This is a guest blog post by Carol Harvey, director of nutrition labeling at Palate Works. She recently visited the San Francisco Fancy Food Show.

For 35 years, the Fancy Food Show has been the trade show of all things tasty, gourmet and upscale. Many food products are launched there, including an increasing number dished up as “healthy” or “better for you,” due to evolving consumer demand.

In fact, the “top 5 food trends” for 2010 just announced by NASFT (the trade association that produces the show) include “good-for-you foods”. This “trend,” brewing for most of the 20 years that I have been attending the show, has proven a smart business move for a number of brands.

Whether any of the 100,000+ exhibited products really nailed the “taste + nutrition” prize was my focus again this year in San Francisco. And once again, how a company uses nutrition claims separated those that know their nutrition and labeling from those that don’t. Here are three examples. Read more…

“POM Wonderful” is a juice that we enjoy on occasion because it tastes great. The tart and sweet flavor mix is an acquired taste, but served very cold it is just lovely. Perhaps, even wonderful. And you’ve got to love the original bottle shape, not to mention the overall amazing marketing this company does.

But what about all those superfruit health claims? Will it really make us healthier?

We decided to take a deeper look inside the label. Read more…

A great article called The Vita Myth appeared earlier this week in online magazine Slate. Science writer Emily Anthes tears apart the $25B-a-year-and-growing supplement industry.

Half of Americans pop a multivitamin or other supplement regularly. But substantial studies in the past few years have shown that for the most part, these supplements did not provide any health benefits, aside from those of the supplement companies:

1. A study of more than 160,000 post-menopausal women, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that multi-vitamins supplements did not prevent cancer, heart attacks, or strokes and did not reduce overall mortality. [see here]

2. A 2006 National Institutes of Health panel of experts evaluated evidence that vitamin pills could prevent chronic disease. The scientists that there is no “strong evidence for beneficial health-related effects of supplements taken singly, in pairs, or in combinations.”

3. Antioxidant supplements (vitamins A, C, and E, selenium, beta carotene, and folate) fail to protect against heart disease, stroke, and cancer. But, get this, they actually increase the risk of death, according to a 2007 analysis of research on more than 232,000 people, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Wow – this boggles the mind.

What you need to know:

The American Dietetic Association just recently reminded us that people should get their nutrients from real food, not supplements. The science of nutrition is relatively young, and for every known nutrient, there are hundreds that scientists have yet to figure out. Interactions between various nutrients in a certain vegetable or fruit contribute differently to your health than if you just take a pill with one or two vitamins.

Some people argue that we must take a daily multi-vitamin because the produce in this nation has been depleted of it nutritional value over the past few decades. This, due to the depletion of nutrient from soil as a result of industrialized agriculture, pesticide use, and monocultures.

Hogwash, according to Joanne Larsen, RD, of Ask the Dietitian: There is no proof that soil is losing its mineral content.  Minerals in soil are pretty stable and don’t migrate unless there is erosion or flooding that washes minerals away.  Soils are replenished with fertilizers (organic or chemical) periodically.

Individual vitamins are created by fruits and vegetables through the oxidative process determined by each plant’s genetics.  Some plants are naturally high in particular nutrients than others. We are not seeing mutations in plant genetics that affect vitamin content. If soils were becoming depleted of nutrients, we would see widespread nutrient deficiencies in the American population.  We are not.

So if real food has all the vitamins and minerals we need, and supplements could actually be detrimental, how is it that we are paying  twenty five billion dollars a year for what amounts to smoke and mirrors?

Note: There are people that require specific boosts in certain nutrients. We’re not referring to those needs here.

What to do at the supermarket:

If you are a healthy person, get your nutrition from real food. Plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, dairy and meat. The less processed the better. You never know what “benefits” the presence of industrial additives and artificial chemicals will amount to once inside your body.

And foods that are fortified with lots of vitamins and minerals, for example breakfast cereals? A secondary consideration compared to the importance of whole grains and low sugar content.

Says Emily Anthes – we should stop treating supplements like health candy and more like prescription meds, to be used only when there’s a demonstrated need.

(hat tip to Dan Mitchell of The Daily Bread for the story)

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Which is more nutritious – A raw carrot or a cooked one? What about tomatoes? Mushrooms? Cabbage?

If you answered raw to all of the above, you may be in for a surprise. According to the Scientific American, the answer is not so simple. It turns out that some nutrients are actually more available to the body when the veggie is heated.

The most popular example is lycopene, an antioxidant found in the red pigments of tomatoes. Lycopene levels in tomatoes rose 35% after being cooked for 30 minutes at 190 degrees farenheit. Why? Probably because the heat breaks down the thick cell walls of the vegetable, releasing the nutrient that was bound to the wall.

