Note for subscribers: You’ll definitely want to visit the site to view this video!
I hate to say I told you so, buuuuut…. pardon me as I take a little time to do my ‘I told you so!” dance. It looks a lot like “The Tootsie Roll.”
This video illustrates it far better than I could ever do with mere words.
A few notes on what’s being highlighted in this video:
On Sucralose:
Splenda is made by chlorinated sugar, changing its molecular structure. The finished product is called sucralose. The makers of this poison tout its lack of calories and claim it’s safe for diabetics. The FDA calls sucralose 98 percent pure. The other 2 percent contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. Well gee, at least it doesn’t have any calories. So what if it has a little arsenic? Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys: and a decrease in fetal body weight.
On “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean/Palm/Kernel Oil”:
A lot of us might not even know what “zero trans fats!!111!11!1″ even actually means, but if we see it on a package we might not’ve bought otherwise… it just might be enough to make us buy.
Not only is that horrible shopping practice (I do admit I was guilty once), but it’s a little dangerous.
What is trans fat, you ask? Well, you might see it in your foods’ ingredient list as “partially hydrogenated vegetable oil” or “partially hydrogenated soybean oil.” It’s an oil (usually vegetable or soybean oil) that has hydrogen gas whipped into it, making it a thick and super creamy substance. This was a part of the original process used to create margarine, meant to replace butter because the saturated fats found in butter were considered so harmful. The trans fats that originated were an unintended consequence. Eventually, we found out that this “unintended consequence” was way more harmful than butter ever could be, leaving us exposed to heart disease.
The stuff can be found in lots of junk – margarine (of course), crackers, some thick and creamy items, and some inexpensive cakes/cookies/pastries. Anything with a thick, rich, buttery, creamy taste to it may more than likely have it.
Why is the “zero trans fat!!!1!1!!111!” claim on this list? Well, here’s why:
The FDA says a person shouldn’t ingest more than 2.5 grams of trans fat a day. (How about just telling people to avoid it altogether? I bet I know why…) A loophole in the FDA’s requirements states that if a food item has less than .5 grams of trans fat in it, it can safely claim that it has ZERO trans fat. There are two problems with this: 1, if each food on my plate has .49 grams of trans fat, I might not even know I’m eating 2 grams of trans fat; 2, what about people who eat more than one serving of an item?
Here’s an example. A box of Ritz crackers will tell you that a serving size is 5 crackers, and that is has 0grams trans fat. If you pick up the box of Ritz with the “fresh wrap” packages – the ones with, maybe, 15 crackers in an individually wrapped package – it will undoubtedly tell you that if you eat a whole package in one sitting, you’re eating something like 3 grams of trans fat.
“But I thought 1 serving has no trans fat?”
I know. It’s crap, right?
How can you avoid this? Even though it might say “0 grams trans fat” on the front and in the nutrition information, the ingredients list will always tell the real tale. It will always say “partially hydrogenated [insert vegetable, soybean, whatever] oil” inside that list. Keep an eye out for it.
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions?
24 comments
Wow, had no idea of this practice. Of course common sense told me it wasn’t as chock full as they may claim, but now I will be even more diligent than ever for artificial products. Thanks for keeping us informed.
“Blueberry Bits”?! What tha…Well, I guess it’s time to dig out the cookbook and make REAL blueberry muffins OR Does anyone have a good recipe? No more of the fake stuff for me!
I have a recipe on hand that I’ll share.
I tried telling my sister this with her “fruit and Cream” boxed Oatmeals. I told her none of the fruit in it is real, take the time to make the real thing it really takes just as long to throw some fruit milk, and a little brown sugar in a bowl as it does to add water.
MAN those things are NOTORIOUS FOR THIS! There ain’t NARY A FRUIT in that damn box! LMAO!
I’ve been telling friends & family for years that we are gonna HAVE to go back to our kitchens. This stuff that’s being produced & sold cheap is killing folks! Eat clean in ur own home…that’s the cure ( & exercise)
I couldnt see the video because of the computer that I am on. However, I just read your comments about the palm/hydrogenated soybean oil and I am sick. I have been eating the skippy “natural” peanut butter which contains palm oil. Now I thought I had a handle on label reading, but I have been bamboozled, and I am HOT right now!
I settled on the Skippy natural because the organic peanut butters are so darn messy with the oil seperation and I didnt like the taste.
Ahhh whats a girl to do 🙁
I feel you on this. I just noticed that myself but I’m not sure how bad it is since it doesn’t say it is Partially Hydrogenated. I have read some not to great things on palm oil so I won’t be eating it hydrogenated or not. I just want my peanut butter to be ground up nuts with a little salt. If Erika will allow this to pass Smucker’s has a brand that is just that, ground up nuts. From what I have read about it online a lot of people think it is great and I’m going to buy it this weekend.
Good post. This is why I stress that people read and educate themselves on what they are putting into their bodies. In the kitchen my friends and I have often talked about how people just don’t care anymore. I often think of chef Thomas Keller he believes in respect for food, its a pretty big deal. Respect for the flour, eggs, beef, bread and so on. That you cook the food to the best of your ability and make the food shine. There is no respect in processed foods and your palate becomes dull. Exactly why I don’t take food advice from just anybody.
If you want a blueberry muffin go to your local bakery and in this day and age there are many bakeries that are vegan and you wouldn’t know the difference. Or better yet make it in your own kitchen and freeze the extra. You’ll know exactly what you are eating and can better control the amounts of sugar and fat. Respect for food is respect for yourself.
