There’s a lot of talk about foods preventing illness, and more and more people are trying to eat healthy.  But what about foods curing, maybe not illnesses, per se, but certain conditions?  Maybe you’re pantry is your new medicine cabinet.  It’s an interesting thought, right?  If you try any of these home remedies on for size, let us know if they work!

Pork and Beans for PMS?  Thiamine and riboflavin are B vitamins and as such are said to help prevent PMS (according to research by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst), and pork and beans are rich in both of these!  And while you may be thinking that supplements are even easier, according to this study, supplements aren’t as effective at preventing PMS as natural sources.  Apparently, women who consume 1.9 milligrams per day of thiamine and 2.5 milligrams of riboflavin had a 25 to 35 percent lower risk of developing PMS than women who consumed less.  Interestingly, they didn’t see the same results when the women took supplements.  Luckily for you, pork and beans are a great source of both.  If you eat a 3-ounce serving of the meat and a cup of beans regularly, you’ll be getting the right amount to fend off cramps and other PMS symptoms.

Eat a Pomegranate, Save your Skin?  Pomegranates contain ellagic acid which can protect your skin from UVA and UVB-induced cell damage.  You’ll get more benefits from eating whole pomegranates than juices though, so hit the store and buy ‘em fresh!

Eat Liver to Help Your Head?  If you’re plagued by migraines, maybe it’s your liver—or lack of.  Studies show that B vitamin riboflavin looks promising at reducing the frequency of migraines.  Know any good sources of vitamin B riboflavin?  It just so happens that beef liver is rich in riboflavin.  Unfortunately, not rich enough to reach the 400 grams of riboflavin that you need everyday to fight migraines.  So, eat your liver, but dish up more foods rich in riboflavin too, like dairy products and veggies.  If you have lots of headaches, consider adding a supplement as well.

And finally…

Eat Asparagus, Prevent a Hangover?  Did you know asparagus contains enzymes that help break down alcohol and prevent hangovers?  If you have meal of asparagus before a night on the town, the benefits are two-fold: You’ll get all of those great enzymes and your stomach will be full before your night out.  So, steam it, grill, put it on a salad, but get your asparagus!

Did you know that everyday you’re likely eating foods that have been banned in other countries, mostly because they contain ingredients that other countries have deemed unhealthy?  It’s true, and while lots and lots of food choices contain ingredients that you don’t want to ingest, you may not be taking the time to check labels, etc.  It’s not always easy to know what’s bad and what’s just a more scientific name for an otherwise innocuous ingredient.  So, we’re going to give you a list of a few things to watch out for and hopefully avoid.

Farm-Raised Salmon:  You might be thinking, “Hold the phone! I thought salmon was good for me!”  It is, but in the case of farm-raised salmon, the fish are fed a diet that is unnatural to them and so it leaves their flesh a kind of grayish color.  In the wild, salmon get their pretty pink color from the natural carotenoids in their diet—and that’s how you recognize salmon, right?  So, if the fish don’t have that color because they aren’t eating food naturally rich in carotenoids, what do you do?  You feed them something (synthetic astaxanthin made from petrochemicals) that makes them turn a reddish-pink.  What to do if you want your salmon but you don’t want a fish raised on a cocktail of chemicals and antibiotics?  Look for wild caught Alaskan or Sockeye Salmon and you should be safe.  Most salmon labeled “Atlantic” salmon is farm-raised.  Another tip:  Sockeye salmon is bright red and very lean, so the white stripes of fat that you see will be very thin.  If you’re looking at a lighter pink fish with wider white stripes of fat, you’re probably looking at a farm-raised salmon.  Farm-raised salmon is banned in Australia and New Zealand.

Brominated Vegetable Oil (or BVO):  Originally patented by chemical companies as a flame retardant it now colors many common beverages.  It can be found in Mountain Dew, some other citrus flavored sodas and sports drinks.  This little chemical has been shown to  bioaccumulate in human tissue and breast milk; studies in animals involving large doses have shown reproductive and behavioral problems.  Do your research on this one; there are a host of other problems linked to this additive.  Originally, the FDA classified BVO’s safety as ‘generally recognized as safe’, but they’ve since turned back a bit and define it as an ‘interim food additive,’ a category reserved for possibly questionable substances used in food.  BVO has been banned in Europe and Japan.

