OPINION: RUBY: What we eat

May 30—Most of us probably don't think a lot about what we eat. We know what we like and don't like, and may even insist on buying certain brands of a food.

Several years ago my daughter began making me more aware of some of my choices, though.

For example, she sent me photos of workers in hazmat suits spraying pesticides in strawberry fields. Permanently took me off buying strawberries that weren't labeled "organic."

She also alerted me to the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists on the EWG website. These change, but I refer to them each year. This year strawberries top the first list, which also includes apples, celery, potatoes, and lettuce.

The second list includes sweet corn, pineapple, onions, and cabbage. No need to spend extra on the organic versions.

These are sort of straightforward. What is more insidious are the chemical additives in foods. Recently I rediscovered corn toaster rounds in the grocery. We loved these years ago when Howard Johnson marketed them (MANY years ago). I was so happy!

Then I read the ingredients label. Propylene glycol. Used in pharmaceuticals, brake and hydraulic fluids, antifreeze, and flavorings.

The FDA allows it because it is supposedly safe, but I'm not keen on ingesting an ingredient used in brake fluid and antifreeze.

I wonder if I should worry about it in the pills I take. Is it in them? Have you ever tried to read those looong lists of warnings and ingredients that come with your prescriptions? I'd need someone to translate most of it for me . . .

Well, the EU bans it "in certain products due to safety concerns." They tend to be more strict than our FDA concerning food safety.

They ban a "whitening agent" found in Skittles and Starburst. It's titanium dioxide, used to give the candy its texture and brightness. Great reason to use it!

They also ban US flour, a chemical additive that can affect hormonal systems, a synthetic hormone used to enhance milk production in dairy cows, and a "Brominated Vegetable oil (BVO) found in some fruit drinks."

* Coke and Pepsi have removed that. Maybe because it's one of the food additives banned in California?

Then there are the sugars. Brown sugar is healthier than refined white sugar. Except we typically process the white sugar, then add some molasses back into it to make it light or dark brown. Why? Well of course — to reduce manufacturing costs. Who cares that nutrients were removed in that refining process?

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) has been controversial for years. A Princeton research project from 2010 (yeah, that's a long time ago) found that "Rats with access to [HFCS] gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar."

A primary reason that it is used? Of course —it's cheaper than cane sugar.

I have refused to buy those products for years, partly because I resent finding it in items like "gourmet" priced ice creams. Also used in pricier brands like Oreos and Ritz crackers. So essentially I'm paying more for cheaper ingredients.

Aside from generally unhealthy ingredients in soft drinks, I learned several years ago that Mt. Dew bottles were used for making meth. Not Coke or Pepsi bottles.

"Why," you might ask? Well, evidently the chemicals in meth will corrode Coke or Pepsi bottles. But not the ones for Mt. Dew.

I don't know about you, but that makes me wonder about the ingredients in the soft drink. That, and the fact that, while colas generally are bad for your health, Mt. Dew seems to be worse in causing tooth decay.

Well, we are, of course, just tipping the iceberg here. But maybe some of the things I've mentioned will light a research spark for you and you'll start googling like I did.

Meanwhile, anticipate a Part II for this topic. I think I'm just getting started . . .

You can find more information on these by googling "food additives banned in the EU" and "California is first state to ban 4 food additives . . ."