The Savvy Label Reader - Part 1

High Fructose Corn Syrup

How often do you read the "Ingredients" information on the label of the food you purchase? If you do, do know what to look for in making choices between products?

I won't repeat here the wealth of information already published on the use of the Nutrition Facts label, required in the U.S. by the FDA. Here's one resouce for doing some homework on that:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodlab.html

And I wouldn't claim to be an expert on analyzing all the things you find in the Ingredients listings. But at our house, we've seen enough concern raised over a few very common ingredients, that we've started watching for these more closely in our shopping over the past year. Let's take a look first at "high fructose corn syrup", that ubiquitous goody that shows up in just about everything once you start watching for it.

This article by the San Francisco Chronicle is a good overview of the cautions that we've heard from a variety of sources. If you're frustrated with your lack of success in battling excess body fat, read this article and consider shopping for foods that do not contain this sweetner, as an additional part of your strategy. You'll probably find it frustrating how many common foods you currently use contain it. And you'll also need to be watchful for other sweetners that may not be helpful as well, such as dextrose, maltodextrin, etc. (We won't go into artificial sweetners such as aspartame, sucralose, etc. which are under scrutiny for having their own potential issues.)

From the Chronicle article: "Almost all nutritionists finger high fructose corn syrup consumption as a major culprit in the nation's obesity crisis. The inexpensive sweetener flooded the American food supply in the early 1980s, just about the time the nation's obesity rate started its unprecedented climb."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/18/FDGS24VKMH1.DTL

The good news is that this kind of selective buying can be done without buying exclusively from the organic or health food section of your grocery store. (Although that is probably a good idea anyway. See earlier posting on study regarding toxins in childrens' food.) So take a few minutes to read the package before you buy for the next several months, and see for yourself what happens.

Good hunting!

PS: If you want to be sure you have a balanced outlook on HFCS, here's an information site provided by the Corn Refiners Association. We certainly have no axe to grind with corn growers and processors.

http://www.hfcsfacts.com/

And, here are a couple of general links for U.S. and U.K. requirements for food labeling.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html
http://www.food.gov.uk/foodlabelling/

Uganda: unique mix of science and traditional

In a November 16, 2005 press release Mannatech, Inc. (Coppell, TX) described its unique partnership with scientists from the Uganda Ministry of Health to analyze the functional ingredients of plants long used by local healers to treat various health challenges. A Mannatech spokesman points out that Uganda is unusal in being home to "an estimated 30 percent of the world's biodiversity," and that "a number of their plants probably have substantial functional value."

While forging ahead with accepted scientific methods of research and development, such as those being used in the Mannatech partnership, Uganda is also seeking a blend of these discoveries with its heritage in traditional medicine:

"Uganda President Yoweri Museveni has diligently pushed the nation toward recognizing and elevating the role of traditional healing. The Ugandan parliament is working to pass the Traditional Medicine Bill, which would integrate the crafts plied by local healers into the national health-care system by creating training programs for healers and establishing working relationships with medical doctors."

That will be fascinating to watch develop. May it be a trend.

Full text of the release is available at:

http://www.mannatech.com/USA/FOMPressReleases.asp

Podcast review: NPR Health & Science

If you enjoy "All Things Considered" and other fine programs on National Public Radio, you'll recognize the same excellent production qualities and writing in their Health & Science podcast. If you are new to podcasting, there are even some short explanations of podcast essentials on the NPR site. With a list as of today of 189 different podcasts, NPR should be on your short list of sources for this kind of 'offline radio'.

Here are some of the stories in the last 3 Health & Science podcasts:

- The Links Between the Dalai Lama and Neuroscience
- Intelligent Design and Academic Freedom
- Flu-Vaccine Shortages and Distribution Delays
- Making Affordable Drugs in Africa
- Vietnam Takes Steps to Head Off Flu Pandemic
- Jury Rules Merck Not Liable for Heart Attack Death
- Flying Doctors to the Rescue
- Scientists Identify Dyslexia Gene

Enjoy ... and be informed!

http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_directory.php

Organic food lowers pesticides in kids

More data that the economic and convenience challenges around shifting to organic food in your household may be worth it.

