What do vegans don't eat is easier to answer than what do they eat. Vegans don't eat food that are derived from or created by animals. Here is a simple list of foods that vegans don't eat and reasons why. I knew vegans don't eat animal products.

But did you know that vegans don't eat marshmallows??? I had no idea.

Here are the list of ten things vegans don't eat, according to Shine.

What Vegans Don't Eat

1. Meat. - obviously, yes.

2. Fish and shellfish - for obvious reasons they don't eat the whole fish or shellfish but for this reason, Omega-3 Fish Oil supplements are also off limits, as well as calcium if they are derived from shells of shellfish.

3. Dairy products. - everything from milk and yogurt to cheese and butter.

4. Eggs. - that means mayonnaise and anything else made with eggs like Caesar salad dressing (it also contain anchovies,) most baked goods, and some sauces like Hollandaise sauce.

5. Honey. - Bees are animals. Bees make honey. Vegans don't eat it.

6. White sugar. - Some white sugar is processed with bone char, according to PETA. (I had no idea!!)

7. Most beer. - Guinness Beer is filtered using tiny amounts of gelatin derived from fish bladders. While some beers are vegan, others are filtered using egg whites or sea shells, according to barnivore, a vegan beer and wine guide.

8. Some breads. - while many simple breads are a-OK, containing just four ingredients (flour, yeast, water, and salt) many breads and baked goods are made with whey (a dairy product) or with butter, eggs, or sugar.

9. Marshmallows. - these and other foods, like gummy candies and Frosted Mini Wheats cereal, are made with gelatin -- a protein made from boiling skin, bones, and other animal parts. Surprisingly, though, a lot of junk food qualifies as vegan, even if it is unhealthy.

10. Salad dressing. Salads are great for vegans, but not necessarily the dressing. Scan the ingredient list, and you'll often find lecithin, which helps keep oil and vinegar from separating, and can be derived from animal tissues or egg yolk (both no-no's for vegans) or from soy (OK). Again, Caesar salad dressing has egg yolk and anchovies.

Some surprising foods that are NOT vegan are:

1. Kimchi (many store bought ones contain fermented shrimp or fish sauce. But my homemade Authentic Korean Kimchi recipe doesn't use fermented shrimp or fish sauce so you can always make it at home! Fermented shrimp or fish sauce is optional if you can't eat it.
2. Miso Soup - many miso soups use fish soup base
3. Chocolate - as obvious as they may sound, chocolate contain dairy or sugar (see above)
4. Candy - contains sugar (again, see above)
5. Red foods - may contain an ingredient called carmine or cochineal or carmic acid, which is derived from an insect, cochineal scale.

I've always washed my produce - organic or conventional - with Environne's Fruit and Vegetable Wash. Compared to just using tap water to wash, fruit washes seem to make them cleaner...to me, anyway.

But today's NY Times's article tell me otherwise. Really???

According to the article, scientists at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in 2000, "tap water “significantly reduced” residues of 9 of 12 pesticides, and it worked as well as soap and wash products, the studies found." And in 2003, University of Florida's study on E. Coli on fresh strawberries determined that 10% vinegar solution eliminated bacteria by 90 percent and viruses by 95%.

No kidding!!

Apparently, it's really the rubbing action that causes pesticide elimination and not the water or the detergent. And when you add 10% vinegar to the action, it kills most of the bacteria and viruses.....according to the article.

Now this DOES NOT mean, I won't be buying organic fruits and vegetables. I still want to eat sustainably and want my fruits and vegetables to be chemical free and not genetically engineered. But now I know a cheaper and just as effective way to wash them.

10% vinegar solution!

How I wash my produce

I spray produce with the vinegar and rub vigorously before rinsing it. For large quantities, like a bushel of apples or baskets of berries, I fill the sink or a large bowl with water and about ¼ C of white vinegar, let the fruits soak for a couple of minutes before rinsing.

How do you wash your produce?

Hope you enjoyed the first 25 ways to eat sustainably.

Here are 25 more ways.

1. 1. Save that Cooking Water - I have to admit, I never do this but what a great idea! When you blanch or steam vegetables, use the nutrient rich water to boil pasta or water the plant! (only if it doesn't have oil or salt)
   2. EAT SAFER SEAFOOD! Any WILD fish from Alaska is SAFE to eat - Salmon (recipe), Alaskan Halibut, etc. And demand non-GE salmon.
   3. Anything in a shell like Mussels, clams and oysters are almost always sustainably raised.
   4. WILD AMERICAN shrimp.
   5. Local varieties - Dungenes crabs from the Northwest (I've eaten Dungenes at Dungenes Pit in Sequim, WA and it. is. to. die. for!) or line-caught striped bass and haddock from the Northeast, and so on.
   6. Buy sustainably and ethical canned tuna - American albacore is the only canned variety that's certified to be sustainably fished.
   7. Use honey instead of sugar. It takes a huge amount of resources to process sugar. Use local, sustainably raised honey as a sweetener.
   8. Plant more than just flowers. Plant herbs. They are so easy to take care of and you will undoubtedly use up whatever you plant.
   9. Compost your kitchen waste. No need for explanation on this one.

