In June 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a consultation on the health implications of acrylamide presence in food. The subject has been mentioned before in journals and warnings have previously been issued, but the fast food industry has shown little signs of changing their position until their lack of response began to affect the bottom line.

It took many caring scientists several years to get the pesticide DDT banned, even after the book “Silent Spring” ominously forecast the death of all birds from DDT. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as the most damning evidence that cigarettes caused cancer was suppressed for years, and, thus, many died without ever knowing the cause of their demise. Giant conglomerates care little that their products might bring harm to others, and when they can no longer ignore it, they down-play any ill-effects that may occur.

The WHO has always been concerned about acrylamide and they established an international network to publicize the presence of acrylamide in food. While small amounts of acrylamide appear to be safe, one food that is of great concern is french fries. Carcinogens are created by the potato being fried at excessive heat; one can think of French fries as an edible cigarette! Acrylamide can be found in foods other than French Fries; even potato chips have acrylamide, although it is present at a much lower percentage. A taco shell can have 1 or 2 micrograms. Many institutions and businesses are being poor role models by encouraging us to consume of such unhealthy and dangerous products. For instance, the state fair promotes deep-fried Twinkies and corn dogs washed down with what is essentially sugar water. Local TV stations and even radio stations joke about eating junk food. Once children know that wholesome foods are not promoted on TV, in movies, or by their role models, they have difficulty eating them.

California Senator Bill Lockyer has filed a lawsuit against nine manufacturers of potato chips and French fries. He is seeking a court order that will require them to warn consumers of the carcinogenic substance acrylamide that can be found in these products. There is currently a law called Proposition 65 which requires companies to notify consumers of any potentially dangerous toxin in their foods. The WHO and other scientific affiliates have confirmed the danger associated with acrylamide.
One of their many findings is that women who consumed large amounts of French fries as teens have a higher risk of getting breast cancer in their later years. The World Health Organization also claimed that barbecued meat often showed presence of carcinogens in the portions that had direct contact with the grill. These carcinogens are created when melted fat reaches hot coals and its smoke is then absorbed by the meat. Your home cooked French fries will likewise be coated with the same chemical, acrylamide. I therefore recommend that rather than French fries, you prepare your potatoes in the following manner: Cut each potato into strips or wedges. Cover them with oil & seasonings and bake them at 375 degrees in the oven. Bon Appétit.

If you are interested in learning more about acrylamides, I have aggregated many sources on this subject.

Firstly, Senator Lockyer has his own website with numerous resources. Secondly, the FDA should have information on the subject. And lastly, the Center of Science in the Public has been on top of this matter for the past 3 years. Here are their recommended websites:

http://www.cspinet.org/new/200206271.html
http:/www.cspinet.org/new/200206251.html : Charts on acrylamide
http://www.slv.se/engdefault.asp : Report from Sweden with recommendations
http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-51.html : News release from World Health Organization

Most recently, I watched a commercial during a TV show in which the mother was carrying the new white bread that now contains whole grain. Not to worry, bring on the white bread and all those products which contain a single grain of nutrition. The cereal department is notorious for pawning off sugared cereal as a saint at the breakfast table. On the other hand wihout cereal commericals who would pay for TV programs.

However, they are no more than highly processed grains whose primary nutritional value lies somewhere in factory disposal and to a few pathetic vitamins are added for pure propaganda purpose. Little wonder that these children are hungry before the morning is over and mom’s wallet is likewise empty. Will their lunch make up the loss caused by a empty calorie breakfast. Apparently, our fast food indsutry has invaded the school cafeteria and those lunches had been blessed by the Food Pope and the local school board.

Note: the state of Connecticut passed a bill prohibiting sale of junk foods but was then vetoed by the governor of that state who just wasn’t ready for her state to take this revoluntionary step towards healthier eating.

Beverage sales depend highly on blessing of the FOOD POPE. Popular ads for Sunny Delight tout its vitamin C content forget to mention the sugar content or the artificial coloring. Many common juice drink labels lead you to believe they are the healthier choice. They lead you to believe they contain lots of real juice while they may actually contain only 15% real juice. Therefore, reading their labels is the only realistic way to know what you are buying. Buying frozen juices also require careful reading; most are simply sweetened by corn syrup. Other labels will say: “Contains no added sugars”. However, this product content will include sugars from fruits like apples, pears and white grapes. While fruitose may slightly easier to absorb by the body. its still sugar and needs to be dispensed with some caution.

