Dr Mel Siff Questions Ten “Worst” and”Best” Foods for Children?

30 Jan

Dr Mel Siff Questions Ten “Worst” and”Best” Foods for Children?

Author: Dr Mel Siff Blog // Category: Dr Siff on Nutrition, Dr Siff on Science, Main Content

Someone wrote anonymously:

This seems to be the standard “health-site” style article. Little or
innacurate substantiation, coupled with a small host of recommendations off
the top of one’s head. Vitamin-book style, food X is high in vitamin Y so
it must be good for you writing.

The author’s “Bad” Foods:

I find it particularly interesting that, when referring to high sugar
content, this individual does not comment on the potentially harmful (and
long-term) effects to the body’s insulin response and glucose tolerance
levels. The author seems more concerned with “tooth decay”. What she does
not centre on is that foods high in sugar are potentially setting up
children for a lifetime of more serious illness. (1) Her comment on the jam
is disconcerting.

Also concerning is the lack of analysis as to why the particular foods are
bad. I am confused as to why she did not provide food groups, as opposed to
10, seemingly random, foods. Parents would perhaps have found this more
helpful.

The author’s “Good” foods:

Dairy:

Perhaps more disconcerting are the offerings provided for “Healthy foods”
(2). “American Cheese” and “Chocolate Milk” are both highly processed dairy
products. This is not good. (3,4,5,6,7). It is very interesting that the
author cites the calcium content of both the cheese and milk. Processed
dairy products are now known to be comparatively **low** in calcium and good
nutrients. They are known to be heavily supplemented with essential
vitamins and minerals **by the industry** during processing, due to
unnatural farming methods. Indeed, even with such supplementary measures
buy the industry, the US population is known to be chronically deficient in
calcium. Add to this the unacceptably high hormone, harmful fat and
preservative content (3,4,5,6,7). Arguably, typical, mass production
cheeses and milks are no longer healthy foods in our society. They are in
fact damaging.

The author states “In an ideal world, children would gulp down plain milk
without complaint.”. Actually, in an ideal world, cows would not be feed
unnatural foodstuffs, numerous hormones and other growth stimulants
(3,4,5,6,7). In an ideal world, milk would be natural, unprocessed and free
of harmful substances. It would be healthy. I would not recommend gulping
down the milk available at supermarkets, be it flavoured it unflavoured.

The author is not too far off with her reference to yoghurts. Yoghurts can
be both heavily laden or relatively free from processing, sugar,
flavourings, and other negative points, depending on brand and source. For
example, **some** natural “organic” yoghurt is known to provide a range of
benefits (19). Good examples of natural yoghurts include those made using
cows that were grazed exclusively on unsprayed pasture and are only fed
organically-grown foods (grass) without hormones or antibiotics (20). More
care should be taken to express the differences between different variations
of what are often categorised as the same foods.

Carbohydrates:

There is not enough real fiber in the recommended food list. Disturbing is
the author’s fascination with potatoes (normal and sweet) as a “fiber rich”
food. Potatoes are not rich in fiber. Arguably, they are non-fibrous.
Fibrous carbohydrates, like *real* carrots, vegetables and broccoli, are
indeed great. Yet, potatoes are characterised by their relatively simple,
*sugary* composition. This will turn to Glucose quickly (8).

Interestingly, on recommending pizza, the author makes no effort to explain
the differences between a natural, home-made pizza, and a supermarket pizza.
In direct opposition to her low sodium agenda, processed foods like pizzas
are actually very high in this substance. Sodium is highly present in
processed foods such as pizza or frozen “dinners” (15). The author comments
“This popular item dishes up three food groups at once: grains, dairy, and
vegetable (the tomato sauce counts as a serving)”! And this is good? It will
indeed provide white, refined flour, processed dairy, and limited
vegetables. Refer to the points and references made above for my feelings
on grains and dairy. Refined flour is known to be implicated in a range of
health dysfunctions (16,17,18)

