Did you know....that cheese isn't yellow?

This post is going to be a lot of fun little factoids about food that I bet you didn't know! It's full of "ah ha!" moments that myself or Sarah or friends of ours have come across in our quest to eat better. Enjoy! ~Briana

Did you know....that cheese isn't yellow?

Think about it--what is cheese made out of? Milk. Have you ever seen yellow milk? Yeah, me either. So why the heck is half of our cheese yellow? Well, it's because it's been tinted with a yellow-orange vegetable DYE called annatto (which can include MSG). It's actually an interesting history lesson as to why this is done!

English farmers first began dyeing cheeses in the 1500's (originally using marigold petals or carrot juice) because the dye made low-fat cheese look more like high-fat cheese, which commanded higher prices. When U.S. commercial cheese production took off in the second half of the 19th century, dyeing with annatto became standard, and today, many supermarket cheddars are still colored to satisfy consumer’s expectations of what cheese should look like.

Did you know....the average cup of vanilla yogurt (yes, even organic) has the same amount of sugar as a Snickers bar?

Here we all were, happily eating our delicious yogurt cups and living in a fantasy land that we were eating healthy. The reality is that a 2 oz. Snickers bar has 28.8 grams of sugar. A 5 oz. cup of Stonyfield organic vanilla yogurt? 27g of sugar. That's an entire ounce of sugar in each, enough to fill a shot glass! GROSS. Read those yogurt labels, Mamas.

Did you know....Conventional Farms use almost 4 times more Antibiotics than humans are dispensed per year?

Yeah, think about that for a minute. Non-organic Livestock farms use 30 MILLION pounds of antibiotics a year. Fewer than 8 million pounds are used per year to treat humans for illnesses. This practice is contributing to our "Super-bug" epidemic-- germs that are untreatable through conventional antibiotic use.

To avoid this, know what you're buying. Anything labeled "Certified Organic", "Certified Humane" and "Animal Welfare Approved" all forbid the use of giving drugs to livestock.

4. Did you know....that this is what's in your Subway chicken and bread?

Sorry Jared, but this doesn't look like a health choice I'll be making. You can keep your Subway sandwiches!

To me, the ingredients on chicken should say "Chicken". Am I right? And how about bread? It should be 5 basic ingredients or less. Fresh bread my a....well, you get the idea.

Did you know....that MSG and Aspartame make your brain self implode?

Ok, ok, so that's a little extreme, but they do something equally horrible. MSG and Aspartame are "Excitotoxins", which means they cause neurons in the brain to excite themselves to death. Yikes.

Do you know....why free range/cage-free chicken eggs are better for you?

Besides the obvious that the chickens have better quality of life, these eggs have 1/3 less cholesterol, 1/4 less saturated fat, twice as many Omega-3's, three times more Vitamin E, and seven times more beta-carotene than commercially produced eggs!

The first time I bought organic eggs my husband made eggs for our breakfast. We also still had one conventionally laid egg in our fridge. He broke both into the pan and said, "Hey! Come look at this. Look at the yolks." Sure enough, the conventional egg had a normal, pale-ish yellow yolk, and the organic egg had a rich yellow/orange yolk. You can literally SEE the difference here.

Did you know....that your fountain soda might contain a hearty dose of poop?

Yes, that's right. Besides the fact that soda is horrible for you (I'll save that post for another time), the International Journal of Food Microbiology showed in a 2010 study that 48% of fountain soda drinks contained fecal bacteria, while 11% contained E.coli. YUM! :(

Did you know....that Cinnamon is AWESOME?

I seriously put cinnamon in anything and everything. Shakes, oatmeal, pancakes, muffins, peanut butter, and breakfast balls. If I can add it in, I do. Why? Well, for starters I think it's delicious. But beyond that, it is a potent antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of blood clots, controls blood sugar, and improves insulin sensitivity. Those last two help prevent fat gain and diabetes! So go grab that cinnamon and add it to your daily routine!

Did you know....that you're going to want to put that vanilla ice cream down --right now. Just trust me.

You're never going to believe where some of your vanilla flavoring originates from. It comes from Castoreum. What's that you ask? Why, it's the fragrant brown slime that gets squeezed out of a beaver's castor sacs. Disgusted yet? I'm not done. Where could these sacs be located? Oh yes, they're in the Beavers anus. Anyone up for a soft serve? I didn't think so.

Did you know....if you buy Starbucks regularly, you've probably drank crushed up bugs.

Until 2012 Starbucks used cochineal extract as the red food coloring in 6 menu items. This seemingly harmless ingredient is actually made from crushed cochineal beetles that are then boiled in AMMONIA.

Also watch out for Carmine and Natural red 4, which are also made from

crushed up bugs.

And last but not least....Did you know....if you want to taste chemicals, you should lick an Apple?

*An apple a day keeps the doctor away.... or does it? If you're eating an organic apple, you're probably right. However, 80% of conventionally grown apples are coated in the chemical Diphenylamine (DPA). It's used to protect the skins from getting "storage scald" while in cold storage. The European Union banned this chemical in 2012 (due to its carcinogen forming qualities), but it is still legal in the U.S.

*And let's not forget strawberries! To keep these low-lying berries pest- and disease-free, growers use fumigants, which have been linked to developmental issues, cancer, and hormone disruption in children.

*Oh, and Grapes as well! Would you believe that a single grape tested positive for 15 pesticides?

*Hey, hey, Celery! You're gross too? This seemingly innocuous vegetable tests high in dicloran and acephate, both possible carcinogens, along with a laundry list of other pesticides and fungicides.

*Sweet and delicious Peaches and Nectarines, what's wrong with you? If you've ever seen a backyard peach tree, you've probably seen peach leaf curl, brown rot, or one of the many other diseases and pests that afflict these trees. Hence the high number of pesticides and fungicides needed to get a high yield of stone fruit to market in unblemished condition. USDA data shows that 96 percent of all peaches and 100 percent of imported nectarines test positive for pesticide residue.

*Popeye ate all his Spinach, but should you? Among the pesticides used on spinach (and lettuce) are acetamiprid and imidacloprid, two pesticides from the family known as neonicotinoids that are know neurotoxins. Neonicotinoids are now restricted in Europe because of their effect on brain development in children.

*Put that bell pepper down unless it's organic! Residues of 15 pesticides were found on bell peppers, among them neurotoxic neonicotinoids, which harm bee colonies as well as people.

*Oh cucumbers, you're the worst! Among the 86 pesticides found on cucumbers were neurotoxins, suspected hormone disruptors, and probable carcinogens. Of particular concern is carbendazim, a fungicide that's considered a probable carcinogen, prompting FDA consumer health warnings.

*Don't be fooled by those cute little cherry tomatoes! The many pesticides and fungicides used to keep tomatoes disease-free include endosulfins, which can pose a danger to the central nervous system.

*Kale, Collards, and Other Leafy Greens....you almost made the cut, but not quite. While the amount of pesticide detected on these greens was not as worrisome as on other produce, the types of pesticides detected were. According to tests by USDA, three insecticides banned from use on most crops—acephate, chlorpyrifos, and oxamyl—were found on kale, collards, and other greens (and on hot peppers), earning them the EWG's Dirty Dozen Plus rating.

Sources:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/10/07/10-most-toxic-commercial-fruits-and-vegetables

www.rodalenews.com

USDA

Mother Earth News

Nutrition Data

Orac