naturalbiologylabs.com Blog

Foods masquerading as something else — a more nutritious something else — have been big news in the past two years. Chinese food companies in particular have been blamed for making deadly alterations to dairy, baby and pet foods by adding melamine. The chemical makes it appear that the food or beverage has the required level of protein.

But what about food producers in this country? What fraudulent foods do U.S. consumers have to fear from American companies?

Experts say dangerous U.S.-produced foods are comparatively few, but producers have been known to practice “economic adulteration” — adding a little to their bottom line by padding, thinning or substituting something cheap for something expensive.

So in a caveat emptor world, what should consumers look out for?

Fish is the most frequently faked food Americans buy. In the business, it’s called “species adulteration” — selling a cheaper fish such as pen-raised Atlantic salmon as wild Alaska salmon.

When Consumer Reports tested 23 supposedly wild-caught salmon fillets bought nationwide in 2005-2006, only 10 were wild salmon. The rest were farmed. In 2004, University of North Carolina scientists found 77% of fish labeled red snapper was actually something else. Last year, the Chicago Sun-Times tested fish at 17 sushi restaurants and found that fish being sold as red snapper actually was mostly tilapia.

“It’s really just fraud, plain and simple,” says Gavin Gibbons of the National Fisheries Institute, an industry group.

One thing consumers don’t need to worry about is scallops. Tales of skate wings cut into circles and sold as scallops are common. But Randolph says the FDA has never found an actual case of it.

Salmon is tricky. Randolph does have one tip, though. Farmed salmon gets its coloring from dyes added to food pellets the fish are fed, while wild salmon gets it from the plankton they eat.

Olive oil

This luxury oil, touted for its heart-health properties and taste, has become a gourmet must-have. Americans consumed about 575 million pounds of the silky stuff last year, according to the North American Olive Oil Association. Sixty-three percent was the higher-grade extra virgin, which comes from the first pressing of the olives.

There are no national figures on olive-oil fakery. But after complaints, Connecticut began testing two years ago. “We were coming across a lot of products labeled as extra-virgin olive oil that contained up to 90% soybean oil,” says Jerry Farrell Jr., Connecticut’s commissioner of consumer protection.

Most name brands were fine, Farrell says. It was often off-brands sold in discount stores that were the problem.

Connecticut was so concerned that in November, it became the first state in the nation to set standards for olive oil, enabling officials there to levy fines and pull adulterated products off store shelves. California is set to create its own standards this year. Reports from panels of testers have found as much as 60% to 70% of the olive oil sold as extra virgin in the state is a lower-quality olive oil, says Dan Flynn of the Olive Center at the University of California-Davis.

The easiest thing is for fakers to add 10% vegetable oil in extra virgin, says Stutsman. “It will still smell as it should, but you’ve saved 10% of the cost.”

Bob Bauer, president of the North American Olive Oil Association, says it’s more of a problem in restaurants than in supermarkets.

Honey

An expensive natural product that’s mostly sugar, honey is easily faked. It used to be that cane sugar or high-fructose corn syrup was mostly used to thin out honey. But chemically, that was easy to spot.

So counterfeiters got wily and started using beet sugar. Its profile is similar to honey.

Maple syrup

Maple syrup is another high-value item that can be adulterated. In these tough economic times, Vermont, the USA’s largest supplier to flapjacks everywhere, may up its testing programs.

The boiled-down sap of the sugar maple tree can be diluted with water or sugar by sellers “trying to get more bang for the buck,” says Kristin Haas, food safety director in the state’s Agency for Agriculture, Food and Markets.

Vermont’s testing program has found fraud only three times in the past 17 years, says Haas, but it’s not taken lightly. “A couple of years back, there was a gentleman who actually went to prison because of this issue.”

When times get tight, the incentive to cheat can rise like sap in the spring, so the state may have to work harder to keep its premier product pure.

Vanilla

A product of the tropics, vanilla pods can be soaked in milk or stored in sugar to impart a delicate vanilla scent to foods. More commonly, they’re soaked in alcohol that is then used as a flavoring.

But vanillin (pronounced VAN-ah-lynn), a chemical copy of the richly organic vanilla flavor, was created in the laboratory in the 19th century. When used in foods, it’s supposed to be labeled as an artificial flavor and usually is.

One “too good to be true” product to watch out for is really inexpensive vanilla extract sometimes sold in Mexico and Latin America. It’s often made with coumarin, a toxic substance that has been banned in U.S. foods since 1954.

Coumarin is chemically related to warfarin, a blood thinner, and can be dangerous.

A new study by University of Georgia researchers shows that despite the availability of fortified foods, many older adults suffer from deficiencies of vitamin D, calcium and B12, which are critical for optimal bone, blood and nervous system health.

The research grew out of the authors’ interest in providing scientifically sound health promotion programs at more than 200 senior centers across Georgia that help prevent malnutrition and provide nutritionally-balanced meals to low-income elderly. Published in the Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly, the study notes that nutrient deficiencies make the elderly more vulnerable to chronic health problems such as osteoporosis, anemia and cognitive impairment.

“We always say ‘food first’ because eating a wide variety of foods provides the best source of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients,” said Mary Ann Johnson, professor of foods and nutrition in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences and coauthor of the study. “But people don’t always eat a balanced diet, and vitamin supplements are convenient, relatively inexpensive and some have shown definite benefits in preventing or reducing the risks of chronic disease.”

