So I'm sitting on my couch about to enjoy one of my favorite snacks: OREOS! (Yes, I know this is a blog about eating healthy but Oreos are one of my few guilty pleasures :) I usually don't look at the ingredients list for junk foods because I already know that it's junk, so the ingredient details aren't really worth the mental space. However, today I discovered that the ingredients in my beloved Oreo cookies are as follows:
SUGAR, ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), HIGH OLEIC CANOLA OIL AND/OR PALM OIL AND/OR CANOLA OIL, AND/OR SOYBEAN OIL, COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN (EMULSIFIER), VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE. CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
OK! Now I know what's in an Oreo cookie! But do I, REALLY? I mean, what's Thiamine Mononitrate? or Soy Lecithin? or Vanillin? How do you "reduce" iron? How do you process cocoa "with alkali"? And what exactly is high fructose corn syrup and why were several "PSAs" aired to inform viewers that its "just as healthy as sugar, in moderation?" Could these ingredients be related to the rise of disease and obesity in America?
I know that's quite a bit to get just from looking at the back of a pack of cookies which is why I don't typically look at junk food ingredients. But this is how I look at food: what you put in is what you get out. If you put junk in, you get junk out. If you put in stuff you don't understand (Thiamine Mononitrate?), you run the risk of getting things out that you don't understand because you don't know how it affects your body.
So on a weekly basis, starting next Thursday, I plan to post about those common ingredients of which we are commonly ignorant of their purpose. If you have a favorite food with ingredients you don't understand, feel free to post a comment! I'll do a little digging for the both of us to find out what it is and why it's used.
Happy Eating!
-Shalencia
Reported Oreo Ingredients list found on: http://www.nabiscoworld.com/Brands/ProductInformation.aspx?BrandKey=oreo&Site=1&Product=4400000820
Photo found on: http://skinnylumberjack.blogspot.com/2011/01/double-stuffed-oreo-life.html
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