LiveRight with Shoprite(R) teams withFoodEssentials
Today we launched our first collaboration with a major supermarket in the LiveRight with Shoprite(R) Food Comparison Tool . It is our first generation of Grocer tools that allows Shoprite(R) shoppers to search and compare Shoprite(R) products for allergen, additive or ingredient properties and to view the food labels.
This tool will help customers to find and create lists of products that best suit their specific dietary needs. It it a new generation of Health and Wellness tool that leverages the power of our database to cover everyones health needs. Read more
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Building Loyalty with Health & Wellness
A recent article posted in Progressive Grocer in September and written originally by Jeff Weidauer, VP of marketing, Vestcom International peaked my interest. He raises some very valid points which I will outline below as well as providing some of my own thoughts. (click here for a PDF version of the article)
Overview:
The article discusses the benefits for grocers in providing Health and Wellness (H&W) solutions to their customers, the primary benefit being increased loyalty. The article states that the two main trends leading towards this are:
- Increased demand for H&W information
- The inherent trust the consumer places on their local grocer (apprently more than their own GP)
To this I would add:
- The increased availability and affordability of H&W programs for the retailer
The major benefit gained from running a successul H&W program is increased customer loyalty as the article states; ¨Because loyalty is created from a bond with your shoppers that is more than just price. It’s a natural result of providing the products, services and information that shoppers need in an increasingly complex world.¨ Read more
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FoodEssentials launches out of Beta
As many of you may have noticed FoodEssentials.com has recently had a make over. In response to nearly a year of feedback and many suggestions from vested organizations and individuals we have made a variety of improvements some of which were released earlier this morning.
At the top of the improvements is a new search engine that returns results much faster than previously and, we hope, much more relevantly. We have changed our philosophy on the search and are now returning results as products rather than links to lists of products. The distinction may not be clear to read about but if you try it out we’re sure you’ll see the difference. Essentially, one should be able to find a single product or food category of product much more easily. Read more
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The next target for the food conscious community
UPDATE: Kellogg to ditch immunity statement after ditching Smart Choices program last week.
The food community is riding high after their recent victory over the Smart Choices food label rating system and turning their attention to front of package marketing claims as their next target – see Marion Nestles article on Cocao Krispies and ¨immunicty¨claim h ere.
Increasingly manufacturers are using various health claims such as ¨increases immunity¨ and ¨organic¨ on front of package labelling to increase sales of products. At times these claims are based on scant scientific evidence and lacking any regulatory oversight manufacturers are free to claim whatever they want.
Recently, in Europe the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) rejected hundreds of health claims stating a lack of scientific evidence as the reason for their rejection. At the same time here in the US, reports have come out about the increasing successful use of beauty claims to influence purchase. A recent report on retailerwire.com summarises the findings published by Mintel states that using front of package claims related to beauty such Read more
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Smart Choices RIP
Today it was reported in Just-Food that all 8 of the food manufacturers who had adopted the Smart Choices logo were now going to drop it from their packages in the face of cries that the logo could mislead consumers.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal requested that they drop the logo at least until the FDA had completed their investigations into the Smart Choices, and food rating systems in general.
The Smart Choices program shot into the public awareness largely due to the fact that they had labelled Froot Loops a ¨smart choice¨. The community obviously took exception to this, fueled by influential critics such as Marion Nestle an d Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
This dramatic turn around and the resulting negative press will surely make manufacturers and retailers take pause before they next try to tell the consumer what is good or bad for them. The next frontier will be front of label claims such as ¨increses immunity¨ etc. see Marion Nestle article here
The community is voicing their opinion and calling for simpler food labelling…and they’re close to reaching critical mass in their mission. Who will be the next victim?
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Progressive Grocer wants to know about H&W initiatives
A recent post, on Progressive Grocer’s recently launched community site Aisle Chatter, titled In-Store H&W, asks retailers and marketers to ¨let us know about [H&W] programs you are instituting in your stores¨. The post explores the different ways in which retailers are addressing H&W and hopes to do so in more detail following submissions on information about different initives out there.
