Natural Products

I recently attended the natural products expo - Expo East - to check out the latest and greatest edible substances (aka. food, grub, cuisine) on the market. [Natural supplement & body care products also have a place at the show but I will ignore them for the purposes of this blog.]  All products on display were free of artificial ingredients including artificial colors, artificial flavors, synthetic preservatives and hydrogenated oils.  Exhibitors included large multinational conglomerates in the guise of the natural product companies they've acquired for hundreds of millions of dollars (ie. Kellogg's represented by Kashi and Bear Naked), well-established independent brands, and regional entrepreneurs.  Samples and sales pitches were abundant and varied to cater to the needs of practically every lifestyle on the planet.  Raw, vegan, lactose intolerant, gluten-free, low-carb, etc.  You name it; there is a company trying to capitalize on your allergy, dietary preference, weight loss aspiration or medical condition.

Some brands boasted what they didn't contain (ie. gluten, dairy, fat, or calories), while others enticed with functional ingredients (fiber, antioxidants, and omega-3's) they've added to their products to set themselves apart from the competition - and from nature.  At times, it seemed almost too good to be true: high fiber multi-grain chips, carb-free noodles, sugar-free energy drinks, decadent dark chocolate candy containing a day's worth of 15 vitamins & minerals.  I was often let down when I read the ingredient lists of these miraculous products.  The slightest attention to fine print makes it glaringly apparent that natural food manufacturers use many of the same tricks and deceptive marketing tactics that the rest of the marketplace does.

Allow me to pull the wool from from over your eyes...

Boorito 2010

I just stumbled upon this very cute promotion Chipotle is running on Halloween to raise awareness about "The Horrors of Processed Food" and help raise money for Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. Customers who go into a Chipotle restaurant after 6pm on Sunday dressed up as a horrifying processed food product can get an entree for just $2 and enter the costume contest for a chance to win up to $2500.

I agree whole-heartedly with the folks at Chipotle: "Processed food can be pretty scary" so you don't have to put much effort into making yourself look scary; just feign fake food and you're golden (come to think of it, anything fried in rancid vegetable oil to have a crispy golden brown exterior would make a pretty frightening costume).

I'd go out right now to try and put together a clever outfit if only I liked the fare at Chipotle.  Or more accurately, if the food at Chipotle liked me a little more.  The quality is definitely leaps and bounds above Taco Bell in terms of healthfulness and taste.  However, the few times I have eaten Chipotle burritos; the beans & rice have made an unpleasant exit from my body. I'm really not in the mood for a trick of this nature on Halloween (I have to go to work the next day).

I do enjoy homemade Tex-Mex food made with fresh ingredients.  But I am very picky about where and what I eat when it comes to this type of cuisine because one of my major pet peeves is improperly cooked beans.  What most people don't realize is that beans don't have to cause uncomfortable gas & bloating.  Soaking and cooking beans sufficiently help remove a large portion of the ogliosaccharides (long chains of sugar molecules) which the human body can not digest and results in flatulence when bacteria in the large intestine start to break down the saccharide polymers.  Make sure to discard the soaking liquid and use fresh water to cook with or else you'll end up back where you started.  I also like to cook my beans with a piece of kombu, aka. kelp, because it contains the enzyme, alpha-galactosidase, which has the ability to digest complex sugars and adds additional trace minerals to the mix.   Beans possess a lot of health benefits - soluble fiber, antioxidants, protein, minerals, etc - but they are of little use if your body can't access them.  So cook those beans well and cook them twice (yumm.. refried beans!) if you have to.

Personal problems are no longer private

The state of Massachusetts passed a law, which recently went into effect, requiring restaurants to train their staff on how to prevent contamination of food by allergenic ingredients and post signs that say: "Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy."  The frequency with which people request special meals and substitutions these days, you'd think that afflicted diners were in the majority.  However, only about 4% of the American population has a food allergy. Why the new mandate?  Well, the very vocal minority of consumers and assertive advocacy groups have convinced legislators to place an obligation on food handlers.

