The Health Blog by Ryan Healy

Tootsie Roll Surprise

A couple weeks ago I was out with my Dad looking at some home sites in a new neighborhood. We swung by the construction trailer so my Dad could ask some questions.

As I sat there,  I noticed a dish of fruit-flavored Tootsie Rolls. I read the ingredient list. And would you believe it? All three flavors—cherry, lemon, and orange—have partially hydrogenated soybean oil as the third ingredient.

Tootsie Rolls are one of the last places I expected to see trans fats. But the more I learn about what's in different foods, the less I'm surprised...

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Splenda and Artificial Sweeteners

As my wife and I discussed Splenda and artificial sweeteners this morning, she said, "People want a low-calorie diet with high-calorie flavor."

That's the truth, isn't it?

We originally started our discussion because of the dialogue I read here. It seems some people think that the debate between sugar and artificial sweeteners is either/or... it's either sugar or artificial sweeteners, so which will it be?

May I suggest the answer could be "neither." You don't have to eat either one. You can live just fine without sweeteners of any kind.

In fact, eliminate sugar and artificial sweeteners and you'll be well on your way to improved health.

One lady in the discussion I mentioned above pointed out that continued consumption of sugar can lead to diabetes, as if that justified consumption of artificial sweeteners instead. What she's overlooking is that continued consumption of artificial sweeteners can lead to neurological diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Want some anecdotal evidence against Splenda? Someone who goes by the moniker "aJuJuBean" writes:

"Just wanted to share that my husband works for a tank manufacturer and they had an order from a company that makes Splenda. The storage tanks for the product had to be specially treated on the inside because, if not, the Splenda would eventually eat right through the steel!"

And if you're interested in the science behind Splenda, check this out. In an article about artificial sweeteners, Dr. Janet Starr Hull writes:

"Sucralose (Splenda) is a chlorocarbon—a chlorine-containing compound. The chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, then, that testing of sucralose revealed organ, genetic, and reproductive damage.  Research on lab rats showed up to forty percent shrinkage of the thymus gland: a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system.  The contamination of water supplies by chlorocarbons is a serious problem in most European countries today, making many people very ill and warranting cancer studies. Due to the chlorine content in Splenda, sucralose can inflame swelling of the liver and kidneys, and calcification of the kidney, as shown in animal studies.  If you experience kidney pain, cramping, or an irritated bladder after using sucralose, stop using it immediately."

If you believe you can consume diet beverages and artificially sweetened food products without eventually paying the consequences, you are sorely mistaken. As Dr. Janet Starr Hull says so eloquently at the beginning of her article "Artificial Sweeteners Create an Artificial Need":

"It's time to admit that there is no free ticket to eating all the sugar-free products you desire without paying the high price of harming your body in the long run.  The 'technology of foods' (artificial sweeteners and manmade foods) has gone too far, and will not secure eternal health, beauty, slimness, or youth."

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Le Peep Nutrition Facts

I went to Le Peep for breakfast yesterday morning and finally asked the question that had been bugging me for months... Do Le Peep's Peasant Potatoes have MSG in them or not?

Much to my relief, the answer came back "no." But, the waitress said, they do have sugar added to them.

I also asked if Le Peep published nutrition facts about their entrees. After a few minutes, the waitress brought back this ugly, beat-up three-ring binder that had sticky gunk on it, probably from some heavily sugared coffee that had spilled and then dried.

I thumbed through the binder, and while it did have the nutrition facts, it didn't show any ingredients. Nevertheless, I learned some interesting things.

For instance, most of their dishes are either 1) high in sodium or 2) high in cholesterol.

The Hen Pen and (surprisingly) Them Blueberries (pancakes) were both loaded with cholesterol. In fact, order The Hen Pen and you'll get 142% of your daily cholesterol allowance in a single sitting.

Many (most?) of the entrees registered 40% or more of your recommended daily sodium allowance. The highest sodium dish that was listed in the binder was the White Lightening, a "lite" menu item that packs over 80% of your daily sodium allowance.

I was disappointed with how outdated the nutrition facts binder was. Many of Le Peep's entrees were conspicuously absent, like the Down Home Sausage Pie. Although it's a dish I enjoy from time to time, I'd like to know what kind of dietary wallop it packs.

In case you were wondering, no nutrition facts are posted on Le Peep's web site... just their menu. Diet Facts didn't have any information either.

Enormous Omelet Sandwich

Burger King just unveiled its new Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a caloric giant among lesser fast-food breakfast sandwiches.

The hoagie-styled Enormous Omelet Sandwich packs 730 greasy calories and 47 grams of artery-clogging fat—even more calories and fat than it's lunch-time cousin, The Whopper.

CNN Money reports:

"Denny Post, chief product officer at Burger King, said Burger King decided to offer the Enormous Omelet Sandwich—which goes against current trends in the fast food industry of offering more healthy choices—in response to customers who said they wanted a more filling breakfast."

So you want a more filling breakfast, huh? How about foods that are high in fiber instead of foods high in fat? Did you ever think of that?

