Why is Yogurt Clean?

I received this question via email on Saturday:

Q: Why is yogurt clean? It's made in a factory, and often has sugar in it. How can this be clean? I thought clean was unprocessed foods that don't have added sugar. ( Name withheld upon request  )

A:  That's a really good question!

     If you dissect exactly what yogurt is, you'll discover a core truth. Yogurt is essentially curdled milk. It's milk that has curdled from good cultures, rather than the nasty ones that make your milk a clotted clump if it lives in the fridge too long - but essentially, it is curdled milk. Milk is a natural product, easily found in Nature if you've got Ole Bessie around. So somewhere, in a factory, they conveniently dispense portions of curdled milk into cups for us to consume.

     Because milk is the base ingredient of yogurt, it contains sugar in the form of milk sugar, or more commonly referred to as lactose.

 Science stuff: "Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk (by weight), although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from lac or lactis, the Latin word for milk, plus the -ose ending used to name sugars. It has a formula of C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁." ( Thanks, Wiki! )

    A large majority of the sugar you see on the label of yogurt appearing as "Sugar" is actually the inherent lactose in milk. The FDA doesn't differentiate between sugars added during manufacturing and inherent sugar content of food. As a broad generalization - the more expensive the yogurt you are buying, the less likely the manufacturer has added large amounts of sugar to their yogurt; they leave a large portion of the lactose intact in their product ( a more expensive process ) and thus, their label looks like it has sugar in it - but in reality, it doesn't - or if it does, it is a small amount simply to take the "tang" edge off their yogurt. Usweetened yogurt can pack a heck of a tang to it.

     Most Clean Eaters don't buy "regular" yogurt, but buy Greek yogurt. It has a large portion of the water removed, and it makes it a denser product, with a higher protein content. In short - more nutrition per ounce of product. Also, that yogurt has a higher sugar content because of the concentration process.

     So coming back to your question - yogurt is clean because it is made of  well cultured milk, and if you buy a high quality, no fruit added flavor ( like a vanilla flavor ), you are more than getting very little to no added sugar. Clean.

What is "Natural Flavor?"

I've been wondering for a while exactly what the words "natural flavor" mean when I see them listed in an ingredient list...

 
so I went hunting for the answer.

Under the Code of Federal Regulation, natural flavor is defined as “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating, enzymolysis (biochemical decomposition of a substance), which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs , dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

Natural flavoring substances are obtained from plant or animal raw materials, containing no other artificial or added ingredients. Spices approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) such as black pepper and basil do not have to be listed under its specific name. Additives can also be listed under natural flavoring because they might meet FDA definition standards, the extraction process consider flavorings man-made. In addition, spice extracts, essential oils, oleoresins, onion powder/juice, and garlic powder/juice are allowed to be labeled under “flavor” or “natural flavor.”
 
So - when you see the words "natural flavor" in an ingredient list - it isn't manufacturer doublespeak for something born in a lab. It is the essential essence of a Clean food item.

I actually feel a little bit better about that!

Source: Common Food Safety Questions - USDA website

Are Foods Produced Overseas Safe to Eat?

This topic has been dogging me for the past year, so I finally decided to sit down and do some solid research on the subject. I found sources online - I even made a few phone calls as most of the Government departments I need to question are literally right around the corner from my house. Please don't take this post as xenophobic - I question the safety of foods produced in certain countries due to their terrible track record for factory safety across the board. I might buy a chair produced in China. I do not want to buy tilapia produced in China.

Are foods manufactured / processed / grown  in countries outside the United States safe to eat?

Though I do have some Canadian, Australian, and various other overseas readers - most of you are in developed countries that have similar, if not identical food importation rules as the United States...so my comments ( while directed to foods coming INTO the US ) are really applicable to a very large percentage of my overseas readers as well. 

First, the good news: The United States requires all foods that enter the US for public consumption to meet or exceed USDA / FDA standards for food preparation, factory cleanliness, and identification of ingredients. 

