Category: Foods products (Page 21 of 22)

Frito-Lay makes a deceptive move in 2006.

January 5, 2007 / Mike Furci

Feeling pressure from consumers and so-called health experts Frito-Lay has been changing the fat it uses to make their products since 1987.? In another attempt to market “healthier” snacks, the best selling snack food manufacturer began substituting sunflower oil for cottonseed oil.? The purpose is to reduce the amount of saturated fat contained in their products.?

According to Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of R&D the switch in oils will result in a 66% reduction in saturated fat in some of their products.? The problem I have with this change is the sunflower oil contains an even higher level of polyunsaturated fat, which is highly unstable.? This switch in oils is actually unhealthier for consumers.

First, sunflower oil contains a high level of omega-6 fatty acids, which in the levels that we Americans consume it in, is detrimental to our health.? We consume way too many Omega-6 fats and almost no Omega-3 fats. The Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio in the American diet is about 10:1 to 20:1.? For most of mans existence, the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio was 1:1 to 3:1.? Eating too many Omega-6 fatty acids is associated with cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and is pro-inflammatory.

Second, but perhaps more importantly, polyunsaturated fats are highly unstable when exposed to heat or oxygen.? These oils literally become toxins when used in cooking especially frying.? If Frito-Lay were truly interested in making more healthy snacks they would return to using tropical oils in the manufacturing of their products.

Coconut oil is the healthiest oil you can consume.? This tropical oil contains lauric acid which is well known for its antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal effects.? More than two thirds of coconut oil is medium chained fatty acids which are easily absorbed for quick energy and promote fat loss.?

Fortunately oils like coconut oil are starting to become recognized for their health promoting properties.? Maybe someday food giants like Frito-Lay will get their heads out of their asses and start to actually care about the damage they are doing to the people who buy their products.?
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Foods products, Nutrition

Soy = Toxin

November 1, 2006 / Mike Furci

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Poisonous Plant Database contains references to scientific literature describing studies of the toxic properties of plants and plant parts.? Under the term soy, 288 records were found.? To put this into perspective:? broccoli had 24 records, green beans had 3, cauliflower had 30, brussel sprouts had 17, and tomatoes had 2.

Just 25g of soy per day, which is not difficult to attain with soy being in everything, has been shown to inhibit proper thyroid function. Hypothyroidism has become an epidemic in this country coinciding with the increase in the use of soy in our food supply.
Q & A 2006

Foods products, Men's Health and Wellness

Poll finds most Americans read food labels.

October 25, 2006 / Mike Furci

With obesity at epidemic rates, type 2 diabetes skyrocketting, and heart disease still the number one killer in the US, one would think Americans could careless about food labels.? However, an AP-Ipsos survey of 1003 adults found that 80% of Americans read food labels.? The problem is, 44% of those still buy the food reguardless of it’s content.? Does this really suprise anybody?? Better yet, does it make any sense?

The poll also found the following:

65% of women check labels?in comparison to?51% of men.

Women?consider nutrition a higher priority than men, 82% – 64%.

Married men check labels more frequently than single men, 76% – 65%.

People between the ages of 18 & 29 are more likely to look at calories of food labels.? 39% said they look at calories first, however 60% percent of them purchase?junk food even after?reading the label.?

Foods products

It says “Organic” on the label, but is it?

October 14, 2006 / Mike Furci

As the popularity of organic food has surged over the last few years so has the interest of big bisiness.? Corporate giants like Kraft and Walmart have entered the organic market and have helped sales reach upwards of 14 billion per year.? But is this a good thing??

These huge corporations have created a demand for an industry that simply does not have the ability to supply enough product.? There are just not enough organic farms.?

?Exhibit A: Gary Hirshberg’s quest for organic milk. Dairy producers estimate that demand for organic milk is at least twice the current available supply. To quench this thirst, the U.S. would have to more than double the number of organic cows — those that eat only organic food — to 280,000 over the next five years. That’s a challenge, since the number of dairy farms has shrunk to 60,000, from 334,000 in 1980, according to the National Milk Producers Federation. And almost half the milk produced in the U.S. comes from farms with more than 500 cows, something organic advocates rarely support.

Earlier this year, Earthbound Farm, a California producer of organic salads, fruit, and vegetables owned by Natural Selection Foods, cut off its sliced-apple product to Costco because supply dried up — even though Earthbound looked as far afield as New Zealand.

Faced with ever increasing demands corporations are taking advanage of lax labeling laws and are?now?buying product from places like; China, Brazil, Ecuador and Turkey.? Does anyone reading this think these countries have the same standards as the U.S., let alone being labeled organic??

The bottomline line, no pun intended, is we as consumers are being ripped off.? The organic label has become worthless.? Our only solution is to buy natural products from local farmers.? It is impossible for healthy,?natural foods to be produced on a?massive scale and shipped world wide for consumption.

BusinessWeek Online?

For more information on obtaining natural foods and?restoring nutrient dense foods to the human diet, visit westonaprice.org?

Foods products

Polyunsaturated fats – Health food or poison

October 4, 2006 / Mike Furci

According to a recent article, the vast majority of oil we buy in the grocery store is already spoiled.? Most of the oils sold in stores are?polyunsaturated because they are?inexpensive to manufacture and offer high profit margins.?

The article explains that?despite what we’ve been told, polyunsaturated oils made from; corn, soy, sunflower and?cotton seed, are very unhealthy.

Safflower, corn, sunflower, soybean and cottonseed oils all contain over 50% of the highly unstable fatty acid Omega-6 and should never be used in cooking, frying or baking. Heating these oils causes oxidation and produces large amounts of free radicals.

Food preparation, Foods products, Men's Health and Wellness, Nutrition