Dangerous Chemicals in Fast Food

By: Nadia Haris

With your busy lifestyle and constant demands on your time, it may seem easy to pull into your local fast food restaurant for a quick meal on-the-go. However, fast foods are rich in fat and sodium that can lead to health problems. The University of Maryland Medical Center warns that they also contain high amounts of chemicals that add flavor, color and texture and help to keep them fresh longer. The chemicals are added when these foods are processed, packaged and prepared. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that although food additives are considered safe in minimal amounts, eating too much fast food and other foods that contain these chemicals can lead to harmful effects.

Trans Fats

You may have noticed that fries from fast food chains are typically crisp and have a characteristic taste and texture. This is because they are usually fried in trans fats, which are also used in commercially prepared doughnuts, cookies, chicken nuggets, pizza and other foods. Trans fat is also called partially hydrogenated oil because it is produced by adding hydrogen to vegetable oil, which gives it a longer shelf-life, according to MayoClinic.com. Fast food restaurants use trans fats because they keep foods fresh longer and give them a less greasy feel. However, the American Heart Association warns that trans fats can lead to diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. 

Nitrite Salts

Fast foods keep their fresh taste, smell and color longer because they contain added chemicals, such as nitrite salts, that help to preserve them. Nitrite salts are used in processed meat, bacon, corned beef, smoked fish, ham and sausages. Although this chemical and other preservatives help to prevent bacterial contamination such as botulism, they can also cause harmful effects. Research published in the “International Journal of Cancer” reports that people who eat processed meats and other foods with these preservative are more likely to develop stomach cancers. The American Cancer Society warns that eating food preservatives can also increase your risk of cancers in the digestive tract.

Saccharin

Fast foods are typically super-sized with your choice of a large sugary soft drink. These beverages as well as many fruit juices, jellies, donuts, canned fruits and other foods contain an artificial sweetener called saccharin. The Center for Science in the Public Interest reviewed animal studies that showed that consuming saccharin may increase the risk of cancers of the bladder, ovaries, uterus, blood vessels and skin. Although this study was carried out on animals, saccharin may have similar harmful effects on people.

Butter Flavor

Most fast food restaurants and movie theaters have a familiar aroma of butter. This is usually due to a buttered-flavored chemical called diacetyl, which is also found in microwave popcorn, margarine, snack foods, baked goods and candies, giving them an appetizing smell and buttery taste. However, The American Chemical Society reports that diacetyl may be associated with harmful effects on the lungs and changes in the brain that can increase your risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Food Coloring

The brightly colored pies, candies, ice cream, sundae syrup, soft drinks, cheeses, sandwich meats and sausages sold at many fast food outlets contain chemical food dyes and coloring agents. These chemicals give them long-lasting color that makes these foods appear more appealing and appetizing. A review of studies published in the “International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health” reports that many of these chemicals are byproducts of coal tar and other chemicals that can increase the risk of certain cancers.

 

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9 Ways to Beat Bloating

By Jessica Herman

We’ve all been there: days when you feel as bloated as the blow-up Shrek in the Macy’s parade. Okay, sometimes you know that having that third helping of your sister’s peach cobbler wasn’t the best idea. But when you’re eating right and exercising regularly but still can’t zip up your skinny jeans, what gives? One of the main causes of bloat isn’t how much you eat; it’s eating certain foods that are difficult for your stomach and intestines to digest.

1. Use Instagram
“Pull up a favorite pic of yourself on your phone, and look at it during the day,” suggests Ashley Solomon, a psychologist in Chicago. You may feel more preggo than hot chica right now, but the image reminds you how you felt in that moment. Warm fuzzies may ensue.

2. Activate Your Abs
“Rotating your core muscles helps force gas out of your intestines,” says Lindsay Hallam, a Pilates instructor at The Studio (MDR), in Marina del Rey, California. Get into side-plank position, and bring your top arm across your abdomen and under your body to twist your torso. Do 5 reps; switch sides.

3. Run an Errand
You may feel like curling up in a fetal position and avoiding all human contact until, say, the week after your period. But getting your body moving helps relieve stomach discomfort, according to a study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Lace up your sneaks, and walk briskly for 30 minutes.

4. Pamper Yourself
To stop obsessing over your pooch, focus elsewhere-paint your nails with some crackle polish, maybe. And from the so-crazy-it-might-work files: A recent study found people perceived a woman wearing a spicy-floral fragrance as 12 pounds thinner than when she went perfume-free or had on another scent.

5. Eat a Snack
Water-rich fruits and veggies-think grapes, cukes-will help flush out excess fluid, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, an RD in Chicago. Or try pineapple: It’s high in bromelain, a digestive enzyme that helps break down food.

