Consumer Survival Kit; 324; Nutrition

No consumer survivor cheat Nutri Sion number 300 entering day for the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting. For Public Broadcasting. OK. Hello I'm Larry Lohmann. Every day you hear countless claims for countless food products. Some claim to be 100 percent natural but no chemical additives. Others claim to be in the rich to buy additives. Some products claim to provide large portions of the nutrients you need

each day. Other ads imply that the only sure way to get enough is to take a vitamin supplement. And of all of that is not confusing enough. There's an ongoing debate over the safety of the foods we eat. For instance there's concern about nitrites and other chemical additives and the effect of pesticides on the crops we consume. Well we've looked into all of these questions and more. Chances are your eating habits are better than you think. In any case eating right needn't be a chore nor a bore. But just to make sure that you're getting the most out of the money you spend on food will have some nutrition tips to help you maintain your health and wealth. To that end reify can hold serve up the lean truth about natural and organic foods. Bob Smith will help you glean more nourishment from each dollar you spend on staples and Frans Johansson will round out the menu with this week's edition of our survival kit. But first a quiz to give you food for thought. Number one a vitamin fortified cereal makes a complete breakfast. True or false. Number two home cooked vegetables are more nutritious than commercially processed

vegetables that come in cans or frozen packages. True or false. Number three fast foods served in fast food restaurants are not nutritious. True or false. Now let's see how you did. Number one is faults of vitamin fortified cereal. Even one with milk does not make a complete breakfast. Nutritionists generally agree that breakfast should provide up to a third of the recommended daily allowance is for proteins vitamins minerals and other nutrients you need since not even the most nutritious commercial cereals provide that much nourishment. Experts suggest that you round out the meal with toast or meat and drink a citrus juice along with your cereal. Otherwise your diet may be lacking. Now if you simply don't have the time for a complete breakfast you're well advised to fill the gap later in the day. By the way a cereal it's vitamin fortified may not be nearly as wholesome as it sounds. We'll explain why later. Number two is faults. Home cooked vegetables are not necessarily more nutritious than commercially processed that's doubles and that means you don't have to

pass up frozen freeze dried or canned vegetables for lack of nutrition. That's not to say that heat processing isn't responsible for any loss of nutrition. It is usually with a slightly greater loss in canned vegetables than in frozen but fresh vegetables often lose nutrient content while being shipped long distances. So in some cases frozen or canned vegetables can be more nutritious than fresh vegetables depending upon how fresh they really are. Of course the fresher the better. Another thing to remember is that home cooking vegetables results in a loss of nutrition too especially if you boil them in water. The vitamins and minerals are dissolved into the water but you can use those drained off nutrients by saving the water for soups and stews. But still you might try steaming your vegetables on a steamer of this sort to get the most out of their nutritional content. Number three is also falls fast foods from fast food restaurants often are reasonably nutritious.

So conclude several studies. For example one study shows that the Big Mac hamburger and several of its meteor competitors provide close to the full daily allowance of protein for the average adult male. More than enough for a child. A Pizza Hut pizza contains more than the adult male daily requirement of protein but. Hamburgers and pizzas as well as Fried Chicken French fries fish and chips on high and fats that contain plenty of calories. Although we all need fats in our daily diets fast foods normally provide much more than many of us need in a single meal. So if you have a fast food lunch you may want to avoid high calorie foods for the rest of the day. And when it comes to those sugar laden soft drinks and shakes. Oh. Oh. Down and.

Then. Move on. No. Empty calories are filling sometimes downright fattening but not nutritionally efficient. The sugar and soft drinks and candy for example may satisfy your hunger and give you a short lived energy lift but the excess calories turn to fat. That's inefficient as most of us need as much nutrition with as few calories as possible. And that's part of the difference between eating and eating right. Eating right means eating things that are nutritionally efficient that is getting the proper balance of proteins fats carbohydrates vitamins and minerals and calories. Most of us get plenty of protein because we eat a lot of meat and most of us get more than enough fats starches and sugars. Where we fail is in vitamins and minerals. The key is to eat all necessary nutrients in the right proportions. Conventional wisdom calls for a healthy balance of the four basic food groups. You remember the

breads and cereals. Dairy products for goods and vegetables meats fish or fowl or nuts and beings with these four food groups Nature has given us all we need to maintain a varied well-balanced nutritionally complete diet. But thank the. The the. Mother Murphy you may be a machine modern food technology has taken us a step or two beyond the basics at its extreme chemical science has created some brand

