Yellow No. 6 or E110 – Sunset Yellow FCF (orange shade so it can also be called Orange E110). Now this is approved in the US; however, EU is considering its ban while Norway already banned it! 
• [Blue no.1, red no.40, yellow no.5 and yellow no. 6 being the most popular]

Disallowed Common Artificial Food Dyes

The following 9 dyes have been disallowed by the FDA because of their adverse effects so keep them in mind, and let’s hope we don’t see them in any of our foods!

• FD&C Red No. 2 – Amaranth 
• FD&C Red No. 4
• FD&C Red No. 32 
• FD&C Orange No. 1 
• FD&C Yellow No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 
• FD&C Violet No. 1

Artificial Dyes Health Concerns

Certain artificial food dyes have been shown to be carcinogenic to animals, affect mood and intensify ADHD while few are associated with fertility. You can pick your favorite. Now these studies are not conclusive yet, but the fact many are showing weak to moderate association between the dyes and the suggested health concern while facing a lot of “food politics” pressure, is enough of a concern to me! 

• The FDA requires that Yellow No. 5 be clearly labeled on food packaging along with other ingredients.  This label is just indicating Yellow 5 is in the food. This is not a warning label so now you’re warned. 
• According to the Mayo Clinic, colorants that may increase hyperactive behavior include: Yellow No. 6, Yellow No. 10, Yellow No. 5 and Red No.40. So even though, these are allowed by the FDA, studies are showing that they might have hazardous effects! 
• According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, food coloring such as Blue No. 1, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6 cause allergic reactions. Yellow food No. 5 has triggered asthma episodes in children. Red No. 40 may cause skin conditions such as eczema. Yellow No. 2 has been connected with male sterility and ADHD. Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2 used in beverages and often in pet food have been associated with brain tumors in animal studies and Red No. 3 is linked with thyroid tumors. It’s quite the mess! Actually, according to the Center for Science in Public Interest, artificial dyes are best avoided. They also have a "Food Dyes and Behavior Report Form" to fill out if your child shows any change of behavior when food colorants are ingested.
  

Natural Food Dyes

Some brands have natural food dyes

There's a growing number of natural food dyes commercially produced, especially due to consumer concerns surrounding synthetic dyes. Some examples include:

• E150 - Caramel coloring made from caramelized sugar, used in sodas 
• E160b - Annatto: a reddish-orange dye made from the achiote seeds
• E140 - Chlorophyll: a green dye made from algae 
• E120: Cochineal a red dye derived from the cochineal insect 
• E100 – Turmeric from curcuminoids 
• E160a- Saffron (caratenoids) for a yellow to orange color 
• E160c - Paprika 
• Betanin extracted from beets to give a bluish-red to brown color 

Natural food colors, due to their organic nature, can sometimes cause allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock in sensitive individuals. Coloring agents known to be potential hazards include annatto and cochineal. However, natural colors are not required to be tested nor mentioned on the label in the US!

Colored Cereals in Lebanon

Now, long story short, I found these colorings in 6 different colored cereals in Lebanon:

• Artificial colorings - Yellow E 102 (No. 5), Yellow E 110 (No. 6), Blue E 133 (No. 1), Red E 129 (No. 40)
  >> Although all these have been approved in the US, the Center for Science in Public Interest advises that they are best avoided! They are under the "Unsafe in amounts consumed or is very poorly tested and not worth any risk" category. Red 40 and Yellow 6 are being phased out in some European countries.
• Natural colorings - Turmeric, Paprika, Spinach, Carrots, Blackcurrant
  >> All shown to be safe.

Food dyes are lurking everywhere in our diets!They can be found in granola bars, candies, jelly beans, chocolate, beverages, sodas, cakes, chewing gums, lollipops, syrups, icings, jams, dessert powders, ice cream and puddings. These could be quite obvious due to their flashy colors, but hey, colorants can be found in pale colored cereals, cheeses, chips and dips too! So you gotta become a label reader, especially for foods that you consume regularly. Don’t be fooled with words like ‘natural’ and ‘fruity’. You’ve become familiar with those names and numbers now, so watch out for them and try to limit your intake of processed foods. 

Info Sources

Food Standard Agency, Web.archive.org, Food Trainers, Cspinet.org - Diet, ADHD and Behavior, Cspinet.org - Petition for Food Dyes, List of all color additives- FDA, 

Photo sources

Colored puffed cereal photo

Can Diet Soft Drinks Increase Weight?

Not only is regular soda crappy but we have more bad news for diet soda drinkers: Other than the fact that aspartame or artificial sweeteners are always bombarded due to their unhealthy detrimental side effects, data presented recently at the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) that diet drinks may actually contribute to weight gain and that the artificial sweeteners in them could potentially contribute Type 2 diabetes!

The study conducted in San Antonio aimed to track any association between diet soda drinking and body fat by following participants up for 10 consecutive years.