6. Try a DIY Massage
Sounds weird, but stay with us: Applying gentle pressure to your belly can push out gas and help get things going if your bloat is caused by constipation. Lie down on your bed, smooth a little oil on your tummy, and slowly rub with both hands counterclockwise. Nice, no?

7. Have a Drink
Water is tops, but drink it 20 minutes before or after your meal, not during. “Otherwise, you may dilute your stomach enzymes, which can disrupt digestion,” Blatner says. Skip fizzy drinks, which release carbon-dioxide gas.

8. Hang Up That Muumuu
“For a slimmer silhouette, the key is to wear something that comes in at your waist,” says Allison Firestone, a stylist in Los Angeles. Fake a flat belly with these outfit options: a flow-y dress that’s belted; an A-line skirt with a tucked-in, billowy top; or skinny jeans with a loose cami and a tailored jacket.

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America’s Weight Gain Has Supersized Some Surprising Things

By Reader s Digest Magazine

Here’s weighty news: Americans’ expanding waistlines have caused some alarming beefing-up in places you wouldn’t expect.

Ambulances: American Medical Response, the largest ambulance company in the United States, introduced bariatric ambulances in 2001. Their cots can accommodate up to 1,600 pounds, compared with older models that hold only up to 800 pounds.
Caskets: A standard-size casket for adults used to be 24 inches wide, but 28-inch-wide models are becoming more common, according to the Casket & Funeral Supply Association of America (CFSA), a trade association for the funeral-supply industry, based in Lake Bluff, Illinois. One company, Goliath Casket, began making 29-inch caskets in the 1980s (the new models hold up to 1,000 pounds) but sold only about one per year. Now they ship half a dozen oversize models every month.

Fuel Usage: Extra pounds cause cars, trucks, and planes to use more gasoline and jet fuel. Americans consume at least one billion more gallons of fuel today than they would if they weighed what they did on average in 1960.

CT Scanners: Imaging companies such as Siemens and General Electric are building new equipment to accommodate Americans’ growing girths. Siemens’s CT scanner went from a 60-centimeter (23.6-inch) diameter in 1997 to an 80-centimeter (31.5-inch) diameter in 2011, a 25 percent increase.

Santa Costumes: In 1996, santasuits.com’s largest offering was size 2X, and oversize suits accounted for just 12 percent of sales. Today, santasuits.com estimates that size 3X suits account for up to 20 percent of sales.

What Hasn’t Changed but Needs to: Airline Seats Based on testing standards designed almost 50 years ago, airline seats are meant to restrain a 170-pound passenger, but today the average American man weighs 195 pounds, and the average woman, 165. These seats may not be as safe for heavy passengers during a crash.

 

 

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Are You Eating this Dangerous Ingredient?

By Gretel H. Schueller

Camembert cheese and buttery croissants are staples of French cuisine, so you’d think France would be the last place where the government would police fat content in food. Yet, in an effort to reduce obesity, France’s Senate recently approved an amendment to triple taxes on products containing one unhealthy fat in particular: palm kernel oil, which is extracted from the palm seed of palm oil trees. (The lower house of parliament still has to vote on the tax.)

It turns out that palm oil is a major ingredient in one beloved treat in France: Nutella. The French, who love to smear the creamy hazelnut-chocolate spread on toast and crepes or just eat it with a spoon, account for 26 percent of world’s Nutella consumption, according to French newspaper Le Monde. The proposed tax has incited outrage among Nutella lovers. As outrageous as the tax may seem to some, the French government may be on to something. Nutella’s maker recently settled a multimillion-dollar U.S. class-action lawsuit brought by a California mother who was shocked by the spread’s saturated-fat content and misleading health claims.

Palm kernel oil sounds harmless and even “natural,” right? And in recent years, it’s been finding its way into many packaged foods as manufacturers look for low-cost oils to replace trans fats. (After federal rules mandated all packaged foods list the amount of heart-damaging trans fats they contain on their “Nutrition Facts” labels, many manufacturers reformulated their products to ferret out the offending fat and earn a better-looking label.) Highly saturated fats turn rancid more slowly, so food companies often use them to help preserve taste and texture. Trans-fat-free–and relatively inexpensive–palm oil fit the bill. Its long shelf life and semi-solid state at room temperature make it appealing to food companies.

How can you figure out if foods you are eating contain palm oil? You want to look on the ingredients list: palm oil is commonly found in packaged cookies, cakes, snacks, bakery goods, crackers and peanut butter. (Sometimes it’s listed as “modified,” “partially hydrogenated” or “fractionated” palm oil, which would indicate trans fats; even if the Nutrition Facts panel indicates zero trans fats, products containing less than 0.5 gram of trans fats can be labeled as trans-fat-free.) Sometimes palm oil is one of the oils listed under the term “vegetable oil.”