Johnson and study coauthors Joan Fischer, associate professor of nutrition, and research assistant Sohyun Park, said that among those surveyed, more than 60 percent of adults aged 60 or older take some type of dietary supplement; 40 percent take multivitamin and mineral supplements. Yet many were also confused about which vitamin supplements are beneficial.

That’s understandable, they said, given conflicting research studies. While the use of multi-vitamin and mineral supplements do increase the blood concentration of nutrients, researchers often can’t demonstrate specific health benefits from their use.

In fact, several recent vitamin studies only muddy the waters about the benefits of supplements. In November 2008, scientists released findings of a large clinical trial of nearly 15,000 male doctors who took vitamins C and E for a decade, showing no benefits in reducing cancer rates. Another recent study found that vitamins C and E don’t lower heart disease rates. And last October, a third major clinical trial–looking at whether vitamin E and selenium protect men against prostate cancer–ended early when it was clear that neither nutrient would reduce cancer risks.

But the UGA researchers say the benefits of taking certain supplements, especially calcium and vitamin D, are well-documented. Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, helps the body absorb calcium. It is present in significant amounts in fish and fortified milk, but very few other foods. Vitamin D is also known as the “sunshine vitamin” because it can be manufactured by the body when exposed to sunshine. However, as people age their skin starts to lose this ability to make vitamin D.

“We found that milk consumption varies widely in older adults,” said Fischer, “and some elderly people avoid dairy products altogether because of the fat in whole fat products –or because they have trouble digesting milk products. But there is strong evidence that vitamin D and calcium supplements improve overall bone health and prevent bone fractures.”

Calcium, essential for strong bones, is also important for normal heart and muscle function–and it helps the blood clot normally. The body uses and loses calcium every day through sweat, urine, feces, hair, nails and skin. It’s replaced by calcium-rich foods in the diet, including milk and dairy products, kale, collard greens and foods fortified with calcium, such as some brands of orange juice. But when the body doesn’t get enough, it pulls calcium from skeletal bones to carry out the more critical demands of the heart, nerves and major muscles.

B12, a water soluble vitamin, promotes the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system –and facilitates the formation of blood and new cells throughout the body. Good dietary sources include milk products, meat, poultry, fish and fortified breakfast cereals. After age 50, people don’t absorb vitamin B12 as efficiently and must guard against a deficiency.

“By the time people reach their elder years, the cumulative effects of lifestyle really start to show, good or bad,” said Johnson. “Part of the problem is that we need research that demonstrates the costs of poor nutrition and poor lifestyle. For example, many cases of diabetes and its complications are preventable. Nutrition is a science, but it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. We’re making progress, but we have a long way to go.”

Feel Good Vitamins

Find out how you can rev up your cellular engine. When your cells are healthy you feel good, your immune system is stronger, and you have energy.

It is all about Energy, Mitochondria, and Toxicity.

EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula™ aims to restore the optimum ecological environment for your body’s cells by correcting imbalances or deficiencies – using 100% pure and natural vitamins, minerals, amino acids, extracts, enzymes, and antioxidants.

Image if you could find a way to tune up your metabolsim, to increase your energy levels, to be able to think more clearly and feel less achy. In nature not all things are equal, some are extreme better – thus all natural EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula™.

VEREST Earth & Sea Formula™ aims to restore the optimum ecological environment for your body’s cells by correcting imbalances or deficiencies – using 100% pure and natural vitamins, minerals, amino acids, extracts, enzymes, and antioxidants -in a formula that is a break-through in value and price.

It is all about Energy, Mitochondria, and Toxicity

Image if you could find a way to tune up your metabolism, to increase your energy levels, to be able to think more clearly and feel less achy. This formula is based on the best research coming out of Berkeley and Harvard – using micro-nutrients like Resveratrol, Co-Q10, Organic Greens, B-Vitamins, Glutamine, Green Tea, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Colostrums, Noni, Goggi Berry, Acaii, Pomegranate, and 66 other effective and well research micro-nutrients.

EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula Website

REV UP YOUR CELLULAR ENGINE – and feel the way you use to! Two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Paullng said “if your cells are healthier so are you.” All the micro-nutrients in EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula™ were carefully selected in a Bio-Balanced Formula which means each micro-nutrient works even better in the formula than it would by itself – they have improved synergies, increased absorption rates, and better efficacies – how you body uses them.

Out smart the aging process! Get energy, overall wellness, and longevity

Find out how you can rev up your cellular engine. When your cells are healthy you feel good, your immune system is stronger, and you have energy. If you have been taking the same vitamins and you do not notice the difference – it’s time to change.

Feel Good Vitamins

Feel the Difference: Micronutrients are the most dense form of nutrition. Think about this. If you switched your diet to the best possible diet, would you not expect to feel better? Let’s say you ate a diet that was a perfect balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, enzymes, and fiber (foods full of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, phyto-nutrients, glyco-nutrients, and probiotics) – we all know you would feel incredible. Now just think if you took a vitamin formula that used the best micronutrients in the world in potencies often recommended by health professionals – micro-nutrients in their purest and most natural form in a complete bio-balanced formula; likewise, you will feel the difference.

EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula™ provides support for:

Energy
Immune System
Heart Function
Circulation
Liver Function
Bones
Skin, Hair, & Nails
Lungs
Memory
Longevity
Wellness

The Difference is the Formula

Each bottle of EVEREST Earth & Sea Formula™ is an amazing value in terms of what you pay for what you get. These are the most expensive micronutrients on the market. They come from all four corners of the world. They are the most researched and proven micronutrients with thousands of studies that validate their benefits to human health.