So what actually happened?

Diet soda drinkers’ waist lines expanded 70 % more than non drinkers over those 10 years. More interestingly, among frequent diet soda drinkers, those who tended to consume 2  or more diet sodas/day >> waistline growth was 500% greater!

Note that excess weight, especially that around your belly, is a risk factor for many diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
 

Why?

The brain is actually wired to expect a big load of calories when foods taste sweet or fatty. But when you decide to consume diet foods, this confuses the brain because your body hasn't received any of the energy it expected! Therefore, using artificial sweeteners, may lead to even more eating and weight gain, perhaps in part because it triggers the body to start storing more calories as fat! Your brain and body are both deceived by the taste your tongue senses, and when they realized they've been hoaxed and no energy was in fact consumed, they turn on their fat storage mode! Not good news for us!

Another reason is psychological. When people have their diet soft drink, it becomes a free pass to indulge in fatty/greasy/sugary/salty foods

So maybe, just maybeee, your diet soft drink is not serving you well?
Reference: Healthland.time.com

10 Interesting Junk Food Facts!

From www.todayifoundout.com

McDonald's Horrifying Nutrition Facts

So let's say you decided to hit McDonald's for a Big Mac, some fries, a coke and one small Oreo Mcflurry! And the nice lady on the cashier asks if you would like to super-size it Sir, and you go "What the hell!" Pretty common conversation, no?

Well, truth be told, we are talking about:

• Big Mac >> 540 calories with 29 grams of fat, 10 of which are saturated, 70 mg cholesterol and 1020 mg sodium
• One large fries >> 560 calories with 27 g fat, 4 g saturated 430 mg sodium
• A large coke >> 320 cals with and 82 g sugar!
• One Oreo Mcflurry >> 500 calories, yes, with 17 grams fat, 10 g saturated, 60 grams sugar and 330 mg sodium

Lots of fat, sodium, cholesterol, saturated fats and sugar no? And a total of 1920 calories is more than I can have in a whole day! So say hello to heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and obesity!

So before you decide to go for McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, check McDonald's Nutrition Facts for the unbelievably huge unwanted amounts of extra fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium you are adding to your diet!

Eating Right When Dining Out

Everybody loves eating out and there's not reason why you shouldn't - except the fact that most restaurant-foods are high in fat, salt, sugar or calories in general!

New health care legislation in the States will require (some time during this 2011) that big restaurant chains indicate how many calories each of their food items contains; however, it's not always possible to get the information you want.  

- Some fats are good for you while other are not - Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in avocados, nuts, olives and olive oils, can help lower your LDL and maintain your HDL and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils, fish, mixed nuts, edamame and seeds could help decrease your cholesterol in general. So ordering grilled seafood when you go out will offer you taste, heart healthy benefits and omega 3 fatty acids. Meanwhile, the fats you should be aware of are trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol. These are found in greasy cheeses, palm oil, coconut oil, shortenings, butter, creamy sauces, stuffed with cheese, meats and whole dairy products. Fried foods  are the main concern here. Foods that are labeled as "golden crispy" to induce your mouthwatering appetite are fried with trans/saturated shortenings, ghee (clarified butter) or lard (pork fat) that will in return make your blood cholesterol spike!

- To make foods more palatable, salt (sodium) is the key. Restaurant foods can be very high in sodium. Now whether or not you are medically required to decrease your sodium intake because of high blood pressure for instance, research has shown that a low sodium diet can benefit any healthy youngster. However, the point here is to know how to spot high sodium foods. Foods that are pickled, creole sauce, smoked, marinated, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, cocktail sauce, bacon, MSG (monosodium glutamate) added to meats or Chinese foods to give them their umami taste and canned foods are all high in salt. Therefore, don't add any table salt, ask your food to be done without extra salts and learn how to spot salty ones.

- Most restaurants label foods with extra symbols on the side: All you have to do is look for "Heart-healthy" or "Light" symbols: these are usually a red heart, a green butterfly, etc. These offer low fat, low salt and low cholesterol items making it easier for you to know which foods are the best to choose from. Watch out not to mistaken them with flags symbolizing most popular food choices.

- Don't be afraid to ask how the food is prepared and what ingredients are used. Tell your server that you are staying away from high caloric foods, high fatty/salty ones and ask for special requests for a lighter version of that meal. You can ask the chef to prepare foods using less oil, no butter, less sugar, less syrups, less salt, you name it! It's actually easy to be done so go for it next time you're eating out. You can also ask for healthier substitutions such as:

• baked potatoes instead of a side french fries order
• low fat milk instead of whole milk in your coffee
• fresh salad instead of glazed or sautteed vegetables

And if there are no substitutions, eat smart:

• peel off the chicken skin
• ask your server to skip putting fries in your plate
• skip the butter, cream, cheese, fried/sautteed vegetables, fatty fressings and dips
• know your meats: skip high fat meats, rib-eye, pork, bacon, lamb, T-bone steaks and go for leaner ones

- Ask for your sauces, dressings, gravy or dips on the side! This way you can skip them or dip less than you would have if it were already all mixed together. In addition, know which dressings to order with your salad and which not to.