We feel this could an interesting opportunity to share and learn about different projects and so have provided our information and hope that you will too.
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Industry Watch: Guiding Stars in Shopper Iphone Application
Guiding Stars recently partnered with iPhone development company ReachEveryWhere to incorporate their Stars in to the very popular Shopper iphone application. The application, which can be seen by following the last link sells for about 99cents in the iPhone and itunes store.
It looks like it will be a very successful partnership with the simplicity of Guiding Stars product ratings providing the ability for Shopper users to compare products in the process of building shopping lists. The demonstration of the shopper product is very slick and demonstrates its core functionality.
Shopper is the leading grocery iPhone application. Guiding Stars is a leading food product rating system available in over 1300 supermarkets. The food rating area is growing significantly with several competitors including Nuval and the recently controversial SmartChoices. This move by Guiding Stars is intriguing and strategically valuable for market acceptance. It will be interesting to see how well the system works and how their competition respond.
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Mexican Foods – Ready To Go
by Shereen Jegtvig
Mmmm…I love the flavors used in Mexican cooking, especially chiles and cilantro. And what about refried beans? They taste great and they’re good for you, right? Well, yes, beans are are great source of protein and fiber, however traditional refried beans are made with lard so they’re high in saturated fats and calories. But, no worries, you can find fat-free refried beans (or substitute black beans – just rinse and heat).
When you look for canned Mexican foods, or taco and fajita kits, be sure to choose the products with the least saturated fats and sodium. You can choose whole wheat tortillas instead of fried corn tortillas and make your own tortilla chips by baking them in the oven, or choosing baked chips instead of fried.
As with most canned or prepared foods, be sure to look over the ingredients list to hunt for MSG, unwanted preservatives and artificial colors. Here’s a look at Mexican – ready made meals & refried beans arranged by presence of flavor enhancers: Read more
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Nutrition Rating Systems – the problem and a solution
The Situation
There has been a lot of attention given to nutrition rating systems of late, fueled by the launch of the controversial Smart Choices rating system. The controversy of the smart choices program, in brief, is that the criteria for what gets labelled a ¨smart choice¨ seem somewhat flimsy. For instance Marion Nestle examines the ¨smart choice¨ Froot Loops in this post here.
In fact there is no shortage of concerned debate about this program, least of which is the fact that manufacturers pay for the smart choice tick. Below I have provided links to some of the recent top hits.
NYT: Industry Backed Label calls sugary cereal a ¨smart choice¨
Letter from the FDA to Smart Choices Program
Marion Nestle: Reply from the American Society of Nutrition
In this post we explore the existing rating systems, the problem with these systems and propose a solution. We are keen to hear your perspective on this. Read more
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Research: Orange Juice – What people are looking for
Orange Juice is another popularly compared food category on FoodEssentials.com with 8583 comparisons in the last 6 months – or 1.34% of all comparisons – which if you consider there are over 1000 food categories – is a fair bit of attention.
We have 86 products categorized under the orange juice food category and below we will explore what people are looking for when comparing different orange juice products.
Top 5 Comparisons:
If I had to have at a guess as to the top variable that were compared in the orange juice category I would say probably, calories and sugar. The table below outlines the top food variables that people are choosing when they compare orange juice. Sugar (16%) is in the top 5 with a significant share of the comparisons, however the most compared variable is suprisingly Colors (26.2%) and Preservatives(12.9%) follows up in 3rd place. Read more
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What’s a Goji Berry?
by Shereen Jegtvig
It seems like every couple of years a hot new exotic superfood makes its way into the United States. One of those recent superfoods is the goji berry – usually sold in juice or you can also find dried goji berries that kind of look like small raisins. Goji berries come from Asia where they have been used for thousands of years as an herbal medicine. They’re rich in vitamins A and C, iron, fiber and plant sterols, which are compounds found in plants that resemble our cholesterol, except that plant sterols actually lower cholesterol in the human body. In my opinion, Goji berries deserve to land on many superfoods lists.