Olestra/Olean:  A calorie and cholesterol-free fat substitute used in fat-free snacks like chips and French fries.  Lots of people look at foods that say “fat free” and get excited—they can eat junk food but it’s healthy.  Not so fast.  Remember those phrases, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” and “Nothing comes for free”?  Please apply them here.  You’ve dropped the fat, sure, but you’ve added synthetic chemicals.  Time Magazine called it “One of the Worst 50 Inventions Ever” and had this to say about Olestra/Olean:

“Not only did a 2011 study from Purdue University conclude rats fed potato chips made with Olean gained weight, there have been several reports of adverse intestinal reactions to the fake fat including diarrhea, cramps and leaky bowels. And because it interferes with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K, the FDA requires these vitamins be added to any product made with Olean or olestra.”

Olestra/Olean has been banned in the UK and Canada.

Next week we’ll bring you a few more foods to think twice about, but in the meantime, take a look, read some labels, do some research.  What do you think about foods that have been banned in other countries?  Should the FDA take another look at them?

We all know that consumers are becoming more aware and wary of what goes into their bodies.  They’re asking questions, reading labels, and researching food-related topics more than ever before.  Organic food has been rising in popularity despite carrying price tags that are generally higher than their non-organic counterparts, but it seems that people are losing faith in their “organic” labels and beginning to look more at foods that are “natural.”

What’s that mean, you’re asking?  It goes back to the label reading that I mentioned before. Natural foods usually have far fewer ingredients than your average packaged foods, which probably means fewer additives and preservatives.  Natural foods have the core building blocks of a specific food product—and that’s it.  One simple example: apple sauce.  We looked specifically at Mott’s Original Apple Sauce and Mott’s Original Natural Apple Sauce.  Mott’s Original Apple Sauce has these ingredients listed: APPLES, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C).  If you look at the ingredients for Mott’s Original Natural Apple Sauce you’ll find one less ingredient—no high fructose corn syrup, so essentially, the applesauce is unsweetened.  A lot of people are very wary of high fructose corn syrup, so the “natural” label is important to them.  This is just one simple example.

According to Amy Sousa, senior research analyst at The Harman Group and co-author of the research firm’s Organic and Natural 2012 Report, “Organic is important, but it really comes down to ingredient lists more and more.  Consumers really want fresher, less processed, more natural foods, and the more that ingredient list is clean, … the more enthusiasm consumers will have.”  Brown Bag can certainly get behind that way of thinking.  What about you?

The Organic and Natural 2012 report has some interesting info, as well.  According to this report, 60 percent of guests said that their impression of a quick serve restaurant would improve if they offered organic products.  Going further, Sousa states that brands that adhere to a larger social responsibility (whether it be serving natural products, sourcing sustainable proteins, etc.) can actually mean more to consumers than the word organic.  So, maybe we’re not only becoming healthier but more environmentally aware as well.

There is a distinction that’s important to make between organic and natural though.  Organic labeling has certain standards set by the USDA, “natural” does not.  Let’s go back for a minute to that apple sauce.  If you buy organic apple sauce, then you know that the apples used to make the sauce were held to a set of standards by the USDA, and they were produced without pesticides, etc.  This same apple sauce might still be sweetened.  Does that mean that now you have to look for “Organic, Natural Apple Sauce?”  Not necessarily.  Just read the label.  Earth’s Best Organic Apple Sauce has these ingredients: Organic apples, water, ascorbic acid.  The word natural is not part of its title.

There are some foods, and apples are one of them, that are on the Dirty Dozen list (a list compiled yearly of the fruits and veggies that retain the most pesticide residues).  It’s recommended that people always eat organic apples and apple PRODUCTS (that means apple sauce, apple juice, etc.).  This is also something to take into consideration when choosing your food.

Why does eating well have to be so complicated?  Who knows.  It’s a complex world.  Our best advice when choosing your food—be aware, be informed and read labels.  And come see us at Brown Bag!  We promise to always give you exactly what you’ve asked for and the most straight-forward and honest choices around.

This chart can be found at http://www.stonyfield.com/why-organic/organic-vs-natural