new fruits none of these fabricated foods could even exist without chemical science. And chemicals are also added to natural foods to color flavor texture eyes and preserve them artificially. The question is has nature been improved by chemical additives. Currently there are close to 3000 chemical substances used as food additives with approval from the U.S. government. In theory a new chemical can't be added to a food product unless it's been shown safe in laboratory testing. But the fact is that some additives were widely used for years before more extensive testing raised serious questions about their safety. You recall the proposed banning of saccharin the artificial sweetener used in soft drinks among other things. Because lab experiments showed that the substance caused bladder cancer in rats. One artificial coloring red dye number two used in thousands of foods including meats cereals candies and confections was recently banned because of its possible harmful effects. Now there's concern about

nitrites mainly used to prevent botulism and bacon hot dogs but another processed meats the nitrite additive can react with substances in the human stomach during digestion to form night means and means have caused cancer in test animals. Of even more concern is the fact that bacon produces night Krosa means while it's being fried. In fact the Food and Drug Administration has yet to find any nitrite treated bacon that doesn't produce Nitrox amines. I sense there's still no scientific proof that microbes that means cause cancer in humans. The government feels that using nitrites as an additive is acceptable at present levels. Critics many of them respected scientists disagree. As is often the case you have to be your own judge. In any case dangerous additives are the exception not the rule and there's no question about the usefulness of additives that prevent spoilage. Even so it's debatable whether we really need all the additives we consume especially if their function is purely

cosmetic like the artificial coloring in cereals and canned fruit cocktails. But sometimes additives are used for yet another reason. Some additives or nutrients used to enrich food. Enrichment means that vitamins have been added to replace some of the nutrients that were lost in process. In fact vitamin enrichment might more accurately be referred to as vitamin replacement and sometimes partial vitamin replacement. So an enriched food may be as

good as its natural counterpart but seldom better as the word enriched may suggest. Occasionally vitamins and minerals are added where they were very sparse or totally absent to begin with. In these instances adding vitamins is called fortification rickets caused by a vitamin D deficiency has been all but eliminated in this country because of the vitamin D that's commonly added to milk. But vitamins are very often added to fortified foods that don't have any nutritional value at all or very little. Some cereals fruit drinks and other foods would be nutritionally worthless without fortification. If you're thinking you'd be better off with food in its natural state. You're not alone. Right or wrong. Sales of unprocessed natural foods and some that only claim to be are doing very well. We sent reify kid out to investigate the situation and here's what she found. Natural food stores like this one seem to be springing up everywhere. That's because growing numbers of consumers are willing to pay more for food with chemical additives

and commercial processing. And lots of people like you just because they taste good. Right here right now tastes really good and I know. There's no mystery gradients and there's no chemicals with the 12. Today still have a lot of chemicals added to them. And too much sugar. Has a kind of food that I eat and the atmosphere is much more homey and more personalized than you find supermarkets. We germ granola and other whole grain foods yogurt dried fruits and highly often referred to as healthy foods. However there is no legal standard to define health food. At this point. Anyone could call his food product a health food. The only general restriction is on outlandish claims that a given food is therapeutic. Are both food producer may label a jar of honey as health food. He isn't

allowed to claim that it cures arthritis or rheumatism for example. At one time or another health food favorites like wheat germ granola Brewers used yogurt and plenty of others have been overpromoted. Even though there's a lot to be said about most of these foods Some have real drawbacks. The calories in honey for example are almost as empty as sugar calories and honey usually costs more in spite of its high nutritional value. Granola used in cereals and baked goods is often sugar laden fatty and expensive. And then there are organically grown fruits and vegetables. These are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. At the moment there is no scientific evidence that there is any nutritional difference between a vegetable that's grown organically and one that wasn't organically grown. Other health food favorites have unqualified advantages. Brewers yeast for example

is rich in Vitamin B. Wheat Germ is protein rich as well as a good source of vitamins B and E other foods such as whole wheat flour oatmeal and brown rice are also nutrition rich. And unprocessed cheeses dried fruits and nuts make much healthier snacks than the candies pastries and starchy foods we're accustomed to. Just about any food that can be found in both the health food store and the supermarket will probably be cheaper at a supermarket. For example this apple juice cost almost twice as much as a supermarket brand and a pound of honey cost 20 cents more. You don't want to limit your diet to any single food or narrow range of foods no matter how nutritious they are individually. A few health food diets have led in that direction. I think an exception is our most vegetarian

diet. That's because there are acceptable protein substitutes for me by the meatless diet requires careful planning. I have a double carrot just on the rocks please. This is my wife and I love her. She holds down a full time job and then comes home to take care of the house the kids the dog and me. She never complains when it's her turn to take out the garbage and she still has time to coach the Little League baseball team. How does she do it. Well she gets plenty of exercise she eats the right foods and she doesn't. Oh Dion vitamin pills. Instead she takes none at all. That's right folks. Not at all. She knows the only way to get the vitamins and minerals that you need is through a nutritious well-balanced diet. When you have that you don't need to waste your money on all those vitamin supplements. My wife. So pretty so smart. I think.

