AAIM Blog The blog for integrative medicine professionals
We watched from the sidelines as Lance Armstrong has fallen on his sword and has finally decided to tell the truth about his use of performance enhancing drugs. You decide if he’s told all of the truth.
Isn’t it odd that 13 million Brits are on a permanent
diet?Isn’t it sad that last year—in the span of only one
year—Americans spent 60 billion dollars (notice billion) to
lose weight? And this figure does not account for all the free
ways in which people invest.
Dr. Johnson’s central premise is that there is a true crisis in fathering in this country that has left many men emotionally crippled and relationships
torn apart. This has resulted in a powerful father gap and a deep emotional wound that manifests in many destructive behavior patterns.
by CaltonNutrition on Sunday, March 3, 2013
On February 24, 2013, just a few days ago, the New York Times published an extremely disturbing article written by Michael Moss, titled The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. If you have read it, then you know what we are talking about. If you haven’t, we urge you to do so now. The article takes the reader inside the rarely disclosed underworld of food manufacturing and exposes the ugly truth about food science and the deliberate intentions of big food conglomerates to create unhealthy, addictive foods in the name of greater financial gain regardless of the health consequences to us – their consumers. It explains how armies of food scientists are instructed to get as close as possible to what is considered to be the “Holy Grail” of addictive junk food, something industry insiders refer to as “the bliss point.” By dialing in the exact flavor, color and texture that creates the greatest amount of crave, food scientists work to push consumers to ingest as much of their franken-food as humanly possible, by making it nearly impossible for them to put it down. The article directly reveals that these well known manufacturers are not only guilty of producing these addictive junk foods, but also knowledgeable as to how these foods are adding to the health conditions and obesity epidemic that is limiting the lifespan of our youth, and yet still relentlessly press their companies toward increased profits and market share no matter the human price.
One of the main ingredients the article points out as a commonly used tool of crave manipulation, is sugar. In Rich Food, Poor Food we identify sugar as one of our Poor Food ingredients—and explain to the reader its health depleting effects and addictive properties. The great effort required fight off a craving for sugars’ sweet taste is well documented; In fact, according to researchers out of the University of Bordeaux, refined sugar, the same ingredient added to many processed foods, is far more addictive than cocaine. This is one of the many reasons why we recommend removing it from your daily diet. It is time that we, as consumers, break free of the sugarcoated chains these contriving companies try to bind and control us with.
Additionally, when these companies want to reduce costs, and squeeze out higher profits, they often throw high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) into the mix. What they don’t want you to know is that HFCS, unlike sugar, does not trigger the secretion of leptin, a hormone that tells your brain when you are full. Because of this, eating foods that contain HFCS can lead to increased caloric consumption and obesity. HFCS consumption may also lead to an increased risk of heart disease because it has been shown to cause elevated triglyceride levels. The ramifications of a diet filled with HFCS are well documented and yet, products containing this Poor Food ingredient fill nearly every aisle in the grocery store. According to the USDA, greedy manufacturers are now filling the average American with sixty-three pounds of HFCS a year. We wonder how they can sleep at night knowing that they are profiting by selling this potentially genetically modified, corn-based inducer of obesity and heart disease to an unsuspecting public who has placed their misguided trust in them.
The deception of food science doesn’t end there. There is an additional ingredient not discussed in the article, but widely used by U.S. food manufactures, which scientists worldwide recognize as an obesity inducer – Monosodium Glutamate (aka. MSG). MSG has long been used by food scientists to trick us into thinking a food tastes better than it really does. In fact, this flavor enhancer, found in nearly all processed foods in one form or another, has been shown to increase food consumption in animals by 40% and evidence suggests that it may produce similar responses in humans. MSG works so well that it is used to rapidly increase the weight of lab rats when overweight or obese rats are needed for various experiments. The food scientists hired by these unscrupulous monsters of manufacturing are well aware that like HFCS, MSG also works to induce obesity because it seems to make us leptin resistant. Recall that leptin is the hormone that makes us feel satiated. Why would you ever put down the bag of MSG-laden chips if your brain never actually receives the message to stop eating them?