What do you look for when buying goji berry products? You can buy 100% goji berry juice in some health food stores and online (wallet warning – it tends to be pretty expensive), however goji juice blends are popping on up the shelves of typical grocery stores. These juice blends are much less expensive than 100% goji juice, but more affordable, just be sure you’re not loading up on added sugars and you want the accompanying juices to be good for you too. You also need to know that these juice blends won’t have anywhere near as many of the plant sterols as 100% goji juice, but they will still be rich in vitamins and other phytonutrients. Read more
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Partially Hydrogenated Fats and Trans-Fats
by Shereen Jegtvig
When you look on the ingredients lists of your packaged foods, you may see ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ lurking there. Hydrogenation involves forcing hydrogen molecules into the polyunsaturated fat molecules of liquid oil. The addition of the hydrogen molecules changes the chemical structure of the fats and turns the liquid oil into a more solid shape (think about stick margarine). These fats are called trans-fats.
That’s a bad thing because partially trans-fats are worse for you than saturated fats. Trans fats raise LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Eating too many of these artificially created trans-fats clogs your arteries and increases inflammation.
It’s so bad, that food manufacturers are required by the United States Food and Drug Administration to indicate how many grams of trans-fat are contained in each serving of their products. And New York City has banned the use of trans-fats in local restaurants. Read more
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Multi-Grain Vs Whole-Grain
by Shereen Jegtvig
I think a lot of people are aware of the importance of dietary fiber for good health. Fiber keeps your digestive system functioning properly and keep you feeling full a bit longer. Some types of fiber also help to keep your cholesterol in check, like the fiber found in oats. All of the fiber in your diet comes from plants and the most important sources are fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Whole-grains are a good source of fiber because they still contain their outer coverings, whereas refined grains such as white bread and pasta have had the outer coverings removed. While many people still prefer the flavor and texture of refined grain products, whole-grain foods are becoming more popular. Food manufacturers know this so they often use the labels to proclaim the goodness of whole-grains.
That’s fine (and better if 100% whole-grain), but don’t confuse multi-grain for whole grain. Multi-grain just means more than one type of grain was used in the product. Those multi-grains could still be refined, or even mostly made from plain old white flour with a little bit of whole grain flour tossed in. Read more
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Bisphenol A (BPA): Tainting Our Food?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to harden plastic that some experts fear may be hazardous. You’ll find BPA in some hard plastic baby bottles, water bottles, hard plastic microwavable cookware, plastic storage containers and lining aluminum cans. In large amounts, BPA is toxic and exposing those plastic items to heat increases the amount of BPA released. The BPA can be absorbed into the food and the liquids stored in the containers. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration decided that the amount of BPA that we are normally exposed to every day is not enough to cause any harm.
Some experts have been concerned about the potential danger of this chemical because lab animals exposed to BPA develop health problems. The evidence supporting the notion that BPA is dangerous is mounting, but not all research in conclusive. A human study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a correlation between the amount of BPA found in the urine and the likelihood of also having heart disease and diabetes. The University of Cincinnati published an article entitled BPA May Cause Heart Disease in Women, Research Shows. But I think the title is a bit misleading, since the actual research had nothing to do with human females – the researchers exposed cells extracted from the hearts of female rats directly to BPA. Read more
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Tapping into the Bottled Water Debate
In the past thirty years, bottled water sales have grown faster than those of any other beverage worldwide. In 2008, US bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons (about 29% of the total bottled beverages sold in the US). The year before, Americans spent over $15 billion on bottled water, with over 100 different brands available in the US (ISU, 2000; Finewaters.com, 2009; Lighter footstep, 2008). Why are we paying so much for something that, literally, falls out of the sky?
