GMOs Part 1: An Overview

Since its introduction, the use of biotechnology in food production and agriculture has generated much controversy. While touted as the environmentally-friendly second Green Revolution by its proponents, critics point to safety, health, and environmental risks, and ethical issues associated with this new technology.

Consumers have consistently voiced unease with genetic engineering of their food, but have unwittingly been consuming genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for two decades; Canada currently does not require GMOs to be labelled but, rather, has implemented a voluntary labelling policy.

Here’s a bit of an overview.

Biotechnology, also known as genetic engineering or genetic modification is the science of transferring genes (DNA) from one organism to another to pass on desired traits.

While surveys have indicated that individuals are largely in favour of its use in the fields of medicine and industry, its use in food production and agriculture have generated polarized viewpoints, and controversy .

Foods containing the new genes are referred to as transgenic, bioengineered, genetically engineered, genetically modified (GM), genetically modified organisms (GMO) and, due to the fear they invoke, the pejorative ‘Frankenfoods’ .

The commercial use of GM crops started in the mid 1990s. Since then, the technology has spread rapidly. Between 1996 and 2009, the worldwide land area occupied by GM crops - mainly soybean, cotton, corn, and canola - increased 80-fold, from 1.7 million to 134 million hectares, with an average yearly increase of 9 million hectares.

In 2008, GM crops were being grown by over 13 million farmers in 25 countries. The countries with the biggest share of the GM crop area are the United States (50%), Argentina (17%), Brazil (13%), India (6%), and Canada (6%).

It is estimated that at least 70% of food products on North American supermarket shelves contain GM ingredients.

Benefits of Genetic Engineering of Food

In theory, food biotechnology’s potential is manifold, touted by industry leaders as “the most important scientific tool to affect the food economy in the history of mankind,” and “the single most promising approach to feeding a growing population while reducing damage to the environment”.

The world population is projected to increase to 8.9 billion by mid-century, with global demand for rice, wheat, and maize expected to increase by 40% as early as 2020. Given the backdrop of dwindling natural resources and environmental degradation, GM crops offer the possibility of increasing yields sustainably, even in poor conditions (e.g., drought, poor soil quality), while also reducing the need for damaging and costly chemical fertilizers. In turn, this technology could offer the promise of food security in developing countries.

Nutritionally and medicinally- enhanced crops can also help improve the health status of populations suffering from malnutrition with poor access to food and medicine.

Risks of Genetic Engineering of Food

Despite the benefits of GM crops, consumer opinion surveys have consistently indicated that the public has a very negative attitude toward GM foods, expressing a concern for their safety. Industry boycotts, ecoterrorism, legal bans, and trade disputes by non-governmental organizations (NGO), governmental agencies, and concerned citizens reveal public misgiving about the risks associated with food biotechnology.

Critics, including environmentalists, scientists, farmers, consumer and health advocacy groups, public interest groups, trade protectionists, grain importers, politicians, religious rights groups, ethicists, and consumers, object to the production and marketing of GM foods primarily on the basis of food and health safety, the environment, and the ethics surrounding biotechnology.

I'll cover these in my next post!

Sodium and Label Reading

This is our last page for a class assignment, which included writing about sodium for a website, taking original pictures and making videos for the same site (see previous posts for the rest!).

Two Soups:
Which one is the better choice?

Soup may seem like a healthy food, but most packaged soups are loaded with sodium.

Consider these two soups: a canned Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper, and a boxed Carrot and Coriander. Both look yummy, smell great, and taste delicious. But one has 6 times more sodium than the other!

How can you figure out which one has less sodium?
Read the Nutrition Facts label!

Watch this short video to learn what to look for on a label.

This information will give you the power to be able choose products that are lower in sodium and better for your health.

Making sense of the health claims on product packages can also help you make better food choices:

“Salt-Free” : Less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
“Low in Sodium” : 140 mg of sodium or less per serving
“Reduced in Sodium” : At least 25% less sodium than the regular product

Remember to also consider how much of the product you eat.
If you eat more than the serving size indicated on the Nutrition Facts label, you’re also eating more sodium!

