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When Less is More
Choose Whole Foods With Minimum Additives For A Better Diet
By Aloma Gutherie
Cruising through the aisles in the grocery store,
many of us have become accustomed to flipping
over the package and checking out the helpful little
“Nutrition Facts” box to see how much fat or how
many calories are in our favorite foods. While this
is an important part of making informed decisions,
we must not forget about the full list of actual in
gredients. This list is usually located directly be
low the “Nutrition Facts” box and is usually in fine
print. The ingredients are listed in order of their
abundance in the food item. Reading the list of in
gredients, especially in processed foods, can be
frustrating because many foods contain unfamiliar
ingredients that are nearly impossible to pro
nounce. It is very important, however, to know
what we are putting into our bodies and how these
compounds might be affecting our health and well
being.
Food additives are put into our foods for three
main reasons: to increase flavor or mouth appeal,
appearance and/or shelf life. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) must approve the use of
food additives, but the studies that show their
health effects are sometimes conflicting.
For example, monosodium glutamate (MSG), a
common food additive, has been shown to cause an
array of health problems in some individuals, rang
ing from migraines to brain damage. MSG is used
in thousands of different products especially
soups, boxed or prepackaged dinners, pasta and
rice meals, Chinese food, dressings and other high
ly processed foods. Another additive, aspartame,
also known as NutraSweet, is found in many diet
products including soft drinks and diet bars. It has
been shown in some studies to actually increase
appetite. It has also been shown to cause
headaches, including migraines, dizziness,
seizures, depression, nausea, vomiting and abdom
inal cramps in some individuals.
Color additives are also widely used in foods,
mainly to increase visual appeal. Added color can
be found in a variety of foods including cereals,
juices, candy, frozen foods, ice cream, cookies, piz
za, salad dressings and soft drinks. There are con
flicting studies on whether or not color additives
increase the risk of certain cancers.
While many food additives are safe, others have
not been adequately tested and have been shown,
in some cases, to cause undesirable health affects.
Read the entire list of ingredients when you are
grocery shopping. Your best bet is to stick with
whole, fresh foods such as organic fruits and veg
etables, organic dairy products and whole grains,
because they do not contain these controversial
added ingredients. Talk to Kristen Olmos, R.D., at
the Health Center (346-2794) to learn more about
how your food choices might be affecting your
health or check out www.fda.gov on the web for
current information on specific additives.
What’s in a Label?
By Jess Peters
Would you run your car on kool-aid? I don’t think so. How about your
body? Stop and take a minute to think about how you decide what to fuel
your body with. When shopping, do you turn over a package of food to look at
the nutrition label or do you simply throw it into your grocery cart like gas
into your fuel tank? If you do take the time to look at the nutrition label, do
you look for fat content only?
Here is a breakdown of the most important information to consider from
nutrition labels:
1. Serving size: If you eat more or less than the serving size you will have to ad
just the nutritional information proportionally, (e.g.: A hag of chips has 4g
offat per serving and there are 3 servings per hag. If you proceed to eat the
whole hag of chips, 4g of fat quickly turns into 12g.)
2. % Daily Value (DV): This expresses what percent of the recommended dai
ly allowance of various nutrients (e.g. protein or sodium) that you are con
sum ing per serving.
3. % DV of saturated fat: Saturated fat (that found mainly in animal prod
ucts like meat, dairy and eggs) is the most harmful dietary fat. Polyunsat
urated fats, however, contain omega 3 and omega 6 which help decrease
heart disease. Saturated fats should not exceed 30% of total fat intake.
4. Calories from fat: This helps you to see how fatty a food really is. lgfat is
equal to 9 calories, (e.g.: a candy bar that has 1 Ogfat and is 180 calories
will be 50% fat). Protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.
It is also important to always check nutrition labels because food label
claims can be deceiving. A conscious consumer will not run out of gas from
these food-labeling traps:
1. Foods labeled as entrees are allowed 3g fat per 100 calories to be considered
“low fat.” Look for nutrient density (vitamins, minerals, and fiber) in
foods, not simply grams of fat.
2. Foods high in sugar or sodium contents do not have to be labeled as such.
For example, Hostess “low fat” crumb-cake can indeed be low in fat but ex
tremely high in sugar. Or a label can claim “light and lean” hotdogs while
being extremely high in sodium.
3. A daily value for added sugars has not been determined. Therefore, look at
the actual ingredient list to see how plentiful added sugars (e.g. high fruc
tose com syrup) are. Remember, ingredients are listed in order of their
abundance in the food.
Next time you go shopping, take a minute more to consider what you are
going to purchase to create a healthy body for yourself. If you’d like some ad
ditional information on healthy foods and healthy eating, check out the Peer
Health Ed Office at the University Health Center for a variety of resources, in
cluding cookbooks.
Breast Cancer Detection
Within Your Reach
By Nikki Fancher
As a pre-medicine student planing on studying naturopathic medicine, I
am particularly interested in the role women can play in their individual
health and well being. I often suggest breast self-exam (BSE) as a tool women
can utilize to help to ensure the early detection of breast cancer. According to
the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), 1 in 8 women will devel
op breast cancer in their lifetime. Because 65-70 % of breast lumps are found
by women themselves, cancer detection and prevention of late stage tumors
are greatly aided by the individual.
The AICR suggests a three-pronged approach to breast cancer detection
and prevention. First, they point to dietary risk factors. Diets low in fat and
alcohol and high in fiber help lower a person’s cancer risk. Secondly they sug
gest creating a prevention partnership with your medical practitioner. They
can help you to assess your risk factors and develop a prevention plan. Tools
that your doctor or nurse practitioner may utilize include clinical breast exam,
mammogram screenings, and hormonal therapies. Finally, they suggest mak
ing BSE a habit by starting early and continuing throughout your lifetime.
Through self-exam, a woman observes changes in her breast tissue one
week after her menstruation or on the first day of the month if she is no
longer menstruating. Through this process, women become familiar with the
way their individual breast tissues feel. Symptoms that a woman should be
alerted to include: lumps or thickening in the breast, dimpling or puckering of
the skin, changes in skin color or texture, changes in breast shape, discharge
from the nipples, and any other abnormal changes in the breast tissue espe
cially that occur in one breast and not the other. Having any of these symp
toms does not necessarily indicate that you have breast cancer. Only more in
volved testing can determine cancer.
The University Health Center has many resources available to women
wishing to perform self-exam. Students, faculty and staff can pick up breast
exam shower placards along with pamphlets and articles in the Peer Health
Education office located on the first floor of the Health Center. If you have
question regarding BSE your heath care practitioner can clarify and demon
strate BSE at any time or during your yearly exam.
A woman’s chance for successful cancer treatment increases with early
detection. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, if breast
cancer is found while still localized in the breast, the five-year survival rate is
91 %. Get in the habit of BSE now and work toward high quality of life.