The bad news? This is essentially a law on paper only, as the number of food processing factories has risen dramatically in the past 40 years. 

For domestically ( US ) produced foods: In the 1970s, the FDA performed 35,000 inspections on the approximately 70,000 food processing plants in the US on a yearly basis. In 2010, the FDA was only able to conduct 7,000 inspections on the approximately 150,000 food processing factories in the US. 

For internationally produced foods, the track record is much worse. The FDA admits it only inspects a fraction of 1% of the 216,000 foreign facilities importing food into the US. While foreign foods are supposed to conform to US standards for wholesome content - how can you be sure substandard ingredients haven't been used? How can you be sure the factory that made that food is clean? How can you be sure?

Interestingly, produce that is grown overseas is subject to much closer scrutiny than things like cookies, powdered drinks, and frozen foods. The FDA requires random sampling of all produce that comes into the US for certain chemical signatures. If found, the entire shipment is refused. No such mechanism is in place for "non produce" items. Those Oreo looking cookies made in India? Sure! Come on in!

Congress has not even given the FDA the power to block foods from factories that refuse to allow overseas inspection.These foods are still permitted into the country.

Now clearly, the US has had many cases of tainted food in the past 20+ years: Wiki: Foodbourne Illness Outbreaks in the US.However, most are quickly identified to a faulty piece of equipment; an unsafe manufacturing process - and the opportunity for contamination is quickly resolved.

Can food labeled as being produced overseas be trusted to be wholesome and safe? Not so much.

What can you do to reduce the risk of exposure to a harmful contaminant?

1. Make it yourself. Nearly all of the dried fruit distributed in the US is produced in 3rd world, Asiatic countries - countries where sanitation and factory standards are questionable at best. ( The exception to this is raisins; most raisins are produced in California . ) The other day I posted how to create your own banana chips. I'd also encourage you  ( if you are interested in dried fruit ) to invest in a good food dehydrator. 

2. Stick with what you know. When buying foods produced overseas, stick with companies where there is a high likelihood the distributing company has visited the overseas production site - companies such as Trader Joe's and Whole Foods send their buyers overseas to find new products and to view the manufacturing facilities.

3. Stick with what you know, Part II - You can be fairly confident that large US companies with an overseas presence will have higher factory standards than those you may never heard of - their reputation as brand name is on the line. A Nabisco product ( for example ) produced overseas is highly likely to meet or exceed the US standards for factory and product cleanliness.

What about seafood?

There is a lot of seafood produced overseas - especially in Asiatic countries: China, Vietnam, and Thailand specifically. There currently are no standards for "organic" seafood, and the FDA does not regulate seafood farms overseas. There is currently no way to ensure that the fish you are eating were raised in a wholesome manner, were fed a healthy diet, or were handled appropriately. In my non-scientific opinion, it is in your best interests not to buy seafood raised overseas.

 Examine packages of frozen fish at the store - and across the board, you are going to see "Product of China"  in very small print on the back of these packages. Recently, several large scale fish farms outside of Bejing were caught feeding excessive antibiotics and human contraceptive medicines to fish under their care. Why? The Chinese discovered that fish fed birth control pills matured at a much faster rate than untainted fish - they could be harvested several months earlier: more profit.Luckily for us, these farms were NOT exporting their fish.

What can you do?

In the US, seafood needs to be labeled with its country of origin. Start looking for seafood that is raised and distributed in the US. You can be more certain that it was raised in a wholesome manner and doesn't contain heavy metals, toxins, or chemical traces.

Are foods produced overseas safe to eat? I would say - as a generalization - that foods produced in developed countries and imported to the US and other countries are safe to eat. 

Be wary of foods produced and imported from countries with poor track records for food safety: India, China, Asiatic countries. 

Questions and Answers: Is Grass Fed Beef Really Necessary?

Q: One of the principles I keep reading about meat where Clean Eating is concerned is the emphasis on "grass fed" beef as being better. What is so much better about it? It is expensive - and really hard to find.