You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need by selecting a well-balanced daily diet from the four basic food groups. If you can't something's wrong it may not be a dietary problem at all. Perhaps a physical disorder. In that case you should let your doctor diagnose the problem. If he or she advises that you have a vitamin or mineral deficiency then is the time to consider a vitamin or mineral supplement when your doctor recommends. If you're not ill but simply unsure that your diet is well balanced you may be considering multi vitamin pills. Well at best this practice is hit or miss and you shouldn't use any writing and supplement as a crutch for eating correctly. Even if your diet is poor for a day or two you can make up for it by eating right the next day. Vitamin deficiencies take a much longer time to develop so you needn't take a vitamin pill to compensate for a few days of poor eating. Another thing to remember about vitamins is that a little goes a long way. That's why mega vitamins or large doses of any single vitamin are also likely to be a

waste of money with somebody like seek anything more than that small amount your body needs is simply excrete it with other vitamins The excess is stored and you run the risk of overdose too much of vitamins A and D for example can cause illness. Now what about vitamin C for colds and vitamin E for improved sex life. I will take them off about equally. Although research goes on to date there is still no conclusive evidence that large doses of vitamin C prevent colds. Some researchers are concerned that high doses of vitamin C may in fact be harmful and can cause diarrhea and contribute to the formation of kidney stones. And by the way there's no difference in quality between natural and synthetic vitamins including C some health food stores sell what they call rose hips as a pure natural vitamin C 500 milligrams of this natural vitamin C cost us 50 cents more than the same quantity of this synthetic vitamin C which is just as effective if you're going to buy a vitamin C

supplement. There's no need to pay the higher price for the natural. Now vitamin E. There's no significant evidence that either will improve your sex life make you fertile Vero or any less prone to heart disease. At present there's no firm evidence that large doses of Vitamin D are harmful. But beyond getting your small daily requirement there seems to be very little reason to bother. And now let's follow the further adventures of our own Mr. fortified Bob Smith zoo. He did a food for as a body. His food was his soul and it's just staples doesn't go every day foods that bring body and soul together. I take this bag of groceries then every sick but through the eyes of a not least it's a veritable cornucopia of nutrition and that's worth a closer look.

Actually. Smart shopping is not as much an art as it is a science with nutrition and ingredient labeling. We can grow busy Depp's unsweetened wheat germ. My personal favorite by itself or sprinkled on other foods is a nutritious cereal and it's not loaded with sugar. Lots of cereals are sometimes up to 45 percent sugar. Check the ingredient label. Not only on cereal but on any packaged food ingredients I listed that is ranked according to quantity. So if sugar is first a second on the list as it is with most cereals you know the sugar content is high. With popular priest wheat and cereals you'll be getting even more sugar. For many crease wheat and cereals there's a less expensive unsweetened counterpart that isn't all coated was sugar. This box of crease wheat and Frosted Flakes cost one and a half cents more per ounce than regular corn flakes without the extra sugar. When you have that choice go unsweetened.

Most cereal packages carry a nutrition label. Read this pretty sweet and cereal contains 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance for various vitamins and minerals. That's because vitamins were added but you're better off without all the sugar. You can find cheaper and better nutrition and unsweetened cereals and save your teeth in a bargain. White grids often enriched because they're made of white flour that sometimes over processed. I personally prefer whole wheat. It's often more nutritious than in rich white bread but not always. If you want whole wheat make sure that's what you're getting. Sometimes Brown breads I actually made with the same highly processed flour that white breads are made of and then artificially colored to look like dark whole wheat bread. That's another reason why reading the ingredient label is a good habit to get into artificial coloring listed on the label may mean your bread isn't quite as

wholesome as it looks. Ah. 0 8 get the egg is a nutritional work of art. It's an excellent source of high quality protein. But if you're concerned about cholesterol it's a good idea to cut down on eggs as well as a saturated fats in red meat butter and other whole milk products and you'll also want to buy low fat or skim milk instead of whole milk. Only very small children really need whole milk. And that brings us to meat. Frankly I am concerned about nitrites. So I read ingredient labels and avoid meats that list nitrite. That leaves out some of the cured and processed meats in the supermarket. But certainly not the fresh ones like this hamburger. And you can buy cured processed meats without nitrates even hot dogs sausages and bacon at natural food stores and from private farm businesses. Of course a nitrate free