CNN.com published this article discussing the growth in the organic food segment in the U.S. (18% jump for organic baby food in one year), and the results from this study focused on pesticide levels in children:

"A study of children whose diets were changed from regular to organic found their pesticide levels plunged almost immediately. The amount of pesticide detected in the children remained imperceptible until their diets were switched back to conventional food. 'We didn't expect that to drop in such dramatic fashion,' said Emory University's Chensheng Lu, who led the Environmental Protection Agency-funded research. Lu's findings will be published in February in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/11/08/organic.kids.ap

In a world with alarming increases in environmental toxins every year, exercising the choice to avoid any of it has gone beyond prudent. It could be a life-and-death choice in the long run.

War on cancer goes cellular

In a Nov. 7 article, "A Nantotech Cure for Cancer?", Brandon Keim at Wired.com summarizes some of the R&D in progress on creating specialized particles only a few nanometers wide (a thousand times smaller than a red blood cell) that can act in a targeted way on cancer cells.

From the article:
"The first cancer nanotech applications will likely involve detection. Nanoparticles could recognize cancer's molecular signatures, gathering the proteins produced by cancerous cells or signaling the presence of telltale genetic changes."
"But nanoparticles can be made not only to find those cells, but to destroy them. One such application involves metallic molecules that adhere to cancer cells and can then be heated with microwaves, a magnetic field or infrared light, destroying the tumor while leaving surrounding tissues unharmed."
"Also promising is the design of molecular envelopes for chemical compounds that would otherwise be toxic to ingest. "

The article closes with a perspective on the timetable for seeing this technology in action (years), and an acknowledgement that evaluations for economic feasibility, reliability, efficacy, and safety represent major hurdles to its widespread use.

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,69206,00.html

Indeed. It's intriguing as heck to see us push the envelope on what we can see, understand, and affect, within the body. If only that progress came with no accompanying 'price' of unexpected side effects, unidentified toxicity, and astronomical cost. Especially when we already have the ultimate nanotechnology already in our bodies, in the form of our natural defense and repair systems. Hard not to wonder what our life would be like if we directed the funds around development of artificial medical technologies toward increased understanding and leverage of our existing natural 'technologies'. Thomas Edison was right: "The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."

Asian diet pyramid

One plus to the globalized life we live now is to benefit from information in other places on the planet we may never visit, or make the focus of in-depth study. In a time of alarming increases in chronic and degenerative disease in most 'modern' cultures, getting a peek into the diet and lifestyle of people groups with significantly better longevity or disease rates should rank high on a list of such benefits. This is not newly-published information, but offers a look at an alternative food or diet pyramid, based on patterns common in much of Asia. It's relatively easy reading, so check it out.

"To offer a healthful alternative to the 1992 U.S. Food Guide Pyramid, which lumps some animal and plant foods together in a single group, Cornell and Harvard University researchers have teamed up with other experts to assist the non-profit foundation, Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, unveil an official Asian Diet Pyramid. It reflects the traditional, plant-based rural diets of Asia, which research increasingly shows to be linked to much lower rates of certain cancers, heart disease, obesity and, in some cases, osteoporosis and other chronic, degenerative diseases than those found in the United States."

Here's the full article and a graphic depiction of the Asian diet pyramid:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/science/Dec95/st.asian.pyramid.html

Here's the similar article on the web site for Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, mentioned above:

http://www.oldwayspt.org/pyramids/asian/p_asian.html

And a site that promotes Mediterranean/Asian eating and lifestyles:

http://www.mediterrasian.com

To cherry or not to cherry

The US Food and Drug Administration web site documented the recent enforcement action listed below regarding apparent health claims being made for cherries and cherry-related products. Look for more of this in the U.S. as the FDA moves to enforce more of the provisions of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), and require more rigor in the development, manufacturing, and sale of dietary supplements. As long as enforcement focuses on meeting standards and not eliminating our choices, this should be a welcome thing for all of us. We need supplements that are effective, contain what they say then contain, and have reliable information on their use and risks.

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Warning Letters to 29 companies that manufacture, market, or distribute products made from cherries or other fruits. The Warning Letters told the firms to stop making unproven claims on the firms’ web sites and product labels that their fruit products treat or prevent disease."

From: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2005/new01246.html

For more information on DSHEA and the U. S. supplement industry's involvement in regulation policy, see the Council for Responsbile Nutrition (http://www.crnusa.org).