There is a virtual warehouse full of instant ready-to-eat food. While not all come with the blessing of Food Pope, it certainly is anointed with the goddess of convenience. The most common item that comes to mind are those plastic cups filled with petrified peas and a day’s supply salt (including mono-sodium glutamate) calling themselves instant-soup. Our food choices seem to be those products that we see highly advertised by famous actors or some cartoon characters . All soup products are excessively high salt, yet we will never see a warning that this product could in all probablity cause one to have a stroke.

Deception is the key player in this grocery-buying head game and sadly enough we are the poorest players in this food for life buying responsibility. I challenge you, for just one week, to make a list of what you ate and the reason you purchased it, and whether you read the label that came with the item. It’s an eaters challenge.

Just remember, food is sold not to win nutritional awards but for profit at no matter what cost. A few lies and few deceptions are on what the food industry is built. Never expect what is shown on the cover to be inside the box. As you pass by the dinners-in-a-box just remember you still need to buy the hamburger meat, go home and cook. Or how about a box that promises the entire dinner in convenient boxes. But what you see is not always what you get. Technology and your busy schedule go hand and hand. If the picture on the box looks good they are hardly concerned whether you came back for second box of a dinner from despartion.

Up until the late 1950’s, the helpless housewife syndrome had never even existed. We ate balanced meals at same dinner table. These new boxes and packages are no more than clever cardboard replicas of real food we once cooked at home because our family’s health had greater value. While I am advocating that we go back to the 50’s I think we would have a longer and better life if we simply spent a little time thinking about food instead of buying it. We hardly need a blessing from the Food Pope beucase our groceries come directly from the earth and farm. Our productive and happier lifestyles will speak for themselves.

From pie eating to the ingestion of selected bugs, we seem to glorify the most ridiculous practice of gorging competitions. These asinine displays of human facial vulgarity will always find their way to the moronic media machine. I have yet to understand why a civilization with all the means of good food at our disposal we choose to chow with same zeal as hogs slopping down their evening meal . For fame and cash, they would go gastronomic suicide and the Romans we cheer for their misery! Gluttony, burping, passing gas. and food dribbling down the front of shirts are great American sports for those who have no talent for anything else!

A 429 lb man traveled across the country setting world records such as consuming over a gallon of ice cream in 12 minutes, 4 lb and 5 ounces of French Fries in 6 minutes. He is seeking fame, product endorsements and, of course, money. Apparently movies and reality TV have defined a need for this new gastronomical insanity.

I can’t imagine looking for fame in the garbage can of world-wide sports and winning a lifetime supply of Alka-Seltzer, 1000 hot dogs and free visits to gastritis specialist. However, I was informed, the fat man didn’t stand a prayer because the slender Japanese man, though small, was able to stretch his stomach for the event while the man with huge stomach could not stretch, he only added more permanent weight while dreaming of winning his trophy of gluttony glory!

What kind of insanity would lead a any human being to train himself for a hot dog eating competition. He would need 8 weeks stomach stretching, he would have to drink a gallon on water in less than one minute. His prize if he wins, possible endorsements, appearances on Leno and a lifetime of medical consequences. To be the freak of the week seems to be this man’s goal. I have no ideas where such inspirations come from perhaps from the movies heroes such as DUMB AND DUMBER is a contestant to be out done.

This has moved from merely silly contest to SPORT. Did you know, there is an actual International Federation of Competitive Eating? Their top contestants are called super gurgitations for their sheer ability to ingest such inhuman amounts of food. Winnings could be in the form of endorsements or even a year’s supply of the featured food. With only reality shows and reruns on hand, the sports choose to entertain with belly busters.

In the meantime, pie eating contests go on at all the county fairs. People are challenged on a daily basis to stuff themselves at their local restaurants with all-you-can-eat meal options. There’s always a bigger burger with more meat, more cheese and more fries on the horizon. Not to be undone, one fast food king gives us his no-mercy breakfast bomb containing more fat, sodium and cholesterol than any sandwich previously had before.

