Bon Appetit

Photo: Ileana Johnson 2015

Americans' weight has been inching up each year and blood pressure increased thanks in part to a sedentary lifestyle and to the amount of sugar and salt in food. Manufacturers also hide ingredients they should list on the packaging under the label of "natural flavoring." The deception is massive.

How do you hide sugar? By giving it different names such as "high fructose corn syrup, cane crystals, dextrose, evaporated can juice, agave nectar, and fruit juice concentrate." In doing so, the amount of sugar does not appear as the number one ingredient on the list. Walter Willett, M.D., said that the Food and Drug Administration might require food labeling to show all types of sugar contained and print them on the package as "added sugars."

Items listed such as "carmine" or cochineal extract" are actually bug powder. FDA considers it safe, unless you are part of the small group of people who are allergic. Instead of bug powder, manufacturers could use petroleum-based chemicals such as Red No. 40 or No. 3 which have been proven by some studies to cause hyperactivity in children and cancer in animals. Most people would probably choose bug powder if they had a choice.

Among unlabeled ingredients are pesticides which are generally present in most foods. Packaging, such as particles of cardboard and chemicals that leech from the cardboard are also present; BPA, an industrial chemical linked to cancer, also leeches in the liquid food stored in such containers, including water stored in heated environments above certain degrees Fahrenheit.

I often wondered if the bottled water stored in the desert heat in the Middle East war zone contributed to the rise in military men and women cancer rates by 50 percent. Someone should definitely do an extensive study of their records and their whereabouts. Every time my spouse took chemo treatments, I asked everyone present what type of cancer they were given chemo for. The common denominator was a thoracic area type of cancer, most people were very young, and the trace marker test revealed that the cancer was environmental. One had a bizarre and very rare appendix cancer.

If you think you are eating high fiber foods, you will be surprised to learn that they contain "fake" fiber, not naturally occurring fiber from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Such "fake" fibers may be listed as "chicory root, maltodextrin, and polydextrose."

I've heard from a friend of mine who was a big eater of peanut butter how disgusted he was when he found out what's in his beloved peanut butter. He stopped buying it commercially and started making his own from peanuts he cleaned and pressed himself. Insect parts are present during manufacturing process and "peanut butter can have up to 30 insect parts per 100 grams."

Nanoparticles are not required to be listed on packaging but manufacturers use them to increase shelf life of food. They are so small that they pass through cell walls. Nobody really knows how nanoparticles affect our bodies.

Chicken which is now shipped to China to rendered and packaged and shipped back to the U.S. is not as safe as people think. A 2012 study found what kind of drugs the chicken ingested before they were slaughtered: antibiotics residue banned in poultry, caffeine, acetaminophen (Tylenol), diphenhydramine (Benadryl), fluoxetine (active ingredient in Prozac).

Ninety percent of seafood is coming from other countries and we have no idea what the contaminants are. Videos from China have shown packaging houses injecting fish and shrimp with silicone to make them look plumper and fresher. The FDA inspects "less than 2 percent of our seafood imports." The EU, by contrast, inspects 20-50 percent of imports.

Robert J. Davis recommends farmed salmon from a good farm because it has "more heart-healthy omega-3s than wild salmon."

Packaged sliced cheese are mostly not cheese, they are made of milk protein concentrate and whey protein concentrate. They are thus called "pasteurized prepared cheese products." If ice cream does not have at least 10 percent milk fat, it must be called "frozen dairy dessert." Greek yogurt that is labeled "whey protein concentrate" or "milk protein concentrate" on the ingredients list is not strained naturally to make it thick, things have been added to thicken it.

In processed foods, salt is the "miracle ingredient" because it preserves the food, helps exacerbate the sweet taste, and hides bad flavors coming from the manufacturing line. Flour, sugar, and oils are mixed in large vats. Salt, flavoring, coloring, and other "fairy dust" is added to make the product look and taste close to something we would mix at home. They add sun dried tomatoes, vitamins, anti-oxidants, and extra fiber in order to claim that the finite product is good for you.

Do manufacturers go overboard with their ingredients? The FDA lets them be their own safety testers and there are no mandatory guidelines. Melanie Warner said, they don't even have to tell the FDA what "new additives they are using."

Additionally, FDA inspectors have a vested interest in companies that sell synthetic products to food manufacturers. Manufacturers self-police and FDA steps in only if customers complain.

If you like sourdough bread, you will be surprised to find out that the bacteria came from rodent feces, said Rob Dunn, biologist at NC State University.

Strange claims from Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham, who invented graham crackers to reduce libido, blamed meat, white bread, and alcohol on "excessive sexual desire." Very bland at first, it was turned into the sweet treat after this death. (Libby O'Connell)

Even though we complain about the price of food we buy in grocery stores, Americans spend the lowest amount of their income on food, about 5.6 percent of their disposable income.

Katherine Talmadge recommends Triscuits because they only list three ingredients, whole-grain wheat, oil, and salt. Finn Crisp and Wasa brands are also recommended for having 100 percent whole grain and low amounts of salt. Cereal's nutrition is destroyed during processing so manufacturers must add vitamins and minerals to it.

If you are leery of pasta, like I am, get regular pasta and not whole wheat. Kantha Shelke believes that whole wheat pasta has more starch than regular pasta because of the grounding process. Better yet, search for a pasta with a low glycemic index, especially if you are borderline diabetic.

Organic food is not necessarily better and healthier in light of e-coli contamination from animal fecal fertilizer; it is certainly very expensive for most people. Fresh fruits and vegetables in season are the best and, if you are not sure what you eat from the store or from a restaurant, cook more at home.