Got dairy free milk?

People with dairy allergies or following a casein-free diet, like many autistic children, can't drink cow's milk. But there are dairy free milk alternatives and the variety of options continues to grow. Many people drink soy milk or almond milk. You can easily find these, even at regular supermarkets. Or, order online via Amazon and have a case shipped to your door.

However, soy and nuts also are common allergens, meaning many food allergy sufferers cannot turn to these options. Don't worry, there are other dairy free milk options.

A good one is rice milk, which also are commonly found on store shelves. People intolerant of gluten should know that Imagine Foods' Rice Dream is made using a process that exposes it to gluten. Some people do not react to this, while others say they do.

Another option is Darifree. This is potato-based -- no soy, no rice, no gluten. It's harder to find and comes in a powder. You can order it at the company's website. My younger daughter cannot have rice, so I have used Darifree in recipes.

You'll also find a number of other dairy free milk options, including coconut milk, hemp milk and even sunflower seed milk. You'll even find options such as almond milk and coconut milk at discounted prices in stores like Aldi's, which helps save a few bucks if you're following a special food plan.

A GFCF caution with Ball Park Franks

It's amazing to me how good some companies have handled the gluten thing and how badly others have botched it -- and blown it. After all, I won't buy anything that possibly contains gluten, especially with those mysterious ingredients like "flavorings."

So, I'm sure you'll appreciate this phone conversation I had tonight with a Sara Lee Corp. representative. Sara Lee makes Ball Park Franks.

See, I stopped at Sams Club looking for a pack of Best's Kosher hot dogs, which is what I always buy for the kids. It's definitely GFCF, and they're good. But they were out. Unbelievable! So, I looked to the other shelves and there were the Ball Park Franks. I checked for some indication of gluten, but found nothing, either way. I struggled to remember my GFCF lists as to whether they contained any. I suspected they were OK. But, I hated to buy it and find out later I'd have to return it. (I should not now that, indeed, most GFCFers consider Ball Park Franks safe -- I glanced at a couple online lists after getting home.)

So I called the toll free number on the package from the store. In a few minutes, the rep asked what I needed. I told her. She said she could help me. I read the UPC numbers to her. And, then (here's where it gets nuts)...

She said, "Well, if you could tell me what type of gluten you're trying to avoid, I can help you."

A little stunned, I said, "Uh, all types."

She responded, "But there are many different forms of gluten. It's in wheat, corn, rice ...."

I had to stop her. "Sorry, I don't know what you're reading to me, but it's incorrect. There is no gluten in corn or rice. The information you're providing is factually incorrect."

"Sir, we're just asking that our customers trust our labels and trust that we'd indicate clearly whether an ingredient contains gluten."

I said, "Well, then you can tell me whether there's any gluten in the ingredient named 'flavoring' in these hot dogs.'"

She stammered. I said, "I don't think you can tell me for certain whether these hot dogs have gluten or not. And since you can't, I'm not going to buy your hot dogs."

That's when she told me to hold for a few minutes while she consulted others. When she returned, she still could not tell me but promised to call back with an answer.

The point of this is not to pick on the poor lady on the phone. There's two important messages here.

First, companies like Sara Lee need to be more open about their ingredients. Other companies do it, and gladly do it. Until they do, they won't get my business.

Second, we need to be super careful about checking items for gluten. Just because you get some nice person on the phone assuring you that there's no gluten in your favorite hot dog doesn't mean that's good info. We need to ask questions, test the answers and push for clarity when the responses seem fuzzy. Otherwise, we -- and our kids -- will pay the price.

By the way, you can check out some good hot dog options at my previous Hot Dog Guide post.

Happy Halloween! -- safe gfcf candy lists

Anyone out there have a pile of candy tonight that your kids brought home from school, or a party, or trick-or-treating? Any clue as to what pieces are gluten - casein free and which are not? I just sorted through my daughter's bag of goodies from a school party. And, I used the following two lists to help guide me. If it wasn't on one of these lists, the candy went into my bag ... or, uh, the garbage.

First, check the candy list at GFCF Diet Support Group.

Next, is the list at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

Between the two, you have a heft list to review. Use your browser to search for candy names more quickly.

Halloween Candy

We don't do Halloween. It's not our favorite holiday, and never was. I'm not into the ghosts and spooky things. I tend to think it's a warped event altogether. Yet, I don't want the kids to be left out and now they're old enough to know when they're not getting candy and everyone else is.

So, this year, I bought some gfcf candy (also soy free) with a couple other treats and I'll put them in a birthday-type bag from the dollar store and send it to school for their Halloween party. They'll think it's great. To be honest, my kids don't eat much candy. We used to buy DumDums lollipops, but noticed when they had too many in a week that their behavior was warped. That's when we learned about the dangers of food coloring. So, we found Yummy Earth brand pops and College Farm candy. Good stuff. My oldest can stomach the dyes and corn syrup better than my youngest. And, it's the oldest's party I'm most concerned about. Oh, you can get chocolates out there too. Our kids just can't have it, so that's why I've skipped it. So, below, I've included some ideas of other safe candy.

- Sweet Tarts, from Wonka
- Necco Wafers
- Smarties, Ce De Candies
- DumDum lollipops
- Lifesavers (regular)
- Pez
- Starburst
- Some favorites like stickers, fancy pencils and a fancy pumpkin straw.