To start with, bottled water is convenient. Central to its success, however, are consumers’ worries about the quality of water from municipal or private supplies. Industrial by-products, agricultural chemicals and bacteria may make their way into water sources if proper care is not taken. Copper and lead were/are often used to make the pipes that carry water to our homes, and residues of both products may have toxic effects if consumed. In addition to health concerns, these factors can also affect the taste and color of our drinking water, making tap water a less appealing option (EPA, 2005).
So what’s the problem? If you can afford it, why shouldn’t you buy bottled water? Read more
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Are Flavored Waters the Same as Soft Drinks?
by Shereen Jegtvig
When I walk through the beverage aisle at the grocery store, it looks like about one-quarter of the shelf space is devoted to bottles of water. Quite a change from when I was a kid. Back then there were a few gallon jugs of distilled water, and the only reason my mom bought those was for use in the iron – we didn’t drink it.
Getting enough fluids every day is important and the bottled-water industry has done a great job pushing their products. They’re convenient, possibly better than some tap water, but they still taste like water and not everyone likes the taste of water. So between the bottles of water and soda, you’ll see several brands of flavored water. If water is good for you flavored water must be good too. But isn’t that the same as a soft drink? Read more
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Feasting on Frozen Fish Filets
by Shereen Jegtvig
The American Heart Association, as well as other health organizations, suggests we eat at least two servings of fish each week. That’s because fish is low in saturated fat while being a good source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids that can help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy. Of course the type of fish you choose is important. Baked salmon is good, but fried fish filets aren’t so good because your healthy fish has been surrounded with a fat-soaked batter.
So what should you look for when buying frozen fish filets so you can keep the goodness of the fish intact? You want fish filets made with little or no breading and no added trans or saturated fats. You may also want to look out for sodium, which is usually present because of flavor enhancers like monosodium glutamate or other additives. Read more
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Choosing a Pasta Sauce
by Shereen Jegtvig
Many of us enjoy the convenience of opening a can or jar of pasta sauce compared the hours it might take to make a pasta sauce from scratch. And some of us like to take that jar of pasta sauce and add a few extra fresh ingredients to boost the flavor (and if you add tomatoes, spinach, garlic, or mushrooms, you can boost the nutrition and health benefits too).
There are a lot of different brands and varieties of pasta sauces, some made with tomatoes and some white sauces. How do they stack up nutritionally? In general, pasta sauce made from tomatoes are lower in fat and calories than the white cream sauces, and the red sauces are rich in a phytonutrient called lycopene that is good for your heart and for men’s prostates. This is one of those times when a processed food is better than raw – you’ll get more lycopene from tomato sauce than you will from raw fresh tomatoes. Of course there’s a drawback; cooking the tomatoes cuts out part of the vitamin C. Read more
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Tree Nut Allergies
by Shereen Jegtvig
If you look at the list of allergens on our FoodEssentials tool, you’ll see tree nuts on the list. So which nuts are tree nuts? Peanuts are not on the list because they don’t grow on trees (actually they’re members of the legume family). Common tree nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, filberts (or hazelnuts), macademia nuts, pecan, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts. Less common tree nuts include beechnuts, ginkgo, shea nuts, butternuts, and lychee nuts. Coconuts are also consided as tree nuts and must be labels that way, however coconut allergies appear to be very rare.
What if you are allergic to any tree nuts? You’ll have to avoid them, and it isn’t always as easy as staying way from cans of nuts. You might find them hiding as ingredients in other foods like cereals, cookies, crackers, candy, snacks and desserts. Although allergies involve reactions to the proteins found in the nuts, there may be traces of the proteins in oils made from the nuts, so if you are allergic to tree nuts, you’ll need to avoid the oils too. Read more
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Cutting Back on Added Sugars
by Shereen Jegtvig
This week the American Heart Association released new guidelines on how much added sugar is acceptable in a healthy diet. Added sugars include sweeteners such as table sugar, honey and high fructose corn syrup that are either added during the production of foods or at the table. In general, the guidelines suggest no more than about 150 calories per day (based on your daily calorie need) come from added sugar. That’s approximately the same as 6 teaspoons of table sugar.