Other nutrients, of course, suffer from heat. The best example is vitamin C, which seems to evaporate from just about anything from the moment its harvested. Luckily, vitamin C is so abundant in fruits, vegetables, and in fortified foods and drinks, that people rarely form a deficiency.

Frying is another story. The high temperature of the oil creates oxidized oil molecules – free radicals – which can then damage cells in our body by intermingling with tem. That’s why everyone is talking day and night about anti-oxidants that recapture the rebelling radicals and prevent them from messing with our cells.

Bottom Line: there’s no clear cut winner. Almost all forms of vegetables are good for you.

What to do at the supermarket:

This is one part of your grocery shopping where you can have your cake and eat it too. There are an infinite number of ways to prepare vegetables and fruits for consumption. Raw, cooked, chopped, diced, juiced, baked, mixed, frozen. Just get more into your diet.

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1. Propyl Gallate is an artificial food additive, that is also used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

2. It is a whitish crystalline powder.

3. You may find propyl gallate in meat products, microwaveable popcorn, soup mixes, chewing gum, mayonnaise, and frozen meals.

4. It has antioxidant properties, which means it helps stop oxygen molecules from mixing with the oil in food, causing the food to go rancid.

5. Propyl gallate is also denoted E310.

6. Some studies on rats have shown that propyl gallate may cause cancer.

7. Other side effect of consumption are stomach and skin irritability, as well as allergic reactions that impact breathing. It may also cause kidney and liver problems.

9. In some cases, to improve its efficacy, propyl gallate is used in conjunction with 2 other preservatives – BHA and BHT – which are also suspect as carcinogenic.

10. Although the FDA considers propyl gallate safe, in other countries it is either banned or very limited in use.

What to do at the supermarket:

Propyl Gallate is not a super popular additive. Go over the ingredient list of suspect products and try to avoid foods that contain it.

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Dried fruit are a tasty snack. They are supposedly as good as fresh fruit nutritionally, and have the added benefit of being available throughout the year, easy to store, durable, and versatile.

We decided to take a look at a well known brand, Sunsweet, which has been selling an Antioxidant Blend for the past few years. While the main ingredients are dried fruit, we were also surprised to find added sugar and oils in the list.

Read on for a full review of Sunsweet Antioxidant Blend.

Read more…

When will food marketers give us a break?

If it isn’t enough we have to deal with acai berry internet scams, now top manufacturers like Kraft are pushing acai at us in snacks?

The new strawberry acai sugar free gelatin may be a great tasting snack, but please Kraft, don’t lay the bogus health halo on consumers.

What you need to know:

Unfortunately, Jell-O’s website does not provide any nutrition information regarding its products (perhaps because there’s not too much to talk about). Here is what we got from the supermarket on Raspberry Goji flavor:

Ingredient list: Water, Gelatin, Contains Less than 0.5% of AD/PIC and Citric Acid (for Tartness), Sodium Citrate (Controls Acidity), Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium (Sweeteners), Salt, Red 40, Blue 1, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Vitamin E Acetate, Beta Carotene.

Did you notice that there is absolutely no real fruit in here? This despite the beautiful images of berries on the package…

On to the ingredient glossary:
Gelatin (E441) – gelatin is derived from the collagen in the bones of animals and fish. It’s what makes plain water become Jell-o.
Adipic Acid – an artificial substance used in creating nylon. In foods it is used to aid gelling and as a flavorant (would that by nylon flavor?).
Citric Acid (for Tartness) – a natural preservative that is used in beverages to add an acidic, sour taste. Although it is naturally found in citrus fruit (oranges, lemons), industry has a found a cheaper way to manufacture it. This is through a fermentation process in which a mold called Aspergillus niger is used to ferment a carbohydrate such as molasses. sounds grosser than it really is.
Sodium Citrate (Controls Acidity) – a food additive. Tastes a bit salty and a bit tart.
Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium (Sweeteners) – these are zero calorie sweeteners but some studies suggest that prolonged usage, especially if begun as a child, increase the risk of cancer.
Red 40 – the most popular artificial food coloring. Food manufacturers in the EU have been asked to remove it from their products.
Blue 1 – an artificial color. some studies showed that it may cause cancer.
Natural and Artificial Flavor – that’s what makes it taste like raspberry goji jello (as if most of us even know what goji or acai taste like naturally…)
Vitamin E Acetate – a form of vitamin E
Beta Carotene – a precursor, or inactive form of vitamin A

The nutrition label is simple – 10 calories, no fat, no carbs, 1 gram of protein. No vitamin A, despite the fact that beta carotne is listed as an ingredient. No vitamin C, no any vitamin or mineral as a matter of fact.

