Hellobee

This post is somewhat related to my post about whether nonstick pans are bad for you, because I worry about making healthy choices for my kids, while trying to take all the doomsday articles about things that can cause cancer with a grain of salt. My parents always cooked healthy meals at home, but things like soda, juice boxes, sweets, etc. didn’t have anywhere close to the firm limits I impose on sugar with my kids. These are some of the things I think about when it comes to food decisions for my family.

– Organic Food – This isn’t as much of an option where we live now, but when we lived in New York, we had many organic options, which also meant much, much pricier. I tried to buy organic when I could, but sometimes it was just too expensive. I tried to buy organic for the dirty dozen produce, but if only a nonorganic option was available I’d still buy it. We’re lucky to have access to several organic farms near us, so we try to buy local produce from them whenever possible, but I don’t overly worry about buying organic, otherwise our food options would seriously be limited. In many ways I think local is even better than organic.

– Antibiotics – The chickens available here are chock full of antibiotics (it’s difficult to buy chicken feed without antibiotics already added), and growth hormones too as chickens are typically less than 2 months old when sold. Business Insider claims that 80% of Filipinos are antibiotic resistant due to the use of antibiotics in poultry and pork products here in the Philippines. I know from personal experience that there is an overabundance of doctors prescribing antibiotics for any ailment. This is something that does worry me because antibiotic resistance is a big deal! For this reason, I rarely buy chicken here (organic is almost never available), and opt to buy imported beef and sausages when I can. Not the most eco-friendly option, but this probably more than anything else on this list scares me.

– Nitrates/Nitrites – Nitrates/Nitrites are preservatives used in some processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, salami, deli meats, etc. They were easy to avoid in the US, but they are ever present in meat products in the Philippines. I grew up eating nitrates galore in hot dogs, but I won’t buy foods that contain it for my kids. They miss bacon, but they’re used to living without it now.

“It’s not so much nitrates/nitrites per se [that are carcinogenic], but the way they are cooked and their local environment that is an important factor,” says Kate Allen, executive director of science and public affairs at the World Cancer Research Fund. “For example, nitrites in processed meats are in close proximity to proteins (specifically amino acids). When cooked at high temperatures this allows them to more easily form nitrosamines, the cancer-causing compound.” (via BBC)

– BPA – BPA is a chemical used in the manufacture of some plastics, and “is said to mimic the structure and function of the hormone estrogen. Due to its estrogen-like shape, BPA can bind to estrogen receptors and influence bodily processes, such as growth, cell repair, fetal development, energy levels, and reproduction.” I try to avoid BPA whenever possible, which is relatively easy nowadays with all the other options available. I only buy plastic items from trusted brands like Lock and Lock that I know don’t have BPA, and try to use glass instead when possible. I never microwave plastic — actually I don’t own a microwave — and I very much limit my used of canned goods, which are often lined with plastic containing BPA.

– Free Range Eggs – We buy free range eggs as they are available from a local farm. The taste and yolk color are much better than store-bought eggs because the chickens are allowed to graze. It does make me feel better knowing that the eggs came from happy chickens that I’ve visited myself. Regular eggs are 14¢ an egg, while free-range ones are 20¢ an egg, or $2.40/dozen, so they are quite affordable here!

– MSG – I’ve posted before about how I don’t think MSG is bad for you, and it doesn’t bother me as an ingredient. Though products that contain MSG, especially in the Philippines, tend to be lower quality, so I typically don’t purchase them anyway.

– BBQ – We love our bbq here in the Philippines. A day out on an outrigger canoe always means a bbq lunch grilled over charcoal. It’s absolutely delicious! What’s the danger with bbq?

“Unlike grilling, a barbecue heats the meat from below. As the fat drips onto the hot coals it burns, and the smoke rises up and coats the meat. This smoke contains lots of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the partially burned fat. PAHs are another group of chemicals that are known to cause cancer.” (via BBC)

We have bbq maybe twice a month so I don’t worry about this too much.

– Soda & Juice – I don’t buy ever buy juice or soda because I don’t drink them. But sugary drinks are the norm in the Philippines and is always available at parties. I let Charlie indulge then, but Olive doesn’t like soda.

“A new study has linked drinking just a small glass of a sugary drink per day — 100 ml, about a third of a typical can of soda — to an 18% increase in overall cancer risk and a 22% increase in risk for breast cancer.” (via CNN)

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Do I seem like a worry wart?! But I don’t have absolute hard and fast rules about everything. As long as the kids eat a varied and healthy diet, things that are “bad” for you in moderation are fine. Because you’ll pry my wine from my cold dead hands!

Do you have any rules when it comes to making food decisions for your family?