The New York Times article also made it clear that the CEOs of America’s largest food companies are well aware of the fact, that the bagged, boxed and bottled products they are feverishly pushing onto society, are not only contributing to our obesity epidemic, but to the increase in diabetes and heart disease as well. In addition to everything else, MSG also causes the pancreas to secrete insulin, which drops your blood sugar quickly and makes you hungrier faster. When the body over-releases insulin, it can lead to insulin resistance, which food scientists are well aware can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and many other health problems.
Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and MSG are all Poor Food ingredients that these companies are choosing, no, demanding be added into their products with the express intent of increasing what is known as their products “stomach share”- the amount of digestive space any one company’s brand can grab from the competition. That’s right, these manufacturers are vying for digestive space in your stomach. By following the Grocery Purchasing System (GPS) we give you in Rich Food, Poor Food you can exponentially increases food safety down every aisle of the grocery store by steering your cart towards food products that do not include these sneaky, sinister, crave-inducing ingredients. We also help you identify the numerous aliases these Poor Food ingredients are frequently hiding behind on the ingredient list.
These “Kings of Conventional Packaged Foods” need us to purchase their products in order to fill the bank accounts that supply the funds necessary to pay the food scientist to build their addictive consumer mousetraps. But we have news for them; their addictive foods cannot trap us, cause our obesity and decrease our life spans if we are educated enough not to purchase them in the first place. There is a war going on right now, and we, as a nation, need to take a stand against this type of disgusting and moralless behavior. We need to hit these manufactures where it hurts— in their bank accounts. By following the Rich Food, Poor Food Grocery Purchasing System and avoiding Poor Food ingredients and manipulative advertising you send a clear message to the food manufactures and grocery stores that they will not make money off of your ill-health. We need to cut the industry giants down to size and show them that they must be responsible for the products that they sell. As consumers we want to know that we are buying the safest, healthiest products that we can. Not products that these companies have manipulated to the point that we can’t stop eating them, but Rich Food products that add to our health in a meaningful way. While many of these “Grocery Store Gods,” like Frito-Lay, Yoplait, and Coco-Cola named in the New York Times article, feel that conning consumers with drug-like addictive foods is the way to go to increase profits, selling more with every obesity-inducing fix, are there other companies out there finding new ways to increase profits without jeopardizing the health of the American public? Is it even possible?
The answer is yes, and the good news is that food quality is now a trend that some conscientious companies are starting to pay close attention to. In 2011, the Hudson Institute, a think tank on public policy, reported that healthier foods have generated more than 70% of the growth in sales for consumer packaged-goods. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Michelle Obama brought to our attention the fact that the mega-store Walmart, has actually increased profits by recognizing this trend and listening to consumer cravings – not for sugary fixes – but for healthier produce and packaged products. Political viewpoints and methodology aside, she has attempted to keep a focus on food quality and childhood obesity throughout her time in the White House. The article reports that over the past two years Walmart reduced the cost of fresh produce to consumers by 2.3 million dollars and cut back the sugar content in the stores by 10%. This is by no means saying that they have eliminated sugar the way we do in Rich Food, Poor Food. However, it is a definite step in the right direction. Because of this first step, Walmart has seen stronger sales in their produce departments and consumers are feeling more confident in the fact that Walmart has honest concern for their wellbeing. Disney and Walgreens are also responding to this trend. Disney has eliminated ads for junk food from its children’s programming and is improving the food served in Disney theme parks and Walgreens is adding fresh fruits and vegetables to its stores in underserved communities. Using these companies as examples we can clearly see that improving the health of the public, and supplying individuals with what they need to achieve good health, rather than what they crave due to health depleting, chemical influencers, can result in increased profitability and consumer confidence for a company. This is a lesson that the sly CEOs of America’s food manufacturers should pay attention to and stop disregarding people for profits.