A: Believe me, I know how expensive it is! The meat from grass fed cattle is much healthier for you than "regular" commercially raised grain fed cows. Lower "bad" fat, higher "good" fat, and proven higher levels of cancer fighting CLAs!

First, The beef is much lower in overall fat than grain fed beef - and therefore healthier for you.

A 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer has almost 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a grainfed steer.

If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grassfed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits.  If everything else in your diet remains constant, you'll lose about six pounds a year.  If all Americans switched to grassfed meat, our national epidemic of obesity would begin to diminish. 


Although grassfed meat is low in "bad" fat (including saturated fat), it gives you from two to six times more of a type of "good" fat called "omega-3 fatty acids." 

Omega-3 fatty acids play a vital role in every cell and system in your body.  For example, of all the fats, they are the most "heart friendly." People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat.  Remarkably, they are 50 percent less likely to have a serious heart attack


The CLA Bonus   The meat and milk from grassfed ruminants are the richest known source of another type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA.  When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their milk and meat contain as much as five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets.¹²

CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer.

In laboratory animals, a very small percentage of CLA --- a mere 0.1 percent of total calories ---greatly reduced tumor growth. Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating the following grassfed products each day: one glass of whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would have to eat five times that amount of grainfed meat and dairy products to get the same level of protection.

There is new evidence suggesting that CLA does reduce cancer risk in humans.

In a Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels of CLA. 

Source: American Grass Fed Beef Council




Grass fed beef IS more expensive, but overall - a healthier beef for your body. Look for it clearly labeled packages of grass fed beef at your local natural or organic grocery store. It's much harder to find grass fed beef at your normal "every day" grocery store. Try to incorporate grass fed beef into your diet at least once a week - more if your budget allows.

How Do I Tell How Old The Eggs Are At The Store?

Q: Recently you posted a good refresher on how to cook hard boiled eggs. I was wondering if there is any way to tell the age of the eggs from the packaging? I know from your post I'm not supposed to buy fresh fresh eggs.

A: Good question!

Egg cartons these days only come with 2 bits of information on them - a bunch of codes, and an expiration date. There are two answers to your question, and both will work just fine.

The first and probably easiest answer is to look on the packaging for the expiration date, and choose a carton of eggs that will still be within the date 1-2 weeks from the date of purchase.

An expiration date on the carton is not required but, if one is used, it can be no more than 30 days after the eggs were packed. Remember, older eggs are easier to peel eggs.



The second potential answer involves a little bit of sleuthing, and looking like a smartypants..

Most  cartons show a Julian date on the short side of the carton. The Julian date on the carton is the day the eggs were packed -- starting with 001 as Jan 1 and ending with 365 for December 31. For example, eggs packed on June 15 would be marked 166.

The eggs in the photo above were packed on August 9th - Julian calendar day 221, and have a sell by date of September 6 ( less than 30 days from pack date )

If you like knowing such stuff, here's a link to a PDF that has the Julian dates on it: http://www.imap.mesacounty.us/GPS_Survey/RINEX%20TIME/julian-calendar.pdf

Thanks for the question! I know you'll be much happier with your boiled egg final product once you begin using older eggs in the first place!

What Makes Something Clean?

My Brother-In-Law, "The Witty Brit™" -has been trying to eat Clean for a while now. He and my sister have made a conscious effort to clean up their diet about 4 weeks ago. So when I got a phone call earlier today from him about Clean Eating - I wasn't terribly surprised. I get the occasional email from him on it, too. However, his question did surprise me.

"What makes something clean? When I'm at the grocery store and I'm looking at the ingredient list...is there some sort of minimum standard I should be looking for?"

Seriously, Witty Brit™. I love you to bits.

1. When examining a nutritional label, the first thing to scan is the ingredient list. Does it have more than 4-5 ingredients?  ( Obviously, this ingredient # threshold will be different for everyone. I personally aim for 4-5 ingredients. Sometimes 6-7 pass muster. You'll have to decide what number is your "trigger number" and go from there ) Are all the ingredients items you recognize? Items that occur in Nature? If there are more than a few ingredients, don't waste your time examining it further. Move along.