1. Limit yourself to two appliances in the kitchen - and use them. My microwave oven broke, oh..., about three months ago. I think. I can't even remember when. That's how much I DON'T miss it. It is amazing. Now, I only cook with the stove top and am just finishing using the outdoor BBQ. I try not to bake that much so that I don't use the oven that often -- although I did make homemade granola today, thanks to Becky's inspirational Glue & Glitter's delicious granola recipe. Anyway, but you'll realize how you really don't need too many appliances in the kitchen to cook.
2. Drink fair-trade-certified and sustainable coffee. - you can also look for "bird friendly" or the Rainforest Alliance label, which means the beans were grown responsibly. Brew it at home with a French Press (I love my Frieling Stainless French Press.
3. Buy organic olive oil. Buy American variety to save money and to support American made.
4. Make your own vinaigrette and don't buy commercial salad dressing. Homemade salad dressing stored in a corked glass bottle in the fridge will keep for a week.
5. Make your own stock with leftover meats and vegetables for later use.
6. Buy WHOLE free-range organic chickens. Cut it up yourself to get more meat for the money.
7. Fill up the oven. If I have to use the oven to cook a meal, I always cook roasted vegetables or baked side dish to go with it. Why waste all that heat when you can cook something else while the main entree is being baked.
8. Pick healthier pots and pans. I do not have any non-stick pans or pots. I threw them out years ago. I love my Stainless Steel Cookware Set for every day use. I also have a cast iron skillet that my hubby bought one a few years ago for $20 and we love it! They are all healthier than the non-stick pans that are coated with Teflon - PFOA - substance made from petroleum and gives off carcinogens when heated in high temperature. (It can kill certain birds when heated in high temperatures)
9. Have a green BBQ. I know BBQ season is over but if you are into charcoal briquettes, try the carbon-neutral Green Hearts Natural Charcoal Briquettes made of wood. So much greener than charcoal briquettes.
10. Buy grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free meats. Be a smarter carnivore and skip the meats that have been raised with antibiotics and hormone.
11. Choose domestic meats. In other words, buy American lambs and not New Zealand lambs that are actually from New Zealand. Imagine how much carbon footprint it took to get here.
12. Eat meat seasonally. I didn't know this but just like eating produce seasonally, there is a season for meats too...like turkey at Thanksgiving - the birds mature in the fall, lamb in spring and goose at Christmas.
13. Use natural wax paper. Use it instead of aluminum foil or plastic wrap. It's compostable, reusable when wiped down, and can be taped down with masking tape.
14. Buy glass containers or reuse glass jars or bottles. I don't use plastic containers anymore and I think the foods taste better too when stored in glass containers. I also have stainless containers for storing foods. Use either option and toss the plastics. Recycle them. Reuse them for storing non-food items. And DO NOT ever microwave plastic. 'Microwave safe' label only means the plastic will not melt when microwaved. It does NOT mean food is safe for human consumption after being microwaved in it.
15. Wrap with dish towels and don't use plastic wrap for covering foods.
16. Pack your lunch for the family. So much packaging is wasted on buying fast foods or even healthy meals outside the home. Pack your own lunch in your own lunch totes and bags. There are so many pretty and durable options available now.

Hope you enjoyed this list of 50 ways of eating sustainably. Just in case you missed it, here are the first 25 Ways to Eat Sustainably.

Even if you don't do all of them, try to make a goal of doing at least one more every day. It will make a huge difference, not only for your family's health, but for the health of your kids' future.

Here are some more healthy eating related posts you might like:

• The dirty dozen - a list of foods you should DEFINITELY buy organic and another dozen you don't have to - from Environmental Working Group.
• 11 Things I never Buy to be Safe and Save Money. - why waste money when you can skip buying some of these?
• Dirty secrets from the restaurant industry experts - some you know and some might surprise you
• Make your own homemade laundry detergent - it's SAFE and CHEP!
• 7 foods even food experts won't eat.  - you might know some of them already but some, you might not.