And it is not just large companies that can benefit from this food quality trend. Smaller companies are popping up everywhere eager to manufacture health conscious products to fill the void in the current marketplace. You will find many of these smaller food manufacturers highlighted in Rich Food, Poor Food. These companies are producing products that leave out Poor Food ingredients and instead fill their bags, boxes and bottles with high quality, health-enhancing ingredients. We are thrilled to find that as consumers are made aware of these smaller companies, grocery stores begin to offer their brands as well. It is time for a RICH FOOD REVOLUTION, a grassroots movement that puts the power of choice back in our hands, the hands of the consumers. We feel we can literally change the landscape of the current grocery stores, crowding “the bliss point” filled packages right off the shelves and replacing them with safe, healthy options for our families to enjoy.
It is also time to dispel the myth that organic food has to be more expensive and sound the alarm concerning pesticides and their new link to obesity. In a 2011 study conducted by the Mercer University School of Medicine, researchers examined whether pesticide exposure measured in the urine of subjects 6 to 19 years old played a role in global childhood obesity. Researchers found a higher prevalence of obesity in the youth with high urinary concentrations of a pesticide known as 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP) – one of the most widely used pesticides on the globe. But, GMO-monger Monsanto and other opponents of organic farming scream that growing organically would increase cost and decrease production. To this we cry FOUL! Recently, the 30-yearcomparative study of organic and conventional growing methods, carried out by the Rodale Institute revealed that the yield on organic and conventional plots showed no difference whatsoever in overall corn, soy or wheat production per acre. And, in years of drought, yields in organic plots were 30% higher than those in conventional plots. Rodale’s study even indicates that organic produce is more cost effective for farmers to grow than conventional produce. That’s right. Buying organic produce should be saving you money! It turns out that organic farms are almost twice as profitable as conventional ones! According to Mark Smallwood, the executive director of Rodale, there simply are not enough organic farms yet to bring down the prices (simple supply and demand). As our awareness of the ramifications of conventional growing increase, the number of organic farms will grow as well, and the prices will drop (along with the pounds being added due to pesticide toxicity.)
Finally, to those critics who say producing and purchasing healthy food is just too expensive, we share Michelle Obama’s words, “We spend $190 billion a year treating obesity-related health conditions like diabetes and heart disease, and a significant portion of those costs are borne by America’s businesses. That’s on top of other health-related costs like higher absenteeism and lower worker productivity, costs that will continue to rise and threaten the vitality of American businesses until this problem is solved once and for all.” Shame on those food manufactures pointed out in the New York Times article and others like them for not caring about the injury they are inflicting on the health of humanity by pushing their additive drug–like food products on the global population. Your reckless pursuit of the almighty dollar and the abominations you call food, scientifically engineered to reach the maximum “bliss point,” making it so that a typical consumer is no longer able to control their own food choices, are exactly what has pushed the entire American population to it’s “breaking point!” We hope the food scientists who create these colossal cravings read this and recognize the disservice they are doing to their families, friends and the nation. We applaud the companies, like Walmart, Disney, and Walgreens who are striving to meet the desires of the consumer by implementing conscientious advertising and offering healthier options in their stores and theme parks. And leaders like Michelle Obama who are bringing the issue of food quality and childhood obesity to the forefront. But we must do more if we want to turn around the health crisis America currently faces.
There is a plague among us that must be eradicated; it is no longer lurking in the shadows behind closed doors. It has been exposed through the brave words of Michael Moss and it is up to us to do something about it. Real change will start with you. So get out your flag of personal responsibility and start waving it. Step up and join the Rich Food Revolution, educate yourself and take control of your health through calculated action. This will not be a battle easily won, but it is a battle that must be fought if we are to save ourselves, and our children from the health conditions and diseases inflicted by the extraordinary science of addictive junk food.
As your professional integrative medicine and health association, we welcome input from our colleagues across the nation – both members and potential members – in order to ensure we are addressing the needs of your specialty field and practice. To that aim, we are requesting a bit of your time to complete a survey specific to our Executive Summit as well as the Continuing Education opportunities at the event.
