Aaaand We're Back!
Holy moly, it's been a while, eh? It's like I went out and had a couple of babies and have been busy or something.
Well I did not forget about this blog, but I am too sleep deprived to really have any creative juices flowing. However, being back at work has at least made me think about my profession and nutrition and dietitioning (I think that should be a word) again.
So, let's talk about this that came up at work yesterday. We were discussing food labels and how the food industry has some regulated things they can add to food labels but others are not regulated - like "all natural."
But, did you know that "added natural flavors" on food labels means something that comes from a beaver's butt?
So apparently beavers mark their territory-as many animals do- with scents from their behinds, only this is a pleasant scent! So food companies used this to enhance strawberry and vanilla flavoring in foods. Really. And the FDA says it's safe. Fortunately, it is not used frequently because it's too expensive, but it may change the way you look at vanilla ice cream. Or when you read "natural added flavors" on a food label, you may think twice about consuming that product.
This came out on NPR about a year ago. You can read about here:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/26/293406191/does-beaver-tush-flavor-your-strawberry-shortcake-we-go-myth-busting
I leave you to think about that for a minute...
In other news, I may be revamping this blog a little. I know, I know. I started with a specific theme (functionality of food), but now that life has taken me elsewhere, I may throw in "Parenting Twins" tidbits. Because, you know, when you want information about food, nutrition, and exercise, you also want to read anecdotes about infertility, pregnancy, labor and raising twins. You'll see.
Well I did not forget about this blog, but I am too sleep deprived to really have any creative juices flowing. However, being back at work has at least made me think about my profession and nutrition and dietitioning (I think that should be a word) again.
So, let's talk about this that came up at work yesterday. We were discussing food labels and how the food industry has some regulated things they can add to food labels but others are not regulated - like "all natural."
But, did you know that "added natural flavors" on food labels means something that comes from a beaver's butt?
So apparently beavers mark their territory-as many animals do- with scents from their behinds, only this is a pleasant scent! So food companies used this to enhance strawberry and vanilla flavoring in foods. Really. And the FDA says it's safe. Fortunately, it is not used frequently because it's too expensive, but it may change the way you look at vanilla ice cream. Or when you read "natural added flavors" on a food label, you may think twice about consuming that product.
This came out on NPR about a year ago. You can read about here:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/26/293406191/does-beaver-tush-flavor-your-strawberry-shortcake-we-go-myth-busting
I leave you to think about that for a minute...
In other news, I may be revamping this blog a little. I know, I know. I started with a specific theme (functionality of food), but now that life has taken me elsewhere, I may throw in "Parenting Twins" tidbits. Because, you know, when you want information about food, nutrition, and exercise, you also want to read anecdotes about infertility, pregnancy, labor and raising twins. You'll see.
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