So where are the antioxidants, you ask?

They’re in the citric acid and added vitamins, but how effective and bio-available are they when detached from their natural form? Science still does not have an answer.

Wouldn’t eating a fresh apple or a banana be a better source? Of course it would, but Kraft doesn’t sell those items. They’re not profitable.

What to do at the supermarket:

Jell-O is a fun treat and very young children can enjoy it. Heck, we loved it as kids.

But the artificial food colorings are worrying. The artificial sweeteners even more so.

So, if you really must, at least choose the “regular” sweetened version (Yes, that means sugar and high fructose corn syrup).

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A study conducted in Spain has found that men who regularly consume fruits and vegetables have improved semen quality:

The study found that “men with good semen quality ate more vegetables and fruit (more vitamins, folic acid and fiber and less protein and fats) than those men with low seminal quality,” the lead author, Jaime Mendiola, a researcher at the University of Murcia, said in a news release.

Antioxidants, found mainly in fruits and vegetables, lower the level of oxidative stress that can affect semen quality, the researchers explained, and also improve sperm concentration and mobility.

Read more…

What you need to know:

Fertility rates are dropping in many countries. In the UK, men born in the 1970’s had 25% less sperm than men born in the 1950’s. There have been many explanations for this worrying drop, including tight underwear, electromagnetic radiation from electronic devices such as cellphones, and industrial pollution.  A reduction in fresh produce consumption is likely not the main culprit, but it definitely can’t harm one to get more nutrients from natural, unprocessed sources.

What to do at the supermarket:

Spend more time and money in the produce section.

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Japan gets hot in the summer. A hot Tokyo train ride during rush hour is no treat. So cold beverages are available for sale in vending machines all over town.

Now, catering to growing interest in healthy drinks, both Coca Cola and Pespico are unveiling local versions of “healthy soft drinks”. (Don’t you just love this oxymoron?)

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that while Coke is going for the classic green tea play, Pepsi  will introduce a more exotic basil leaf “Pepsi Shiso” later this month.

What you need to know:

Folks – it’s liquid candy, and we don’t care if they added a vitamin or an antioxidant to make you believe otherwise.

What to do at the supermarket:

Save $500 a year by switching to tap water! If you must get your antioxidants from a beverage, look for unsweetened iced teas.

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It took a lawsuit, but Nestle and the Coca Cola Company, who jointly market Enviga Green Tea, need to stop claiming it reduces weight. From the LA Times:

Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal began an inquiry in 2007 seeking evidence that consumers who drink Enviga burn more calories than they take in. Blumenthal, who had said the claim might be “voodoo nutrition,” led the coalition of states and the District of Columbia in the settlement.

The companies agreed to re-label Enviga to add disclosures and disclaim weight-loss benefits, Blumenthal said Thursday. Any marketing of Enviga or a similar beverage that uses the terms “the calorie burner,” “negative calories” or “drink negative” must clearly disclose that the product doesn’t lead to weight loss without diet and exercise, he said.

“The Enviga lesson is that weight loss requires sound diet and exercise, not simply a concoction of caffeine and green tea,” Blumenthal said. “Enviga’s calorie-burning claims led to credibility loss more than weight loss.”

read the entire article…

What you need to know:

Health claims are regulated by the FDA, and must be based on sound science. In many cases the science is only partially established. In those cases, the health claims are qualified by a disclaimer (which usually appears in a much smaller font at the bottom of the package).

Enviga was introduced in 2006. The studies which led Nestle and Coke to the revelation that their caffeine based concoction will burn calories is based on a simple fact -  any caffeine product speeds up metabolism and creates a calorie burning effect for a limited time. The additional antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), found in green tea, has not been found to “burn calories”.

It’s too bad Enviga doesn’t state the amount of caffeine in each can, but of course, that kind of information is not interesting to consumers, is it? Thankfully EnergyFiend has a list of all energy drinks and their caffeine content. Enviga boasts 100mg of caffeine in a 12 oz. can, roughly three times more than regualr Coca Cola, and 15% less than the Red Bull equivalent.

What to do at the supermarket:

Our usual advice is to avoid health claims, as they are merely marketing hype. Read the ingredient list and the nutrition label to get your facts. Watch your caffeine consumption by inquiring about the caffein levels in various drinks.

If you want to lose weight, limit your daily intake of calories, and exercise regularly. Processed foods, and even worse, liquid candies, will not be your savior.

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