Striving4Zen

Olestra: a.k.a. Olean is a synthetic fat found in some potato chips and prevents fat from getting absorbed in your digestive system. It can also inhibit vitamins found in fruits and vegetables from being absorbed.

Sodium nitrate: used to preserve color and flavor in meat products like bacon, ham, smoked fish and luncheon meats. This preservative prevents the growth of healthy bacteria and has also been linked to various types of cancer.

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT): used to preserve foods like cereals, chewing gum and potato chips. Both are antioxidants that may cause cancer.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG): an amino acid used to flavor soups, salad dressings and restaurant food. It can cause headaches and nausea and other health problems.

Most of these additives are used to preserve and enhance the flavor of packaged foods. You don’t need to eat bland food, but rather by eating fewer packaged foods and opting for ingredients you can pronounce like vegetables, whole grains and fruit you will maintain or improve your health.

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Labels: BHA, BHT, MSG, Olean, preservatives, sodium nitrate, toxic, toxins, unhealthy

Dollar “value meals” at fast food restaurants may not be such a bargain when you look at the potential health costs.

Many of these low-cost menu items are packed with fat, salt, cholesterol and processed meat, notes The Cancer Project, a nonprofit cancer prevention organization. The group has produced a list of what it says are the five unhealthiest items sold at the nation’s largest fast food chains.

The organization’s dieticians reviewed so-called value menus at five of the largest fast food chains in the nation, awarding points for such unhealthy characteristics as sodium, fat and low-fiber content. Jack in the Box’s junior bacon cheeseburger topped the list as the worst offender. The burger costs just one dollar but is packed with 23 grams of fat, including 8 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol and 860 milligrams of sodium and just one gram of fiber.

The Cancer Project is affiliated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which aggressively promotes a low-fat, vegetarian diet. The organization’s list was spurred in part by a concern that during tough economic times, more people will resort to eating inexpensive fast foods, said Krista Haynes, a dietitian with the project.

A spokeswoman for Jack in the Box said that the junior bacon cheeseburger is a “great value” but that diners may also choose from healthier options, like salads and a fruit cup. They’re more expensive, however: an entrée salad with grilled chicken strips is $4.99, and a fruit cup is $2.29.

The other four menu items on the cancer group’s list were:

* In second-worst place, the 89-cent Taco Bell cheesy double beef burrito, with 460 calories, 20 grams of fat and a whopping 1,620 milligrams of sodium.

* In third-worst place was the one-dollar Burger King breakfast sausage biscuit, with 27 grams of fat, including 15 grams of saturated fat and over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

* Fourth worst went to the one-dollar McDonald’s McDouble, which contains 19 grams of fat and 65 milligrams of cholesterol.

* Last, and least-worst, was the Wendy’s junior bacon cheeseburger, for $1.53, with 310 calories and 16 grams of fat.

Being overweight can increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease, and the American Cancer Society recommends limiting high-fat foods, which are associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.

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Labels: fast food, PCRM, study, The Cancer Project, unhealthy

America's super-sized obsession with Big Macs, fries and stuffed-crust pizzas is beginning to affect more than just waistlines - it has doubled the rate of diabetes over the last decade.

The Centers for Disease Control warned that our buffet-bloated populace badly needs an intervention - New York state included.

"Interventions that promote weight loss and increased physical activity among persons at high risk for diabetes are needed to reduce diabetes incidence," says the report, which was released yesterday.

"Also needed are public health interventions, including environmental and policy changes (e.g., creating or enhancing parks, walking trails and access to healthier foods) that encourage healthy lifestyles."

The number of people across the country suffering from the blood-sugar disease has skyrocketed in the past 10 years. New York is among states with a higher-than-average rate.

A detailed phone survey showed that just 4.8 out of every 1,000 Americans had diabetes between 1995 and 1997.

But between of 2005 to 2007, that number rose to 9.1 per 1,000.

The worst rates are in the nation's deep-fried Southern pork-barbecue belt.

The study, put up on the center's Web site yesterday, is the first to look at the rise in diabetes rates from a state-by-state perspective.

"These findings affirm previous projections that diabetes will continue to be a major public health problem," the CDC said.

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Labels: diabetes, Obesity, study, unhealthy