Michael Pollan’s new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual came out over the holidays. For those of you not familiar with his work, Mr. Pollan, a professor of journalism and an author, is considered one of the grass roots leaders in the quest for better food and better food production system.

His previous books The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto exposed millions of readers to the ills of the Western Diet and the uber-capitalistic food industry. The result of constant pressure to increase profitability of food companies has wreaked havoc on our collective health, and created a country with 100 million obese people. Where Pollan’s previous books were more academic and philosophical observations and recommendations, Food Rules gives practical advice for day to day perusal.

The preface to the book argues against our obsession with this or that nutrient (fat, vitamin E, calcium) and pretty much disses “nutritionism” as something that has not helped, rather caused confusion among consumers. If we eat real food, in small portions, and mostly from plant sources, we won’t have to worry about saturated fat, added sugars, antioxidants and lycopenes, Pollan argues. Though he’s not a scientist, he did consult experts and researched substantially in preparation of this manual.

Pollan writes very well – some of the rules sometimes seem more like poetry than practical advice:

#19 If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.

#6o Treat treats as treats.

Others are so simple and smart that even a 4 year old can grasp:

#25 Eat your colors.

#36 Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk.

As a brownie lovers, we particularly connected with

#39 eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself

The gist of the book is not surprising. Most food at the supermarket is not really food, rather an “edible foodlike substance”:

#11 avoid foods you see advertised on television.

An important rule for families, not just for nutritional purposes:

#58 Do all your eating at a table.

and so forth…

The book is a quick light read. There are no big surprises here. It is the framing of what we all know to be true into a simple guiding rules that makes Food Rules an enjoyable hour or two spent.

The last rule is very important, we’re humans after all, and we celebrate a birthday once a year:

#64 Break the rules once in a while.

What to do at the supermarket:

It’s hard to summarize everything into on sentence but Pollan minimized his thesis into 7 words:

Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.

To which we add – Buy minimally processed products, mostly plants and whole grains, but also dairy and meat. Prepare meals yourself, enjoy food with your family at the dinner table, have small portions, drink water, and don’t obsess.

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We posted a few days ago about how 80% of Kids Commercials on Nickelodeon are for junk food. Junk cereal is also in the mix. If you were wondering how bad the situation is, watch the spot below for Froot Loops and Apple Jacks [Hat tip to Change.org]. Anyone still believe that the food industry isn’t manipulating kids?

For decades, advertisers sold kids cereals as fun, but now they are appealing to a 5 year old’s health and nutrition concerns. Thank you, Kellogg’s, for misinforming our children, creatively, once again.

What you need to know:

Let’s forget for a minute the sexist role play (Male doctor, female receptionist..)

The cutesy commercial fails to mention that Froot Loops includes trans fat, is 44% sugar by weight, and contains controversial artificial colorings that may prevent  any of these kids from being able to concentrate long enough to learn about nutrition. Apple Jacks is not much better.

What to do at the supermarket:

Breakfast cereals should contain much more fiber (5 grams and up) and much less sugar (6 grams or less). A kid oriented cereal will usually not be up to par. But you can buy a “grownup” cereal and sweeten it at home with a teaspoon of honey or sliced bananas.

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The most popular kids TV Network, Nickelodeon, should be ashamed of itself, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer watchdog group, in its latest expose. The reason: Most of the ads running on the network are for food products that promote obesity, diabetes, and other health problems in young children.

This is especially irritating because the industry set up a self-regulatory body with the Better Business Bureau – the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) – several years ago. Once again, this goes to show that you can’t have the cat watching over the cream. Just as with the ill-fated Smart Choice Program, the nutrition benchmarks that this group have set are – how shall we say – very lenient.

CSPI evaluated the nutritional quality based on the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity’s (NANA) Model
School Wellness Policies on Physical Activity and Nutrition. It’s a standard supported by over 50 health, nutrition, and education organizations.

Here are some findings:

• Of 425 foods and beverages that were advertised, 267 (60%) were sub par nutritionally (too much sugar, salt or fat, for example).
• 25% of the products had excess sugar.
• None of Pepsico’s 10 products met the nutritional minimum.
• The only bright spot – the figures are slightly better than 4 years ago, when 90% of commercials were for junk food.