In the early 20th Century, eating was a gracious thing, there were many fine restaurants even eating at home had a certain urbane graciousness. Most family members enjoyed a meal together every evening. Many moms were home churning butter and many had gardens. But as the 1960’s began, the disappearance of family dining and meal making evolved into what it is today. And 40 years later, gluttony mocks our civilization like a man-made Frankenstein holding us hostage.

He jumps at us on TV. He pops up in our mailbox and beckons to us from billboards. He is harder to avoid than your relatives. He is hunger. He knows you’ll get hungry and everything comes in a bigger size than yesterday. As the American stomach grows larger, the portions and the choices of unhealthy foods are growing longer each day. Little wonder that gluttony is becoming a sporting event, the only thing missing that seems to be missing is the Roman Coliseum!

I have in front of me a web update on Connecticut’s ban on soda and junk food. The memo, dated May 24th, states that Connecticut will likely adopt the most far-reaching ban in the U.S on soda and junk food in our public schools.

A study released by the American Psychiatric Meeting has brought to their attention the dangers of soda to children. In addition to current obesity, dental cavities and diabetes risks, sodas also have the problem of being high in caffeine.

The APA reported that behavioral problems were rated 432 % worse on days that first graders drank sodas with caffeine than on days when they consumed caffeine-free sodas. For a closer review, you can read more at Public Health and Law, a weblog of the Public Health Advocacy Institute.

After an eight hour debate, lawmakers in Connecticut’s House voted 88-55 to pass a law banning sodas and junk food in cafeterias, vending machines and school stores. In addition, twenty minutes of outside activity or gym time would be required for children from kindergarten to fifth grade. The bill now heads for Connecticut’s Senate where it is expected to pass.

Since legislative support is needed for an effective junk food ban in schools, many other states’ individual school districts who proposed similar bans have, unlike Connecticut, lacked initiative. Everywhere else, cafeterias still look like a mall food court. Removing junk food and soda out of California would be similar to removing quills on porcupine.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to try and introduce wholesome foods into the school system when bad diets have dominated most of the children’s lives. Often educators themselves rely on high-fat diets just to have more energy in their day. If you have been raised on sugar-frosted flakes, the thought of 5 minute cooked oatmeal just doesn’t have much appeal. Having 1% milk instead of soda would have a similar outcome.

We need more responsible grown-ups to set good examples and who are willing to give up their junk diets. They need to stress that a good life does not come from expensive cell phones or a $100 pair of shoes. A good life comes from waking up exhilarated, having a waistline that is flat and having a true commitment to a healthier life. Our rewards in life are most often acquired by self-discipline and motivation of the human spirit.

I am waiting for the education community’s reaction to Connecticut’s bold action. Will it become a joke for popular personalities to make? Will someone in schools in other states realize the danger zone these children face as they eat junk food that merely add pounds and deduct years from their future. Obesity and diabetes are both problems that are growing bigger everyday. Everyone could take some action, even in a small way, towards a healthier school for the future!

Metabolic Syndrome is a largely unknown disease – any information about it is usually located on those obscure pages of the newspaper few readers go far enough to find. However, this particular affliction seemed interesting enough to me to inspire further research.

Metabolism is the process by which the body chemically absorbs our food. When the body receivs more food calories than it needs it simply goes to storage. Eventually the body’s ability to put this surplus to proper use becomes a huge metabolic problem. Science describes Metabolic Sydrome as the body’s inability to use insulin properly and eating more than the body requires.

The US estimates that 1 in 4 adults and 1 in 8 children have metabolic syndrome primarily from overeating and a lack of exercise. This is a big jump from the previous decade. The condition is usually marked by a visibly large waistline accompanied by diabetes, high blood pressure, and most likely high cholesterol. Persons with this condition are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. Currently Americans are spending about $4,116 on prescription drugs that treat Metabolic Syndrome, making up $4 out of the $10 that a recent study showed Americans spend on prescriptions. And the number of afflicted seems to rising as ready to eat meals have not tailored menus for more sensible calorie reduction so overweight people simply add more weight. No one seems to be offering many alternatives. Add those all-you-can-eat restaurants and 700 calorie burgers I don’t think we’ll see a reduction of bulging bellies in this decade.