BTW…I know its off topic, but can anyone recommend a good natural peanut butter?
I get my peanut butter from the grinder at Whole Foods. Definitely should consider it.
Great! I will try it, going to Whole Foods on saturday.
Thank you!
wait they grind it up in front of you at whole foods?
Some Whole Foods stores (and a few other “fancy pants” stores, from what I hear) have peanut butter grinders – big machines full of peanuts, where you flip a switch and it grinds the peanuts into peanut butter into a container for you, and it’s priced per pound.
Most of my local grocery stores have self serve nut butter grinders (generally just peanut and almond) and there’s no Whole Foods anywhere around (yay for my pocketbook since I lack control in Whole Foods). The Pig, Food Lion, and Publix all have them. Since I like no added salt in my nut butters that’s not an issue for me; If you want added salt then you probably have to go where the store staff do it for you. Just look around the market the next time you’re there because the grinders are in all different sections at the place I mentioned.
I confiscated my waffle maker from my sister the other weekend so that I could go back to making my own waffles. It’s cheaper and I get to pack them (I mean pack) with fruit. My blueberry waffles end up being purple from so many berries being in the batter. I do the same thing when I’m eating the breakfast at a free continental breakfast type of hotel. I’m sure the people think I’m odd but instead of putting the fruit on top of the waffle, I take whatever nonsyrupy fruit they have and put it directly in the waffle batter. Started a movement at one place, so much so that they ran out of fresh berries and started putting out that sugary berry topping stuff…
Maranatha does a good plain peanut butter–the natural oil is on top, but they leave more headroom than other brands, so that it can be stirred in easily. I’ve also found this brand at Costco sometimes.
And don’t forget about the land of other nut butters! Almond, cashew, pistachio, etc. Makes a regular PB+J a little more interesting.
Maranatha also has a “no-stir” natural peanut butter. I don’t know how they do it because the ingredients are literally peanuts, oil, sugar, and salt, but unless I leave it in the cabinet for a while before opening it, I actually don’t have to stir it. It’s delicious and perfect for lazy, peanut butter-loving me.
Woooow this is crazy. I love the nutritional information that you give, its very helpful. Need to get back to my roots as a person who was raised up north by vegerterians I’ve fallen off. Now that I’m maturer I see the importance of how to eat to live, not living to eat. My parents are very conscious eaters and my mom would love your blog. Kudus to you! BTW you look greaaaat!!
This is absolutely terrible! I love blueberries and I often put them in my yogurt. I also love(d) the blueberry muffins. Seems like I won’t be buying them anymore if there’s any artificial colors in them. Thanks so much for the video. I will subscribe to them on YouTube.
I feel really LIED to!
Thank you for this. Of course blueberries won’t be in processed foods. Why? Well blueberries ARE expensive and it’s cheaper to use fake stuff. Make your own blueberry muffins, or if you don’t want to make them or don’t have the time (and people today don’t have the time…I know folks to commute two hours ONE way), go to a bakery, the type of place that will throw away stuff if it goes bad.
One more thing about processed foods. Folks have to remember this. Back in the 50’s-60’s fear of the Bomb was very real. When I was growing up there were fallout shelters where there were plenty of canned foods, why? Because in case the Bomb did go off, or there was some kind of attack and people weren’t able to get real foods or the ground was contaminated, the idea was that you could still eat until things got better (I know, silly right?) but that was a very real way of thinking. Hey, I have a lot of canned foods in my cupboard…just in case.
Eva, people will make time if they really want to. Trust me those same people who commute 2 hours a day have time during the weekend if they really want to make sure their things are cooked, in fact it actually makes life a lot easier to cook on your own. I know people who still find the time, with kids, work, and a social life.
In fact I dont think many of us have time to really just lay around. I find the time even if it means sitting down, on my lunch break at work to work out a grocery list, and shop and cook. just a lot of planning.
Wow! Love your blog. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this…
ya know, I dont know how I feel about reading all these articles. I have thrown my entire kitchen away fooling with Erika. lol. I say this with much appreciation though. Ive lost 90 lbs and is currently working on mainting. staying fit and healthy. I just knew I had it all in place. Very health concscience and focus on staying away from processed foods as much as possible. but oh my god, I lived by some splenda. I had to throw my entire box out and my feelings is still hurt bout that one. This site is VERY informative. I contine to reasearch to find out ways to stay fit and healthy and I just want to thank you for your knowledge. Each one teach one. A lot of the articles you’ve written, I could easily relate, as far as the journey is concern and the people we have to deal with. It feels good to know that you are not the only one. I do most of my shopping in organic stores but I was still unaware of alot of things including the splenda issue. I did a little research prior to commiting to it as my staple sweetner and still got slapped in the face. DAYUM! smh. Being healthy is hard when you are a sweets lover, but well worth my quality of life. Congrats on your goals, you are beautiful and you touch the lives of so many. THANK YOU!
you can always tell what’s in it by just reading the ingredients. they are supposed to be listed in order from the most to the least. if it says partially hydrogenated anything, it’s trans-fat. there is also alot of info out about how saturated fat is not the demon it was made out to be, and how medium-chain ones like coconut oil are actually good for you and are good for high-heat cooking. palm oil is a saturated fat but i’m not sure it’s like the coconut oil.
stevia is a natural plant that is a good sweetener but be sure you are buying the real stevia not the cheap brands at cheap stores that will be mixed with maltodextrin or whatever. it only takes a very small amount of stevia to taste.
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