A few examples of filling breakfast foods that (I hope) will prevent you from choking down an Enormous Omelet Sandwich:

• Oatmeal
• Cream of Wheat
• Uncle Sam Cereal
• Fruit (bananas, apples, prunes)
• Scrambled Eggs with Toast

Granted, not all of these options I've listed are top-of-the-line health food, but they're certainly more healthy than Burger King's over-the-top response to consumer desires. [Ed. note: David has some strong words about this statement in the comments.]

So... what would you eat for breakfast instead of an Enormous Omelet Sandwich?

(Special thanks to my coworker Michael Ballard for tipping me off to Burger King's latest.)

Uncle Sam: My Favorite Cereal

It's hard to find healthy cereal, especially cereal that's low in sugar and high in fiber. That's why I like Uncle Sam Cereal so much.

Two more reasons why I like Uncle Sam Cereal: it's affordable and you can find it in regular grocery stores (opposed to health food stores).

Here's the ingredient list off the side of the box to give you an idea of how simple the cereal is: whole wheat kernels, whole flaxseed, salt, barley malt, niacin, riboflavin(vitamin B2), thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1).

Uncle Sam has 190 calories per serving, 135 mg of sodium, 10 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. It's high on carbohydrates, but they're the good kind (i.e., not refined).

And get this. Because of the flaxseed, Uncle Sam Cereal has 2,000 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids per serving! According to the Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce joint inflammation and the risk of cancer.

Depending on discounts, one box can be purchased for $1.99 to $2.99. Not bad for a "health cereal."

Next time you're at the grocery store, pick up a box of Uncle Sam Cereal and give it a try. I like it with unsweetened soy milk. But however you choose to eat it, I'm sure it will be far healthier than many of the current cereals you're eating.

Chocolate Lovers Beware!

Starbucks has a new chocolate drink called "Chantico," named after the Aztec goddess of hearth and fire. It's a very rich steamed chocolate beverage. It's so rich, in fact, that it's only offered in a 6 oz. serving size.

I was at Starbucks just last night... that's how I discoverd Chantico. I orderd a tall decaf; my friend Douglas ordered the Chantico. I was intrigued by the small cup and asked him what it was.

While he explained, I turned and looked at the price board and saw that the Chantico goes for $2.65 a "shot."

Not cheap, but you will get a lot of calories for your buck. The Chantico has 390 calories and 20 grams of fat.

If you'd like to read more, CNNMoney has an article about Chantico.

Why Do We Want to Know?

Do you ever wonder why we—health-minded people—want to know all these nutrition facts? Is it really so we can become healthier, or is it simply so we can know that what we're eating is healthy or unhealthy?

I find myself thinking about this when I eat something unhealthy. I'll say to myself, "Yep, that was unhealthy"... as if the statement made it any better.

Of course I have things I just won't eat at all. For instance, MSG and partially hydrogenated oils. It's very easy for me to resist eating foods with those ingredients in them. With sugar, it's hit or miss. I do pretty well overall, but sometimes eat sugary foods, despite my knowledge of what it does to the body.

Bottom line: knowledge doesn't automatically lead to the right behaviors.

I don't know whether or not this is true, but I once read that Mark Twain smoked so that he'd have a bad habit to give up when he got sick. When he'd get well, he'd start smoking again.

Maybe that's the reason for all this health knowledge... so we know how to be healthy when it's absolutely necessary.

But the trick is being healthy when it's not necessary—being healthy simply because you want to be.

What are your thoughts? Why do you want to have knowledge of what's healthy and what's unhealthy?

Pizza Hut Nutrition Facts

We had free Pizza Hut pizza yesterday at work. And I got to thinking about the nutrition facts of a slice of their pizza. (Yes, I had some. It's hard for me to pass up a free meal when money's tight.)

I couldn't find an ingredient list, but I did find this handy PDF that lists nearly all of Pizza Hut's food products.

Go here for nutrition facts about Pizza Hut.

Chipotle: Not as Healthy as You Think

Apparently, Chipotle provides no nutritional information about any of their food items. So a few people have set out to discover how many calories and how much fat are in the average Chipotle burrito.

In my own search, I found some very interesting nutrition facts. For instance:

• Chipotle's Chicken Burrito has almost 1,000 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat.
• Chipotle's Barbacoa Burrito has almost 1,300 calories and three quarters of a day's worth of saturated fat.

Not exactly light eating!

If you had to choose one menu item to eat regularly, you'd be best off choosing the Chicken Burrito Bol—without the rice, cheese, or sour cream. If you did that, you'd have a modest 430-calorie meal.

Me? I always get the Chicken Burrito Bol. I hold the rice, but I still get the cheese and sour cream. That adds an additional 200-300 calories, depending on the serving size. Now that I'm more informed, maybe I'll hold the sour cream or cheese or both.

Bottom line: Chipotle is not nearly as healthy as most of us make it out to be (or want it to be!).

Special thanks to Google Answers for leading me to the CSPI article about Chipotle and Baja Fresh.

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Attention Starbucks Nutrition Facts Seekers

If you're like most visitors to my site, you got here by doing a search on Google for "starbucks nutrition facts," or some variation of that. And you found my Starbucks Scary Nutrition Facts article, the most-read article I've yet written.

If you're that person, I have a question for you: What other health subjects are you interested in?

The way I figure it, you already found my site. I should probably be writing more articles that appeal to you. So please post a comment and let me know. Thanks.