Eating healthy: Nix the canned goods

[William]

Since we're a health conscious bunch for the most part and canned food isn't in high usage here but it's worth looking at. Here is another study that links the use of BPA (used in canned goods, some plastics, and even cash register receipts) to cardiovascular disease.

I don't eat canned soups but I do occasionally eat canned chunk white Albacore tuna for a snack. I've always wondered about that plasticky film on the inside of the cans.




William

"Keeping your cholesterol and blood pressure in check, exercising, and eating a well-balanced diet are common tips your physician recommends to prevent heart disease. Now, doctors have a new one to add to the list, avoiding canned soup. Most canned foods and baby formulas, along with cash-register receipts and certain plastics, contain bisphenol A, or BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical linked to a growing list of health problems.

A new study published in the journal Circulation is the first of its kind to find a direct link between higher BPA exposure in healthy adults and a greater risk of developing heart disease in the future. "This study takes a lot of the question out of, 'Does BPA really affect heart disease risk? Is this is a real effect?'" says BPA expert Laura Vandenberg, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow of biology at the Center for Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Tufts University in Massachusetts. "This research suggests so, and it shouldn't be ignored."

In the latest study, researchers looked at urine samples of about 750 initially healthy adults who later developed cardiovascular disease and compared them to samples from 860 adults who remained heart disease free. "They simply looked at urine collections 10 years ago and checked to see if people developed cardiovascular disease within a 10-year period," explains Vandenberg, who was not involved with this study...."

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/cholesterol/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100288766




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[AngryScientist]

interesting.

canned soups probably also lead to heart disease because 99% of them are loaded with salt.

also, why even mention cash register receipts ? are people eating those? haha.

good tips though.

whole foods are definitely the way to go, to the greatest extent possible. fresh grown fruits and veggies, lean meat, freshly caught fish etc. anything processed and wrapped in plastic should be limited. i guess we all know this already, but a good reminder every now and then is great to keep on track. salad for lunch for me today!

[67-59]

I started getting only BPA-free water bottles a couple of years ago, and generally eat a healthy diet. Also have been getting soup in the cardboard cartons, like the ones they sell at Trader Joe's. We do occasionally eat canned goods though, so this is good to know.

[DRZRM]

Actually, my nearly 4-year-old always wants the receipt on the way out of Costco (the guys who checks your receipt draws a face on it for kids) and then he holds onto it in the back seat, playing with it and often gumming it. So, this is good to know, we've certainly worked hard enough to keep BPA out of his bottles, cutlery and dishes, I'd hate to think its being replaced by things I let him play with without thinking about the impact.

interesting.

canned soups probably also lead to heart disease because 99% of them are loaded with salt.

also, why even mention cash register receipts ? are people eating those? haha.

good tips though.

whole foods are definitely the way to go, to the greatest extent possible. fresh grown fruits and veggies, lean meat, freshly caught fish etc. anything processed and wrapped in plastic should be limited. i guess we all know this already, but a good reminder every now and then is great to keep on track. salad for lunch for me today!

[Seramount]

canned soups are junk food.

like AS states, not only are they chock full of sodium, many say they contain 2 (?) servings...and since no one splits a can of soup, you're actually getting double the listed salt dosage. gag.

even worse are chicken pot pies and frozen pizzas...

luckily, I eat none of these products.

[67-59]

Agree that canned soup and frozen foods have way too much sodium for most people -- who also tend to eat chips and other junk food, and then just sit on the couch all night.

But I've upped my mileage a lot this spring (250-300 miles/week), and thought I was getting enough fluids by drinking lots of extra water and sports drinks like Gatorade...and contiuing my normal, healthy diet (i.e., home-cooked stuff with not too much added salt, virtually no frozen foods or canned soups, and very little junk food). Well, I started feeling lightheaded and occasionally dizzy, so I really pumped in the water and Gatorade to the point that I was running to the bathroom nearly every hour...still to no avail.

Decided to go to the doc and got some tests done. Turns out I was dehydrated...because I wasn't getting nearly enough sodium, to help "hold in" all the water I was getting! Doc suggests putting more salt on my foods and/or eating foods with more salt ("a can of soup might be a good idea"), and voila -- I'm feeling great.

Still not going for the canned or frozen things, but adding more salt to my home-cooked stuff, and making sure my sports drinks and gels have higher sodium levels.

Lesson: most people today get WAY too much sodium, but don't necessarily assume you're one of them...especially if you exercise a lot and generally eat a pretty healthy diet.

[victoryfactory]

I'm tired of running around with my hair on fire every time some over educated over funded researcher with over sensitive testing apparatus
decides that we should or shouldn't eat this or that
followed closely by knee jerk "news" outlets who need scare stories to fill their "scare story" or disease of the week
90 seconds of their stupid "News" casts which serve for window
dressing and filler for their non stop barrage of brutal commercials.

Coffee is good - coffee is bad
High fructose corn sweetener is good - High fructose corn sweetener is bad
Chocolate is good - chocolate is bad
cell phones cause cancer
the fillings in your teeth cause cancer etc, etc.

Eat fresh as much as possible, stay away from processed foods as much as
possible ignore the scientific study mill. They are in business to scare you.
Stay away from prescription drugs if at all possible.

These studies often extrapolate their "results" from non real world over exposures.

Life long natural food eating vegetarians get colon cancer (trust me on this one)
Life long fitness fans have heart problems.

Do what feels right, don't over react to every report.
Everything in moderation.

Life causes death

rant over

[54ny77]

It's very PRO to get fresh milk whilst on your bicycle.

http://contenderbicycles.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/protein-shake.jpeg

[MattTuck]

Interesting...

I sometimes have canned tuna. I'm not minimizing the results of the study, but I have to imagine that the bulk of the macronutrients in the diet contribute a lot more to someone's overall health, than exposure to BPA.

[maunahaole]

It's very PRO to get fresh milk whilst on your bicycle.

http://contenderbicycles.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/protein-shake.jpeg

Do that on a hot summer day and you will have yogurt by the end of the ride.

[tuxbailey]

I like my ramen. The package type loaded with MSG of course.

[Seramount]

Doc suggests putting more salt on my foods...

there's probably very few folks with your situation, most are getting truckloads of salt in their diet.

but, if you're low on sodium, try seasoning your food with some nice kosher sea salt...much tastier than the Morton's variety.

[Fixed]

How about a company like Amy 's ?
Cheers

[weiwentg]

Do that on a hot summer day and you will have yogurt by the end of the ride.

not to mention that they recommend not drinking raw milk.

[Seramount]

How about a company like Amy 's ? Cheers

um, what about it?

their food sucks for the most part. pizzas are crappy, burritos are crappy...that's all I've tried.

[Seramount]

not to mention that they recommend not drinking raw milk.

'they' don't know squat.

raw milk is the best.