Ice Cream Monster Again (and thoughts on ingredient labels)!

So you would think we would have learned about too much ice cream by now. It is kind of a funny story, though. I was writing an article for Uncommon Childhood (UC) when I needed to do some research on Ben and Jerry’s ingredients. They don’t post their ingredients on their website, which meant I had to go to the store and read the labels. Which meant I had to buy the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Which meant that Ryan, Colson and I each ate a pint in two days. Which meant that Ryan developed significant back spasms and a headache, which he always does when he eats that much ice cream. Which means that I can write this same post about every six months.

Below is the article that I sent to Uncommon Childhood. I highly encourage you to check UC out, because it is a fantastic resource for creative thinking when it comes to our kids and ourselves.

Read Those Food Ingredients and Personal Care Product Labels!

It has become more important than ever to understand what we are putting in our bodies and the bodies of our kids. With autism spectrum disorders rampant and growing, along with diabetes, heart disease and cancer, understanding what we use to fuel ourselves is more important than ever.

None of us will eat perfectly, and that is ok. We just need to do our best and realize that “our best” isn’t everyone else’s best. Food is such a personal thing and people are very defensive about it. Still, if folks took the time to understand their food, their lives may change for the better.

Below are a couple of examples of the importance of labels and what they mean for you.

Tonic Water

Let’s start with a funny one. I told my husband, Ryan, that he needed to stop purchasing beer because we are avoiding gluten. We aren’t big alcohol drinkers, but Ryan likes a beer here and there and I join him sometimes. So what does Ryan do, funny guy that he is? He comes home with Vodka, tonic and limes! Seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? He makes us each a drink and we are about half-way through it when our eight year old son, Colson, comes up, reads the tonic label and says “Oh my gosh! The second ingredient in tonic water is high fructose corn syrup!” Ryan and I are both gacking and in shock. High fructose corn syrup in my house?! NEVER!! Well, apparently sometimes, because we didn’t read the label.

If you aren’t familiar with high fructose corn syrup, you can learn more about it and the efforts to rename it so you continue to drink it unwittingly here: High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

My family really, really likes ice cream. We stick to Ben and Jerry’s because the ice cream is made with rBGH-free milk…and I met Jerry back in the mid-90s at the Boston Scooper Bowl. Me, a spoon and 50 flavors of ice cream - does it get any better?  It does when you are there chatting with Jerry while eating your ice cream.  

So, what is in this premium, fairly expensive Ben and Jerry’s ice cream anyway? Before I get into that, I know that some of you are going to want to give me grief for eating sugar, especially since I wrote about it on Uncommon Childhood. It is a tough world out there, and we all have our weaknesses or indulgences and we just keep doing our best, but feel free to let me have it anyway.  

Ben and Jerry's does not reveal their ingredients on their website and they make a lot of claims about the goodness of their ingredients, which is odd because so many companies have their ingredients electronically available. Off to the food store I went to get a list of ingredients for some of our favorite flavors: Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream, Mud Pie and Mint Chocolate Chunk. Of course we bought them, and here is what we found:

• Sugar is a huge component of B&J across the board. Sugar is a culprit in all disease.

• Mint Chocolate Chunk has nothing objectionable

• Americone Dream has two objectionable ingredients: corn syrup and soy

• Mud Pie has three objectionable ingredients: canola oil, wheat flour and soy

I will take on the problems with canola oil, corn syrup and soy in another article. As ice creams go, B&J is pretty darn healthy, but as a food or treat itself it is still a terrible choice due to the sugar and a few other ingredients.

What to eat besides Ben and Jerry’s to avoid the sugar? So Delicious coconut cream based ice cream is now my preferred ice cream because there is no sugar and it tastes really good! We tripped upon it while trying to avoid dairy as a test to see if that affected Colson’s allergies. You can learn more about the ice cream and what sweetens it here: Coconut Milk Ice Cream You Can Buy (and it is comparatively healthy). Be sure to read the comments on the article, too.

McDonald’s Hamburger

If you are wondering what is in McDonalds food, you can learn more here: Ingredients. Actually, I prefer Wendys nutrition listing. All the fast food restaurants should have listings available such as these. The “food” is absolutely frightening. How much hydrogenation, soy, margarine, salt, preservatives and more can be packed into food? I haven’t had fast food in over 15 years, and Colson never has. It is anathema to us and the basis for many of America’s sicknesses.

Personal Care Products

We don’t just ingest toxins through our mouths, they also come in through our skin. In some ways the skin is a worse point of entry because the toxins aren’t sent to our liver for filtering. My family is very careful about what we put on our skin via soap, shampoo, deodorant (actually we make our own and only use it when needed – we are pretty darn healthy and don’t have too much body odor). If you want to learn about your personal care products and the toxins they contain, check out the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Tools and Resources in the right hand column.

Guiding Purchasing Principals

1. Avoid processed foods. At least if you make it yourself you know what is in there.

2. Check the EWG database for any personal care products. If you are shopping and don’t have access to the database, avoid anything with long chemical names and added fragrances.

Remember, this is a continual learning process, and we are all going to stumble along the way. It is the stumbles that help us to learn and make us stronger. What next step are you going to take?

Comments

[Sarah]

"Sugar is a culprit in all disease"

Yep. Sugar gave me AIDS.