Thursday, March 24, 2011

More "Junk" Food Going Natural

Frito Lay. I've got to give it to them. They know when there's a hot button in the market place and they aren't too big to press it. According to this WSJ article, many processed snacks made by the PepsiCo. subsidiary are getting stripped down to only natural ingredients that can be found in anyones kitchen. Some of the brands getting the makeover are Lay's flavored potato chips, Tostitos tortilla chips, multigrain SunChips and Rold Gold pretzels. So instead of Red dye #40, we will start to see beet juice on the ingredient list. No more MSG either. Apparently their target is looking for healthier processed foods, which is an oxymoron to me but what the hell. If it 'feels' better than it must be better, right?

I actually commend the company for making this move. Synthetic chemicals have no place in our foods and really should be avoided at all costs. So if natural juices are replacing these nasty chemicals then great. However, the snacks are still loaded with fats and oils and should not be considered to replace healthy options in ones diet.  I am sure they will not replace any soy based oils that they use to cook these chips in. Please read some of my older posts on soy and how when its processed it can act like an estrogen in our bodies. This is very unhealthy for growing children, the ones who unfortunately, will be eating the snacks.

So, what does all this boil down to? I see it as a baby step towards our ultimate goal - truly healthy food. Americans are not about to give up their salty processed goodness just yet so steps like this are good ones. Ones to be promoted and applauded. However, we should not be fooled. These snacks are really no healthier than they were before. They just won't be contributing to the development of cancer in our bodies anymore.