You can download the full report here (PDF)

What to do at the supermarket:

My mother recently reminded me how as a 7 year old tagging along on her grocery shopping trips I would pick up a box of cereal I had seen on Saturday Morning cartoons. In a serious tone I would tell her “We need to buy this, mom.” and then add “They said on TV that it’s good for you.” Most often, the box would find itself back on the supermarket shelf.

Luckily, in retrospect, my parents had good sense. And I hope you do too. Teach your children at an early age to read critically, to look for products with good values in nutrition labels. In breakfast cereal for example, sugar should be below 8 grams per serving, and fiber higher than 3 grams. By getting your children involved in the nutrition hunt, they will be more apt to choose better products together with you.

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The days are getting colder and many families are switching from breakfast cereal to hot oatmeal. We took a look at Nature’s Path Organic Instant Hot Oatmeal – Apple Cinnamon to see just how good it would be to start of the day.

What you need to know:

The ingredient list (which does not appear on the company’s website) is short:

Organic rolled oats, organic evaporated cane juice, organic dried apple, organic cinnamon, sea salt, natural flavor.

Only 6 ingredients (good), but why is sugar #2 on the list? (In case you didn’t notice, “organic evaporated cane juice” is fancy-speak for sugar). At least we can understand what each ingredient is, expect for the last one. Natural flavor is a code word for some secret hush hush formula of herbs/spices/fragrances that gives this product a supposed edge over competitors. We’d rather have that spelled out for us too.

The nutrition panel says each packet contains 50 grams and will set you back 210 calories (before added milk). 64 calories come from the 14 grams of sugar inside. Since the FDA does not mandate labeling how much sugar is added to a product and how much is naturally present (through the apples, for example), it’s hard to know the exact ratio. It’s safe to assume though, as sugar in #2 in the ingredient list, that at least 3 teaspoons are added sugar, and not  sugar from the dried apples.

From a vitamin and mineral perspective, there are virtually non labeled as present, except for 10% iron. However, that’s simply because many organic products don’t get “artificially” fortified. We wouldn’t get too excited over all those B vitamins that most of us get enough of from other foods on a regular basis.

There are 4 grams of fiber (about 16% of the daily value which is good.)

Summary – we would be happy to recommend this product if Nature’s Path would cut down on the added sugar. Even non-organic competitors such as Quaker Oats only have 12 grams of sugar.

What to do at the supermarket:

Generally, organic products tend to have short, understandable ingredient lists (but not always – we’ve seen plenty of organic junk food). This product has too much sugar than we would like. Look for other options with less than 8 grams of sugar in the per serving (2 teaspoons), especially if they don’t have any fruit inside.

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In a press release yesterday, Kellogg’s introduced a branded back to school resource for moms called Mom’s Homeroom:

“Having all the right tools is essential for learning, like knowing what your child’s learning style is so you know how to help them study,” said Victoria Tierney, elementary school teacher and a Mom’s Homeroom mom. “I also know that kids need to be ready to learn, and starting the day with a wholesome breakfast is a great way to start.”

read the entire propoganda…

Whenever we see a brand dominate a “free advice” site, we’re always on guard. We checked out both the website and the products being heavily pushed. Read more…

Our body needs salt to function properly, but most of us are getting twice as much as our bodies need. This leads to high blood pressure, hypertension, and other maladies. Many times people are not even aware that their sodium consumption is so high (salt is 40% sodium, 60% chloride).

Here are some common myths regarding salt, thanks to the British Food Standards Agency:

1. Food has no flavour without salt – FALSE
If you’re used to salty foods and like to add generous amounts at every meal, then tasting the same foods without salt may make them seem a bit bland. That’s because your taste buds have become accustomed to the high amount of salt. The good news is that human taste buds can get used to eating less salt in just a few weeks. If you can’t cut the salt sharply start with a gradual decrease in consumption over the course of 6 weeks.

2. You can tell what foods are high in salt because they taste salty – FALSE
Some foods that are high in salt don’t taste very salty. Breakfast cereals and biscuits are a good example. The large amounts of sugar mask the salty taste. Tip for cooks: if you oversalted a dish, add some sugar to balance out the flavor.

3. You need more salt in hot climates because you sweat so much – FALSE
Even in very hot and humid climates our bodies lose only small amounts of salt through sweat.

4. I would know if I had high blood pressure – FALSE
Many people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, so you can’t assume that your blood pressure is normal if you haven’t had it tested. In England, for example, a third of the population has high blood pressure.