As our way of saying thank you, if you enter your name, email address, and mailing address on the survey, your name will be entered into a drawing to win a free registration to the 2014 Executive Summit (void where prohibited).
Survey response deadline: February 21, 2013.
Visit this link to participate:
Thank you for your help in planning the 2014 Executive Summit!
What is Holistic Nutrition and how does it differ from that of registered dietitian and clinical nutrition? Before we can answer these questions, it is necessary for us to step back and take a look at the broader picture of food and human interaction. In order to live we must eat, that is simple, but, what do we eat, why do we eat those foods and the single and cumulative effects of food on the body systems is a far more complex story.
In our fast-paced society we are constantly seeking the path to happiness and in the process of looking for this path, we make ourselves miserable. In his new book, Spontaneous Happiness, author Andrew Weil tells us what to do when we are not happy and how to better weather life’s inevitable highs and lows. He states that happiness or depression is not a mood we should be in all, or even most, of the time. Extremely negative and positive moods, such as bliss and despondency, are at the edge of our emotional spectrum. The key is to discover a neutral midpoint of emotional health. The midpoint that Dr. Weil is talking about translates into contentment. Contentment is defined as “a state of happiness and satisfaction,” translated it is that internal sense of well-being that allows us to be impervious to life’s ups and downs and it doesn’t factor in what we have or don’t have. Contentment gives you an inner sense of calm; it is not dependent on external circumstances or possessions.
How can we achieve contentment? Dr. Weil suggests starting with a journal. Write down what you’re grateful for and journal notes of thanks to key people in your life. By making this activity a part of your day, it allows a positive thought process. He also suggests some form of meditation and deep breathing. A primary benefit of meditation is finding that calm center from where you can view the rest of your life without getting caught up in it.
Stress is inevitable. It will always be a part of our life; however, by taking time to learn techniques to protect yourself from the harmful effects of stress, and you will find that inner contentment that we all truly need.
Please check back for future updates in regards to accreditation.
Thank you!
The Harvard Study on red meat gave us some pretty startling headlines this week. According to their research, the red meat that people buy in grocery stores, eat at restaurants, and serve to children in lunch lines is killing us! In the recent article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine eating red meat was shown to be “associated with and increased risk of total, CVD, and cancer mortality.” It looks like the Hamburglar is stealing a lot more than hamburgers— it appears that he is robbing years from our lives. The study stated that that each additional serving of unprocessed red meat and processed red meat was associated with a respective 13% and 20% higher risk of dying. That’s right, the study claimed that red meat poses an alarming threat to those who eat it, but why?
It shouldn’t surprise us that the processed meats, made with nitrates, fillers, and sweeteners, caused havoc and ill health, but the unprocessed meats are whole, real meat, straight from the butcher—they should have been safe – right? Why did the unprocessed meats cause disease and death? Some people reading this article already know the answer. Like us, they have studied the meat at their tables and educated themselves as to what is happening to our meat supply here in America. We have carnivorous friends following low-carb, paleo, primal, ancestral, Mediterranean, and low-fat dietary philosophies, who know something about this unprocessed meat that the study didn’t reveal, and that the media didn’t share. They yell at their televisions when they see these negative reports on red meat. They do this because they know that the meat that was studied was not the meat that they eat. In fact, to many of us it is not meat at all.
The Harvard study examined what they are calling unprocessed meats. But the process of creating modern meat starts long before the processing plant. Let’s examine the numerous processes that the unprocessed cow suffered.
To Process- (definition) – To prepare, treat, or convert by subjecting to a special process. A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result.
First, let’s look at what this unprocessed cow is fed on the farm? Farm, HA! This cow never saw a farm. It lived in a crowded animal factory known as a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO). Just like other factories, the CAFOs have cut costs wherever possible, so the cattle, herbivores, that for centuries dined on grassy pastures, now eat grain, candy bars, road kill and something tasty called “animal protein products” which can include rendered feathers, hair, skin, hooves, blood, and intestines. The process of feeding this foreign feed to the cattle is unnatural and destructive to their digestive systems and creates unnatural and destructive unprocessed meat for us all to enjoy.