meat usually costs more. Now it's still a lot of goodies down there but I think you reach the bottom for my dinner. I know I probably shouldn't. But after a hard time at the supermarket who wants to cook so every once in a while I have a TV dinner. I mean it's so convenient. God he has it. Ah. Whether or not it's art. The convenience of convenience foods like TV dinners is something you pay a price for with simpler foods like frozen orange juice or vegetables or the cost of convenience isn't this big a factor. In fact these products are often cheaper than preparing fresh vegetables or squeezing your own orange juice but generally the further you progress from a single food like frozen broccoli for example and add cheeses sauces or the like the more you pay not just for the added ingredients but for the convenience of not doing the preparation yourself. And when it comes to a ready made main dishes and dinners you can normally expect to pay more than you would by starting from scratch. Now that's

also true of most ready made baby food. All you need is a blender a food grinder or a strainer to refine many of the foods you've cooked for the rest of the family. Just be sure to prepare the baby's portion before you season the food. The unseasoned food may taste bland to you but babies don't taste the difference and they don't need the added salts and sugars. Of course when you make your own you determine exactly what goes into it. Naturally when you're preparing baby boomer The important thing is cleanliness. And one other note of caution although you can use most vegetables and fruits for baby food. Avoid carrots beets spinach and cabbage. These foods contain nitrates that can lead to stomach poisoning in infants. The commercial baby food makers can process those nitrates out but that can't be done at home so don't use carrots beets spinach or cabbage for homemade baby food. All other vegetables are fine if convenience is worth the extra money to you. Shop carefully ready made foods for babies and the rest of us vary widely in the traditional value so be sure to read and compare the

nutritional and ingredient labels. And now here's Brian Johannes. As Larry said earlier the key to good nutrition is a varied well balanced daily diet. But for most families with varying tastes schedules and appetites even planning nutritious meals can be a real challenge let alone serving them when you need advice or resource materials on nutrition to improve your family's daily diet. You can call your local home extension service. It's listed in the phone book under that or a similar name with other city or county government agencies. Most home extension services can also tell you how to find out whether your family qualifies for food stamps and free or cost reduced school lunches. If your family income is low enough. By all means use these federally funded programs they're intended to help working people as well as the unemployed afford good food for a nutritious diet. To handle other nutrition problems though you might turn to our own consumer survival kit in one article in this week's edition. A

lady nutritionist answers many of your questions about food and health among other things he explains why your drinking habits may be fattening and why you should hold the line on cholesterol. Another article lists dozens of your favorite foods and ranks them according to their nutritional ratings. Still inconclusive evidence suggests that a high fiber diet may reduce the risk of several forms of cancer. For that reason and others this article tells you how to put more fiber into your diet. Another article takes a look at nutritional labels and explains how to use them to see that you're getting enough of the nutrients you need and to see that you don't lose those nutrients. We've included cooking advice on everything from getting the most out of your leftovers to using the right pots and pans. If you're dieting you want this information on losing weight sensibly. And an article on vegetarian diets offer some nutritious substitutes for meat. If you just can't pass up a burger when you're on the go. This article reiterates

that many popular Fast foods can be nutritious but not as a steady diet. There's also information on heat and serve convenience foods chemical additives the nutritional needs of mothers to be and lots more. As always there's a summary of the program and a bibliography of helpful books for your copy of this week's publication. Send $1 to cover the cost of reproduction postage and handling two nutrition box 977 Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. That's $1 2 nutrition box 1977. Owings Mills Maryland 2 1 1 1 7. Please allow 3 to 4 weeks for delivery. You want to get all the nutrition you can out of every dollar you spend on food. To that end there are some points to keep in mind. Frozen and canned vegetables aren't significantly less nutritious than fresh vegetables. The important thing is not to over cook them cereal and

milk alone don't constitute a complete breakfast. Try to avoid Preece wheat and cereals even if they're vitamin fortified fortification alone does not make a product a good buy and when it comes to foods that are vitamin enriched remember that enrichment means vitamin replacement that is vitamins are added to replace the ones that were processed out. Read ingredient and nutrition labels to help determine if a product is as nutritious or as natural as you think it should be. And of course get in the habit of eating a very well-balanced daily diet to get all the vitamins minerals and other nutrients you need. Eat well and stay healthy. And we'll see you the next time on consumer survival kit. This program was produced by the Maryland Center for Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its

content major funding was provided by public television stations additional support was provided by unrestricted general program grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation. A.