Compost Image: CC image via Flickr by normanack

With my disappointment about genetically engineered salmon being pushed to be approved for food (and a slew of other disappointing news about food regulations), I wanted to change my gear into thinking more positive ways of eating and revisiting the ways to eat more sustainably. Although you probably know most of it, I figured, it wouldn't hurt to check the list again.

25 Ways to Eat Sustainably:

1. Use the WHOLE vegetable - the stalk, leaves, the whole kit and kaboodle.
2. Get to the root - buy loose vegetables and not the factory 'boxed' kinds.
3. Be a farmers' market regular and get staples - onions, potatoes, herbs, etc. that you always use and need
4. Buy Heirloom - def. of heirloom - crop from seeds that have been passed down for generations, grown in small crops that may restore the health of the soil. I think this is so much healthier for us and the planet, don't you think?
5. Stock up - buy in bulk when in season and freeze, pickle or preserve it. Use BPA free glass storage containers to store food and avoid plastics.
6. Get advice - for recipes from farmers
7. Challenge yourself - use up week's worth of meal.
8. Local is always the priority. If you can't buy local, buy organic.
9. Buy local eggs - with recent recalls of millions of factory eggs due to Salmonella outbreak, need I say more?
10. Use your basement to keep your hardy vegetables - like squash, sweet potatoes, beets, turnips, and rutabagas. They will keep up to six months in temperatures 40∘F  or below. Store them as close to the time they were harvested as possible - preferably unwashed, green tops will attached and packed in sawdust or moist peat moss.



11. Get farm-fresh food delivered - CSA. If you can't use up one portion, go in on it with a friend of a neighbor.
12. Be packaged conscious - when buying food from the supermarket, be conscientious of packaging. Buy loose and no packaging when possible. Recycled or recyclable next.
13. Buy organic milk  - Not all organic milks are created equal. Check your brand at sustainable.org and opt for antibiotic and rBGH-free (no artificial bovine growth hormones)
14. Use unprocessed grains. - Go for brown rice, barley, quinoa or farro. they are healthier for you too. Better yet, go for buckwheat as they can improve soil quality. (Of course, be mindful of arsenic levels and go for brands that have lower levels.)
15. Cook with dry beans - buy dry beans, soak them overnight. You'll cut cooking time, save money, and energy usage in half!
16. Read labels. Don't buy any packaged foods that have more than five ingredients or ingredients you cannot pronounce, nothing artificial, and no cartoons on the package.
17. Freeze organic berries - when they are in season. Berries are on top of the organic foods to buy list. Buy them when they are in season and freeze them to have in the winter.
18. Make your own seltzer - Buy a soda stream machine and make your own seltzer to avoid all the chemicals that are in commercial sodas. We don't buy seltzer waters anymore since my review of Soda Stream. It is great for keeping soda bottles out of the landfill and  making delicious fruit spritzers.
19. Buy local bread - buy bread from your local bakery or farmers market. It comes without packaging, it will be fresher, and the chances are, it will have fewer ingredients.
20. Make homemade breadcrumbs and croutons. Why buy packaged ones when you can make them with stale bread so easily by baking them and making them into crumbs or croutons yourself?



21. Read PLU codes - PLU is an international Price Look Up system for labeling produce. It's a lot more complicated than I'd (or you'd) want to know but just remember; any item with PLU codes starting with '9' is organic, '4' is conventional, '3' is local, and '8' is GMO.
22. Become friends with local growers and fishermen so you can find out what's being picked or caught. You'll know where your food comes from. I know my fish monger, grass fed and finished meat rancher, and organic herb grower at the farmers market.
23. Cut out processed corn. THIS is a biggie. Avoid buying items with corn or corn-based substances (corn oil, cornstarch, or corn syrup) as ingredients. According to the USDA, at least 85 percent of the corn grown in this country has been genetically modified, meaning the plants were altered to make them more pest resistant.
24. Eat more REAL corn. Ask your farmer if he uses GMO corn seeds (or from Monsanto's roundup seeds).
25. Wash vegetables submerged in a basin with vinegar and water for ten minutes. It'll clean any thing that you don't want to ingest. And I'll leave you at that but inegar and water soak WORKS! You don't need any fancy fruit washes.

View 25 more ways ----> HERE.

I thought deciphering egg carton labels was hard. Trying to figure out if an egg is contaminated with Salmonella is im-po-ssi-ble.

Over 300 million eggs have been recalled after hundreds of people were sickened by eating eggs contaminated with Salmonella.

How many times have we heard this type of story line before? Ugh.

