nosh nook #14 - thursday, april 2, 2009

fool-you foods: added nutrients give processed snacks unexpected perks (link)
04.01.09 - lawrence journal (ks) - by sarah henning

mmm.  processed foods.  we americans love em.  give us a candy bar fortified with all the nutrients we're not getting in our regular diet & we'll swear off fruits & vegetables & breads forever.  screw nature's gift.  since the human race is now super awesome at science, we love adding & taking things out of our foods in an effort to make them healthier.  science ho!

as sarah henning describes in her article, back in the nineties, companies started altering their food products, taking things out in an attempt to make everything low or no fat.  nowadays, the craze is fortifying foods with nutrients & ingredients such as fiber & calcium & omega-3s.  as examples, she notes that kids can now enjoy trix, which are chemically modified with calcium, or dora the explorer yogurt, which has omega-3 additives.

interestingly enough, she doesn't once address the fact that choosing chemically-altered foods in favor of natural ones might not be the right path for consumers.   during that lo fat/no fat time back in the nineties, i was living with a guy who had a degree in botany (meaning he bested me in science knowledge).  as he explained to me, the no fat chips made with olestra are sooooo not good for you.  it had something to do with some process where some science in the chip latches onto some science in your body & although i never quite understood what he was talking about i did understand this...olestra = anal leakage.  i'll take gaining a few pounds or having to search out a healthier, natural snack to eat over processed food-induced anal leakage any day of the week.