But there are 3 really good health and environmental reasons to avoid it:

1. It’s High in Saturated Fats 
While unmodified palm kernel oil is trans-fat-free, about 80 percent of its fat is saturated, with about 22 grams saturated fat in each 2-tablespoon serving (for comparison there are 14 grams of saturated fat in two tablespoons of butter). For a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, that’s the maximum amount of saturated fat you should be eating. Most experts agree that saturated fats raise levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol in the blood. That’s damaging to the heart and arteries, since excessive LDL accumulates in artery walls and can trigger inflammation, eventually leading to a heart attack or stroke. (Confusingly, palm fruit oil–also known as palm oil or red palm oil–is rich in a form of vitamin E that preliminary research indicates may help fight cancer and prevent strokes; it is also lower in saturated fat.)

2. It Could Boost Your Appetite 
Some saturated fats appear more likely than others to cause cholesterol buildup in arteries. Palmitic acid, which is the main fat in palm kernel oil, is one such fat. In addition, research has shown that palmitic acid caused mice to become resistant to the appetite-suppressing hormones leptin and insulin, which in theory could make them eat more.

3. It’s Bad for the Environment 
Anyone who worries about global well-being has yet another reason to avoid palm oil: the process of harvesting palm oil is responsible for significant destruction of rain forests in Indonesia and Malaysia–and threatens the orangutans and Sumatran tigers that live there. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, if the current rate of palm-oil production continues, 98 percent of forests in Sumatra and Borneo will be destroyed by 2022. (Note, Nutella’s palm oil is sustainably harvested.)

 

 

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7 Foods for Healthier Skin

By Mattie Kemmel

As beauty products get more high-tech, the top complexion cures still come from the most natural quarters: the aisles of your super­market. “Increasingly, studies are finding links between certain nutrients and wrinkle reduction, radiance, and acne prevention,” says David Bank, MD, a dermatologist in Mount Kisco, New York. Here are 10 cream-of-the-crop ways to nourish your skin from the inside and out.

Get Glowing with Chocolate 
Cocoa hydrates your skin, making it firmer and more supple, Dr. Bank says. “And dark chocolate contains high levels of flavonols, a potent type of antioxidant,” adds Nicholas Perricone, MD, a dermatologist in New York City. For maximum flavonol content, eat chocolate that’s at least 70 percent cacao. A couple of squares a day should be enough to improve luminosity. “When applied topically, the caffeine in chocolate may temporarily reduce skin puffiness,” says Jessica Wu, MD, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and the author of Feed Your Face.

Protect with Pomegranates 
They’re packed with polyphenol antioxidants, Dr. Perricone says. Polyphenols fight free radicals and regulate skin’s blood flow, giving it rosiness. One pomegranate or a few glasses of juice daily should do the trick. When applied to skin, the fruits’ antioxidants help smooth lines and moisturize,

Soften Skin with Walnuts 
“Walnuts contain omega-3 essential fatty acids, which can improve skin’s elasticity,” Dr. Bank says. The nuts are also loaded with copper, a mineral that boosts collagen production. Snack on a handful of walnuts each day to improve your complexion’s texture, and slough tough calluses.

Fight Crow’s-Feet with Peppers 
“Women who eat green and yellow vegetables regularly tend to have fewer wrinkles, especially around the eyes,” Dr. Wu says. Also, studies found that carotenoids — the antioxidants in yellow and orange veggies — can decrease skin’s sensitivity to the sun, Dr. Bank says. Aim for about two cups of peppers daily.

Brighten Up with Sunflower Seeds 
Loaded with vitamin E, sunflower seeds keep your skin supple by protecting its top layers from the sun. Eat a handful daily. A high essential-fatty-acid content makes sunflower seed oil a treat for parched body parts, such as lips and heels, when topically applied. 

Zap Zits with Kidney Beans 
They’re high in zinc, and studies indicate a correlation between blemishes and low zinc levels, Dr. Wu explains. “That may be because of zinc’s healing properties.” Have a four-ounce serving of kidney beans to help you stay in the clear. In addition, studies show topical zinc to be as effective against acne as antibiotics are. Body lotions with zinc.

Look Younger with Oatmeal 
Steel-cut oatmeal is less processed than other varieties, so it retains more vitamins. “Plus, it takes longer to break down in your body, which helps keep your blood sugar stable,” Dr. Wu says. “This is important because studies found that spiked blood sugar elevates your body’s level of androgens, hormones that can contribute to wrinkles.” Oats are also exceptionally skin healing.

 

 

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