See, it does take a village! Of chihuahuas!
It’s Project Runway, health food cycle: One day you’re in, the next day you’re out! (Bonus points if you can say that like Heidi Klum.) Food fads are a sad but true fact in the health and fitness industry. Science, and more importantly marketers, are always pimping the next Super Food. And sometimes that introduces us to some really awesome weird foods that we might not have otherwise tried. Chia seeds, quinoa and acai berries anyone? Many times these fads are duds. And then there are the few times where purportedly “healthy” foods are actually harming you. Check out my slideshow on Shape.com to see the full list of 6 Healthy Foods That Should Never Pass Your Lips but the one most surprising to me was – dun, dun, dun – agave nectar!
Long touted as an “all natural” and healthy alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners, it turns out the agave nectar sold in stores, including “blue,” “natural,” and “organic” varieties, has more fructose than even high-fructose corn syrup and is far more processed than plain table sugar. If you’ve watched “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” then you’ll know that fructose taken out of fruit (where it occurs naturally) becomes a toxin when processed. While it’s true that agave nectar is lower on the glycemic index than other sweeteners, it’s no dietary friend but rather poison disguised as a health food. All of which really surprised me given the aura of “health” that surrounds it.
Any of you surprised to discover a food you thought was healthy, wasn’t? Have you ever tried a food fad??
Other things I wrote this week:
Fitness Trainers Reveal: The #1 Piece of Equipment I Swear By (which we already discussed on here but all my trainers are so darn adorable I had to give them a little more love!)
Are your birth control pills safe? (And the controversy rumbles on…)
Do you make your kids write thank you notes? (Or do you write them for them? Cough, cough, not that I’d know anything about that)
The #1 Thing Parents Wish People Understood About Their Child (Weirdly this got reposted on Yahoo and the comments are even crazier this time around. If that’s possible.)
Mom’s 10 Weirdest Tips for Saving Money
Is it harder having 1 child or 9? (One mom’s poignant answer may surprise you)
How parenting changes us: Jay-Z to stop using “bitch” (The day after I wrote this, news outlets said that it couldn’t be confirmed that he actually said this. Which I think kind of depresses me. You’d hope after a man has a daughter he’d stop calling women hos and bitches. Of course if being married to Beyonce didn’t turn him around I’m not sure how much hope there is for him.)
It was Friday the 13th! Do you have a mommy superstition?
Parenting Challenge: How do you get through the vending machine gauntlet? (I really love one company’s answer to this: H.U.M.A.N. vending only stocks healthy options in their machines plus they offer in-community health counseling as well as video tips that play on their machines. Advertising – it can be used for good too!)
I still write thank you notes for gifts … My grandmother will say something to my mom if she doesn’t get one.
you know me.
I avoid all lists of HEALTHY FOODS!!! and DO NOT EVAH EAT THIS!! foods that way Im never surprised 🙂
The title really captured my attention and I enjoyed reading this post…Thanks a lot!!
The agave thing I came across when the first froyo chain opened in London – their advertising was all it is so healthy, and when I had one it was really sweet. Which I thought was cool – sweet & healthy – what can go wrong? Except that then I figured out they used “agave nectar” and that all it was was really 90% fructose. IMHO their marketing is borderline misleading. And this low GI thing of fructose – well, that’s because it needs to be metabolised in the liver, which is the core of many of the problems. Cant have the one without the other. Details here http://thorfalk.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/fructose-is-healthy-says-company-x/
Well now I’m all bummed out about microwave popcorn =( I love that stuff! I’ve also eaten approximately 584764597 bags of it in the past year alone so let’s hope my innards are magical and great at protection and regeneration.
Real butter, real sugar, real popcorn – Check! But canned tomatoes? Those are a go to item for me – I love all things tomato – and we don’t really see them in any other type of container around here; tomato sauce in glass jars, yes, but not tomatoes.
I can’t believe that olestra is still on the market. I remember when it first came out several years ago and I got a mini-can sample of potato chips made with it in the mail. I ate it…and then couldn’t get more than 10 steps from the bathroom for the next two days. Never again!
I am not at all surprised about agave. Its sugar, pure and simple, but processed. It would be like calling Mrs. Butterworth a health food. Not that that will stop me from eating it. I love fake maple syrup, and I don’t care who knows it.
Great post! I’m getting a new water bottle today. I’ve always gone BPA free and assumed I was good. At least the kids have stainless steel. Also, Muir Glen Organic canned tomatoes come in cans that have BPA free linings.