This may be less than many Americans are consuming each day. In fact, one 12 ounce can of soda might exceed your limit – and just imagine how much sugar is in a giant super-sized soda. It’s important to watch your sugar intake because eating too much sugar can easily cause you to take in more calories than you are able to burn each day. That leads to being overweight, then obese and increases your chances of having high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Another consideration is that added sugar really has no additional nutritional benefit – nothing but simple carbohydrate calories that are easy to absorb and your body has no trouble converting the extra energy to fat. Read more
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Reading Food Labels for Better Nutrition
by Shereen Jegtvig
An interesting food label survey conducted by an ingredient manufacturer Tate & Lyle shows 60% of consumers use food labels when they shop. The researchers also looked at the different ways consumers use food labels, like perusing the food label of a new product to decide if it’s worth trying or figuring out the validity packaging claims by gleaning more information from the Nutrient Facts label. A lot of people also use food labels to see if the food they’re looking at fits into their particular diet.
If you’re a regular reader of FoodEssentials.com, and you use our FoodEssentials tool, you already know how important food labels are, but let me give you a few tips to keep in mind when you are shopping: Read more
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What are BHA and BHT?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Food manufacturers add things to their products to keep them from going bad before we eat them. When you look on the package for the ingredients list, you might find BHA and BHT listed there. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are preservatives that keep fats from going rancid.
Both BHA and BHT protect fats from oxidation damage caused when the fats in the food product are exposed to oxygen. Actually, they work in a similar way as vitamin E (although that similar action doesn’t mean BHA and BHT are good for you). BHA and BHT are often added to potato flakes, dry breakfast cereals, enriched rice, and foods containing animal fats and shortening. Read more
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Research: Overview of the Most Popular Food Comparisons
In a new series of posts categorized under ¨FoodEssentials Research¨, I will be regularly publishing research data from the FoodEssentials LabelBase Database and FoodChoice Database. I briefly describe each database at the bottom of this post. The aim of these posts is to provide the community with unique insight in to Food label data and the Food Comparison data as well as to highlight and outline the type of data available in the FoodEssentials databases.
Overview of the Most Popular Food Comparisons
The graph below shows the top 10 food comparisons on FoodEssentials.com by users in 2009. A food comparison is defined as a choice of an additive, allergen, or ingredient variable when comparing various food products on FoodEssentials.com. The table below the graph goes in to a little more detail showing the food comparisons for all 38 variables available at this stage. Read more
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Research: Most Popular Aisles and Food Categories by Food Comparisons
Following on from the last post in this series of FoodEssentials Research posts, we will further explore what people are comparing on FoodEssentials by looking at the aisles and food categories. All food labels in the database are categorized under an Aisle / Shelf / Food Category system that helps one to locate the products more easily, such as Cereal & Breakfast Foods / Cereal / Bran Cereal. In this post we will look at which aisles and food categories have received the most comparisons in 2009 so far.
Aisles by Food Comparison
The graph below shows the top 10 aisles by food comparison. Aisles are the broadest type of food category and can best be understood by thinking of the aisles in a supermarket. The results show the most popular aisles by the number of food comparisons undertaken on FoodEssentials.com. Read more
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Do food label rating systems work for you?
USNEWS.com posted a very thorough and well researched article on food label rating systems prompted by the release of a new rating system – Smart Choices. Click here to view the article in full.
I made a comment stating my point of view which is posted below.
What do you think of food rating systems? Do you find them useful? Do they work for you? Tell us which system you have in your local grocery store?
¨I would like to add another point to the duscussion that I feel is missing; are rating systems, as a group, the best and only solution for simplifying label data?.
