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Deeply engrossed in Deep Nutrition: Why Our Genes Need Traditional Food by Catherine Shanahan, MD on a plane ride to NYC, I could feel the woman sitting next to me glancing at the pages.
Earlier in our flight, her travel partner got out a bag of Red Vines to snack on. She refused initially, but towards the end of the flight, asked for a piece of licorice. As he handed her all but one remaining piece left in the bag, she turned over to check out the nutrition label, balking at the work he had done on the bag. (Maybe she thought I was judging?)
“Mark, do you know this bag of licorice has, like, 800 calories?”
I couldn’t help but steal a quick glance at the nutrition facts myself… nevermind the calories; 4 pieces has a whooping 34g of carbs.
Corn syrup?
Glucose syrup, the alternative name, is a food syrup made from corn and other starches, andcontains mainly glucose sugar. It is used in processed foods as a cheap alternative to cane sugar, and softens texture, adds volume, enhances flavor .
Translation? Corn syrup is a form of sugar, and consuming sugar can lead to
As the first listed ingredient, that means Red Vines have sugar as its main ingredient. No bueno.
Wheat Flour?
While wheat flour is touted as a great source of dietary fiber, it contains gluten, an allergen affecting about 1/3 of the population. Its consumption is and an , also containing other anti-nutrients like and lectins, which prevent the bioavailability of nutrients and cause and/or metabolic issues, respectively.
Screams inflammation to me…
Citric acid?
This actually is a weak organic acid, and a natural preservative!
Artificial Flavor / Red 40?
Red 40 is one of the most commonly and controversially used food dyes. According to a recent published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI),
“Red 3 and Citrus Red 2 should be banned under the Delaney amendment, becausethey caused cancer in rats… as should Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, which are tainted with cancer-causing contaminants.”
Enough said.
Some Takeaways?
If you’re hungry, eat. real. food. If you’re craving sweets, eat real food. Just because processed food is easy, it doesn’t mean it’s good for you. At all.
Check nutrition labels. (Can you pronounce all the ingredients?)
If it doesn’t grow in the ground or have a mother, it probably doesn’t deserve to be eaten.
And before technological, medical and science advancements, no one “counted calories.” Food was nourishment, sustenance, medicine… treat it as such, and it will fuel your body, soul and mind.
To conclude, if you ever see a man named Mark eating Red Vines on an airplane, drop him some knowledge and buy him a real, red apple that actually grows on a vine!
Note: Jules’ Fuel uses affiliate links in some blog posts. If you make a purchase using one of these links, which costs the same either way, it’s a very, very small way to help me cover the cost of running this website. So, thanks!
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