Scary Halloween Treats [Self-Love Letter]
Hey Byte Wellness Fam!
This is the 12th week in the 15-week Wellness RESET challenge. (Can you believe we’re almost finished?)
How are you feeling?
I’m excited. I can’t put my finger on it exactly, but something about that GirlTrek walk last weekend had me buzzing all week. Then, our #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop charged my energy up even more.
Now, I’m riding that wave into a Family Medicine conference in Chicago today (FMX conference).
I’m looking forward to meeting even more smart docs who are passionate about centering Black women’s experiences in the medical care we give them.
This week, in the #PhyteWellWednesday Workshop we opened our discussion about eating as our 4th wellness superpower.
And what a discussion it was!
I suggest you check out the recording (below) if you can. It’s worth watching every detail.
By the way, if you’re not getting invites to these weekly Workshops texted to you, you can send TEXT to 1(866)717-1919 to join the Daily Wellness Text Thread.
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Discussion Question:
When you reach for a snack or a meal, what category does your food fall into most of the time: plant, animal, or processed food?
Watch Out for Ultraprocessed Kryptonite
Our take-away from the #PhyteWellWednesday workshop was:
If eating well is our superpower, ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are our kryptonite!
So what are UPFs?
According to the United Nations’ NOVA commission that came together to build a rating system for food processing, ultraprocessed foods are essentially factory foods.
UPFs are foods and drinks that have at least one “industrial ingredient” that can only be handled with the added safety of an industrial/factory setting.
In other words, no matter how enticing the package is or how boldly “natural flavors” is printed on the outside label, UPFs are far from natural.
In fact, some of the industrial ingredients in these factory food UPFs are so far from the natural nutrients that humans evolved with, they could actually be toxic to humans.
The Spookiest Color: Red 3
Can you name any toxic industrial ingredients that turn food into ultra processed food?
One is the super common food coloring: Red 3. You’ll find this in hundreds of candies, including: candy corn, peeps, fruit-by-the-foot, even in “strawberry”-flavored Pediasure.
Not Safe for My Face, But Safe to Eat?
Get this, the FDA has banned Red 3 from cosmetics products in the 1990s because of its connection to cancer. (Studies show Red 3 causes cancer in rats, and human studies that could prove whether it causes cancer in us are unethical).
But, the FDA still allows Red 3 to be used in our food and medications.
Okay, we need to break this down.
Companies aren’t allowed to use Red 3 in lipstick because it’s considered too much of a health risk to put on our lips and skin, where it could be absorbed (according to the FDA).
But, the FDA has no problem with companies putting Red 3 in the food that goes inside us?
Manufacturers might point out that the amounts of Red 3 used in food products are smaller (thus considered safer) than the amounts used in cosmetics.
They’d also highlight the absence of studies showing indisputable proof that Red 3 causes widespread harm in humans. That’s last one is a moot point, because IRB research approval boards won’t approve of research that exposes humans to a chemical that has been proven toxic to our distant mammal relatives.
Somehow, to me, it’s too big a risk to put a chemical INSIDE my body that isn’t considered safe OUTSIDE my body.
California legislators, saw it that way, too.
In October 2023 California became the first state in the U.S. to ban the use of Red 3 in food products. The state joins the European Union and other global governments that aim to protect their population from the toxic effects of the industrial dye.
The scientific argument used to pass the bill that banned Red 3 pointed to research linking the coloring to hyperactivity and inattention in children, mimicking the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder.
Put Down The Package, Pick Up a Peach
The California ban against Red 3 doesn’t go into full effect until 2027. So, folks shopping in the state will have to diligently check ingredient lists.
Then, after 2027, manufacturers that use Red 3 in food and drink will have to switch their product formulations to the Red 3-free versions currently sold in Europe.
The California act banning Red 3 also banned 3 other toxic industrial ingredients commonly found in ultraprocessed foods. Those are brominated vegetable oil, propylparaben, and potassium bromate.
These are just a few of the industrial ingredients in UPFs. Scientific advocacy organizations like the Environmental working Group point to many others that have caused harm in animal studies and could very well be toxic to humans.
So how do we know when these industrial ingredients have been slipped into our food or drink?
One surefire way to avoid industrial ingredients is to prioritize eating whole foods or minimally-processed plants and animals that only have 1 ingredient. Put down the package and pick up a peach.
What whole food or minimally-processed substitutes can we use to replace candy corn and other UPF-rific Halloween treats?
The list is endless: Try nuts (almonds, peanuts), home-made popcorn, apples, pumpkin seeds, etc.
For a truly processed, but not ultraprocessed option, go for a square of Dark Chocolate (90% or higher). This dark chocolate bar from Thrive Market has 2 ingredients that we could combine in our kitchen (cacao and coconut sugar).
Stay Woke and Stay Reading [Ingredients]
If we’re honest, most of us eat lots of our meals from packages.
Even some whole foods come in packages. For example, oatmeal comes packaged. I’m not talking about the cinnamon-toast flavored instant oats. The added sugar means those oats are no longer a whole food.
I’m talking about the whole food version of oatmeal that we buy in a package, and it has a single ingredient listed: oats (no sugar, salt, flavors, etc).
So, if we’re going to consider eating a packaged food or drink, we’ve got to read the ingredients list. Here’s what to look for.
Read every ingredient listed on the package
Assume that ingredients we can’t pronounce or haven’t heard of could be industrial ingredients
Use the EWG Food Scores database to research ingredients we’re unfamiliar with
Remember that food, with its life-sustaining nutrients, is one of our strongest wellness superpowers! With that great power comes great responsibility.
Whether to eat UPFs with industrial ingredients and how much to eat is a decision each of us needs to make for ourselves based on our health risks and wellness goals.
This is clearly not a decision we can trust food manufacturers or regulatory bodies to make for us.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not giving my power away that easily.
What do you make of our food system after all this news? Had you heard about recent the California ban or the European bans of certain industrial ingredients? Let me know what you think?
Happy Healthy Living,
Dr. Wuse