FitSugar

CSPI v. Enviga

FitSugar — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 08:30:00 -0800

There's a lot of crazy publicity happening for foods and drinks that are supposed to boost your diet. Well, the Center for Science and Public Interest (CSPI), a non-profit food watch dog group, is out there to protect you from corporate America's crafty advertising and marketing. They just sent a serious warning to Coke and Nestle the makers of Enviga - their new negative calorie drink.

CSPI says they will sue the companies if they continue to market the drink with fraudulent calorie burning and weight loss claims, since the science behind the drinks is a little flimsy. The lawsuit would seek to stop the deceptive marketing behind the product that is to launch nationwide early next year. Plus the amount of caffeine in one can of Enviga is almost equal to that of 3 cans of coke.

Fit's tip: Stick to water. It has zero calories, is free (not $1.29 a can like Enviga) and it is great for you.

5 Saltiest Meals, With a Side Order of Hypertension

FitSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Eating out is always a treat, but the problem with eating food someone else makes is that you have no idea how much sodium it's loaded with. 2,300 mg of salt (one teaspoon) is the recommended daily limit for healthy people, but if you have issues with high blood pressure, 1,500 mg is your limit. According to a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), "Unsafe levels of sodium chloride, or salt, in chain restaurant meals increase one's chance of developing hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease." This nonprofit food safety and nutrition watchdog group wants to reveal five meals from popular restaurants that should get a ticket for their obscene sodium contents.

Red Lobster Admiral's Feast with Caesar salad, Lobster-topped mashed potato, cheddar bay biscuit, and a lemonade - 7,106 mg
Chili's Buffalo Chicken Fajitas complete with tortillas and condiments, and a Dr. Pepper - 6,916 mg
Chili's Honey-Chipotle Ribs with mashed potatoes and gravy, seasonal vegetables, and a Dr Pepper: 6,440 mg

To see the rest read more.

Olive Garden Tour of Italy (lasagna) with a breadstick, Garden Fresh salad with house dressing, and a Coca-Cola: 6,176 mg
Olive Garden Chicken Parmigiana with a breadstick, Garden Fresh salad with house dressing, and raspberry lemonade: 5,735 mg

They also list five kid's meals that have high sodium content. To see those foods, check out their website.

Omega-3 Eggs: A Waste of Money?

FitSugar — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 08:45:00 -0700

If you're like me, then you've been spending a little extra cash on eggs enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. I've been pretty smug with myself and these eggs, but then my smug little health conscious heart gets broken...

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (or CSPI) would like to stop seven egg producers from implying that their eggs can reduce the risk of heart disease. In fact, says CSPI, egg producers should not be making heart-healthy claims, because the FDA specifically prohibits such claims on eggs and other foods high in cholesterol or saturated fat.

Also, the CSPI thinks that egg producers take advantage of consumers’ limited knowledge of the different types of omega-3s. While the FDA permits claims for a possible reduced risk of heart disease linked to two kinds of omega-3s, DHA and EPA (since the benefits have been proven), the agency does not allow such claims for other kinds of omega-3s. What's more? Even the eggs with the most DHA and EPA contain no more of those omega-3s than the amount in one and a half teaspoons of salmon, the richest source of omega-3s.

To see which eggs are under scrutiny, just read more

Land O Lakes claims that “omega-3 All-Natural Eggs” are a “good source of heart-healthy nutrition” despite the fact that FDA has not defined the term “good source” for omega-3s and that the eggs contain too much saturated fat and cholesterol to meet FDA’s definition of healthy.
Eggland’s Best uses unapproved nutrient content claims for omega-3s on its carton and on its Web site. In addition, the company claims that its eggs have 25 percent less saturated fat than regular eggs. But that difference is less than half a gram-an amount that the FDA considers trivial for purposes of nutrition labeling.
Safeway Specialty 3 Eggs misleadingly boasts “100 mg of omega-3s” even though the FDA has not set standards for such omega-3 claims. In addition, the principal source of omega-3s in the hens’ diets is likely not a source that may be associated with heart benefits.
Gold Circle Farms claims that its eggs contain “450 mg of omega-3s.” The claims are based on two eggs even though the official FDA serving size for eggs is one egg.
The Country Hen illegally claims “the difference is an egg that is simply healthy” even though the product does not meet regulatory requirements for “healthy,” and also makes its claims based on two eggs.
Full Spectrum Farms boasts that its product has “30 mg” of unspecified omega-3s even though one ordinary egg, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, contains 37 mg of omega-3s, 20 mg of which are DHA and EPA.
Giving Nature asserts that the company feeds its hens flax seed which “has been known to hold high levels of DHA omega-3.” But, according to the Flax Council of Canada and others, the omega-3s that FDA considers healthful (DHA and EPA) are not found in plants such as flax seed.

