FitSugar

McDonald's and Wendy's Move Toward Cage-Free Eggs

YumSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:00:13 PDT

It's still debatable whether America's in the midst of a food revolution, but a growing number of the country's biggest corporations are focused on promoting natural and local ingredients.

Late last week, McDonald's announced it will take part in a study in conjunction with animal welfare groups, academics, and egg suppliers that compares battery cage-dwelling hens to free-range hens. The following day, Wendy's proclaimed that two percent of its egg purchases will now come from cage-free hens. The response from the animal rights community has been mixed. Although the Humane Society called Wendy's decision "a modest but meaningful step in the right direction," it also maintains McDonald's is only conducting the study to delay reforms in its farming practices.

Both Wendy's and McDonald's have been under fire for failing to change their practices after many other competing chains, such as Burger King, Quizno's, Hardee's, and Denny's, have already converted to using eggs from non-caged hens.

I'm happy to hear that both chains are making a concerted effort to look into free-range eggs - although it's disappointing that only five percent of eggs in North America come from free-range hens. Do you find yourself hopeful or skeptical about the chains' efforts to go cage-free?

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Nellie's Nest Eggs

FitSugar — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:45:00 PDT

The other morning I went to the grocery to pick up some eggs to hard boil so I could decorate them with my girls, and they were out of Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs.

I freaked for half a second, but then noticed another brand right next to them. I picked up a 6-pack of Nellie's Nest Eggs and read the label. Just like my other favorite eggs, Nellie's are also Certified Organic and Certified Humane.

Nellie's Nest Eggs are also Cage Free. Their eggs come from hens that are kept in spacious chicken coops, where they can roam, scratch, perch, and nest as they please. Their hens are fed all natural vegetarian grain with no animal by-products, hormones, or antibiotics.

I was so psyched to find another egg company I could trust and feel happy to support.

Eggs are nutritious, providing 6 grams of protein per egg. One egg also contains approximately 200 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids which are known to have health benefits such as prevention of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Fit's Tips: The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 300 mg of cholesterol a day . One of Nellie's Nest Eggs contains about 215 mg, so it's OK to eat an egg a day for breakfast, as long as you aren't eating it with cholesterol-loaded bacon and sausage too.

Label-Able: Cage Free

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:00:00 PST

The labels on food today were standardized to make it easier for us to figure out what exactly we are putting into our bodies. The fact is, reading labels is still downright confusing so let FIT make you label-able.
Cage Free is a term we see a lot when buying eggs. Sounds healthy, but is it? To find out,

Cage Free basically means exactly how it sounds. The hens are not kept in cages, but that does not mean they are kept outside or even humanely. Not being caged means that the bird still can engage in its natural behavior, but there is no regulation or audit process for debeaking the birds and forced molting (through starvation).

Fit's Tip: When it comes to animal rights, Cage Free eggs are more humane than ordinary eggs, but when it comes to your health Cage Free eggs do not have any proven health benefits from those of ordinary eggs.

The Truth About 5 Confusing Foods

Prevention — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:26:43 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Even the most nutrition-savvy women can get lost in the headlines. Here's what you really need to know.

By Sharon Liao, Prevention

You heard that eggs can be high in cholesterol, so you dutifully switched to whole grains for breakfast. Next, you swapped out red meat for fish - only to later learn that fish can contain dangerous levels of mercury . . . and eggs may not harm your heart after all. "With all of the different reports and headlines, it’s no wonder that many people get confused," says Angela Ginn, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of Real Talk Real Food in Baltimore, MD. To help you make sense of these and other health head-scratchers, we consulted our experts and sifted through the research. Here, the new bottom line on a few "health" foods.

1. Potatoes
This starchy veggie has a bad rap among dieters, but that’s because people tend to consume it in the form of greasy french fries, chips, and buttery mashed potatoes, says Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, of NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, IL. "When prepared the right way, potatoes are a nutritious food," she says. One medium potato, for instance, delivers five grams of fiber and nearly 20 percent of your daily quota for heart-healthy potassium.

Bottom line: Skip the fried versions and opt for baked or boiled potatoes. For an even healthier option, choose vitamin A-rich sweet potatoes or purple potatoes, which can help lower blood pressure.

Ten Healthy Ways to Splurge

2. Cheese
Hold the cheese? There’s no need if you eat it in moderation. A one-ounce serving delivers 20 percent of all the bone-building calcium that you need in a day, as well as plenty of protein and phosphorus. "The problem is that many people eat much more than one serving in one sitting," explains Sharon Richter, RD, a dietitian in New York City. And at 100 to 125 calories per ounce, that can add up.

Learn how to keep cheese, eggs, and beer in your diet after the break.

Valentine's Day Bouquet Inspiration From Flora Grubb

Elka Karl — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:00:16 PST

If I had my druthers, I'd have fresh flowers in every room of my home year-round. But a standard bouquet of roses simply isn't my taste. When it comes to bouquets, I prefer flowers that embrace the other - grasses, succulents, tillandsia, even carnivorous plants, are all favorites in my bouquets. Thankfully, San Francisco's own Flora Grubb is the go-to resource for beautiful, out-of-the-ordinary arrangements. Flora's on-site floral designer, Susie Nadler, is responsible for the gorgeous bouquets you'll see in the following pages. She's available for events, weddings, and parties.

