What is butylated hydroxyanisole and why is it in my food?

This morning at Mass our Priest talked about how when we are young we love eating fried food and sweets. As we get older we start to notice the effects of those foods and how they actually may be killing us. He stated that food is meant to give us life. Of course he later related it to spiritual food but the sentiment remains that food is meant to give us life and nourish us. Our ancestors got their food from the ground, a butcher, a milkman, and a baker. There were no grocery stores like we see today. Food was made in homes and restaurants not in a chemistry lab. So where does this leave us today? As manufacturers have tried to make our lives easier with "convenience food" they have actually created a laundry list of food additives that even Dietitian's can keep straight! Even though I have a degree in nutrition I still get confused by recommendations that seem to contradict each other. Another topic of interest is the notion of "organic" foods. There is a lot to cover but I will focus on my basic understanding and hopefully offer some clarity amidst all of the confusion out there.

When I was in college I didn't buy into the whole organic thing that much. However,at that time I was more focused on the nutritional quality of the produce which usually doesn't vary between organic and non-organic. Now I am realizing that with all of the pesticide use it may be worthwhile to invest in some organic produce. As pesticides are designed to kill insects, it is logical to be concerned about what they would do to the human body. Unfortunately it isn't possible to simply wash off the pesticides. One of my classmates in college did a research presentation on this topic and her takeaway was that if you are going to be consuming the outside of the produce it would be better to buy organic. I found the Environmental Watch Group's dirty dozen (now 14) which have the highest amount of pesticides in the flesh. They also publish a list of the clean 15 which have the lowest amounts of pesticides and can be safe to buy non-organic. As I am still on a tight budget I will probably not buy everything on the dirty dozen list organic but I will certainly pay more attention to it, especially for lettuce eek. Another organic food issue I would like to talk about is that "organic" has become a marketing tool that people automatically associate with being healthy. Chocolate chip cookies that are labeled organic aren't necessarily healthier than non-organic chocolate chip cookies so be careful not to fall into the health halo trap. This isn't something to stress out over but it is certainly worth considering buying some organic produce or growing your own.

Food additives are another thing worth educating yourself about. I assume that most people have occasionally looked at an ingredients list and not recognized at least one item on there. Looking at the 100% whole wheat  bread i just bought I find; sodium stearoyl lactylate, ethoxylate mono-and diglycerides (dough conditioners) azodicarbonamide. Those sound like a fun time that is for sure. I usually pay more attention to labels and don't buy bread with more than a few simple ingredients but a buy one get one free coupon lured me in. As a general rule I think it helpful and healthful to buy less processed foods and get familiar with labels and try to select products with fewer additives and cook more whole foods. I would like to address two additives and ingredients that are important to look out for. I will cover more in the future if they are of interest to anyone.

Artificial sweeteners - Although the scientific evidence varies and most are safe in small quantities I think it is important to limit them. For one, they are not natural and they trick our body. The sweetness gets our body ready for an insulin response but then there is no actual glucose. Another problem is that since our body can not respond appropriately it also affects satiety and fullness cues. There is research to support that when people consume diet or sugar free products they tend to actually eat more calories. This is a combination of biological and psychological factors but nonetheless I think sparing some calories to have real sugar is a better bet in the long run. Natural is usually a good bet. That being said I must admit I really enjoy an occasional diet Pepsi, I actually prefer the flavor to regular Pepsi.

Trans Fats- Trans fats may be the most important thing to look out for. They rarely occur in nature but are created in manufacturing when unsaturated oils are hydrogenated to create a more stable product and desirable texture. They increase inflammation, plaque formations in arteries, increase our "bad" Ldl cholesterol and even decrease the "good" Hdl cholesterol. If a serving size of food has <.5 gram of trans fat it will claim it has 0 grams of trans fat. The small amount of trans fats are of concern as it is advised we limit our intake to less than 2 grams a day. An easy way to check for trans fats is to read the ingredients list for any oil that has been "partially hydrogenated".

Lastly, I can't address concerns with chemicals in our food and bodies without addressing the horror of what some women are doing to their bodies to prevent conceiving a child. I have always been concerned by the pill as I have heard friends who had really adverse reactions to it. The most common pills are either estrogen or progesterone which are hormones women naturally have. The pills are additional doses that aim to prevent ovulation and then if a woman does ovulate it will attempt to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg and if even that fails it has thinned the lining of the uterus so that the fertilized embryo( a human being) can't implant and will die. Ingesting hormones has always scared me, but with good reason some of the health concerns with oral contraceptives are headaches or migraines  low blood pressure, depression  vaginal infection, acne, weight gain, nausea dizziness, breast pain or tenderness,gain or loss of body or facial hair. These are just some of the side affects from webmd some are common and others are less common. Point is that if you don't take it you obviously won't have any of those side-effects yay! There is also an increased risk of uterine and breast cancer.