Next, the modern cow is pumped full of antibiotics so that while living in an unnatural state of packed filth the cows don’t spread illness, most of which would have been avoided if they had been fed their natural grass diets in the first place. This preventative process leads to numerous health risks for both the animals and us. First, the antibiotics cause the animals to gain fat. Hmm, could they have this effect on humans? Additionally, the excessive antibiotics are of concern because antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria are formed, which again leave both the bovine and humans at risk. By the way, you don’t have to worry about this process if you live in the European Union or Canada— Your governments are protecting you and have rightfully banned this practice.
Luckily the cattle don’t remain in the jam packed CAFO for long. While steer used to graze on grass and only mature to slaughter at the age of 4 or 5, now they are spared this miserable existence shortly after their first year. That is because the modern cow is given Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH). This makes the farm more profitable by creating a fatter cow faster. According to The Center for Food Safety, upwards of 80 percent of all beef cattle in the US are given growth hormones. This process of falsely fattening the cattle to turn a profit is also banned in the European Union, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and Australia due to studies showing that it was unhealthy and a concern to human health. So, this only affects our unprocessed meats here in the U.S. Finally, after slaughter the meat may be washed with anhydrous ammonia, followed with a carbon dioxide treatment for cleansing then pumped up, to refresh the flesh color, with carbon monoxide gas injections. The USDA has deemed these actions “processing aids” so they don’t have to be labeled on our unprocessed meats.
So, we would like to thank Harvard for this study and for bringing these horrifying statistics to the front pages of our newspapers. However, we can all now see that Harvard never really examined unprocessed meat at all. Let’s call a spade a spade, the study should have said is that eating processed factory farm meats increase the risk of dying. This shouldn’t really surprise us after examining how we treat these animals as commodities. The fact is, factory farms and food processing plants have contaminated our food supply to the point that a food (red meat) that was once the very staple of a healthy diet has now become an almost unrecognizable “food” product and has been abominated to the point that instead of promoting health and longevity, science is now showing it to increase our risk of death by as much as 20%…and the USDA has allowed it.
Where is the newspaper headline that states “ Our meat supply has been destroyed by our government!” or “No foreign countries will buy meat made from our unhealthy contaminated cows.” We must have missed the TV reporter when they announced that, “Our government is so concerned for the health of its citizens that they are now banning antibiotics and growth hormones and regulating that cows eat grass.” Isn’t this what we all really want? We don’t want to stop eating meat or reduce our daily intake to less than 1.5oz as suggested by the Harvard researchers in order to reduce our risk of death. We want to stop eating processed factory farmed meats filled with pink slime, butchered of animals, which have been treated inhumanely. This study proves that it is all of us who will ultimately pay the price when animals are raised simply to make a profit and not in a responsible, natural and humane way. We want our government to realize, as the others around the world have, that the health of the nation is important. We deserve to eat real food that will promote health in ourselves and in our children. Our ancestors have enjoyed red meat and thrived on it for millennia. Grass-finished cattle produce meat with far healthier omega 3 to 6 ratio than their confined counterparts, and CLA, a healthy fat not found in grain fed cows. Additionally, it supplies higher levels of the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin. Calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium and vitamins A and E are abundant. This is the red meat that mankind thrives on. This is the red meat we demand.
In our book Naked Calories, we urge our readers to adapt what we call a “nutrivore” lifestyle. A lifestyle that focuses on the micronutrient value of our foods through the choosing of quality grass-finished beef, pastured eggs and chicken, wild caught fish and local/organic produce. Anyone can become a nutrivore regardless of their dietary philosophies, from the strictest paleo dieter to the strictest vegan and everyone in between. Part of becoming a nutrivore is educating yourself on what is happening to America’s food supply and to us as a people as we continue to eat foods full of Naked Calories and slip deeper into a chronic state of micronutrient deficiency. We need to become aware of the fact the micronutrient deficiency, caused in large part by factory farming, food processing and soil depletion/over farming, is the most wide spread and dangerous heath condition of the 21st century and that what we choose to eat has a direct affect on our likelihood of contracting a chronic health condition or disease. We need to wake up the world and explain that the meat, fat and the micronutrient values (vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids) are not the same for processed factory-farmed red meat as they are for naturally-raised, grass-finished red meat. Nor would the heath results of eating them be the same. To be clear, it is our firm belief that red meat from naturally and humanely-raised, grass-finished cows would NOT cause the increased risk of mortality that the Harvard study found, at any normal daily serving range, and in fact would decrease this risk substantially.