Granted, the author does state that she admires “100 percent juices”. Yet,
most commercial juices are high in simple sugars, preservatives, and low in
real fruit juices. It is unclear if a juice comprised of 100% juice has a
substantial amount of sugar added, though, it is more than likely. As we
know, the effects of such juices are, for the most part, undesirable (12,
13,14). Sugar, as stated earlier can affect the insulin mechanism.
Connectedly, there has been much discussion on their use *after*
training — in a controlled manner — from the athletic perspective. I
would recommend real fruit. The author states “[OJ has] got lots of vitamin
C, folate, and potassium”. Although such products are **marketed**
(seemingly the source of all untruths in society) to be high in vitmain C
and beneficial nutrients, they are, in fact, comparatively lower in them in
respect to real fruit and other foods (13,14).

Farm / Protein:

The author makes no reference to current understanding that implies only 1-2
egg yolks should be consumed per week. If one consumes an egg every day,
that, of course, is 7 egg yolks. Egg whites, are seemingly safe to be
consumed freely. The author does not mention this. Many consume more than
this. It has been found that diabetics who ate at least one egg a day
showed twice the risk for heart disease as diabetics who ate less than one
egg per week (9).

On recommending **ground beef**, there is no reference to the nature of
harmful, ’scientific’ rearing and farming methods. There is no mention of
pursuing so-called “real” beef. Nearly 100% of the beef sold in stores is
not real beef (10,11). This is true also of so-called “health” stores. Not
only do most beef cuts have a high fat content, ranging from 35-75%, but the
majority of it is saturated (10,11). Grain fed beef can have an omega 6:3
ratio higher than 20:1. Grass-fed (“real”) beef has a more desirable ratio
of 3:1 (10,11). It is known that an Omega **3 to 6** ratio of 1-5:1 is now
desirable, in order to reverse the opposing trends found in our diet.

Flavourings:

Yes, ketchup has recently been acknowledged as being high in a natural
cancer-fighting compound, lycopene. However, it is also very high in sugar
and preservatives (12). For the ‘big-house’ brands, it is said that for
every tablespoon of ketchup there is a teaspoon of sugar present. This, of
course, is not good.

EFAs:

There is no reference to Essential Fatty Acids. There is no reference to
monounsaturated fats. It is my understanding that **natural** peanut butter
is a source of natural, organic, unrefined, non-hydrogenated monounsaturated
fat. The article makes no reference to this. The author states peanut
butter is “ever-popular among kids [does that make it good for them?]. It
is “protein-rich and a good source of fiber [and] makes a yummy dip for
celery sticks, apple slices, or banana chunks”. So?

Conclusion:

Alas, this is the type of article that is common on internet lifestyle
sites. Generally speaking, more effort should be made to underline the
importance of pursuing natural, and “truly” organic types of food over
process counterparts. Effort should be made to distinguish good from bad,
and to substantiate the reasons for doing so. For example, writers should
state “natural peanut butter” over processed peanut butter. This implies
that parents should pursue a more organic and body friendly product, rather
than the first, “super-saver” super-ulta-hydrogenated-oil-added peanut
butter they grab off the shelf.

———-

References:

1) http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin.htm. This is a long, but
extremely insightful article pertaining to insulin and illness.

2) http://www.parents.com/articles/health/2148.jsp?page=1 The author’s
healthy food recommendations.

3) http://www.proliberty.com/observer/20000208.htm Milk article

4) http://www.ivillage.com/diet/experts/wlcoach/qas/0,5090,221846_65386,00.html
Milk article

5) http://www.lammd.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/2003-No2-Milk.cfm#top Milk
article

6) http://www.vegsource.com/books/milk_poison.htm Milk article

7) http://www.karlloren.com/aajonus/p17.htm Milk article

http://www.mercola.com/2001/jul/14/insulin3.htm Insulin response article
(part 3)