I’m kind of bummed after seeing canned tomatoes in that list. I wish I could move my grandfather out here to garden and can some delicious vegetables for me! (Grandparent slave labor? Maybe it’s best that I can’t.) As for agave, the first and ONLY time I have used it I was making brownies using a recipe from Elana’s Pantry. My husband and I ate one each and felt almost, well, drunk. It was a really weird light-headed, headache-y feeling that I can totally do without ever experiencing again. I love all her recipes, but I substitute in honey now.
I feel like I’ve had to relearn all the ‘food rules’ about what’s healthy and what’s not. Over my lifetime it seems like the government ‘guidelines’ (sorry – I have quote-mark-itis today!) chop and change constantly.
My new take on it is to eat something, pay attention to how my body feels afterwards and go from there..of course that’s easier said than done, I sucked up half a bowl of microwave popcorn just last night. I HAVE NO REGRETS 🙂
Btw, love your blog – thanks for keeping me so entertained on a daily basis!
I was shocked and appalled to hear that chicken fingers aren’t good for you. I mean, how do you make chicken unhealthy??? 😛
Charlotte,your “Top 10” article about kids MADE OUR MORNING RADIO STATION yesterday!!!!!! In San Francisco!!!!!
Agave nectar is unhealthy?!?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! WHY?!?!?!?!?!?!
I’m feeling quite hyper this morning. Sorry. Must be all that agave.
In my early 20’s I went to a nutritionist in NYC who told me bagels weren’t good for me. I was like “You’re telling a Jew not to eat bagels? In New York? Sacre Bleu!” But I gave them up and lost quite a bit of weight. Probably because I ate bagels the size of my head, with a schmear that could feed all of New Jersey.
You can microwave popcorn in regular brown paper bags?! This opens up so many possibilities for me! Can you still line the bag with a buttload of butter too? Because that might be my favorite part of popcorn…
While I don’t really tell myself I can’t have certain foods (I do naturally lean towards organic, less processed options though as I can tell a physical difference in how my body performs)… I am rather glad to see Microwave Popcorn on that list… though it’s for different reasons than my own 😉
as well as butter substitutes… and I think, also, people use a LOT more than they normally would, because they think they’re making a healthier choice…
The canned tomato thing is the only thing on there that I go near anyway. They are also sold in those tetrapaks, which are not rcecyclable, and I really hate so much waste. Maybe I’ll look for jars from now on. I’m getting away from plastic as much as possible, never heat anything in it (nor my old ‘non-stick’ teflon pots/pans). I bought a popcorn poppper for $2 at a garage sale a few years, back, still use it frequently. I haven’t touched butter substitute since I moved out of my parents house, and when I go back and visit, I make them buy me real butter, if they want me to eat at their house. Generally, I just stick with sugar, most sweeteners are weird, and agave is for tequilla.
Honestly Charlotte – none of the items surprised me – already knew about them BUT I know others don’t – so great post! I have been using a glass water bottle for a while now & has a sleeve on it so it does not break if I drop it by mistake AND everything tastes better AND it is not heavy! 🙂
Okay, the agave thing serves me right as I was feeling a bit smug putting it in my smoothies. Maybe I should just suck the sugar off the cane stalk like I did as a kid. . .
And I insist my boys write their own Thank You notes- improper grammar and all. (although I do usually address them) not sure why I have to micromanage the outside of the envelope.
interesting list. i have always wondered about the agave nectar since it came out.
This list makes me wonder if there will be a lawsuit against popcorn bags or canned tomatoes in the future.
Gah! I just bought a new french press for coffee made with BPA-free plastic on Saturday…
I get overwhelmed by the advice on various chemicals. Ever get sucked in to the Environmental Working Group’s website for three hours? I have. There are products I have changed because of concern about chemicals (like sunscreen), but I think it’s really hard to interpret the scientific data based on the quantities of chemicals in the products we use and to know how far to take things. There are other things that I have tried to change that have FAILED, like all-natural shampoos/ conditioners–I’ve tried four or five and all have left my hair a knotted mess with the texture of dried hay. Yum.
I’m sad only about the canned tomatoes! I use those all the time and sadly, I don’t think I’ll stop. They’re cheap, easy and can be stored for awhile. Oh well, 1/6 – guess I’m doing okay.
Good to know! Thanks for the post.
I am surprised by seeing the toast&butter on the list.I love toast! Actually I had one for breakfast today….uh, but no worries, I have belly dance class tonight.