The Smart Choices Grocery Program, the very program that DietsInReview panned last month, has been voluntarily discontinued. Officials with Smart Choices said that the group will “postpone” active operations and not encourage wider use of the logo while the FDA investigates labeling issues, reported MSNBC over the weekend.
The FDA cited the use of multiple nutritional markers on foods, from check marks to stars, icons and even numerical ratings, that can overwhelm the consumer and in reality label foods healthier than they really might be. Foods could contain as much as 50% sugar and still receive the green check mark if they had extra fiber or were high in one of twenty nutrients. In my book, there’s not one food that is 50% sugar that I’d label as “healthy.”
Are you one of the 14 million Americans who takes dietary supplements? If you are taking supplements to help you lose weight, please do your homework first. According to this story in the New England Journal of Medicine, you may be getting way more than you paid for.
“A police offer who had been encouraged by his doctor decided to try a weight-loss supplement to help him shed his extra pounds. But instead of losing weight, he lost his job. His diet pills, which were imported from Brazil and sold in the United States, contained vitamin E, centella, senna, and cascara, among other “natural” ingredients. Not included on the label was the amphetamine detected in his urine drug screen. The now-unemployed sergeant is not alone. Such contaminated supplements represent an emerging risk to public health.”
The bottom line is you really have to be careful with what you trust as “safe.” In August 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found more than 140 supplements that contained undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients. DRUGS! These represent only a fraction of the contaminated supplements on the market.
With entire beverage cases filled with energy drinks, there is no disputing that we are a well-caffeinated culture. Maybe even too caffeinated.
One such drink that has found its way in every gas station, every convenience store, millions of websites and even health food stores are 5-Hour Energy shots. Since many drinks contain sugar and a lot of it, they are also steeped in calories. But 5-Hour Energy shots bill themselves as the carb-conscious solution for anyone looking for a boost of energy without the calories of sugar. In addition, these small pocket-sized bottles of caffeine don’t contain any herbal stimulants and sport just four calories per two-ounce serving. They also contain Vitamin B6, B12, folic acid, amino acids and niacin.
New research shows concern that two popular weight loss drugs, Alli and Xenical, may cause liver damage. On Monday, August 24, 2009, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began investigating recent reports that these drugs may be causing liver damage in those who take them.
To date, there have been 30 reported cases of liver damage by those who take Alli, the only non-prescription weight loss drug the FDA has approved, and Xenical, its prescription counterpart. Of the 30 reports, 27 individuals have been hospitalized and six of them have experienced liver failure.
Both drugs are marketed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC, but Xenical is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Roche.
In a June blog article written by Heather Ashare, our Yoga expert and daily contributor to DietsinReview.com, she wrote about Food Inc., a film that took a hard look at food production and consumption in the U.S. I wanted to share some interesting facts I learned from seeing the movie in no particular order, but all equally astounding to me:
- On average our food travels 1,500 miles from the farm to our plate
- Because of the long distances that food travels, we no longer eat with the seasons and therefore eat produce that does not provide our bodies with all their nutritional benefits
- Grocery stores now boast over 47,000 products to choose from – most of which can sit on shelves for weeks or even months
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