Use the Nutrition Facts label along with health claims to know how much sodium is in the foods you choose.

Tips for Lowering your Sodium Intake

Hi!

This is still part of the fictitious website on 'sodium & health' a classmate and I developed (see previous posts). We had to write the content, take the pictures, and make a video... :)

Tips for Lowering Your Sodium Intake

Even though lots of foods are high in sodium, it doesn’t mean your sodium intake has to be high!

Here are some tips to help you lower your sodium intake.

At the grocery store:

• Fill your cart with fresh and unprocessed foods, like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, and lower-fat milk and alternatives. These foods naturally contain less sodium.

• Read nutrition labels. The amount of sodium is listed as a “Daily Value” percentage that tells you how much sodium a product contains. Your best choice is a product with less than 5% sodium per serving size.

• Choose foods that have the claims “Salt-Free”, “Reduced in Sodium”, or “Low in Sodium”.

• Buy unsalted versions of foods like nuts, pretzels, crackers and popcorn.

At home:

• Remove the salt shaker from your table. Instead, flavour your food with herbs and spices.

• Don’t add salt when you cook or bake, or use less than the recipe suggests.

• Rinse canned foods like tuna, chickpeas and beans under running water for one minute to reduce the sodium content.

At restaurants:

• Ask to see the nutrition information and choose foods lowest in sodium. Many chain restaurants have nutrition information on their websites.

• Request your meal to be prepared with no added salt.

• Be careful of large portion sizes. Split a menu item with your dining partner, or take half home in a doggy bag.

• Ask for sauces and dressings “on the side” so you can control how much you put on your food.

Sodium Lowering Tips- Part 2

And here's Part 2 of our 'Ask the Dietitians' segment for our fictitious website- this one's on label reading.
Enjoy! :)

Sodium Lowering Tips- Part 1

Here's a video I created (Part 1 of 2) for a class- meant to be for a fictitious website.
The topic is sodium and it stars my classmate and I...
Enjoy! :)

Can you guess the 11 Best Foods you aren't eating?!

Man oh man. I need to get my blogging butt into gear and not let too much time pass between blog posts... Sorry! :)

The NY Times recently re-published an article that first appeared in June 2008- it was one of the Times' most viewed stories of 2009.

The title: " The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating".

Now, the guy they interviewed for this info is Jonny Bowden. He's not a Registered Dietitian (RD)- your best bet for sound nutrition advice- but a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).

Sidebar: A Brief Note About Credentials:

The title Dietitian and RD is protected by law. A person with this title has obtained a university degree specializing in nutrition, from an accredited university, and has practical training. Their training meets national standards and they are members of regulatory bodies.

The CNS title is not protected by law. In order to obtain this title, you need to have an advanced degree (not necessarily in nutrition though- Mr. Bowden has a master's in psychology). You have to pass an exam and have a certain number of hours of supervised experience in nutrition.

Back to the article...

While I wouldn't pinpoint specific foods you should be eating to be healthy, since you know we all need a variety of foods..., the list does highlight some healthy foods that we don't always think of including in our shopping carts..

So, before reading further, see if you can guess the "11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating"!

(Scroll down to see how many you got right!).

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In no specific order....

Beets

Cabbage

Swiss Chard

Cinnamon (My Note: only anectodal evidence suggests that cinnamon may help control blood sugar- this hasn't been proven with scientific research!).

Pomegranate juice

Prunes

Pumpkin seeds

Sardines

Turmeric

Frozen Blueberries

Canned Pumpkin (My Note: make sure there's no added sugar by reading the ingredient list- the only ingredient should be pumpkin!).

What do you think of the list?

Do these foods make their way into your grocery cart occasionally?

Click here to read the article (thanks James!).

The Sodium Crisis: A Major Health Concern

A few years ago, there was a huge effort to enlighten the public on the health effects of trans fats.

The result: Mandatory labeling, the removal of trans fats from many products, and entire cities banning trans fats from restaurants.

Looks like sodium's next!

The CSPI has called sodium the “deadliest ingredient in the food supply” and the “forgotten killer”.


Why is Salt Bad?