IUD's are another form of contraceptives that are concerning too me. I personally don't want any pieces of plastic or copper inserted into my vagina. These work by either damaging or killing the sperm. Copper IUD's may increase menstrual bleeding and cramps. Hormonal IUD's may cause ovarian cysts to grow, and also breast tenderness, mood swings, headaches and acne. Women are instructed to call their Doctor if they have ;severe pain in belly or pelvis  severe vaginal bleeding, passing clots of blood and soaking through usual pads or tampons in less than two hours, have fever and chills, or they think they may be pregnant.

My concern is with why women are doing this to their body. I personally believe that God chose to allow us to be co-creators with him sex so that we can bring his children into this world. This being said even condoms block God out of the picture. Although I personally will never use condoms it greatly saddens me to hear of women who have to take birth control or IUD's because their partner does not like wearing condoms. It also upsets me when it is a woman's "fault" for getting pregnant. She definitely did not conceive by immaculate conception so I don't see how it is her "fault".

All of that being said does not mean that women must be baby factories. It is important to be open to the gift of life but we also have the wonderful gift of natural family planning that can be used within good reason. A woman is only fertile during ovulation and about 48 hours after that. There are biological markers that allow us to track our own fertility with 99% accuracy. When a woman knows she is fertile and her and her partner abstain from sex during that period of time it is impossible to conceive a child. There are no harmful side-effects and married couples claim that it strengthens their marriage but increasing mutual respect and love as well and the man gets to know his wife's body more intimately. For those reading who are not married and are in a sexual relationship of course I would recommend that you consider the value of chastity in your relationship but if you are going to have sex would your partner be willing to do natural family planning? For those who are interested I would recommend looking into the Creighton model of NFP.

.This has been a really long post but I hope it gave you some "food for thought".

Raising Saints?

Learning about saints and their lives can be very inspiring and spiritually enriching. However, how much time do we spend thinking about their parents? Some saints come from troubled backgrounds and have a profound conversion experience later in life, but I am willing to bet that the majority of saints come from holy families. Recently I was reading more about my favorite saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, and I learned that her parents were beatified in 2008. I knew that she grew up in a very devout Catholic loving family, but I didn't spend much time reflecting on the influence they had on her spirituality. Her parents , Zelie and Louis both owned small businesses. They managed to balance family life, work, and most importantly their involvement in the Church and guiding their family towards heaven. The Martin's had nine children but sadly four died. Their five daughters that lived all ended up becoming nuns. If this isn't enough of a testament to their holy home, one of there daughters became one of the four female Doctors of the Church.

Blessed Louis and Zelie Martin were not beatified because their daughter is a Doctor of the Church but because they lived their vocation of Matrimony to the fullest. It is beautiful that they were beatified together and they will hopefully be canonized together as well. Shortly after reading about their beatification I attended  a seminar where Bishop Cordileone of San Francisco's mother was in attendance. Someone asked her "How do you raise a Bishop?". Since she was just in the audience we didn't hear her response but it certainly got me thinking about the answer. I truly pray that Tim and I will raise our children in such a faithful and loving home that they will become saints. As Patrick Coffin on Catholic Answers says "be a saint, what else is there?" And it is so true. Raising a family is a big responsibility. But it's also a profound blessing, especially when the home is the primary place of teaching the faith to children. I am so blessed to have Tim who I know will be a wonderful example and leader for our children. I know that I will be praying to Mary and Joseph as well as Zelie and Louis Martin to help guide Tim and I in our parenting.

I love how the Catholic Church esteems marriage and family life to be a sanctifying vocation. A priest once told our young adult bible study that often people look to him as being holier than a married man when that isn't true. A married man who lives his vocation is just as holy as a priest who is living his. How amazing is that? I know I often tend to place Priests higher than married men in my mind, but I will certainly stop doing that. A priest sacrifices everything for the church as a married man sacrifices everything for his family. All of this is so beautiful.

For people who are interested in learning more about Blessed Zelie and Louis Martin I will attach a link.
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=30127