Additionally, local residents can take advantage of three upcoming events at Flora Grubb, including two free succulent arrangement classes and a fee-based bird cage aerium class. Keep clicking for a look at some unusually gorgeous floral arrangements, as well as a link to the Valentine's Day arrangements Flora Grubb is offering this year!

Leading Egg Supplier Under Fire For Health Violations

Susannah Chen — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:18:40 PST

Have you always pooh-poohed those cage-free, organic eggs sold at the supermarket? Well, read ahead, because a new story may have you thinking twice.

A 20/20 special airing today on ABC shows workers at Iowa-based Sparboe Farms - the fifth-largest shell egg producer in the US and main supplier for eggs at McDonald's - burning off the beaks of young chicks; dead, rotted hens being pulled out of cages; and live chicks being thrown into plastic bags to be suffocated. The footage, caught undercover by animal rights group Mercy for Animals, was powerful enough for McDonald's to announce today that it's broken ties with Sparboe Farms for good.

The FDA also issued a warning letter to Sparboe yesterday, citing 13 violations that could potentially contribute to salmonella contamination. McDonald's has issued a statement maintaining this controversy is "not a food safety issue for our menu items," but it's likely this egg exposé will be one for the books. If you have the stomach to watch the video, tell me: does it surprise you?

Are You Allergic to Wi-Fi? Strange New Illness With Even Stranger Cure

Yahoo Shine — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:56:46 PDT

We're happy to present this article from one of our favorite sites, Yahoo! Shine:

What is this now? An acute Wi-Fi allergy is plaguing five percent of Americans? EHS, or Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity, is a condition defined by headaches, muscle spasms, burning skin and chronic pain.

The cause: over-exposure to mobile phones, wireless internet and the satellites and cell phone towers that keep them pumping.

One sufferer, Diane Schou, described her symptoms to the BBC this way: "My face turns red, I get a headache, my vision changes, and it hurts to think. Last time [I was exposed] I started getting chest pains - and to me that's becoming life-threatening."

To alleviate her discomfort, her husband built her "radio-wave resistant" wooden cage lined in wire mesh to sleep in. When that didn't work, she moved from her Iowa farmhouse to Green Bank, West Virginia. Population 143.

For 13,000 square miles around the town wireless networks are obsolete. The Radio Quiet Zone was originally designed for scientific research, but it's becoming a haven for EHS refugees.

Come on, is this really about radio waves and electromagnetic frequencies?

Skip Crunches and Try These Ab Exercises Instead

Susi May — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 02:35:06 PDT

When you think ab work, the first move that comes to mind is often the classic crunch. This move might tone your middle but it's not so good for your back. Repeatedly rounding the spine in a crunch sets the stage for a disk injury, and the crunch doesn't help your posture either. Neither are crunches functional movements, meaning this movement will not help anywhere but the gym. Have I convinced you yet to try some new moves to tone your tummy?

When talking safety and effectiveness, the best way to work your abs is stabilize your torso against motions. Here are some of my fave ways to work my entire core - front, back and sides.

The elbow plank is the perfect beginner ab exercise, since it works the extensor muscles, which line and stabilize the spine, in combination with the abs. Adding leg lifts to your plank, while keeping the pelvis and ribs stable, will take the plank to the next level. Keeping your torso stable is all about the abs.
Free Weights: Working with free weights, moving from a squat into an overhead press, will work your abs too. Work one-armed to force your obliques to kick into action. Basically, anytime you're working with free weights (dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, etc.), you should pay attention to your abs and they will help keep your form solid.
Medicine Ball: Keeping your torso stable while moving the weighted medicine ball is great for building an integrated core. I like to "write" the alphabet with a four- or six-pound medicine ball while focusing on keep my rib cage centered over my pelvis.
Bridging: You might think of this exercise as strictly a lower body exercise, but once you add a leg lift with your pelvis in the air you start to challenge your abs and core. To keep the pelvis level while raising your knee in glute bridging with knee raise you must work your abs in tandem with your back.

How do you work your abs?

Subway Hopes to Wake Up Breakfast Sales

YumSugar — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:15:48 PDT

Yet another chain is vying for a piece of the pie in the ongoing fast food breakfast wars. Next month, Subway will roll out a breakfast menu, with a focus on low-fat egg and cheese sandwiches.

Options will include a Western egg and cheese; black forest ham, egg, and cheese; double bacon, egg, and cheese; and steak, egg, and cheese, all made with cage-free eggs.

Patrons will be able to customize whether they want egg whites or regular eggs, light whole-wheat English muffins, flatbread, or the chain's signature hoagie bread; and condiments or vegetables available in all other Subway sandwiches.

The breakfast offerings, which are priced from $1.75 for a basic English muffin melt to $6 for a foot-long breakfast sandwich, seem to reflect a trend toward personalized morning food and drinks. Do the new Subway breakfast items seem like something you'd order?

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