For years we have been lead to believe that low fat, sugar
free and diet foods are healthier alternatives for you and your family. When
you see these food industry phrases attached to food it should sound off an
alarm! These industry phrases are
a clear indication that these products are heavily processed. While these products may have initially
resembled real food they have been stripped down and re-engineered into
something that can best be described as food-like.
Consider the sugar free or reduced calorie label, this
usually means the product contains an artificial sweetener such as
aspartame. It is added to replace
table sugar in order to reduce calories (because it’s calorie free) while also
preserving sweetness. Less sugar and calories is a good thing right? Not in this case. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame
have been clearly associated with several diseases. And they also don’t help
with weight loss in fact they may contribute to weight gain. This is due mainly to altering your
bodies natural satiety signaling.
In other words when you eat or drink something sweet your body expects
calories to be attached to it and when that doesn’t happen it doesn’t cue your
body when you’ve had enough leading to over-indulgence. [1]
So you might be asking how did these essentially toxic
sweeteners ever hit the market?
Well it’s all based on “junk science” and industry half-truths. Consider that most studies that cleared
these products were conducted on animals and not humans. All animals EXCEPT HUMANS have a
protective mechanism that allows methanol (the by-product of aspartame) to be
broken down into harmless formic acid. [1] Another “trick” is to conduct
short-term human studies. The
human body is very resilient and tends to hold up without any noticeable
changes (except for gas and diarrhea, but apparently these symptoms aren’t a
big deal to the FDA) even when exposed to toxic substances over an acute period
of time. However one recent
long-term human study revealed a clear association between aspartame
consumption and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in men and leukemia in both sexes.
It is best to avoid these substances for optimal health, as
they are pervasive in many of the foods that we eat, the obvious being chewing
gum and soda and less obvious yogurt. And if your job as a parent wasn’t hard
enough the dairy industry is pushing for approval to use these chemicals in
milk and 17 other dairy products, without having to label it. [2]
The dairy industry states that labeling would put them at a
competitive disadvantage because claims such as “reduced calorie” are not
attractive to children and have led to an overall decline in milk consumption
in schools. Essentially, as with the GMO labeling issue, they don’t want you or
your child to be “confused” or perhaps “scared away” by truthful labeling...
They also state that consumers generally don’t recognize
milk — including flavored milk — as necessarily containing sugar. Therefore,
since you don’t realize that flavored milk might contain added sugar,
sweetening the product with non-nutritive artificial sweeteners, while listing
it as simply “milk” on the label, will make it easier for you to identify its
overall nutritional value.
We should trust our children’s instincts on this
matter! While milk does indeed contain
sugars (lactose) they are natural occurring and when consumed in their total
package supply beneficial nutrients like protein. Flavored milk should be avoided, as it is full of corn syrup
and stabilizers. You are better
off making your own flavored milk using cocoa powder, frozen bananas and/or
strawberries and sweeten with a touch of pure stevia (without additives like
maltodextrin or lactose).
Your best source of milk and dairy would come ideally from a
small local farmer that pasture raises their cows. The dairy industries products are heavily processed, likely
laden with hormones and antibiotics and fed with genetically engineered corn
and soy. Pure wholesome milk may
do a body good but most milk in the store is nothing more than an industrial
cocktail.
Speaking of industry cocktails…
The Coca-Cola Company is joining forces with the dairy
industry to bring us the much anticipated (giant sarcasm alert!) “Energy Milk”
called Core Power. The Coca-Cola Company and Select Milk
Producers, Inc. (Select) are announcing the acquisition of equity stakes in the
newly-created Fair Oaks Farms Brands, LLC to drive growth and expansion of Core
Power® and to create an innovative portfolio of brands and products that
feature the value-added nutrition of dairy. [3]
When I checked into this the web site for Fair Oaks Farms
touts their code of sustainability, transparency and animal care. However, there is no mention of their
relationship with Coca Cola. Maybe
it’s a just a simple oversight or possibly they aren’t to keen on promoting
their end of the relationship.
Good business deals no doubt for both sides but for you and your family
definitely another highly processed drink you should think twice before consuming. One serving is loaded with 7 teaspoons of
sugar, has Green Tea Extract (caffeine), and highly processed low-fat milk that
is stabilized and preserved with 13 letter word ingredients. This is what drives me crazy about the
processed food industry they take advantage of the consumers long held belief
that dairy is a wholesome food then process it to death and add back in
inferior nutrients and slap an attractive label on it with wild claims. Consider this claim on the web site
referring to its chocolate flavored beverage:
Rich in antioxidants,
cocoa derived from dark chocolate promotes alertness, lessens pain and promotes
well-being. [4]
Unprocessed dark chocolate may provide many benefits
including those touted by this product.
The only problem is this product contains highly processed chocolate
with little if any nutritional benefit.
No doubt the company knows this but chooses to deceive the customer
anyway. Bottom line is this is not
a milk product it is nothing more than a highly processed sugary drink.
The food industry understands that when you know what is in
a product you will likely avoid it and this is why they are lobbying the
government to hide what is really in their junk. We simply cannot leave the health of our families in the
hands of the government and the food industry. Your best strategy to provide your family with nutritious
food is to purchase whole foods and cook and prepare them from scratch. This is clearly the only way to truly
know what you are eating.
Phil Loomis
Youth Fitness/Nutrition Specialist
Reference:
FYI
The FDA is currently accepting public comments on the
petition by the dairy industry to add artificial sweeteners to dairy products without
labeling. You have until May 21st, 2013 to submit your comments if you feel
compelled to do so.
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