This condition 40 years ago was first referred to as Syndrome X but in recent years it has become known as “metabolic syndrome”. Three weeks ago the first international symposium on Metabolic Syndrome was held in Berlin. Dr. Staurt Weiss, director of the Diabetes Education Center, hopes that naming this condition will bring about new awareness. Early aggressive treatment could prevent possible diabetes and heart disease if action is taken in early stages. Metabolic Syndrome could easily override the medical capacity that is needed to care for them if the current rate of the problem continues. It is a scary thought but it’s the way of today’s world and lingering undisciplined consumption of edibles.

Update!:

CDC SPOKESMAN RETRACTS EARLIER STUDY

It is quite easy for the general public to be confused – Americans are often cloaked in a maze of confusing health information. In a June 2nd 2005 press relase the Center of Disease Control (CDC) said that their earlier study had been flawed and it is not OK to be overweight.
One report published in April said obesity accounts for a mere 25,814 deaths a year – vastly lower than the 365,000 deaths a year estimated just months earlier. The Harvard School of Public Health, The Cancer Society, and the American Hearth Association all agreed that obesity is a factor which greatly aggravates many other health issues.

The CDC, in their earlier study, concluded that obesity is not dangerous and that being a little plump might actually lower your risk of death. At a recent news conference, CDC chief Gerberding acknowledged flaws in their study and said CDC would try to get back on track.

Now, where would this nation be without the watch dogs examining these reports and trying to find the truth? Particularly when the Center of Disease control gives us all the OK to be a little bit overweight! It doesn’t take a 6th grader to figure out that a 200 pound person is already in trouble.

We should take this as a reminder to caution ourselves against the claims on made by “diet” food and pills – there is no magic bullet, only a lot of snake oil salesmen and bogus nutritional studies. One should always be on the lookout for truthful knowledge, which isn’t often advertised on the evening news or in the newspapers.

If a leopard can change spots, then Cookie Monster must have the ability to cut down on eating cookies. However, eating fewer cookies and eating more vegetables simply isn’t going to work. No matter how many famous people appear on Sesame Street, cookies, like words in the dictionary, will forever be on children’s minds. Once the die has been cast, nutrtional habits are hard to establish.

After all, you don’t see the Girl Scout administrators bowing down to a better alternative and selling fruit-filled cookies or bags of roasted nuts. No such change is going to happen soon. Fundraisers in school are notorious for consisting of cakes, candy and cookies. When schools had their soda vending machines taken away, there was a large outcry from the parents. For schools to depend on junk foods to pay for athletics is like having a fast-food place right across the street from school.

The wholesome eating concept can only be achieved by introducing entirely new characters on Sesame Street . While teaching was the original intent of Sesame Street, it has now evolved into a business empire with the fuzzy characters earning more dollars than the average commodity on Wall Street. Big Bird and all of his friends are the core of most childrens’ imaginary world. With a lot of motivation and careful imaginative writing, perhaps some true lessons upon the necessity of good nutrition might surface. It is nutrition that provides us with a balance, and without balance we are just like wobbly, confused wind-up toys who cannot evaluate their own choices. Perhaps a new medium will come along to help point the way to eating less cookies and more vegetables.

Lord knows, we grown-ups likewise have our own “Cookie Monster” appearing in TV commercials a dozen times a night. They pay for programs and keep the local HMOs busy with a fresh supply of patients. The few mentions of obesity and cancer that appear in media reports are a mere whisper among the roar and repetition of junk food hawkers. Faithful fans of Cookie Monster can easily snack on an entire bag of Keeblers in a single night of watching television. Apparently, “SS Cookie” made his impact on these consumers some 20 years ago and they are merely imitating the monster consumption quota of their beloved childhood character. What do you suppose is our major reason for stuffing ourselves?

Cooking should be an adventure, not a chore of pure duty. Again, it comes down a matter of attitude versus necessity. If I am doing this because I must eat for food for survival or because this is something I am
required to do–I think I am going make it more interesting, even fun!

If you seek regulated food formulas, exact replicas of the picture in the book, or Martha Stewart perfection, I am probably not your best kitchen guide. However, if you are not afraid to stray from the Cooking Channel
fold and learn the true art of improvising then you and I are ready for MOON RIVER excursions in the kitchen.

