It’s time for another dialogue between Linn Steward and me on ultra-processed foods. I view Linn as a dietitian who avoids most ultra-processed packaged food, loves to cook, sometimes goes rogue, and likes to ask questions. She views me as a food scientist who defends food processing, has an open mind, loves debating, and likes to teach. It is clear that we are not prototypes … Continue reading A dialogue between a dietitian and a food scientist on avoiding ultra-processed foods  

Since its start, Home Economics has been an outlier on college campuses. It never gained full respect from colleagues. Despite its limitations Home Economics made contributions on campus and in public policy. Danielle Dreilinger traces the triumph and struggles of the underlying disciplines. Her book tells us How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live. I recommend it to … Continue reading The Secret History of Home Economics

A group of public-health officials developed a way to classify all food into four groups. The group calls its scheme NOVA. It is not an acronym. The first three groups are healthy. The fourth group, ultra-processed foods, is not. Despite claims to the contrary, ultra-processing is not about processing. It is about adding a few additives to a complex combination of chemicals in real food. … Continue reading Is it dangerous to eat microbe-enhanced foods?

Earlier In Defense of Processed Food, I critiqued Metabolical. In it Robert Lustig rejects all processed foods. Also, I described specific food processes deemed acceptable by NOVA. Some critics divide food processes into mechanical and chemical. Mechanical processing claims to be benign. It should not form dangerous chemicals, strip out stuff, or change food properties. Chemical food processing adds chemicals to foods. These chemicals are … Continue reading Chemical food processing. What is it? Why is it dangerous?

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble. In Macbeth, Shakespeare anticipated what many American cooks envision about food processing. Eye of newt, root of hemlock, and gall of goat are not approved ingredients in processed foods. That segment of the play is rather offensive in many ways. I don’t believe William would get his dialogue past the censors if he wrote it … Continue reading What they don’t want us to know about food processing!

Life expectancy in the United States has not gone up in two consecutive years. Robert Lustig uses an apparent decline in 2019 as support for his assault on processed food. The 2020 report showed a major drop in the statistics. Do these numbers support Lustig’s contention? Or is it a smokescreen?  2020 is not a good year to use to draw conclusions. COVID-19 became the … Continue reading Contribution of processed foods to lower lifespans

Robert Lustig derives the title of his book from the terms ‘metabolic’ and ‘diabolical’. The 2020s are the era of conspiracy theory. He claims that Americans are victims of a vast commercial conspiracy Modern medicine is not interested in making us well as it treats only symptoms and not the disease, Doctors need to learn that nutrition is about biochemistry and NOT about nutrients, Dietitians … Continue reading Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine

AUTHENTIC is the word that sticks in my mind as I reflect on the life of Dr. Aaron Brody. He was a giant in food technology, food packaging, and chilled foods. He knew what he believed and was never afraid to express his opinion. He was in the room when the microwave oven was born. Starburst and Peanut M&Ms were in his development portfolio. He … Continue reading Aaron Brody 1930—2021

It is obvious that some Americans have serious problems with food. We eat too much or we eat too little. Big Food bombards us with references to processed food everywhere we go. Even pristine wilderness might assault us with a crumpled, empty beer can. How do we help the victims? Obesity may be a symptom of the American eating problem, but that is only the … Continue reading Food addiction–myth or reality?

Michael Moss brought the topic of food addiction to the forefront with Hooked. He followed it up with many interviews to promote his book. In an earlier post I asked if an Oreo is as addictive as crack cocaine, but the post brought less interest than I anticipated. I suspect that half my audience assumed it to be true. The other half rejected it as … Continue reading You could be a food addict if . . . Take the quiz to see if you qualify!