High sodium intake has been linked with high blood pressure- 1 in 6 people worldwide have high blood pressure, as do 65 million Americans. 45 million more are considered “pre-hypertensive” (between normal and high blood pressure).

Don’t have high blood pressure? Chances are you will. 90% of Americans will. And, even if you don’t have high blood pressure, cutting back on sodium can reduce your chances of getting cardiovascular diseases by 25% and your risk of dying from it by 20%. Same goes for kids!

Eating less salt is also one of the most important ways in preventing heart disease. High sodium intake has also been linked to obesity, stomach cancer, kidney stones, kidney disease, osteoporosis and an increase in asthma symptom severity.


How Much is Too Much?

The WHO recommends we eat less than 2000mg sodium/day whereas US and Canadian guidelines, based on Institute of Medicine recommendations, recommend less than 2300 mg/day, less than 1500mg/day if you have high blood pressure.

In fact, we only need about 1200-1500mg/d. As a reference, 2.5 little pickles contain 1550 mg/day.

We’re eating about double the limit, 3500-4000mg sodium/day... and that’s too much!

Where’s All This Salt?

Believe it or not, the majority of salt isn’t coming from the salt shaker. About 80% of our sodium is coming from processed foods!

Between 1994-2004, sodium in food has increased by 6%.

Packaged foods and restaurant meals are huge sources of salt in the diet. For example, a slice of pizza has about 1770mg sodium. A Denny’s Meat Lover’s breakfast (2 eggs, bacon, 2 sausages, toast and hash browns) has 3460mg sodium!

Hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs and subs are the main source of sodium in the Canadian diet.

Click here to find out what the saltiest restaurant meals in America are!

What’s Happening?

Although the food industry is slowly starting to develop lower sodium in some products- watch the commercial below for Knorr Sidekicks that have reduced sodium by 25% in 22 of their products- it’s not enough.







It’s estimated that 8.5 million worldwide deaths could be avoided over 10 years by adopting public strategies to reduce sodium intake.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is asking for sodium to be recognized as a food additive rather than GRAS (Genereally Recognized As Safe) in the States, so it could be regulated. They’re also suing the restaurant chain Denny’s for not disclosing the large amount of salt in their food which, according to them, is putting unknowing consumers at a huge health risk. They also want the restaurant chain to post warnings on their menus about the high sodium levels.

Canada’s Sodium Working Group was started in 2007 and is made up science/health professionals (including 2 dietitians!), food industry and NGO representatives as well as government officials. The group plans to come up with a plan to reduce Canadian’s sodium intake in 4 years, a bit too slow for some.

New York City, always a leader in health initiatives (first to ban trans fats in restaurants and implement mandatory menu calorie labelling) has started its own initiative and plan to cut sodium in restaurant foods by 25% in the next 5 years.

Strategies That Work!

Finland, and more recently the UK, should serve as models for Canadians and Americans. Both countries have partnered with the food industry to reduce sodium in products and educate the public through mass media campaigns.

Click here for another great British ad:


Finland started this in the 70s and they’ve seen a drop in sodium intake from 5600mg/d to 3200mg/d! They’ve also seen a huge 70% reduction in stroke and heart attack deaths!

Both countries have also adopted an easy labeling system: green label for low salt, amber for medium salt and red for high salt. The result in the UK: a reduction of 400mg sodium in just 4 years!






More to come on this topic for sure!

Food, Inc.

"If you knew, you might not want to eat it."
"Faster, Fatter, Bigger, Cheaper."
"So much of our industrial food turns out to be rearrangements of corn."
"We can get 2 hamburgers for the (price of a vegetable)."
"We've never had food companies this powerful in our history."
"They have managed to make it against the law to criticize their products."
"When we run an item past the supermarket scanner we're voting for local, or not, organic, or not."
"Imagine what it would be if, as a National Policy, the idea would be to have such nutritionally dense foods that people actually felt better, had more energy and weren't sick as much. See, now that's a noble goal."
"People have to start demanding good wholesome food of us and we'll deliver, i promise you."




Wow.

Calcium-fortified Doritos and Cheerios is a drug... What's going on?