After working in dozens of private home and being highly dependent on having brought all the right ingredients with me to complete my meals, improvising was second nature. When the store is miles away and you have to finish by five you get to figure something out.

For example, take the case of missing corn flakes. I convinced my clients that I would create the best Kentucky Fried Chicken substitute. For a long time, it was matter of crushing corn flakes in the food processor with some paprika, onion salt, and black pepper. But in one kitchen, the staple, Corn Flakes, was no where to be found. What was in her cupboard was Corn Tortilla Chips. Well they certainly didn’t need the added salt but they needed some super good crushing. Since I carried my own Cusinart with me, I dropped them into the processor with some paprika and pepper. I couldn’t find how much fat these chip contained, but coating one skinned drumstick was less than 3 chips. Only a little paprika was required. I never used crushed corn flakes on chicken again only because the tortilla chips were a lot more crunchy and certainly convinced my client this was indeed a KFC replacement.

There is only 1 member in my household residency but there is always a group of friends who allow me to employ their taste buds and who are ready to try anything.

You have to be bold and willing to mix anything that’s not tried before. You can be downright amazed. For instance, I make jam out of any form of fruit, be it dried , fresh, frozen, or out of jar or canned. I am addicted to homemade low sugar jam.

Like that morning coffee, something to satisfy that yearn for something sweet without resorting to a commercial cinnamon roll or a greasy donut. Homemade jam on whole grain toast is a nice thing to have with coffee. But there are calories to consider–always made in very small batches. Sure Jell goes in the pot when the fruit is cold, after one minutes of cooking, you stir in the sugar, in another minute, you basically have low sugar jam.

One day I thought about how sugar is the primary deterrent to allowing jam on your regular diet. So I stirred in about 4 tablespoons of Splenda. It was sweet and it did not effect the jelling effect. A word of caution: do this in a double boiler – jam burns in seconds.

This was a few examples of just trying something without a book in front of you or reading about it somewhere. Who know if you empty your crisper, you can probably make some incredible vegetable soup. Very cheap and easy to make broth comes from a turkey wing. Stripped steak bones can be roasted in the
oven and then used to make broth. Beef neck bones from your butcher also make good broth, but they are a bit pricey. However, if a can of broth costs $1 for 10 1/2 oz maybe its not so expensive after all. The best reason for these homemade broths is the lack of excess salt and MSG which are quite common in such products.

Running out of ingredients could force you into being creative. Getting indigestion from overeating of greasy foods needing to drop 10 lbs could also get you to take inventory and to see what in your cupboards or freezer. There just might be some great new food discoveries to be made. Need help? Need ideas? I am just a mouse click away. Go ahead and take the challenge to try something new!

The San Francisco Commission on the Environment unanimously approved a 17-cent fee for each plastic or paper bag. SF stores would be required to charge for shopping bags.

Before it goes into effect, the fee must go through the typical long bureaucratic process we endure to get beneficial laws passed. A private agency will be hired to analyze the impact on city’s budget, the environment, and on low-income people. If approved by the Board of Supervisors and the mayor it would take another 6 months before anything positive would happen. To repeat a phrase from history “Nero fiddles while Rome burns.”

I notice customers are especially wasteful in those stores where you bag your own items. I hope the commission mentions this indiscriminate use in their report.

God forbid we be denied that plastic bag at the supermarket only to add it to next week’s trash pick-up. This story didn’t mention where these discarded bags end up. Only a fraction end up in those recycling barrels placed inside just the supermarket.

My suggestion for SF residents is to start saving grocery bags now and chances are you’ll never have to pay this tax. In the meantime, we in other cities should take a hint. Maybe we too are far too wasteful with these bags. For over 2 years I have carried canvas tote bags with me to the grocery store. In non-grocery store I remind the clerk I have my own bag. Those times when I have only one item like in a hardware store just say “No bag please” and they seem to appreciate this. Canvas tote bags can be found in thrift shops for a buck and that’s less than the cost of 6 plastic bags of the future.

Why wait for the government to legislate behavior that’s good for the environment? It’s not a big deal to bring your own bag to the supermarket or least reuse the ones you saved from your last trip. Currently, my grocery store gives a 6-cent cash reward for using your own bag. But asides from that: isn’t our environment worth a little cleaner appearance?