Along with this education, it is the nutrivores responsibility to share this information with others, and to take action. The farmers, or the large agribusinesses pretending to be farmers, will not change unless we force them to. They are making money doing things this way, and they have the system down pat. Our government isn’t regulating them to grow food that will benefit our health, so the only way we will make a change is to act as a unified group. Stop paying for meat that has been shown to cause disease and early death. Tell your grocers, your restaurants, and your schools that you want them to source grass-finished meat (be careful this is not necessarily the same as grass fed). Until it becomes available at your grocer, find yourself a local farm or join a CSA and work together as a tribe to gather the foods that will nourish you. This goes for pastured eggs and chicken, wild caught fish and local/organic produce as well. Our food supply needs an overhaul. It will take the nation to demand this and it begins with each and every one of us. Those who have already been sourcing these foods should become the elders in the group and use their knowledge to help others. Even if you already go to a farm for grass-finished meats, pastured eggs and chickens, or local pesticide-free produce stop by your local grocery store and ask them, no, bug them, to source these quality foods. Its time we stop fighting among ourselves and come together as one unified group, demanding better food, no matter what dietary philosophy we have chosen to follow.
If we want change, it is our responsibility to take action and demand natural, micronutrient rich foods, and to educate and inspire others as well. Becoming a nutrivore is the first step to achieving micronutrient sufficiency, a physical state we believe is the basis of optimal health. For now, our health is in our hands, but if we continue down this road, and sit by as our more and more of our foods become vehicles of disease and death, this will not remain the case. Taking the time to understand how food affects your health could be the most important thing you ever do. If you haven’t read Naked Calories, read it! If you have, share it! Become a nutrivore today, and together we can make a difference.
by CaltonNutrition on Monday, February 27, 2012
Calton Nutrition is back with our second video transforming the Poor Food choices on the Dr. Oz approved, 99 Diet Foods Shopping List into Calton approved Rich Food options! We want to thank all of you who watched and shared our first educational and hopefully entertaining video. For those of you who haven’t yet read the first food transformation blog, or seen the first Wizard of Oz video you may want to Click Here to do so now. Either that, or click here to read a quick PDF about how the Calton Nutrition version of Transformation Nation began.
We don’t want to sound like a broken record, but we want you to remember as you watch the videos and read the blogs that this is NOT an attack on Dr. Oz or the brands mentioned in on the 99 Diet Foods Shopping List. Dr. Oz put those brands on his list. We did not. Remember, our obligation is to share with you any potentially harmful ingredients we find on the 99 Diet Foods Shopping List, so that we can help you make smarter choices when choosing where to spend your hard earned money. We will be offering apples to apples, or in this case, cookies to cookies, swaps from the Dr. Oz approved Poor Food options to Calton approved Rich Food Options that will increase micronutrient value while eliminating potentially dangerous ingredients.
Speaking of swapping, there is something else that we need to point out. We also want to highlight the disclaimer from Dr. Oz’s camp that appears on the bottom of his shopping list. Take a minute and read it now.
Disclaimer: for your convenience, we have listed specific brands, but Dr. Oz and The Dr. Oz Show do not endorse any of the name brand products listed above. If you prefer another brand that has the same ingredients & nutritional value, feel free to use it.
Feel free to use it? You mean swap it for another brand with the same ingredients? We will reiterate that it is the ingredients in these listed foods that we are trying to warn you about. Thus choosing a product with the same ingredients would obviously not be a good solution either. We hope you enjoy the new video and as always, we would love to hear your comments.