In Canada, we're awaiting Health Canada's decision to allow the food industry to fortify packaged and processed foods with vitamins and minerals. The decision was supposed to be made end of March but because of division within Health Canada on the merits of fortification, it's been delayed.

Health experts are understandably worried that the proposal will pass and allow junk food manufacturers to add nutrients and market their products as healthy, exacerbating unhealthy eating habits and cause confusion about nutritional benefits of certain foods.
Packaged and processed foods are generally high in calories, sugar, fat, salt, negating any benefit derived from adding some vitamins or minerals to them.

Health Canada stated that its tests on focus groups demonstrated that people are not likely to choose fortified junk food over healthy food... but health experts are skeptical.

The industry group Food and Consumer Products of Canada, representing the majority of packaged foods on the supermarket shelves, argues that fortificaion would allow consumers to more easily meet daily nutritional requriements. That's great but we're not a nation that is nutritonally deficient... given our over-abundance of food. In fact, another concerns is that adding all these vitamins and minerals could lead to an overconsumption of nutients. In order to avoid this, Health Canada claims that the propsed policy will limit the amount of nutrients that can be added to food and won't be left to the the discretion of food manufacturers.

Canada's food industry also argues that the out-of-date and strict fortification policies in Canada make it difficult for them to keep up with other countries and develop innovative food products. Moreover, given the fact that the US allows more products to be fortified, harmonization would cut production costs. Maybe, but doesn't make it right.

The Americans are also more liberal in their labeling laws, something that's finally getting a bit more scrutiny. The FDA has taken action against General Mills for its misleading claims that Cheerios can reduce "bad" cholesterol levels by 4% in 6 weeks and ward off heart disease and cancers of the colon and stomach. (These claims don't appear on Canadian boxes because we're more strict with our labeling laws).

In its letter to General Mills, the FDA states that if the cereal does as indicated, it's acting like a cholesterol-lowering drug and should therefore be treated like a drug- and can't legally be marketed with the claim without an approved new drug application.

Hopefully Health Canada will make the right decsion and not allow fortification of packaged and processed foods... fingers crossed!

Does sugar make us fat?

Sugars are simple carbohydrates composed of a single sugar (ie. glucose, fructose) or 2 sugars together (table sugar, sucrose, is made of glucose linked to fructose).
In comparison, starch is a complex carbohydrate- made of lots of glucose molecules linked together in very long chains.
The long chains can't be absorbed by the intestine but have to be broken down to single units of glucose to be useable. Simple carbohydrates, though, are readily useable. But do they make us fat?

We know that a calorie is a calorie. Excess calories from sugar will lead to weight gain, just like extra calories from protein or fat. However, when you eat too much glucose at a time, the body can't handle it. What happens is that your pancreas makes too much insulin. Insulin is supposed to take the glucose and put it in your body tissues so it can be used. When there's too much insulin though, it grabs all your available glucose, including the little bit that's supposed to stay in your blood. The result is that your blood sugar drops and you feel hungry. You then eat more and those extra calories will lead to weight gain.
Moreover, your muscles cells start to resist taking in the excess glucose resulting in that excess getting stored as fat.
So yes. Eating too much simple sugars does put you at risk for weight gain.
Fibre slows down the absorption of glucose which is why a high fibre diet- a diet rich in vegetables, fruit and whole grains- prevents heath problems.

The Glycemic Index ranks foods according to how quickly they break down to glucose. Click here to read more about Glycemic Index from a previous blog entry.
In general, highly processed starchy foods- crackers, pretzels, cookies- and sugary foods- sodas, candies, desserts, sugary cereals- have no fiber and will cause havoc for your metabolism, providing a huge influx of glucose.

How much sugar is too much sugar?

Per day, it's recommended that less than 10% of your total calories come from added sugars (this doesn't include sugar found naturally in fruits and plain milk). In a 2000 calorie diet, that means you should be aiming for less than 50 grams (about 10 teaspoons) of added sugar a day. The average American eats double that a day.

Sweet tips to limiting your sugar intake

Avoid or cut back on non-diet soft drinks. A 12 oz can of Coke has practically your daily limit of added sugars, 40 grams!!

