I was feeling particularly curious about processed foods today, as I seem to not be able to completely avoid them and their mysterious hard-to-pronounce-and-visualize additives yet (I found my seemingly innocent lightly salted Planters Peanuts actually contained Maltodextrin, Cornstarch, and Corn Syrup Solids, whatever that is). So I looked up the history of food processing for kicks and to gain some insight on how adding extra ingredients to whole foods can benefit a company at all and will share a few links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_processing
("Similar processes are used to produce animal feed." HAHA!)
http://www.wisebread.com/the-dirty-secrets-of-food-processing-strong-stomach-required
I also found out that every time I have a bowl of non-milk-color changing cereal (which I guess we have consensused is already generally evil) I inadvertently am still breaking the no-sugar-in-the-top-3-ingredients-rule, even with the healthier cereal selections (I probably should have taken 4 more seconds to read the ingredients before buying). So I guess I could eat dry, plain oats for breakfast, because the low-fat milk is already a no-no, but alas, isn't Quaker too an ill-doing company? I am starting to get paranoid that everything I buy is having a detrimental effect somewhere down the line, be it nutritional, environmental, social; I become frightened, fear all forms of consumerism. If anyone knows any companies with spotless track records in all areas, please share before I become an airtarian or a Jain monk.
Hello? Are you living in a vacuum? I have a severe sensitivity (not as severe as some) to MALTODEXTRIN. Well, lucky me/us, at present maltodextrin is being added to nearly everything, wondering what the Chinese are spending the big American bucks on. I am of the opinion that the Chinese could wipe out the US in one fell swoop by spiking the maltodextrin. It is found in eye shadow, dog bones, diapers & baby formula, any processed food, all powdered foods, vitamins, frozen foods, almost all chicken & poultry, nuts, and the list is endless. Well, yes, I'm glad you asked, it CAN be considered organic because it is made of corn or wheat or natural substances, just processed with nauseating chemicals like chlorine, acetone, formaldehyde, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe safest bet- well, may not be possible in college, institutionalization, as it were, but Eat Fresh....EAT CLEAN. (See magazine Clean Eating or maybe it's Eating Clean). Eat fresh foods often and/or always. Organic. Eat VEGAN. Not sure where ur in school but it's not so unusual today. Vegan will give you enough options that you can avoid the multi-syl-labled ingredients. My grocery has a natural food section which has been getting larger and larger. There are lists of manufacturers out there who are organic and responsible. Amy's. Gardein. Food for Life. Earth Balance. Galaxy. Eat in the Raw. But NOT ALL! You must still read your ingredients. Some natural food manufacturers still use maltodextrin like Fantastic Foods and Tofutti. For more on maltodextrin/ sucralose/ Splenda see Facebook page Maltodextrin Intolerance Awareness.
Hey - Good Luck! (I'd like to read Pollan's book)
Hey- Thanks!
ReplyDelete