The Truth About Your Food pt 2

Do you think the FDA and USDA have your best interests at heart? You shouldn't. In fact the only person you should trust to take care of your family's health, is you. Note: if a product makes a health claim, it's probably lying. Due to Americans cry for healthier and natural products, the food manufacturers are placing claims on items that state rich in fiber, 100% real, or all natural but the truth is that federal standards are very lax on this definition. The only foods that have standards for being labeled natural are meats and even then most meats contain so many hormones that the flavor becomes misconstrued.

80% of Americans are on a diet at some point and yet one in three Americans weigh as much as the other two. (I read that on discussion blog) Americans have a high level of obesity yet we're always on weight loss plans but our European counterparts eat everything we're told not to eat yet stay thin. In France, they're always eating pastries with butter and cream, they drink coffee, in Italy they're always eating pasta yet they're thinner then us. What's the issue? Portion size and the fact that Europe has strict food standards. In America our food standards are set by the food industry. There are too many food company executives serving on FDA and USDA boards for their opinions to be trusted. And note to the wise, the FDA doesn't have to mark a food as safe they just have to mark it as not going to kill you, immediately.

Every five years, the USDA comes out with food recommendations and their recommendations for this year was to avoid processed food and eat more fresh food, avoid sodas, and salts. The recommendations are very vague. " yes, it’s 2011, but they’re published every five years — are the best to date. We’re told to eat “less food” and more fresh foods; wise advice. But aside from salt, the agency buries mostly vague recommendations about what we should be eating less of: we’re admonished to drink “few or no” sodas — hooray for that — and “refined grains,” Solid Fats and Added Sugars. And there’s our fabulous acronym: SOFAS."~NY times blog http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/is-eat-real-food-unthinkable/ Notice that it's very vague. Not a lot of details because details would piss off the high level food execs who fund a lot of government projects.

Let's take at look a few ingredients in your food. There is a study out that stating that food coloring is behind the spike in ADD. Which makes sense, brightly colored foods are marketed to kids but these colors don't exist in nature. Did you know that yellow 5 is derived from coal tar? If you didn't, now you know. Here are some food colorings to avoid:

• Sunset yellow (E110) (FD&C Yellow #6) - Coloring found in squashes
• Carmoisine (E122) - Red coloring in jellies
• Tartrazine (E102) (FD&C Yellow #5) - Yellow coloring
• Ponceau 4R (E124) - Red coloring
• Sodium benzoate (E211) - Preservative
• Quinoline yellow (E104) - Food coloring
• Allura red AC (E129) (FD&C Red #40) - Orange / red food dye

and here are some sneaky ones:

• Allura Red AC (aka Red 40)
• Erythrosine (aka Red 3)
• Indigotine (aka Blue 2)
• Tartrazine (aka Yellow 5)

If you want to color naturally use these:

• Beet juice
• Annatto (plant derived)
• Turmeric (rich in antioxidants!)

The truth is, anything I make at home is ten times better than anything you buy in the stores. It may not taste as good because it lacks all the extra flavorings and preservatives but it's ten times better for you.