What's Really in a Lot of 'Healthy' Foods

[Guest guest]

A lot of Americans think they're eating a healthy diet these days. But it's

easy to be fooled by our assumptions and the ways that food manufacturers

play on them.

Take chicken. The average American eats about 90 pounds of it a year, more

than twice as much as in the 1970s, part of the switch to lower-fat,

lower-cholesterol meat proteins. But roughly one-third of the fresh chicken

sold in the U.S. is " plumped " with water, salt and sometimes a seaweed

extract called carrageenan that helps it retain the added water. The U.S.

Department of Agriculture says chicken processed this way can still be

labeled " all natural " or " 100% natural " because those are all natural

ingredients, even though they aren't naturally found in chicken.

Producers must mention the added ingredients on the package -- but the

lettering can be small: just one-third the size of the largest letter in the

product's name. If you're trying to watch your sodium to cut your risk of

high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke, it pays to check the Nutrition

Facts label. Untreated chicken has about 45 to 60 mgs of sodium per

four-ounce serving. So-called enhanced or " plumped " chicken has between 200

and 400 mgs of sodium per serving, almost as much as a serving of fast-food

french fries.

Adding salt water became widespread when big discount stores began selling

groceries and wanted to sell chicken at uniform weights and prices. Plumping

packaged chicken helps even out the weight. But that means consumers are

paying for added salt water at chicken prices -- an estimated $2 billion

worth every year, according to the Truthful Labeling Coalition, a group of

chicken producers that don't enhance their products.

Makers of enhanced chicken, including some of the biggest U.S. producers,

say many consumers prefer it in blind taste tests and that it stays moister.

Ray Atkinson, a spokesman for Pilgrim's Pride, says the company sells both

enhanced and unenhanced chicken because consumers ask for it. He also notes

that even at 330 mg of sodium, the enhanced chicken qualifies for the

American Heart Association's mark of approval.

A survey released this week from Farms, a member of the Truthful

Labeling Coalition, found that 63% of consumers are unaware of the practice,

and 82% believe that salt-water-injected chicken shouldn't carry the

all-natural label. The telephone survey polled 1,000 consumers on the West

Coast.

Here are some other foods that may not be as healthy as they appear.

Rest of article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148395729085669.html

--

Ortiz, MS RD

A Healthy Body is a Terrible Thing to Waste

Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate

Need to lose weight - read a few of these everyday:

http://www.glasbergen.com/fit.html