Wright County Eggs of Galt, Iowa voluntarily recalled over 300 million eggs after 266 illnesses and many more were found to be related to the eggs since June, possibly earlier. Minnesota had seven illnesses, Colorado saw 28 cases in June and July. Suspicious cases have also been reported in Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.

According to AP news...

This particular Salmonella outbreak seems to be related to restaurants in California, Colorado, Minnesota and North Carolina. They are not necessarily breakfast places — it's possible some got sick from eating a salad dressing that had a raw egg in it, or eating soup with an undercooked egg dropped in... In North Carolina, a cluster of about 80 illnesses in April were linked to meringue-containing chocolate pie and banana pudding served at a Durham barbecue restaurant. Eggs from Wright County Egg were linked to illnesses in the four states. The eggs were distributed around the country and packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp. It wasn't immediately clear when the eggs were produced and distributed.

What is Salmonella?

There are over 2000 different types of Salmonella but about only a dozen cause gastroenteritis, otherwise known as food poisoning. The most common symptoms are cramps and diarrhea but in some cases, fever and headache can also occur. It is not a deadly disease except in some developing countries where Typhoid Fever can occur. Food poisoning symptoms can last from two to seven days and there are no antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella is most often caused by eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs or egg products. The incubation period ranges from several hours to two days, meaning, symptoms can start several hours to two days after you ingest contaminated foods.

How do Salmonella infect the eggs?

Usually, eggs are infected with Salmonella through fecal matter and since Salmonella is present in intestines of humans, animals, including chickens, it can be passed to the eggs when chickens sit on them or during processing the eggs in contaminated facilities, like factory farms. Stringent disinfecting practices since 70's have reduced the number of Salmonella outbreak significantly. But there are other ways eggs can be infected.

Salmonella can infect the host, chicken ovaries, and infect the eggs. And if one chicken is infected, there might others on the farm that might be infected. And the hard part is you can't tell if a chicken has been infected. Harder still, chickens can lay normal eggs and lay one infected egg. So as you can see, it is almost impossible to detect Salmonella outbreak until it's too late. The egg industry regularly tests chickens for Salmonella infection for this reason, but as you can see, nothing is fool proof.

So how can you prevent from eating Salmonella contaminated eggs?

By looking at the egg, you can not tell if it's been contaminated. Also, it doesn't matter if eggs are labeled, "free roaming", "organic", "natural", or "kosher". Salmonella doesn't discriminate. The only 100 % fool proof method of avoiding Salmonella infection is to thoroughly cook the eggs. Do not eat any food products that contain raw eggs like Caesar Salad dressings, sauces, and even Meringue Pies (if not cooked thoroughly). Since thoroughly cooking the eggs kills the bacteria, it makes sense to eat ONLY cooked eggs. Also, if you see recalls for certain brands, you have to adhere to the recall and throw out the eggs. What's more difficult is eating out at restaurants since you aren't the one who's cooking the food. Just be mindful of what you are ordering and make sure to ask the server to cook the eggs thoroughly and do not eat foods that require raw eggs or undercooked eggs like Caesar salads and lukewarm foods.

Just sayin'

Since I became a vegetarian two months ago, I thought eggs can be a source of protein for me but after hearing this, I guess eggs are off the list. Even the Hubby said this morning, "Caesar salads are over rated anyway." And do I dare slurp a raw egg from the local farm again? I guess not.

I've been shocked time and time again at the food prices lately. Especially eggs.

I'm so used to buying organic, cage free, I mean, free-roaming, no, "happy" eggs that I don't even flinch, or pay attention to, at the $4/dozen prices. The chickens supposedly roam the farm, without being caged, and eat organic feeds. I buy the same eggs from either at the farmers market ($4/dz) or from Whole Foods ($3.99 to $4.99). But the other day, I ran out of eggs but didn't want to drive to Whole Foods so I went to a local supermarket. I stared at the huge egg section and got lost. The prices and the variety of eggs just got me so confused. I thought there were just 'caged' or 'cage free' and 'organic' or 'conventional'.

But no. There were: cage-free, free-roaming, pasture, organic, omega-3, free-range, vitamin added, and farm-raised. Arggghhhhh.....and all the different prices!! (And why should my life be easy?) I just picked up a half dozen organic eggs ($3.99/half dz) and drove home, shaking my head in disbelief that buying eggs was this difficult. And expensive!

So, to figure out what all those labels meant, I did some research and found out that eggs are not as simple as they look. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, there are two main categories - Designer and Specialty - and while most common eggs in the US are white eggs from the While Leghorns, there are myriad of different ways to raise or feed the animals, resulting in all those confusing varieties.