Most rating systems do a great job at presenting and simplifying certain label information but are somewhat limited in that they only represent a particular aspect of the label data and do not consider the consumers specific needs. In this day and age of dietary choice everyone has their own unique specific needs and in a single family there can be several specific needs. But as a first step in the right direction label rating systems generally perform. Read more
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FDA to study barriers to food label use
The FDA recently announced the intention to run an internet study to exploer the barriers to Food Label use. This, following findings that food label use declined in sharply between 1196 and 2002, particularly with young people.
The goals of the study are to:
- identify attitudes and beliefs among consumers toward health, diet and label usage
- determine relationships between those attitudes and beliefs, as well as demographics, with food label use and non-use
- and evaluate the relative importance of these attitudes between consumers of various age groups to determine whether barriers to label use differ between younger consumers and older consumers
source: http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=0900006480a10b64
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Flavored Coffee – Flavored The Natural Way!
by Shereen Jegtvig
I enjoy coffee. Actually, I can’t imagine a morning without a cup of coffee and breakfast. And coffee is simple. It’s just coffee – no artificial anything and no preservatives. Of course you don’t want to go overboard on the caffeine that can leave you feeling jittery all day, but a cup or two of coffee each day is fine for most of us.
But sometimes it’s fun to go for something with a little different – like a flavored coffee. There are a couple of easy ways to do that at home; just pour some flavored substance into your coffee, or use a flavored instant coffee powder. You can choose a variety of flavors – some low fat and some sugar free, but what are the nutritional consequences of choosing these flavored coffees?
Most of the time you’re going to get a dose of artificial flavors, although some brands use natural flavorings and you’re adding fat, sugar or artificial sweeteners to your diet too. There’s usually plenty of preservatives and other additives that you may not want and even a bit of trans fat lurks in many brands as partially hydrogenated oils (don’t let the label fool you – they can claim zero trans fat as long as there is less than half gram per serving). Read more
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Food Tip – Choosing Canned Fruit
by Shereen Jegtvig
Fruits are sweet and delicious – and so good for you. Most fresh fruits offer lots of vitamins such as folate and vitamin C and minerals such as potassium. Unfortunately, fresh fruits aren’t always that convenient – they perish quickly – so many people prefer the ease of canned fruits.
There are a couple of things to think about when you’re buying cans of fruit. More nutrients are lost in canning as compared to freezing, especially vitamin C and folate, so you lose a bit of the nutrition. Canned fruits often contain added sweeteners, like high fructose corn syrup, and flavor enhancers and preservatives. These usually aren’t artificial enhancers and preservatives – usually pectins and vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Read more
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Research: Flavored Potato Chips – What people are looking for
Flavored Potato Chips is the most compared food category on FoodEssentials.com with 9117 comparisons in the last 6 months – or 1.43% of all comparisons – which if you consider there are over 1000 food categories – is a fair bit of attention.
We have 50 products categorized under the flavored potato chips food category and below we will explore what people are looking for when comparing different chip products.
Top 5 Comparisons:
The table below outlines the top food variables that people are choosing when they compare flavored potato chips. Of note is the fact that the two most compared variables account for over 50% of all comparisons. Gluten at 29.3% of all comparisons is the most popular with MSG suprisingly the second most popular comparison at 23% of the time. Read more
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Food Tip – Herbs and Spices
by Shereen Jegtvig
Using herbs and spices is a great way to add zest and flavor to your meals without adding sodium, fat or calories. Herbs and spices may have added health benefits too. You can use fresh herbs (or even grow your own herbs in a garden or in a flower pot on your kitchen window). Stock your kitchen with dried herbs and spices too – such as cinnamon, garlic powder, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil and any other favorites you may have.
If you’re not sure how to use herbs and spices in your cooking, you can choose seasoning blends that already contain the seasonings in the right amounts. You can find blends for Italian seasoning, Southwest cooking, Asian combinations and curry powder. One of the ingredients in curry powder is curcumin, which may help to keep your arteries clear and keep your heart healthy. Read more
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Snacking on the Rise
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to a new report, Americans are snacking more often and that trend is going to increase. As it is, snacking isn’t good or bad, really, it depends on how you do it. Eating snacks can be bad if you choose foods high in calories with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats, or snacking can be good if you choose healthy snacks that can boost your daily nutritional intake. Of course, even with healthy snacking you’ll have to watch your calories if you need to maintain or lose weight. Adding a 250 calorie snack every day will also add about one extra pound of fat to your hips or belly every two weeks. If you snack, be sure to know how much you are eating and reduce the same number of calories from one of your regular meals.