Let the Transformation Wars begin!
Calton Nutrition Dr. Oz video
Introducing #77 on Dr. Oz’s 99 Diet Foods Shopping List: Back to Nature, Chocolate-Chunk Cookies.
Here are the ingredients as they are listed on the label:
Ingredients: UNBLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE*, DEXTROSE, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT), EVAPORATED CANE JUICE, SAFFLOWER OIL, BROWN RICE SYRUP, BAKING SODA, SEA SALT. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY. *RAINFOREST ALLIANCE CERTIFIED(TM) COCOA BEANS.
Poor ingredient Numbers 1: Unbleached Wheat Flour
What could be wrong with unbleached wheat flour, it sure sounds healthy, right? Wrong! Did you even notice that it didn’t say unbleached whole wheat flour? Leaving out that one little word is sure to trick many a shopper. This unbleached wheat flour is nothing more than a fancy (and misleading) way of saying refined white flour. We all know from reading Naked Calories that refined grains are ingredients in poor food choices. Remember, refined grains, or processed grains, have had both the bran and the germ removed from the grain kernel. Protein and fiber are found in the bran, which is the outer protective layer of the kernel. The germ contains the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids (EFAs), and the antioxidants. Once these macro (protein is a macronutrient) and micronutrient-rich pieces are removed, a fluffy white inner core called endosperm remains; it is with this nutrient depleted core that processed white flour is made. Refining white flour wipes out 50 to 80 percent of the various B vitamins, 86 percent of the vitamin E, 85 percent of the magnesium, and 60 percent of the calcium. Why would Dr. Oz support a product made with this misleading ingredient and filled with Naked Calories if his goal is improved health and enhance weight loss?
Poor ingredients 2, 3 and 4: Sugar, Dextrose and Evaporated Cane Juice.
What’s worse than suggesting a diet food that contains sugar? How about suggesting a diet food that sneaks sugar in under three different names? That’s right sugar by another name would taste as sweet…and spike your insulin as high! You may remember that in Naked Calories we called refined white sugar, AKA the White Devil or sucrose, an anti-nutrient because it is chemically processed and stripped of all beneficial properties. Not only does sugar have a high glycemic index ranking of 80, but it also is extremely acidic to the body causing calcium and other mineral depletion from bones and organs.
As we mentioned in our last video dextrose rates a 100 on the glycemic index – speedily spiking your insulin and telling your body to store fat. In this blog we will add that dextrose, AKA glucose, weakens the human immune system by competing with vitamin C for entry into your cells. Depleted vitamin C levels will not only lower your immune system, but according to the University of Maryland, even slight deficiencies of vitamin C can increase cortisol output. And what happens when cortisol is increased? That’s right…you guessed it… your body fat increases too, especially around the midsection. It looks like Dr Oz is recommending cookies that add to your muffin top!
And just in case that cookie isn’t sweet enough, they have decided to stir in some evaporated cane juice. While some try and pass evaporated cane juice off as an unrefined sugar, we aren’t going to fall for that one. Juicing is a refining process and evaporating refines it further. Although evaporated cane juice is a better option than refined white sugar, or dextrose and only scores a 55, or intermediate on the glycemic index, cane juice (we would prefer organic cane juice if it has to be used) would be an even better choice as more of the micronutrients would have been delivered. But alas, this is not the case, and there are better choices. (we will go over these later)
Keep in mind that sugar, in all its forms, is addictive and that these cookies, with their triple shot of sugar intensity, almost guarantee you won’t stop at just one. In fact, this is what one loyal customer says about these chocolate chunk cookies in the review section on the Back to Nature website:
My son and I are seriously addicted to these cookies! We eat a box every day. And I do mean everyday. It should be against the law for these cookies to be soooooooooo gooooooooood! Thanks ~Joretta K.
Does eating a whole box of cookies daily sounds like it will do wonders for your waistline? And what about dieting diabetics? They needs to be extremely cautious as the blood sugar spiking could be dangerous. It looks like Dr. Oz overlooked sugar three times over when choosing this diet food.