Here are what those terms mean:

DESIGNER EGGS: to put it simply, these are eggs the content has been modified from the standard egg. You may not see some of these on your store shelves but they do exist.

Vitamin content: Currently, vitamins, A and E, are receiving the most interest as components of designer eggs. The vitamin content of the egg is variable because the hen absorb different vitamins into the egg with different efficiency. So although, the hens were fed with vitamins, and the label might indicate vitamin contents, there is no guarantee that the eggs actually contain those vitamins.

Lowered cholesterol: In order for a company to claim a reduce amount of a nutrient the product must have 25 percent less than the normal product standards for that nutrient. A large egg contains approximately 200 - 220 mg of cholesterol. Egg cholesterol is found only in the yolk. By genetics, some chickens lay smaller yolked eggs so naturally, those eggs contain lower cholesterol. But there are artificial ways to lower cholesterol in the eggs and that's by diet and pharmacological intervention (drugs). Drugs have been successful in lowering egg cholesterol by as much as 50% but those drugs are not yet approved by the FDA for commercial use. Chromium supplementation to laying hen diets at concentrations of less than 1 ppm have been shown to lower egg cholesterol and also improve egg interior quality. But the researches have shown that most effective way to lower cholesterol content is by feeding a special all-vegetarian diet that is higher in protein and fiber, and enriched in vitamin E.

Fat and fatty acid content: Altering the total fat content in the diet of the hen has little effect on the total fat content of the egg yolk. However, the fatty acid profile (or the ratios of the different types of fatty acids) of egg yolk lipid can easily be changed, simply by changing the type of fat used in the diet. Different feeds, such as flax seed (linseed), safflower oil, perilla oils3, chia4, marine algae, fish, fish oil, and vegetable oil have been added to chicken feeds to increase the omega-3 fatty acid content in the egg yolk. They typically have a darker yellow yolk. Canola oil is commonly used to alter the ratio of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids.

Pharmaceuticals: New biotechnology is being used to develop genetically modified chickens that produce compounds that can be harvested from the eggs. These compounds include insulin for the treatment of diabetes. The hen, like all animals, produces antibodies to neutralize the antigens (viruses, bacteria, etc.) to which she is exposed to each day. These antibodies circulate throughout her body and are transferred to her egg as protection to the developing chick. Immunologists are taking advantage of the fact that the hen can develop antibodies against a large array of antigens and concentrate them in the egg. Specific antigens are now being selected and injected into the hen who develops antibodies against them. As new biotechnology knowledge is gained in this area, designer eggs in the future may be produced that result in a range of antibodies for treatment against snake venoms to the countering of microorganisms which cause tooth decay.

So, are we confused yet? Wait. There's more.

SPECIALTY EGGS:

The majority of eggs come from caged in hens - some in deplorable conditions. There are some advantages to caging of hens for the birds, consumers and producers. The separation of birds from their feces can reduce the risk of diseases and infections. Working conditions for producers are often better with cages - reducing the amount of physical labor, and dust and ammonia are usually less prevalent. Eggs are laid on the sloping floor of the cage so that there is minimal contact between the egg and the hen which decreases the possibility of bacterial contamination of the egg.

With regard to the welfare of the laying hens, cages have both advantages and disadvantages. While there are claims that keeping the birds somewhat separated from a huge flock, reduces fighting among the birds, there are arguments that state that caging the birds all the time creates deplorable conditions where diseased and sometimes dead birds are mixed in with live birds. There's also the inhumane treatment of the caged birds by debeaking - searing off their beaks or cutting them in a machine so that they don't peck and kill each other.

The modern egg farms are so automated now that with this system, they are able to process unseen number of eggs a day. You can see how chicken farm is far from the idyllic picture of hens roaming, and laying eggs in their coop at their own pace and will. Furthermore, who can forget this recent undercover video from Mercy for Animals of Hy-Line North America workers throwing live male chicks into the grinder, just because male chicks don't lay eggs and are not profitable since they grow too slow to sell them as poultry meat. That's destroying 50% of the chicks.

Cage-Free or Free-Roaming: These eggs are laid by birds that are not caged. But, "cage-free" does not mean that the birds are raised outdoors. Typically the birds are maintained on the floor of a poultry house. Often the packaging of "cage-free" eggs can mislead the consumer about the product they are purchasing. It is common to see designs on the egg cartons including chickens roaming free outdoors. This is not the case with "cage-free" eggs. The hens are still maintained indoors, just not in cages.

