Where's the beef?

By now, you've probably grown used to me ragging on corn and soy and more specifically how they and are pumped into "health" food products. Do you really know where tocopherol, xanthan gum, and modified food starch come from and what they are? And more importantly, do you know which of your favorite foods they are in? Today we are going to look at some common "health" food products and their ingredients. The ingredients in green are products that are made from corn or soy, or that can be made from corn or soy.

Special K with Red Berries Cereal

Ingredients: RICE, SUGAR, WHOLE WHEAT, WHEAT GLUTEN, FREEZE-DRIED STRAWBERRIES, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WHEAT FLOUR, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, SALT, MALT FLAVORING, ASCORBIC ACID, ALPHA TOCOPHEROL, REDUCED IRON, NIACINAMIDE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), VITAMIN A PALMITATE, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12.

The high fructose corn syrup is a no brainer. Malt flavoring can be extracted from corn. Ascorbic acid is a vitamin C additive that almost always comes from corn. Alpha tocopherol is a vitamin E additive that also almost always comes from corn. What we have here is nothing but flour and sugar, which is really just sugar and sugar.

Wheat Thins Crackers

Ingredients: ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, DEFATTED WHEAT GERM, CORNSTARCH, MALT SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, SALT, MONOGLYCERIDES, LEAVENING, VEGETABLE COLOR, SOY LECITHIN

Here, we basically have some flour, sugar, and a bunch of chemicals from corn and soy. Soybean oil is obviously extracted from soy. Cornstarch is the concentrated starch molecules from corn used to thicken baked goods. Malt syrup is a sugar used similarly to malt flavoring. Again, more high fructose corn syrup. Monoglycerides come from soybeans. Leavening almost always contains a starch (usually from corn). Vegetable color usually comes from corn. Soy lecithin is used as a binder and obviously comes from soy.

Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt

Ingredients: NONFAT YOGURT (CULTURED GRADE A NONFAT MILK, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, KOSHER GELATIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3), WATER, STRAWBERRIES, FRUCTOSE, contains less than 1% of MODIFIED CORN STARCH, BANANA PUREE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICAL FLAVORS, ASPARTAME, SODIUM CITRATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, ANNATTO EXTRACT, MALIC ACID, SUCRALOSE, RED 40

Lots of modified corn starch is used here to make the product more like regular yogurt since nonfat yogurt by itself is really just a runny mess. More fructose. More flavors. More preservatives.

Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken Entree

Ingredients: CHICKEN TENDERLOINS (CHICKEN TENDERLOINS, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CORN OIL, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, SALT, CARAMEL COLOR, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, GARLIC, ONION, PAPRIKA, SPICES), WATER, BLANCHED ENRICHED LONG GRAIN RICE (RICE, FERRIC PHOSPHATE, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRITE, FOLIC ACID), GREEN BEANS, MUSHROOMS, ONIONS, BLANCHED WILD RICE, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SUGAR, SALT, CULTURED WHEY, CHICKEN FAT, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, CARAMEL COLOR, DEHYDRATED ONIONS, SPICES, DEHYDRATED GARLIC, PAPRIKA

Pardon my ignorance, but what is all that junk doing in my chicken tenderloins? I'm not even going to try and say anything else about this abomination. (However, it could potentially be a lot worse...)

Still convinced you don't eat that much corn and soy?