Watch out for fruit 'drinks', 'beverages', and 'cocktails'- they contain very little real fruit juice and a lot of sugar.

Limit candy, cookies, cakes, pies, doughnuts, granola bars, pastries and other sweet baked goods- eat fruit instead. Desserts in restaurants, with their huge portion sizes, have a large amount of added sugar. A medium chocolate milkshake at McDonald's has a whopping 111g sugar!

Remember that 'fat-free' does not mean 'sugar-free' or 'calorie-free' .

Look for breakfast cereals with less than 10 grams (ideally less than 8 grams) of sugar per serving- read the label!

I found this cool site, sugarstacks.com , that shows us how much sugar there are in some foods. Pretty eye-opening!
They use sugar cubes- 1 cube is equivalent to 1tsp or 4grams.

The 100 Mile Diet: Local Eating for Global Change

I recently finished the book the '100 Mile Diet: A year of local eating' and I highly recommend it- it will change the way you think about what you eat. The book has spurred a phenomenon (I actually blogged about the movement this time last year!), enticing many to move towards a local-based diet and even inspiring a TV show- The Canadian Food Network hosts the 100 Mile Challenge in which the Canadian authors of the book, partners Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon, challenge 6 families from Mission, British Columbia, to follow a 100-Mile Diet for 100 Days.

Not long ago, I blogged about another book that had a similar effect on me: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. (As I mentioned in that blog, if you don't have the time to read the book but have a free hour, check out Pollan's great lecture in which he covers the main point of his book by clicking Here). Equally inspiring but written in a completely different format, the authors of The 100 Mile Diet take turns writing the chapters of their memoir, sharing their experience of eating only foods within a 100 mile radius of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Alisa and James bring us through their very personal journey over their year: their daunting realization of what they wouldn't be able to eat (sugar, coffee, chocolate, chips, peanut butter, orange juice, Cola, canned soup, oreos, Ben & Jerry's, beer, Cheerios, all-purpose flour...), dealing with the monotony of eating a lot of potatoes during their first winter and their relationship troubles to discovering the joys of making a great meal from scratch using ingredients of known origin, learning how different and wonderful fresh food tastes, developing relationships with local growers (and with their food) and finally becoming completely self-sufficient on local foods... All while making their readers feel that they if they could do it, so can we.

Why should we aim to eat locally? The authors explain that we're so separated from our food and value it so little, even ignoring the huge impact eating factory-produced foods and foods shipped from across the country (or the world) has on our environment and our health:

A few facts from the book:

• The food we eat typically travels 1500-3000 miles before landing on our plate.
• A regional diet consumes 17 times less oil and gas than a typical diet based on food shipped across the country.
• The United States has lost 2/3 of its farms since 1920.
• Soft drinks, sweets and alcoholic beverages account for 25% of all calories consumed in America. Meanwhile, Americans eat half as many servings of vegetables recommended- 50% of the vegetables eaten include just 3: iceberg lettuce, potatoes and canned tomatoes.

The group Food & Water Watch just posted a great Virtual Grocer that allows you to find out where the food you buy comes from. Try it! It's so interesting.
For example, did you know that if you buy a kiwi in the States, there's a 4 in 5 chance it's imported- most likely from Chile or New Zealand. Asparagus? 57% of the asparagus sold in the States comes from Peru.

What can you do to eat more locally?

Start small- aim to try making one local meal a week, for example.
Find the farmer's market nearest to you and make it part of your weekly food shopping.
Consider joining a CSA- Community Supported Agriculture- allowing you to support a specific local farm by paying a lump sum at the beginning of the growing season and then receiving that farm's food products (whatever is in season) year-round. If you're in the States, Local Harvest is a great resource to find a local CSA; In Canada, click Here.
Buy local produce in bulk and learn how to preserve it. Click Here for more info on preservation.
Try planting a small vegetable garden!

What's a Whole Grain?

We know that the grains we eat should be "Whole Grains"... and i've blogged about Whole Grains in the past. The topic can be a bit confusing though so I'm going to review.