Free-range: These are the eggs from hens that are allowed to graze or roam outdoors. It is not necessary, however, for the hens to be outdoors all the time. In other words, the hens, housed in a poultry house that has access to the outdoors, have the ability to go outdoors during the day, although they can also choose to stay indoors. The flock is usually locked indoors at night to protect the hens from predators. There is no set standard on how much range must be available for the hens. This means, they can stay outside for five minutes or for five hours.

Pasture-raised: This is a modified "free-range" system. The birds remain on pasture all the time, but are confined within a portable pen. The pen is moved daily to give the birds access to fresh pasture. The portable pen usually has a portion covered to protect the hens from the elements.

Organic: To be certified organic, the eggs must be produced from hens that have been fed certified-organic feed which was produced without synthetic pesticides or herbicides, antibiotics, or genetically-modified crops. In addition, no synthetic pesticides can be used to control external and internal parasites. However, organic eggs can come from chickens that were given antibiotics in the event of an infection. Most commercial chickens are given antibiotics routinely, without an infection. Also, typically, organic eggs are also produced from hens in cage-free systems.

Fertile Eggs: Almost all eggs produced commercially are infertile. Roosters do not have to be present for hens to lay eggs and roosters are, therefore, not kept with laying flocks. When there is an excess of hatching eggs in the poultry meat industry, eggs from broiler breeder flocks can be sold for human consumption. A large percentage of these eggs will be fertile. Fertilized eggs are safe to eat. There is no nutritional difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs. The embryo does not develop in fertilized eggs that are refrigerated soon after laying. (I have seen partially fertilized embryos in eggs before and it is not pleasant to look at)

So now do you see what my problem is? Once I started really caring about the labels slapped onto the egg cartons, (and actually reading them) I realized that there are dizzying array of ways that the eggs are produced. I thought about chickens we raised in our backyard in Korea. I don't remember why we raised them but only that they were like pets. We only had about ten in a large pen big enough for us to walk around in and give them their feeds. I remember collecting warm eggs, that they just laid, in a basket every day. I wish we can raise our own chickens again.

Do you know you can buy a White Leghorn, the most common egg laying hen, for less than two bucks? That's $2 for a indefinite number of fresh eggs!

Hmmm...I wonder what my Home Owners Association would say about clucking hens running around the yard?

Have you thought of raising your own hens? Do you know someone who does?

Did you know that High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) makes you fatter than other sweeteners? No surprise that any sweeteners cause you to gain weight but the latest research at Princeton University confirmed what we suspected all along.

But long before that study was published, people who questioned HFCS’s health benefit, have been flocking to the natural foods aisles at the grocery store to grab Agave nectar as their alternative sweeteners.

But how healthy is agave, really? Is it safe? How does something that tastes that good and that sweet be good for you? I always wondered that. So, I did some digging. It turns out, it is NOT good for you. Surprise! In some cases, Agave is nothing but glorified fructose syrup because some Agave nectar contain between 55% to 90% fructose - that’s higher than the amount of fructose in HFCS!!

What is Agave?

Agaves grow primarily in Mexico, South America, the southern and western United States. Agaves are succulents of the yucca family, more closely related to amaryllis and other lilies. Edible parts of the agave are the flowers, leaves, stalks and the sap. Agave looks like a giant Aloe Vera plant and has a bluish hue. A mature agave can grow to be 7 to 12 feet in diameter with leaves that are 5 to 8 feet tall and there are over 100 species in a wide variety of sizes and colors.

In spite of manufacturer's claims that their agave nectar is straight from the sap of the plant, most agave "nectar" is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from its pineapple-like root bulb. The root has a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules. The process which many agave producers use to convert this inulin into "nectar" is very similar to the process by which cornstarch is converted into HFCS.

Though processing methods can differ among manufacturers, most commercially available agave is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals. Here is a partial list of the chemicals many producers use:

• Activated charcoal
• Cationic and ionic resins
• Sulfuric and/or hydrofluoric acid
• Dicalite
• Clarimex
• Inulin enzymes

These chemicals don’t look natural to me. Do they to you? But most agave nectars are marketed as being “100% Natural”, “raw” and from “Agave’s sap.” They also state how agave has been used as natural sweetener for thousands of years in Mexico. That might have been true but not as this bottled nectar form that has high amounts of fructose.

In a confidential FDA letter, Dr. Martin Stutsman of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Labeling Enforcement, explains the FDA’s food labeling laws related to agave nectar: “Corn syrup treated with enzymes to enhance the fructose levels is to be labeled ‘High Fructose Corn Syrup.’” According to Mr. Stutsman, agave requires the label “hydrolyzed inulin syrup.” Even though, like corn, agave is a starch and fiber food processed with enzymes, it does not require the label “High Fructose Agave Syrup.” Agave “nectar” is a misnomer; at the very least, it should be labeled “agave syrup.” (westonaprice.org)

But do you think Agave would sell if it was labeled “High Fructose Agave Syrup”? I think not.