Some people prefer to eat six or seven snacks every day instead of three full meals. Some people believe this practice helps keep blood sugar level because you avoid the natural rise of blood sugar due to eating carbohydrates and fall of blood sugar due to the increased production of insulin. Other people just feel it is easier to control their calorie intake if they just nibble snack size meals all day. The key is to not let small snacks turn into full meals, which will lead to too many calories and weight gain. Read more
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Research: Breakdown of Calorie comparisons
In the last 6 months we have performed an open online survey on FoodEssentials.com to learn about what people care about when looking at and comparing food labels. In total we have recorded the results of over 30,000 unique sessions and have a vast amount of data to analyse. We will be releasing regular summariesof the data over the next few months. In this post we will explore what people are looking at when they have compared products by Calories.
Calories Overview:
Calories was the number one most compared variable at 6.3% of all comparisons (638530). This was closely followed by Gluten (4.6%), Preservative (3.8%), Sodium (3.7%), and Fiber comparisons (3.6%). As can be seen by just these results, Calories was significantly more popular a comparison than the others – and this comes by no surprise. Read more
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Avoiding the Freshman Fifteen: How To Keep The Pounds Off
by Shereen Jegtvig
We’re still in the first weeks of fall semester at most colleges, which is an interesting, exciting and possibly bewildering time for a lot of college freshmen. For most, it’s their first home away from home, there’s classes, homework, new social groups – it’s really a stressful time of adjustment. And along that stress and excitement can be accompanied by the dreaded “freshman fifteen” which is the extra pounds that young people often gain when they go off to college for the first time.
Why does it happen? Maybe there are more choices and less supervision. Without Mom or Dad to provide the healthy snacks, college kids may succumb to the temptation of a junk food diet. Now it’s easy to keep junk foods in the dorm room as snacks. Or maybe some students use comfort foods to cope with the added stress of school and living away from home for the first time. Read more
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The Goodness of Grapes
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to the Journal of Nutrition, eating grapes and grape products may have some powerful health benefits. Grapes might help to prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes and tooth decay, plus eating grapes may help to keep your immune system strong, which is important as we head into flu season.
Grapes contain phytochemicals, which are natural chemical compounds that your body uses to protect your health, including the well-known resveratrol. You’ll get the health benefits from grapes when you eat them fresh (or frozen as a sweet treat) or if you drink the juice. Grape juice is naturally sweet, but that doesn’t mean some food manufacturers won’t water it down and add high fructose corn syrup. Be sure to read the labels to buy 100% juice. Read more
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Choosing Canned Meat
by Shereen Jegtvig
Chances are, most of the meat you buy at the grocery store is either fresh or frozen, but there are several types of meat available in cans. The most popular canned meats include fish like tuna and salmon, plus you can also buy shrimp, clam and crab meats in cans. It’s a convenient way to buy and use seafood.
Beyond seafoods, you’ll find chicken and other meat products in cans too, such as deviled ham, the often maligned Spam, corned beef and perhaps your grocery store carries a canned pate or two. These products are good for sandwiches, as additions to salads and as ingredients in recipes. And they last for a long time in your kitchen cabinets.
Some of the canned meat products will combine the meat with potatoes, like corned beef and hash, or other ingredients. These foods are easy to use, just heat and serve, but are they good for you? The main problem with canned meats, as with most canned goods, is the high amounts of sodium from salt and additives. Look for low-sodium varieties whenever possible. Some cured meats sold in canned form also contain sodium nitrite, which has been linked to increased rates of some types of cancer. Read more
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