2. If the label passes rule #1, look more closely at the ingredients. Do you see the words "High fructose corn syrup" or "partially hydrogenated" referring to a fat or oil? What about unpronounceable chemicals and words you vaguely recognize but have no idea what they actually are? If so, put it down. Unclean!

3. If you are at stage 3 and your item doesn't include the two phrases above, look to see if you find a sugar source, and examine the sugar per serving in the data table. Does it seem high for a small portion? Look for hidden sugars. Remember, honey, agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, and molasses are all sugars - but there is sugar in fruit, milk solids, and brown rice syrup is another sugar source. Does it seem high, or reasonable? If you have a choice of a product with no sugar added versus sugar added - opt for sugar free       ( like ketchup! )

4. Now examine the sodium level for the product in the data table. Is it high for the serving size? Is "salt" high on the ingredient list, or low? It should be low or not even on the list.

5. So if you have reached rule 5, the packaged item you are holding has only a few ingredients, no corn syrup or anything hydrogenated, and has a low sugar and salt content. There is a high probability the item in your hands is Clean. Is there an organic version next to it? Examine the contents of the label. Not all organic products are necessarily better. Some organic products have added salts and sugars that make them unclean.

If your product has passed all 5 rules - you probably have a Clean food in your hands. More than likely, you can put it in your basket with confidence.

Are Mini Babybel Cheeses Clean?

Q: Are Mini Babybel cheeses clean? You know, the little round cheese that come in a mesh bag? Thank you in advance for checking this out for me. I think they are.

A: Thanks for writing in, A. Mini Babybel cheeses are Clean, depending on if you really stick to a totally organic dairy regimen of Clean Eating. Some people will only eat organic milk products - for others, it is a little looser and they will eat dairy that isn't labeled "organic."

Mini Babybel cheeses only have 3 ingredients: Pasturized cultured milk, salt, and microbial enzymes - the 3 essential building blocks of cheese. They are not made from organic milk but the low ingredient count would make them ideal for a Clean Eater. They are a semi-soft cheese - usually a cheddar but they also make a gouda ( my favorite! )

A serving is one small round of cheese; each is about 20 grams - with about 60 calories per round and 130 to 170 mg of salt ( which is a fair amount for such a small cheese weight ).

So the answer is yes - if you are ok eating some dairy products that aren't 100% organic, a round or two would be a good way to get a measured amount of dairy in your diet ( especially if you aren't fond of yogurt or kefir ). Just don't eat the whole bag, and keep in mind there is a decent amount of sodium there.

Is Eggbeaters Clean?

Q:  Is Eggbeaters Clean? I've always cooked a cup of Eggbeaters in the microwave for a quick breakfast at work. Now that I'm trying to eat better, I was wondering if Eggbeaters is Clean?

A:  Technically, Eggbeaters is not Clean. A Clean food would be a freshly cracked organic egg, whisked and then microwaved. You'd consume the egg as you find it in Nature - so that would be the 1st choice. Eggbeaters is a processed product, so it would be considered "Unclean."

However...

If you examine the ingredient list for Eggbeaters ( Original Eggbeaters, not any flavored version ) , you'll find the following:

Ingredients: Egg Whites. Less than 1% Natural Flavor, Color ( includes beta carotene ), spices, salt, onion powder, vegetable gums, and maltodextrin.

99% of Eggbeaters is just egg whites. Only 1% is other stuff, and the majority of that 1% is spices and salt.

Sodium content of a 1/4 cup serving of Original Eggbeaters? 115 mg.
Sodium content of a single, organic egg? About 75 ( naturally occurring ) mg.

So is Eggbeaters Clean? In my opinion, it goes into the "Border Food" bucket - a food you can safely eat occasionally, but on a daily basis you are better off going for the traditional Mother Nature approved egg delivery system: an organic egg in the shell.