Saponin Problem:

Another problem I see with agave is that  chemical called saponins are found in many varieties of agave plants. The saponins are toxic steroid derivatives, capable of disrupting red blood cells, producing diarrhea and vomiting, and they might cause or contribute to miscarriage by stimulating blood flow to the uterus. At the very least, agave products should carry a warning label indicating that the product may cause a miscarriage.

Low Glycemic Index?

While high fructose agave syrup may or may not spike your blood glucose levels because it has low glycemic index, the fructose in it may cause mineral depletion, liver inflammation, hardening of the arteries, insulin resistance leading to diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and obesity. Agave's fructose content can range from 55% up to 90%, depending on the processing method used. Agave nectar with 55% fructose is about the same as high fructose corn syrup so there would be no benefit in agave at 55% fructose over sugar. Furthermore, Agave and sugar have approximately the same number of calories….about 16 per teaspoon. So, agave being low glycemic index food doesn't mean that it's good for diabetics.

So, now you know.

Some new sweeteners like agave syrup were introduced into the market to make a profit, not to make consumers healthy. Clever marketing has led many consumers to believe that agave syrup is a safe and a natural sweetener. Agave syrup labels do not conform to FDA labeling requirements, thus deepening the false illusion of an unprocessed product. If a sweetener contains manufactured fructose, through chemical process as in HFCS and agave, it is neither safe, nor natural…especially if fructose level is over 55%.

If you want something that's naturally sweet, the best bet is to have a piece of fruit, not a candy bar labeled as a “health food.” If you want to create something sweet, use sweeteners that are known to be safer, like locally produced raw honey or local organic maple syrup.

I know how you feel. You are wondering, "What will I use in my morning java?" I used to use agave nectar for my coffee in the morning myself since I stopped using all forms of sugar. Now I have to get used to the taste of honey in my coffee. It's an acquired taste but I guess it's better than ingesting all that chemicals from agave.

What do you put in your morning coffee?

Sources:
huffingtonpost.com
westonaprice.org

We try to eat as cleanly as possible and sometimes, it can get daunting. But knowing what some food safety experts won't even eat, it's not hard to be convinced that it's worth effort, Check out this list from prevention magazine and find out how you can avoid some of these foods that they won't even eat.

7 Foods Even Food Safety Experts Won't Eat

1. Canned Tomatoes

According to Fredrick vom Saal, PhD, an endocrinologist who studies bisphenol-A, the resin linings of tin cans contain Bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen that has been linked to ailments ranging from reproductive problems to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unfortunately, acidity, especially tomatoes, causes BPA to leach into your food. Studies show that "you can get 50 mcg of BPA per liter out of a tomato can, and that's a level that is going to impact people, particularly the young," since it's an endocrine disrupter, says vom Saal. "I won't go near canned tomatoes."

And remember my recent post about BPA in toilet paper and I didn't know what to do with a case of my tomato cans? Well, Dr. Saal's statement further proves that I should just throw them away and not even donate them.

Update (Nov. 2011) - The NY Times reported a study by Harvard School of Public Health revealed that after eating canned soup for one week, subjects' BPA levels rose by over 1,200 percent.

How to avoid it: Choose tomatoes in glass bottles (lids do have BPA lining though), such as the brands Bionaturae and Coluccio. You can also get several types in Tetra Pak boxes, like Trader Joe's and Pomi

2. Corn-Fed Beef

Joel Salatin, co-owner of Polyface Farms and author of half a dozen books on sustainable farming says, cattle evolved to eat grass, not grains. But most farmers raise their animals on cheap corn and soybeans, which fatten up the animals faster for slaughter. More money for cattle farmers means a lot less nutrition for us. A recent comprehensive study conducted by the USDA and researchers from Clemson University found that compared with corn-fed beef, grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), calcium, magnesium, and potassium. It's lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. "We need to respect the fact that cows are herbivores, and that does not mean feeding them corn and chicken manure," says Salatin. And according to Food Inc., corn-fed cows are more susceptible to E-Coli colonization in their stomachs, leading to more exposure to E-Coli even before they are slaughtered.

How to avoid it: Buy grass-fed beef, which can be found at farmers' markets, local farms, and at national chain, Whole Foods. Or buy a quarter or half of a cow from a local farmers that raise grass fed meats. Eat Wild is a site that lists all the grass farmers in your state. You can search to see if any of them will ship if you can't go there.