• Ask for balsamic dressing, lemon-oil, light mayo, lemon, vinaigrette, citronette, mustard,tabasco, marinara with your pasta (tomatoes, garlic, onions), primavera without cream or small amounts (2 tbsps) of guacamole or low fat sour cream.
• Skip dips and dressings: heavy creamy ones such as heavy lemon, heavy vinegar, thousand island, Caesar's, cocktail, tartar, bechamel, tempura, mayonnaise and  homestyle dressings.

- Know menu linguistics for healthy and unhealthy foods: Restaurants often describe foods using specific words that aim to lure your appetite while explaining how the food has been prepared. 

• Watch out for: fried, batter-fried, au gratin, in cheese sauce, marinated in oil, double crust, sauteed, braised, crispy, glazed, golden, deep fried, prime, rich, buttered, buttery, breaded, creamy, beurre blanc, bearnaise, with mayonnaise sauce, creamed, escalloped, cheesy, Hollandaise, pan fried, rich in butter sauce or pan roasted. 
• Whereas go for foods that are: baked, braised, cooked in its own juices, dry boiled (in wine or lemon juice), lightly sauteed, stir-fried, broiled, barbecued, roasted, boiled, grilled, poached and steamed.

Extra Dining out Tips:

• Always start with a green salad on the side, it will help make you fuller for longer. Keep in mind that peas, corn, croutons, olives, avocados, couscous, cheeses and meats could be part of a salad but are not considered as greens (which have the least calories in your meal, thus will help you make full without extra calories).
• Downsize portions: always think small. A double cheeseburger is around 600 calories while a cheeseburger is 340. Also, super fries could contain 540 calories whereas a small one accounts for 210 calories.
• Ask for whole wheat/brown/mutli-cereal breads, pasta and doughs. 
• Order a thin crust pizza, no cheesy stuffings, with extra sauce, half the cheese topping, vegetables as toppings and skip the meats. Moreover, it's best if you stick to 2-3 slices max.
• Occasionally have a small portion of lighter alternatives for desserts: a scoop of diet ice cream, 1/2 cup of fruits smoothies, a cup of fruit salad, leeches and avoid high fatty, creamy and sugary ones. 
• Try to decrease fluids intake with your meal. However, if you choose to have a drink go for water, unsweetened tea or sugar and alcohol-free drinks.
• Go for a small or medium portion of a meal or share a big one with a friend. Most meals nowadays are huge so don't over-indulge.

1st pic from Healthy urban kitchen, the rest of the pictures & info from WebMD.

7 Patties in One Whopper - I mean Really?

In what may be the strangest and totally terrible for any weight loss plan, well actually not weight loss, any "life" plan, Burger King and Microsoft teamed up to create a seven-patty Whopper to mark the release of its new Windows 7 operating system!

This mammoth burger contains more than 2200 calories and went on sale in Japan outlets. The hamburger contains SEVEN patties and measure 13 cm in height! It was originally planned to be available for only 7 days but due to its success in selling 6000 sandwiches within the first 4 days, BK decided to extend the promotion.

“I need to shower after holding it in my hands,” said one customer, Kyoko Yamamoto, after merely trying to get a grip on the sandwich. “Grease is running down my arms,” she added. “There is no way you could eat that!”

This is by far the worst promotional idea. Let's hope BK is not crazy enough to bring it here - I mean really, we already have enough junk food in town!

Judge Orders McDonald's to Pay $17,500 to Worker Who Gained 30 kg!

A Brazilian court ruled during the last week of October that McDonald's must pay a former franchise manager $17,500 because he gained 65 pounds (that is around 30 kg) while working there for 12 years.

The 32-year-old man said he felt forced to sample the  food each day to ensure quality standards remained high, because McDonald's hired "mystery clients" to randomly visit restaurants and report on the food, service and cleanliness.

The man also said the company offered free lunches to employees, adding to his caloric intake while on the job. His identity was not released.

The ruling was signed Tuesday by Judge Joao Ghisleni Filho in Porto Alegre.

Ghisleni said McDonald's could appeal the case, and the Brazilian headquarters of the chain said in an e-mailed statement Thursday it was weighing its legal options.

McDonald's also noted that it offers healthier food choices.

"The chain offers a large variety of options and balanced menus to cater (to) the daily dietary needs of its employees," the company said in the statement.

Brought to you from: http://www.aolhealth.com/2010/10/29/mcdonalds-to-pay-17-500-for-making-worker-fat/