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High-Fructose Corn Syrup 101

By Lisa, on March 30th, 2010

What is High-Fructose Corn Syrup and why should we care? In the most basic sense High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a cheap, liquid sweetener that is similar to sugar. According to Wikipedia HFCS is “produced by milling corn to produce corn starch, then processing that starch to yield corn syrup, which is almost entirely glucose, and then adding enzymes that change most of the glucose into fructose.”

So we have all heard that it isn’t good for our health to eat too much sugar and the same should go for HFCS. The biggest problem with HFCS though, is that it is hidden in an unbelievable amount of processed foods in every single aisle of your grocery store. Well, I say it is “hidden” but it isn’t really a secret if you just simply read the ingredients label before buying your food (which for some reason I never did before now!). Continue Reading »

32

How far does your produce travel?

By Lisa, on March 28th, 2010

Produce from your local grocery store chain (whether it is organic or conventional) travels on average 1500 miles from the farm to your plate. There are several reasons this is a cause for concern:

  • In most cases, the farther your produce travels the less nutritious (and tasty) it is by the time you eat it.
  • Even though the grocery store appears to have a wide selection of produce, their focus is truly on varieties that will travel well and have a longer shelf life.
  • Needlessly transporting produce all around the globe wastes natural resources and harms the environment.

As far as your personal health is concerned, Continue Reading »

156

What (should be) in your sandwich bread?

By Lisa, on March 26th, 2010

If you feel like you are doing the right thing by buying and eating “wheat” bread from your grocery store – you could be wrong. And if you are buying white sandwich bread or some sort of Whitewheat bread (like I used to buy) you might really be in for a surprise! Have you checked the list of ingredients on your sandwich bread? If you were to make your own bread at home, what ingredients do you think you would need? It really only takes a few essential ingredients to make bread: Continue Reading »

25

Welcome to The Food Illusion

By Lisa, on March 22nd, 2010

What is The Food Illusion? First, let me define illusion…

il·lu·sion n
something that deceives the senses or mind, for example, by appearing to be one thing when it is in fact another

This is exactly what processed foods are to us – an illusion – or something that appears to be healthy (low fat, low carb, vitamin fortified, no trans fat, contains omega-3s, lowers your cholesterol…I could go on and on with the food industry’s health claims) when processed foods are in fact the very thing that is making a lot of Americans unhealthy, fat and sick with chronic diseases including cancer.

So you are probably thinking – how does this apply to me? Continue Reading »

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