Day 38

 I know that a few of my family members and maybe even a couple friends have rolled their eyes at this whole “REAL food” journey I’ve begun, but ya know what? I am NOT crazy! J And the deeper I get into the research of food and what exactly is in our food, I believe more than ever that there is a HUGE concern for what we are eating. Here’s another ‘interesting’ food fact that you might enjoy. One of the most widely used color additives comes from an unexpected source. Cochineal extract (also known as carmine or carminic acid)) is made from the dead bodies of small bugs harvested mainly in Peru and the Canary Islands. The female Dactylopius coccus costa likes to feed on cactus pads, and color from the cactus gathers in her body and her eggs. The little bugs are collected, dried, and ground into a coloring additive. It takes about 70,000 of the insects to make a pound of carmine, which is used to make processed foods look pink, red, or purple. Dannon strawberry yogurt gets its color from carmine, as do many candies, frozen fruit bars, fruit fillings, and Ocean Spray pink grapefruit juice drink. From Chew on This by Eric Scholosser & Charles Wilson.  By the way, Boysenberry, Cherry, Raspberry and Strawberry Cheesecake Dannon yogurts also get their coloring courtesy of bugs!  Yum!! (Check out the new site I posted on my blog: It’s Not About Nutrition – pretty interesting information)

Some people are on their band wagons to ‘Save the whales’ or ‘Save the rainforest’, which by the way I feel passionate about as well, but my band wagon is ‘Save the human race from chemical and preservative induced diseases’.  That sounds easy enough doesn’t it? J

* Thought for the day*
Chocolate milk teaches kids an appreciation for chocolate, not for milk.