Moral of the story: Think about sticking to fish, fish oil and algae for beneficial omega-3s.

Source

10 Foods You Should NEVER Eat

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:15:00 -0800

We all know that there are foods we should avoid, but sometimes we all need to hear the news from an outside source - other than our moms.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has made a list of 10 foods you should NEVER eat. Here's details on the top three.

Pepperidge Farm Original Flaky Crust Roasted Chicken Pot Pie has 510 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat, but that is only half a serving!!! So if you eat the entire pie, which seems likely, you're getting about half a day's worth of calories in one sitting.
McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips - the meat might be specially selected, but they are coated with fried breading just like the familiar, but not-so-premium, Chicken McNuggets.
The Cheesecake Factory's 6 Carb Cheesecake may be light in carbs but it packs practically the same amount of calories and fat as their regular Cheesecake.

Other list makers include: Dove Ice Cream, Mrs. Fields Milk Chocolate & Walnut Cookies, Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffè Mocha, Burger King Quad Stacker, Campbell's condensed soups, Chipotle's Chicken Burrito, and the Mint Chip Dazzler available at Häagen-Daaz stores.

To get all the details on all the foods, check out the CSPI's Nutrition Action Newsletter.

More Photoshop Issues: Wendy's Menu?

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Photoshop gets a lot of people into trouble these days. Typically we see images being photoshopped in magazines like the Faith Hill cover of Redbook, however this is a photoshop problem of something different: A Wendy's menu.

The battle goes on whether New York City can force certain restaurants to post calorie content on their menu boards. In the midst of it all, it is being reported that the Center for Science in the Public Interest created a fake Wendy’s menu (above, click image to zoom) and sent it to the court to display that it is actually possible to include the caloric information without totally confusing the customer, which was Wendy's reasoning for not displaying the calorie info in the first place.

Personally, I think Wendy's has been being sneaky about the whole thing since the beginning. To Wendy's I say: Thanks for thinking we, the consumer, are so utterly clueless that we won't be able to decipher such a complicated menu that has prices and calories, but let me be the judge of what I can and can't handle. When people start asking if the regular burger is 280 dollars or calories, then you may have a valid case argument.

What do you guys think - Was the CSPI playing dirty or proving a good point? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Source

Chain Restaurants: Nutritional Info on Menus

FitSugar — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 10:30:00 -0800

At popular chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesday's and Uno's Chicago Grill, 2,000 calorie menu items are normal. Order yourself some pizza skins to start and you'll be consuming 2,050 calories, 48g of saturated fat, and 3,140 mg of sodium. You're only supposed to have 2,300 mg of sodium a day. I'll take my check now, please!!!

Some menu items, we know are not exactly healthy for us, but because the nutritional information is not listed, we have no idea just exactly how bad they are.

Starting in the summer, many chain restaurants that operate in NYC will be required to list calories on the menu. I'd like to know what you think about that - take my poll on the matter and voice your opinion.

CSPI (the Center for Science in the Public Interest) believes it is about time for Congress to pass Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) legislation. Labeling menus will encourage people to order healthier items when dining out. The idea being this will help combat obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diet related heart disease.

When nutritional labeling on food products was introduced, it revolutionized the way people shopped for groceries. Nutritional labeling at chain restaurants will help diners make informed decisions when eating out.