First, a little quiz:

1. Which bread is usually all or mostly whole grain?
a. Whole Wheat
b. Multi Grain
c. Rye
d. Pumpernickel

2. Which of the following (could be more than one) are whole grains?
a. Bulgur
b. Quinoa
c. Couscous
d. Oatmeal

3. Which cereals are whole grains?
a. Shredded Wheat
b. Total
c. All Bran
d. Corn Flakes
e. Special K


1. Bread

In theory, Multi Grain, Rye and Pumpernickel could all be whole grain... but not always.
The answer is a) Whole Wheat bread... but only in the US.

In Canada and the US, read the ingredient list. If the first ingredient starts with "whole", it's a whole grain. For example, if the first ingredient is "Wheat Flour", it's not a whole grain. If it's "Whole Wheat Flour", it is.

Products labeled with words like "made with whole wheat", "multigrain," "stone ground," "whole wheat (in Canada*)," "seven-grain," or "bran" may actually contain little or no whole grain!

*In Canada, it's legal to advertise any food product as "whole wheat" with up to 70% of the germ removed! A label must state '100% Whole Grain Whole Wheat' for a Canadian consumer to know they're getting a whole grain product.

Don't rely on the colour of the bread- lots of products add molasses to get that brown colour.
Don't rely on fiber amount either since products may add processed fiber from peas or other food that can help prevent constipation and diverticulosis but doesn't offer the antioxidants and phytochemicals whole grains do.

When shopping for bread:

Choose ones that are whole grains AND high in fiber:
-Read the ingredient list and choose a bread that has a whole grain as the first ingredient- in most cases, starting with the word "whole".
-Choose a whole grain bread that contains 2-3 or more grams of fiber per slice.

2. Other Whole Grains

b) Quinoa and d) Oatmeal are whole grains.
Bulgur and Couscous are not always (whole grain bulgur and whole wheat couscous are).

Other whole grains include:
Barley ( but not pearl barley), buckwheat, kamut, millet, brown and wild rice and spelt.


3. Cereal

a) Shredded Wheat and b) Total are whole grains. All Brans, Corn Flakes and Special K are not.

The first ingredient in a whole grain cereal is a whole grain- usually starts with the word "Whole".
For example, the first ingredient in the cereal Grape Nuts is "Whole Grain Wheat Flour" therefore, it's a whole grain.
The first ingredient in the cereal Kellogg's Multi-Grain Rice Krispies is "Rice" therefore it's not a whole grain.

Cereal can be confusing when it comes to choosing a whole grain, partly because of fiber content. For example, Shredded Wheat (a whole grain) has less fiber than All Bran (bran isn't technically a whole grain).

Secondly, sugar added to cereal decreases the amount of fiber. Honey Nut Cheerios (a whole grain) has only 1g fiber per serving. That's because the added sugar takes the place of the whole grain, therefore there's less fiber.

When shopping for cereal:

- Choose a whole grain cereal that is ALSO high in fiber. A whole grain cereal has a whole grain as the first ingredient, usually starting with the word "whole". A high fiber cereal contains more than 5 grams fiber per serving.

- Even though bran isn't technically a whole grain, think of it as a whole grain because the high fiber in the bran has loads of benefits.

- Choose a cereal with less sugar- less than 10g sugar per serving. Sugar replaces some of the whole grain you should be eating.

- Make sure your granola is low fat.

Here's a list of some of the popular breakfast cereals and whether they're whole grains or not:

COLD CEREAL

Whole Grain:
Cheerios
Granola or muesli
Grape Nuts
Raisin Bran
Shredded Wheat
Total
Wheaties

NOT Whole Grain:
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Just Right
Corn Pops
Puffed Wheat
Rice Krispies
Special K

HOT CEREAL

Whole Grain:
Oatmeal
Oat Bran
Quaker Multigrain
Wheatena

NOT Whole Grain:
Cream of rice
Cream of Wheat
Grits

Can the ONQI help you in the grocery store?

What's the better choice:

a. Hellmann’s Regular Mayonnaise or b. Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise?

a. Regular Smooth Peanut Butter or b. Reduced Fat Peanut Butter?

a. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes or b. Kellogg’s Reduced Sugar Frosted Flakes?