Allergies are no laughing matter.  Anaphylaxis, an acute hypersensitivity reaction that can be fatal, may be triggered by nuts, shellfish and other foods.  Most people who have a true allergy - an actual immune system-mediated condition and not just an intolerance or phobia - will not die from something they ate.  They may just get a rash or itchy dermatitis, have difficulty breathing, develop a stomachache and perhaps experience a bout of diarrhea.  I don't mean to be disrespectful to those with a true diagnosis, but I do believe that some folks exaggerate the extent of their suffering.  I even dare say that food allergies and sensitivities are en vogue today.  Psychosomatic symptoms and self-diagnosis are rampant thanks to the vast amount of medical and pseudo-scientific information available on demand with any internet-enabled mobile device anywhere you happen to be (make sure to sanitize your Blackberry when you're done with your research).

Fear and neurosis can illicit an "allergic reaction."  Simply suspecting that you inadvertently consumed dairy can cause gas & bloating due to a distorted variation of the placebo effect.  If you've ever had food poisoning, you probably avoided the food which harbored the bacteria that made you sick for a while after your unpleasant experience.  Someone with a tendency toward hypochondria and OCD may never touch that food again in their life.  Rather than admit a fear or dislike for something, a certain percentage of people will claim to have an allergy.  And the power of conviction will likely be there to reinforce the claim with physical proof.

Notwithstanding the the rise in "alleged allergies," more consumers are being clinically diagnosed and advised to avoid certain things than ever before.  When you work in the food business, you come across a lot of people with food allergies, which makes you wonder WHY?  I'd like to discuss a few of the theories which I think have the most merit.  Unfortunately, understanding what causes food allergies won't necessarily cure them.  Making conscious food choices can minimize your suffering and perhaps spare future generations.

1. Inadequate breastfeeding
I apologize for placing the blame on Mom, but the truth is that breast milk contains antibodies designed to promote infantile intestinal health. A baby's gut lacks IgA molecules making it permeable to proteins which act as allergens, like casein from cow's milk.  Mother's milk provides an early infusion of these antibodies to help create a barrier capable of protecting against offensive substances.  Healthy gut microflora is the first line of defense against bacteria, viruses, AND.... potential allergens.

2. Over-sterile environment
The obsession with anti-bacterial soaps, gels and cleaning products has wrecked havoc on children's immune systems.  Numerous studies support the "hygiene hypothesis" which explains the link between too clean an environment and higher rates of conditions caused by a compromised immune system, namely allergies & asthma.  Immunological disorders are less common in developing countries where standards of sanitation and cleanliness are much lower than those here in the U.S.  Peanut allergies are virtually unknown in poor African nations where crowding and frequent infections are the norm.  Peanut butter, in the form of "Plumpy'nut" (a paste made of peanut butter, milk powder, vitamins & minerals), has saved tens of thousands of malnourished African children. This nutrient-dense formula would be banned in many American schools and could only be administered in the country with EpiPen in hand.

3. Overconsumption of processed foods
Sweets and processed foods with added sugars and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils also screw up the immune system.  Excess sugar and white flour incites an inflammatory response that is similar to  the body's response to an allergen.  Eating too much sugar may also disrupt the digestive system allowing undigested food particles to enter the bloodstream (aka. "leaky gut syndrome") and result in an allergic reaction. Hydrogenated oils are pro-inflammatory which explains why they are capable of causing a laundry list of physiological problems.  Food allergies are just one of the many consequences that should motivate you to avoid artificial trans fats (the naturally occurring trans fat called conjugated linoleic acid, derived from ruminant animal products, is not associated with the same adverse health effects as artificial ones, and is actually beneficial).

4. Underconsumption of nutritious, whole foods
Americans are notoriously overfed and undernourished because of poor eating habits.  People just don't eat enough fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants which support healthy immune function.  Popping a multivitamin pill containing synthetic nutrients is not as effective as getting health-promoting substances straight from Nature.  Increased production and marketing of dairy & meat substitutes has encouraged many allergy sufferers to rely on processed foods to fill the voids in their diets  thus perpetuating dependency on "edible food-like substances."

A good dietary rule of thumb is to only eat things you could make in your own kitchen.  If your go-to dairy substitute contains ingredients you can't pronounce or buy in your neighborhood grocery store then consider putting it back on the shelf.  This may necessitate your rethinking your daily habits and change your point of view.  I tell a lot of people who are newly diagnosed with an allergy and frantic about what they (or their child in the case of a parent) can now eat to consider their food allergy to be a blessing rather than a curse.  Be grateful that your health condition is not life threatening and presents the opportunity to explore new & healthy foods you may not have tried before.

