By: Onehappymama

​Previously, I wrote about the importance that healthy fats play in our bodies. Here’s where you need to pay attention to details. Not all fats are created equal. You may look at the back of a label and be confused. What you need to learn about is the breakdown:
 
There are several types of fats that you can find when looking at the nutritional information and ingredients list, the main ones being: saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and Trans fats.
 
The healthy fats: mono and polyunsaturated fats
* Usually liquid at room temperature
*can improve blood cholesterol levels
* can be great for the heart
 
The not so healthy fats: saturated fats - be aware of your portion control with foods that have saturated fats (can be controversial… I’ll be writing about this more)
                        * Mostly found in animal products
                        * can be found in full fat dairy
                        *can raise total blood cholesterol
                        * increases risk of diabetes when consumed too much
 
The dangerous fats: Trans fats a.k.a. partially hydrogenated fats
                        * Usually chemically made in a lab
                        * increase your LDL levels (Bad cholesterol)
                         * Lowers your HDL levels (Good cholesterol)
                        * used to preserved the shelf-life of many foods          
 
In my personal opinion, there are lots of  health benefits to mono and polyunsaturated fats, and there are even some foods with saturated fats that can be helpful. My main concern is the foods that have been manufactured with the additive of Trans fats, partially hydrogenated fats, and hydrogenated fats (and oils). Those are the foods I steer clear of and put back on the shelf.                                     


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By: Queue Murphy
     Gatorade!  Your ingredients are unhealthy for our kids!  My kids play sports and their friends love your taste - however, I will not allow my children to have your drink!  You are advertised everywhere when it comes to sports - buckets of you are dumped on coaches, you are in every hockey, football, sporting facility.  You promote yourself as if you are good for our kids - but let's look what is inside of you.  
     Let's start with the dyes in all of your drinks - the dyes ...  Europe has outlawed dyes because they are considered one of the most dangerous and toxic additives.  Unfortunately, you and your lobbyists are too powerful and make sure the US does not put warnings on food labels against these dyes.  Every year in the US, food and drink manufacturers place 15 million pounds of food dyes into our foods!  You don't seem to have our kids health in your best interest!   According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, food dyes are linked to numerous forms of cancers, along with hyperactivity and other problems!  According to CPSI: "The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens … Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply."  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/24/are-you-or-your-family-eating-toxic-food-dyes.aspx.  
    THE SUGARS - A serving of you contains 14grams of sugar - heavily refined sucrose syrups - liquified empty calories!  Diseases including those of the joints, liver, heart, bones, brain, and connective tissues are all attributed to too much sugar!  
      BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL!!!???  BVO  is used to create fluidity and uniformity - it is also used to create lead dissolving additives for gasoline, photographic paper films, fire-extinguishing materials, and agriculture fumigants!  Links to thyroid problems, memory problems, skin and nerve problems!  More than 100 countries have outlawed the substance already!  REALLY GATORADE?! 
More articles on your bad ingredients are as follows (along with healthier alternatives - such as water, fruits and veggies!) 
http://wywnutrition.com/negative-effects-gatorade-2/, http://www.livestrong.com/article/68710-effects-much-gatorade/, http://fortune.com/2014/08/13/energy-drinks/,   http://dailyhealthpost.com/5-things-you-never-knew-about-your-favorite-sports-drink/

    GATORADE - if you really care about our kids and their sports - use vegetable dyes and fruit sweeteners - remove the high fructose corn syrup - help our young people become healthier!  

By: Onehappymama

Who wants frozen orange juice from concentrate when you can go to the refrigerated isle and get fresh squeezed orange juice? Sure you pay a buck more, but you’re getting a better product. Or, are you? A while ago, I had read several articles and watched news reports comparing brands of orange juice. The results were shocking! Basically orange juice is stored in large vats for months, and even a year (including those “fresh squeezed” juices).


In order to keep the juice in vats for that long, a process is used to preserve the juice, which ultimately makes it flavorless, and I can only imagine that the vitamin content has depreciated as well.


To remedy this, food engineers have created flavor packs. They produce several flavors, selling specific ones to each company. You won’t find that on the ingredients list though!

When I have time, I opt for making my own fresh squeezed juice with juicing oranges. There’s no processing, I’m getting the vitamins from the orange, and the flavor has no competition to anything I’ve ever had from the store. However, when I need convenience, I save my money, skip the “fresh squeezed” and opt for the cheaper frozen concentrate. After all, it’s the same oranges, just a different flavor pack.

 

Side Note: When you squeeze your own orange juice, it also gives perspective of how much a serving from one orange actually is. Juice glasses are small for a reason. When we are ordering that tall glass of O.J. we are having way too many servings of juice!

Links about flavor packs:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/secret-ingredient-your-orange-juice/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/orange-juice-moms-secret-ingredient-worries/story?id=15154617
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/flavoring-found-orange-juice-recipe-15192987