What's in Our Foods?   From the March 2010 Newsletter including the grocery store tips.

I'm sure you have wondered what all these new terms are in your grocery store lately. Words like conventional and organic and acronyms like rBGH and HFCS. Since when do you have to be a scientist to figure out what you're eating?  What happened to just food?  
 
Let's start with organic.  This is a term used to describe the way a food is made or grown.  Organic meats and dairy products have no antibiotics, hormones or pesticides given to the animal.  The animals are feed an organic diet and they have access to the outdoors. Organic produce and crops are grown in a safe soil with natural fertilizers without the use of synthetic pesticides and are not genetically modified.
 
Below describes the labeling that is popping up on many products in your grocery store.
100% Organic foods are made with only organic ingredients;
Organic foods have at least 95% organic ingredients;
Made with organic means there are at least 70% organic ingredients;
Contains Organic mean the food contains less than 70% organic ingredients.  
 
Natural:  This label is used on minimally processed foods that contain no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or other artificial ingredients.  Animals can be given antibiotics or growth enhancers.  
 
Conventional farming uses chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth, pesticides to get rid of insects and chemical herbicides to get rid of unwanted weeds.  When raising animals, conventional farmers give animals growth hormones to speed up growth and milk production and antibiotics to then treat and prevent disease.
 
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener and preservative added to most everything processed these days.  Studies have shown this sweetener may contain mercury and may be linked to increased rates of Diabetes, obesity, and Metabolic Syndrome. 
 
rBGH or rBST is a growth hormone that is injected into the cow to make them produce about 10% more milk.  This hormone makes the cow sick so the cow is given antibiotics which end up in our glass along with pus from the utters due to mastitis.  If that is not bad enough, there have been studies that have linked this milk to increase rates of breast cancer and other cancers.  Other countries have banned the use of this product, including Europe and Canada.
 
If you are interested in learning more about what is really in your food and how it affects your body, I highly suggest reading "The Unhealthy Truth" by Robyn O'Brien.  This mother of four unveils the down and dirty truth of what is ending up in our food supply and draws out a plan to get you and your family on the right track of avoiding processed foods and some very harmful chemicals that end up in them and in foods you would never suspect. 
  
Some tips to put the above information to use in your grocery store or community: 
Shop at a farmers market to get locally grown fruits and vegetables, and much more.  Buying produce that is in its peak season and hasn't been shipped from across the country is great for you and the local farmers.  This produce is freshest since it gets picked just before it's sold.  There is a farmers market in downtown Baton Rouge every Saturday morning from 8am - noon, rain or shine.  Visit www.redstickfarmersmarket.org for more information.
  
 I've said it before and I will say it again, shop the perimeter of your grocery store.  That's where your fresh produce, dairy and meat are.  Buy frozen vegetables but steer clear of the processed ready to heat and eat stuff.  It usually contains lots of preservatives and sodium to retain its shelf life.
 
Look for lunchmeat without nitrates.  I found some at my neighborhood Walmart this weekend for the same cost of the stuff I was buying before and it takes better!
 
Buy only rBGH or rBST free milk which is labeled on the milk.  Switch to rBGH free cheese and other dairy products as well.  Kraft, Yoplait and Dannon have begun selling items without the hormone.
 
Clean your produce well when you get it home especially if you are not buying organic.  If you can afford it, buy the following 12 items, know as the dirty dozen, organic due to their higher rate of fertilizers and pesticides: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes, carrots and pears. 
 
Ground meat- look for meats without growth hormones added and meats from cows that are grass fed as they tend to have leaner meats.
 
Look for chicken and eggs that have no antibiotics used, are allowed to roam around freely (free range) and are not genetically engineered. 
 
Avoid products with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).  This is a tough one since it seems to be in everything.  I found organic ketchup at Walmart this weekend without this additive.  You can also shop brands like Newman's Own. 
 
I'm sure you've heard that you should eat a variety of foods in every color, well this should apply to your produce and not your packaged snack foods.  Steer clear of items that are not in their natural color to avoid coloring additives which have been shown to cause adverse reactions in kids and adults including hyperactivity and moodiness.  Change from original macaroni and cheese to the white cheddar variety, natural goldfish instead of the bright orange or colored ones, plain yogurt instead of colored yogurt.  You get the idea, stick to foods in the color they are meant to be. 
 
Many studies have shown that there is no significant nutritional difference in organic versus non organic foods but its not what's in the foods that count, it's what's not in the foods - the pesticides, hormones, genetically modified stuff and what about all of those antibiotics in a time where we keep hearing about antibiotic resistance.  Makes you think, huh?
 
Unfortunately, many additives, pesticides, hormones, colorings and genetically modified foods may cause health problems.  Most of these are not widely tested or there is too much big business influence to get the correct information out.  Until there is proof that these things are okay for us, I will steer clear.  Remember, it's not all or nothing.  Incorporating some small changes can really have a huge impact on you health.