You call that "natural?"

My kids know that grocery store = snack time. It works well for us. I buy serving size portions of something yummy & juicy and while we're shopping, we nibble on a healthy junk food I normally wouldn't buy and bring home. (Maybe that's why the old groceries had a soda fountain built in? So you couldn't haul the whole thing home and pig out on soda and ice cream. Hmmmm-- I think they were onto something.)

Let me admit here: I am a SUCKER for salty snacks. Which is why I don't bring potato chips or popcorn or pretzels or cheese curls back to the house because they will be sucked down my goozler in a split-second (especially if there is sour cream in the vicinity).

Last week, however, potato chips were on sale in the health food section. The good kind. Kettle brand, as well as another I hadn't seen before called Boulder Canyon. Mmmmm. New York Cheddar with Herbs and Parmesan & Garlic. Oh, yeah.

My kids looked at me like we just won the International Potato Chip Lottery, and we dug into those babies like it was our Last Supper.

Got home after shopping....putting stuff away... and for whatever reason, I decided to take a peek at the label.

Disclaimer: I am a rabid label reader. If there was a group called Label Readers Anonymous, I would be at every meeting. I've even got  Sergio reading labels now. (It's only taken 5 years, so ladies...don't give up hope.)

And then, dear readers, I saw it. Plain as day, clear as the zit on my face.

YEAST EXTRACT.

Now, if you know me, you know there are five additives that I will not buy if my life depends on it. They're like the Dirty Dozen, but so insidious and evil that all twelve awful qualities are wrapped up in just five.

1) Sodium nitrite
2) High fructose corn syrup
3) MSG
4) Artificial sweeteners (that includes YOU, Splenda)
5) Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil

And what, you may ask, did I find on the label of those natural potato chips? Any of these five? Not at first glance.

But you see, what makes me really crazy is that "natural" food companies can be just as deceptive as any other company. (Don't even get me started on Whole Foods-- I'll address that later.)

Check out the advertising: 

Kettle Brand:

* 0 grams trans fats
* No artificial colors or flavors
* No preservatives
* Non-GMO ingredients
* Gluten-free
* Absolutely nothing artificial
* Only real food ingredients

Boulder Canyon Natural Foods:

* All Natural, Gluten Free, 0 Trans Fats, 0 Cholesterol


The smart rats know we're becoming more savvy about the additives & preservatives in our food. So they come up with different names for the nasty chemicals they stick in "natural" products! Oy vey!


Yeast extract, ladies and gentleman, is a kinder, gentler sounding label for MSG.

Monosodium Glutomate, ladies and gentleman, has been linked to many debilitating & chronic illnesses, including addiction, stroke, epilepsy, degenerative disorders, brain trauma, neuropathic pain, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression -- all associated with the "glutamate cascade.

MSG is a neurotoxin, potentially toxic to everyone -- even to those people who do not respond with adverse reactions such as migraine headache, asthma, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, disorientation, and depression. 


Here is a helpful list of ways MSG is disguised in your food, courtesy of msgmyth.com:

MSG	Gelatin	Calcium Caseinate
Monosodium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)	Textured Protein
Monopotassium glutamate	Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP)	Yeast Extract
Glutamate	Autolyzed Plant Protein	Yeast food or nutrient
Glutamic Acid	Sodium Caseinate	Autolyzed Yeast
Vegetable Protein Extract	Senomyx (wheat extract labeled as artificial flavor)

Obviously, the best way to avoid MSG and other additives is to eat whole, raw, natural, unprocessed foods. However, when the mean munchies do hit, just make sure you're familiar with the new & improved ways MSG is sneaked into your "all-natural" junk food.

Even (especially) the natural foods you think you shouldn't have to check.

Label Readers Anonymous, anyone? It may be a lifelong condition, but not one I want to get rid of.

Sources:
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Dang.html
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/msg-mark.txt
http://www.msgmyth.com/hidename.htm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/21/MSG-Is-This-Silent-Killer-Lurking-in-Your-Kitchen-Cabinets.aspx

P.S. I've sent emails to both Kettle Brand and Boulder Canyon-- I'll be sure to let you know what I hear back from them!