5. I don’t add salt to my food, so I must be OK – FALSE
Over 75% of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, mostly processed food and food consumed outside the home. Examples: burgers, cereals, soups, sauces, TV dinners, etc..

What to do at the supermarket:

If you really want to cut down on your sodium, start reducing processed foods from your diet.

Buying basic ingredients and cooking at home, lets you control the amount of salt added to a dish. If you find home cooking to be too difficult, look at the nutrition panel of prepared foods you buy and opt for low sodium versions (less than 400mg per serving).

If you are over 40 or suffer from high blood pressure, you need to be extra careful because your daily maximum value is 1500mg of sodium or less, vs. 2300mg for the rest of the population.

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Add this to the ever growing list of ridiculous health claims from food manufacturers. General Mills, one of the breakfast cereal quartet (Post, Quaker, and Kellogg’s are the other 3), has published a press release:

Research presented today [...] revealed Cheerios can help lower cholesterol by 10 percent in one month.

The study, which was conducted and presented by Provident Clinical Research, found that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings of Cheerios daily, as part of a reduced calorie diet low in fat, lowered LDL or “bad” cholesterol about 10 percent in one month. Cheerios is the only leading ready-to-eat cereal clinically proven to lower cholesterol.

“We monitored the diets of study participants for 12 weeks, and a clinical evaluation of their cholesterol levels showed coupling Cheerios with a reduced calorie diet significantly helps lower LDL cholesterol levels,” said Kevin C. Maki, Ph.D. of Provident Clinical Research. “We were impressed with how effectively eating Cheerios daily as part of a reduced calorie diet lowered bad cholesterol. These are simple changes that are easy for most people to make.”

Read the entire propaganda…

What you need to know:

Cheerios is definitely one of the better choices in the breakfast cereal category, as it is made from whole wheat and is very low in sugar.

But don’t buy into the marketing claims disguised as scientific research. Here is why:

1. The research was conducted by Provident Clinical Research, a for-profit institute that gets paid by General Mills and other manufacturers to design, implement, and analyze tests that will always shine a bright light on the product in question.

2. There is no mention of how the test was conducted, on whom, was there a control group, etc… How scientific could this test be if the information is not disclosed.

3. The subjects tested changed their diets not only by eating Cheerios twice a day, but by switching to a reduced calorie low fat diet. No doubt, dietitians helped these people make smart choices over the 12 week test period so that cholesterol would shoot down. But just how much did the Cheerios themselves contribute to the cholesterol reduction?

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t base your purchasing choice on marketing hype and health claims that are worthless. In the cereal aisle, look for cereals made with whole grains and low amounts of sugar (less than 6 grams per serving). Cheerios definitely makes the grade, but not because of the silly paid-for science report they have brought to the public’s attention.

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When grocery shopping, have you noticed some foods claiming to be fortified with vitamins and minerals, and others claiming to be enriched? Is there a difference between the two?

Turns out, that while both mean nutrients have been added to the product, the terms are distinct. Read more…

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For many parents, branded breakfast cereals are a repast into their own childhood memories of sweet Saturday mornings, and they are happy to see their kids munching healthily away at cereal with milk. Sadly though, these cereals tend to be high in sugar, and low in fiber. Consumer Reports has released a comparative study of children’s cereals, aimed at helping parents make better choices. Some of the study’s highlights:

A serving of 11 popular cereals, including Kellogg’s Honey Smacks, carries as much sugar as a glazed donut.

Post Golden Crisp made by Kraft Foods Inc and Kellogg’s Honey Smacks are more than 50 percent sugar by weight; nine brands are at least 40 percent sugar.

Top score goes to Cheerios with 3 grams of fiber per serving and just 1 gram of sugar, Kix and Honey Nut Cheerios, all made by General Mills, and Life, made by Pepsico Inc’s Quaker Oats unit.

What you need to know:

Every 5 grams of sugar translates into one teaspoon. So when you see a label stating 12g of sugar per serving, you are getting almost two and a half teaspoons of sugar in there. If the serving size is 27 grams, 44% of your cereal (12g/27g) is sugar. sweet…

What to do at the supermarket:

Look at the cereal ingredient list, and avoid products with sugar or sugar synonyms as one of the top ingredients in the list. Look at the nutrition label and choose cereals that have less than 6g of sugar per serving and are high in fiber and low in sodium. If you have children that just must have their favorite brand, buy a similar non-sweetened cereal and mix.