Why Does My Stomach Hurt?

In my last post, I shared my observations of some of the conventional and not so conventional things that people eat when they eat out.  I find watching other people's nutritional indiscretions and unusual food combinations to be humorous at best and horrifying at worst.  Making up stories about strangers out of context reveals more about the storyteller than the characters in the narrative, so I bit my tongue.  I didn't try to read people's minds, interpret their behavior, or judge their decisions.  I hope that my silence allowed you to enjoy dramas of your own imagination and prejudices.

Now, I'd like to step into the commercial kitchen where the food you buy is prepared by people you don't know.  This is not going to be a repulsive expose of food safety violations.  Rather than focus on the ingredients or cooking methods that compromise you health, I am interested in exploring the atmosphere and attitudes which beget indigestion.

What I am about to describe pertains to the 98% (this is my approximation) of restaurants and food retail outlets where Americans eat outside of their own homes.  For the moment, I am going to ignore the tiny percentage of uber-upscale places where executive chefs still prepare carefully crafted & innovative menu items of their own fancy.  I am also excluding the down-home joints with an inspired proprietor who deserves a visit by Guy Fieri because of the care & attention he/she gives to simple comfort food.

In spite of the glamor surrounding culinary arts and the prestige bestowed upon chefs, food service jobs are low-paying, back-breaking and downright sweaty.  Even in restaurants where well-trained chefs prepare food "a la minute"for their diners, most of the work of washing, peeling and chopping vegetables is left to dishwashers (people who wash dishes, not machines) and prep cooks making between $8 and $10/hour.  Wages paid to fast food workers are even less.  Did you ever stop to consider what might be going through the mind of the high school kid flipping your burger for minimum wage?  Is he distracted by the the attractive girl who just walked in the door or thinking about a homework assignment he has to complete after his shift?

Not all low-wage workers are young and immature.  A majority of the people employed in food service are immigrants (legal and illegal) who work their tails off trying to make ends meet with one or two full-time jobs.  And thanks to the recession, more unemployed white collar workers are calling restaurants to inquire about something other than a reservation.  Career changers learn the hard way that cooking for a paycheck is not as fun as cooking for family and friends.  Chopping dozens of onions, assembling sandwiches for strangers and hauling a 50 gallon garbage bag out to the dumpster changes one's rosy view of food preparation.

On the other end of the spectrum are the professionals who have chosen to pursue a career in the restaurant industry.  The qualities that make a good line cook in a commercial kitchen setting, who does the work of "cooking" your appetizer or entree to order (this could consist of actually cooking from the raw state or simply reheating and plating a dish), are not the same as those of the home cook.  People who get paid to cook and can truthfully say they enjoy their jobs thrive in a hot, fast-paced environment.  Nourishing and pleasing the diner is an afterthought.  They are motivated to show up at work everyday because they love the adrenaline rush they get from fighting their way "out of the weeds" on a Saturday night.  They enjoy boasting about the number of fires they've put out and will show you their scars.

Next time you go out to eat and are are presented with a plate of perfectly seared duck breast (or whatever animal flesh you prefer) surrounded by an exquisite sauce and accompanied by silky smooth mashed potatoes, stop for a second to ponder how it came to be.  Maybe the chef purchased the baby lettuces & heirloom tomatoes in your salad from a local farm.  Did you choose the roast chicken because the menu said it was "free range"?  If so, do you care that between you and the humanely raised & organically grown ingredients on your plate stands a hot & sweaty line cook?  A guy so bogged down with orders that he doesn't have time to wipe his brow or take a sip of water.  

The plate sitting in front of you has been wiped clean around the edges so as not to reveal any hint that it is the product of a highly stressful, fast-paced and exhausting environment.  There are many reasons why restaurant food tastes nothing like what you would make at home.  It's not just the liberal use of salt & butter that sets it apart.  There is a certain atmosphere and methodical approach to restaurant cooking which objectifies each dish.  And the heat of a commerical kitchen - both physical and psychological - is strong enough to upset not just the cook's & restaurant manager's stomachs but the guts of their diners, too.