3. Microwave Popcorn

Environmental Working Group studies chemicals extensively and according to its senior scientist, Olga Naidenko, PhD, chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaved chemicals vaporize and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko.

How to avoid it: Pop natural popcorn kernels the old-fashioned way: in a Hot Air Popcorn Maker or read how to pop popcorn on a skillet here. You can add real butter or dried seasonings and it's cheaper too.

4. Non-organic Potatoes

Jeffrey Moyer, chair of the National Organic Standards Board, states that "root vegetables absorb herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides that wind up in soil. The potatoes are treated with fungicides during the growing season, then sprayed with herbicides to kill off the fibrous vines before harvesting. After they're dug up, the potatoes are treated yet again to prevent them from sprouting." Most of the potatoes you buy in the grocery stores won't sprout if you left them alone but organic potatoes will. You can do a science experiment by trying to sprout them to see how they compare. According to Moyer, "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."

How to avoid it: Buy organic potatoes. Washing isn't good enough if you're trying to remove chemicals that have been absorbed into the flesh all those months.

5. Farmed Salmon

When I visited the Northwest with my family, I've seen salmon jump in the river. I've visited a salmon hatchery where they grow them from eggs to be released into the wild. So I know, it's abnormal to raise salmon in crowded pens for food. Besides just the concept of crammed physical component of farmed salmon, the their feed is not what nature intended either. They are fed "soy, poultry litter, and hydrolyzed chicken feathers." As a result, farmed salmon is lower in vitamin D and higher in contaminants, including carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT.

According to David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany and publisher of a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish, the most contaminated fish come from Northern Europe. "You can only safely eat one of these salmon dinners every 5 months without increasing your risk of cancer," says Carpenter. "It's that bad." Preliminary science has also linked DDT to diabetes and obesity, but some nutritionists believe the benefits of omega-3s outweigh the risks. There is also concern about the high level of antibiotics and pesticides used to treat these fish. When you eat farmed salmon, you get dosed with the same drugs and chemicals.

There is also a risk of salmon being GMO salmon.

How to avoid it: Switch to wild-caught Alaskan salmon. If the package says fresh Atlantic, it's farmed.

6. Milk Produced with Artificial Hormones

According to Rick North, project director of the Campaign for Safe Food at the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society, most CAFO milk producers treat their dairy cattle with recombinant bovine growth hormone rBGH or rBST, to boost milk production. But rBGH also increases udder infections and  it may even cause pus in the milk. It leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. In people, high levels of IGF-1 may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers. "When the government approved rBGH, it was thought that IGF-1 from milk would be broken down in the human digestive tract," says North. As it turns out, the casein in milk protects most of it, according to several independent studies. "There's not 100% proof that this is increasing cancer in humans," admits North. "However, it's banned in most industrialized countries."

How to avoid it: But milk that are "rBGH-free, rBST-free, produced without artificial hormones" Or buy organic milk. These are rBGH-free.

7. Conventional Apples

According to USDA's sampling there were 47 pesticide residues found on apples. And there are known toxins for humans and bees. It is the No. 1 produce on the Dirty Dozen list from Environmental Working Group's to avoid every year. Because of the way the fruit is grown, apples have poor resistance to pests so they are sprayed frequently. Mark Kastel, former executive for agribusiness and co-director of the Cornucopia Institute, "Farm workers have higher rates of many cancers." And increasing numbers of studies are starting to link a higher body burden of pesticides (from all sources) with numerous diseases and cancers. It just makes sense to avoid pesticides at all costs. Check out the Dirty Dozen Plus and Clean Fifteen list by EWG so you know what to avoid and what are safe to buy conventional.

How to avoid it: Buy organic apples. If you can't afford organic, be sure to wash and peel them first. And make sure to buy organic apple juice.

Now you know but here are some more you should know!

1. The dirty dozen - a list of foods you should DEFINITELY buy organic and another dozen you don't have to - from Environmental Working Group. Of course, make sure to store them in BPA free glass storage containers to be free of further chemical exposure for foods.
2. 11 Things I never Buy to be Safe and Save Money. - why waste money when you can skip buying some of these?
3. Dirty secrets from the restaurant industry experts - some you know and some might surprise you
4. Make your own homemade laundry detergent - it's SAFE and CHEP!
5. Ways to eat sustainably - eating sustainably for your health and the planet is easy when you keep these tips in mind.

While this post might seem daunting, it is easier for consumers to buy organic and safer foods now a days. So be an educated consumer; shop and store your food wisely.

[All Photos: via Flickr]