Poor ingredient 5: Brown Rice Syrup
Yes, you read that right. The next ingredient is the very ingredient that Dr. Oz recently warned us about on national television – brown rice syrup. Do you remember the reason Dr Oz warned us to avoid this ingredient? That right. According to Dr. Oz brown rice syrup may contain high levels of our old friend arsenic! How can Dr. Oz recommend a product that contains the exact ingredient that he just cautioned about on the Today Show? While not all brown rice syrup has been shown to contain this high level of arsenic, as Dr. Oz said. “Arsenic is linked to cancer, developmental delays, and heart problems. Why would we want to risk it?” That is a good question Dr. Oz. Why would you risk it? Especially when Gary Ginsberg, Ph.D. a public health toxicologist and one of Dr. Oz’s expert/wellness warrior has this to say on DoctorOz.com:
Taking a crop high in arsenic and concentrating it down into a syrup and then putting that into baby formula [food] – sounds almost like a terrorist plot on a TV drama. Unfortunately, it’s actually happening. And it’s even more outrageous when considering that simple sugars and empty calories are a risk for diabetes. This effect is now combined with arsenic, a chemical that can decrease pancreatic function and is linked to diabetes.
You may be asking yourself why this possible carcinogen has been added to the cookies in the first place? It seems that the folks at Back to Nature felt that three sweeteners were not enough. You see, brown rice syrup is also a sweetener, and is now the fourth sweetener in this Dr. Oz approved diet food. This sweetener, like the others before it, spikes insulin causing your body to store fat. Again, we can’t imagine how anyone participating in Transformation Nation is looking for this effect from their diet foods.
Dear Dr. Oz, if you feel it is important enough to warn people about the possible dangers of this ingredient on national television, then shouldn’t you take the time to remove the foods that contain this ingredient from your approved shopping list…especially if this carcinogen is also likely to promote diabetes?
Five Strikes… The Back to Nature Chocolate Chunk Cookies are OUT!
To be honest, we feel a little strange recommending cookies on a diet list to begin with. We would prefer to tell the reader to stop eating them in favor of whole, delicious, fresh, organic foods that are free of harmful ingredients and deliver greater micronutrient benefits. But, this is a swap…apples to apples. So, we have found some options that we feel are better choices for our Rich Food cookie options.
The first is, Yes to Cookies, Cocoa-licious cookies. This recipe was born out of a man’s love for a woman with severe insulin-dependant diabetes. They are sugar free, gluten free, and starch free. The creator sweetens with erythritol and stevia, which won’t cause an insulin spike. There is nothing but cocoa-goodness hiding in these cocoa treats. (Note: over consumption of erythritol could cause stomach upset in individuals with IBS)
The second is Blessings Alive and Radiant Foods, Raweo Cookies. Think of these as grown-up Oreos. They are chocolate on the outside with a vanilla bean cashew cream on the inside. These gems are sweetened with raw honey. While raw honey still spikes insulin, scoring a low 30 on the glycemic index (same as milk), it is considered a healthy sugar alternative when eaten in moderation. Unlike processed (pasteurized) honey, raw honey supplies antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and phytonutrients. This means that raw honey offers sweetness while delivering essential micronutrients – a Rich Food ingredient for sure!
Now, we can’t lie to you. It was difficult finding Rich Food packaged cookies. But, we know that there are many great chefs out there, living healthy and following our Rich Food Philosophy. We call on you to become one of our creative kitchen commandos. Join the brilliant baking battalions out there that are creating rich food recipes that will blow us all away. Just send us your coolest cookie recipes (we will be looking for other recipes later on) and we will test them in the Calton Nutrition test kitchen, then, we will post a collection of your Rich Food cookie recipes that really take the cake. [Submit here]
That’s all for today, but remember, we will continue to transform the Transformation Nation’s shopping cart, item by item, into one that is filled with Calton-approved Rich Foods that are safe and healthy for you and your family. Stay tuned for our next adventure – you never know which food we will be highlighting or what film we will be staring in next!