Dr. Katz from Yale University’s Griffin Prevention Research Centre has developed a tool that can help you answer these questions; it’s called the Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI). It’s a system that scores foods from 1 to 100 based on a variety of nutritional criteria including calories, sugar, sodium, fibre and fat, with the goal of helping consumers choose among the over 45000 products found in the average grocery store.

If you live in the States, you will likely see the ONQI scores in your local supermarket very soon, if it’s not there already.

Using the ONQI, all the answers in the above cases are a.

Some food items that are scored highest according to the ONQI scale (scores of 100) include broccoli, blueberries, oranges and green beans.

Some of the items that are scored lowest include popsicle, soda and taffy (all with scores of 1), saltine crackers and regular cut bacon (scores of 2).
Sound like a pretty good system.

However, according to Marion Nestle (Professor of Nutrition and Public Health) , it’s far from perfect. She points out that the scale makes some highly processed foods look better than other highly processed foods (see the Frosted Flakes example above) and is all about marketing, not health. She takes the position that the ONQI should not be allowed and suggest you pay no attention to it if you happen to see it in the grocery store.

Grocery shopping tips & tools

Ouf! It's been a busy few days- sorry for the lack of blogs!

This one's a short one- but thought I'd give you a few fun facts and tools you can use the next time you go grocery shopping.

Comparing salt content of fresh, frozen and canned vegetables

1 cup canned peas: 453 mg sodium
1 cup frozen peas: 170mg sodium
1 cup fresh peas: 8mg sodium

When buying bread:

Choose one with ‘whole grain’ as the first ingredient and with more than 2-3grams of fibre per slice.

When buying cereal:

A better choice has at least 4 g fibre per 30 g serving.

A better choice has less than 1-3 g fat per serving listed on the box- some granola-type cereals can have up to 5 g per serving!

A better granola-type cereal will have fruit and nuts listed on the ingredient list before sugar and oil.

When buying pasta:

Choosing whole wheat pasta provides 2-4g fibre per 1 cup cooked pasta

Rice

1 cup cooked white rice= 1g fibre
1 cup brown rice= 3g fibre
1 cup wild rice= 4g fibre

Milk & Alternatives

Comparing fat in milk (MF= Milk Fat)

1 cup 3.25% MF= 2 tsp fat
1 cup 2% fat MF= 1 tsp fat
1 cup 1% fat or buttermilk= 0.5 tsp fat
1 cup 0.1% fat= 0 tsp fat

Meat & Alternatives

Comparing fat content in ground beef:

Regular: 30% fat = 22g fat/3oz
Lean: 17% fat= 12g fat/3oz
Extra lean: 10% fat= 7g fat/3oz

Source: www.capitalhealth.ca

Those sneaky supermarkets!

There are about 320 000 food and beverage products available in the US and an average supermarket carries
30 000-40 000 of them!

According to Marion Nestle in her book, What to Eat, supermarkets want you to get confused by all this choice- it forces you to wander the aisle, picking up foods that aren't on your grocery list.

Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, agrees: "The longer we end up lingering in a grocery store the more we end up buying".

This is why the the frozen foods are not at the entrance of the grocery store- if we bought them first, we'd rush through the rest of the grocery store and not buy as much.

As Nestle points out, supermarkets are businesses- not social service agencies providing food for the hungry.

Here are some other sneaky supermarket stunts:

Highest-selling products-preishables like meat, dairy, frozen foods- are generally against the back or side walls- no need to put them in front cause they know you'll seek them out. There's also the greatest traffic flow along the periphery.

Nearest the entrance are the high-profit articles- flowers, produce, freshly baked bread, sushi...

High-profit center-aisle foods are generally placed 60 inches above the floor, easily seen by adults. Products made to attract kids can be found at their eye level.

Store brands are generally placed to the right of high-traffic items since people read from left to right- that way the store brands get noticed.

Displays at the end of the aisles are generally saved for high-profit and heavily-advertised products- likely to be bought on impulse.

Aren't they sneaky?

Sources:

Nestle, M. What to Eat. North Point Press, 2006.
Wansink, B. Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think. Bantam: 2006.