That'll be enough. It'll last her a long time. Like I said, we don't let her have candy very often. It's a treat.

The youngest will be happy with some DumDums, a Pez and Smarties -- with the toys, of course.

So, we'll make our kids happy on Halloween through sugar but I might just rename the holiday in our home, "Candy Day."

What's in your ketchup?

Did you ever think about what's in the ketchup you put on your favorite burger, hot dog or potatoes each day? I did a couple of months ago. And it made me change what I bought for my family.

Heinz ketchup -- America's No. 1 ketchup -- is filled with high fructose corn syrup. If you don't yet know the dangers of this sweetener, read my blog entry from yesterday, or Google it for yourself.

This was very depressing, especially since I like Heinz. But, with the care we're taking to feed our kids properly, I decided to look elsewhere.

I found two quality substitutes that are gluten-free, soy-free and HFCS-free.

Annie's ketchup is pretty darn good. For me, it's a little spicier, in a sweet way, than I prefer. But, my kids loved it. And, it's organic.

Muir Glen also makes an organic ketchup, which I prefer. I now buy this by the case. It's taste more closely resembles Heinz -- and actually is what Heinz probably tasted like 20-30 years ago when it wasn't made with the HFCS.

Do a taste test for yourself, and make your burger a little healthier.

High fructose corn syrup -- what's the big deal?

I'm sure you've heard talk about the evils of high fructose corn syrup. But do you understand the problem? I didn't. If you don't, this article is worth reading. It explains the issue well.


washingtonpost.com

Sweet but Not So Innocent?
High-Fructose Corn Syrup May Act More Like Fat Than Sugar in the Body

By Sally Squires
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 11, 2003; Page HE01

From fruit-flavored drinks to energy bars, a huge array of sweetened foods and beverages crowds grocery shelves, vending machines, restaurant menus, school lunches and kitchens. According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), consumption of various sweeteners, often in calorie-dense foods and drinks, has risen in the United States from an estimated 113 pounds per person in 1966 to 147 pounds in 2001.

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended limiting intake of added sugars found in food and drink to no more than 10 percent of daily calories, a step the WHO said could help stop the worldwide rise in obesity that is fueling the growth of such chronic diseases as type 2 diabetes. The WHO recommendation is far stricter than any that U.S. groups have produced.

But increasingly, it's not just the growing consumption of foods with added sugars that concerns some nutrition experts. What has also changed during the past four decades, the USDA figures show, is the type of sweeteners consumed -- a trend that some studies suggest may help to undermine appetite control and possibly play a role in weight gain.

In 1966, refined sugar, also known as sucrose, held the No. 1 slot, accounting for 86 percent of sweeteners used, according to the USDA. Today, sweeteners made from corn are the leader, racking up $4.5 billion in annual sales and accounting for 55 percent of the sweetener market. That switch largely reflects the steady growth of high-fructose corn syrup, which climbed from zero consumption in 1966 to 62.6 pounds per person in 2001.

While soft drinks and fruit beverages such as lemonade are the leading products containing high-fructose corn syrup, plenty of other items -- including cookies, gum, jams, jellies and baked goods -- also contain this syrup. [For more information about which foods contain these and other added sweeteners, see the Lean Plate Club column on Page F2.]

Made from corn starch, high-fructose corn syrup is a thick liquid that contains two basic sugar building blocks, fructose and glucose, in roughly equal amounts. Sucrose, most familiar to consumers as table sugar, is a larger sugar molecule that breaks down into glucose and fructose in the intestine during metabolism.

An advantage of high-fructose corn syrup is that it "tastes sweeter than refined sugar," making it a popular ingredient for food manufacturers because it enables them to use less, says George A. Bray, former director of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge. As a liquid, the syrup is easier to blend into beverages than refined sugar, according to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA). Industry taste tests suggested that consumers liked food and drink with high-fructose corn syrup as much as refined beet or cane sugar.

In the 1980s, manufacturing methods improved, prompting a boost in production of high-fructose corn syrup and a drop in price to just pennies below that of refined sugar. "While that may not sound like much to the average consumer, when you consider how many pounds [the soft drink industry buys], it was millions of dollars if not hundreds of millions of dollars in savings," says Drew Davis, NSDA's vice president for federal affairs.

The switch made economic sense and, as Davis notes, "back then, there was no suggestion that high-fructose corn syrup was metabolized differently" than other sugars. More recent research suggests, however, that there may be some unexpected nutritional consequences of using the syrup. "Fructose is absorbed differently" than other sugars, says Bray. "It doesn't register in the body metabolically the same way that glucose does."

For example, consumption of glucose kicks off a cascade of biochemical reactions. It increases production of insulin by the pancreas, which enables sugar in the blood to be transported into cells, where it can be used for energy. It increases production of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite and fat storage, and it suppresses production of another hormone made by the stomach, ghrelin, that helps regulate food intake. It has been theorized that when ghrelin levels drop, as they do after eating carbohydrates composed of glucose, hunger declines.

Fructose is a different story. It "appears to behave more like fat with respect to the hormones involved in body weight regulation," explains Peter Havel, associate professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis. "Fructose doesn't stimulate insulin secretion. It doesn't increase leptin production or suppress production of ghrelin. That suggests that consuming a lot of fructose, like consuming too much fat, could contribute to weight gain." Whether it actually does do this is not known "because the studies have not been conducted," said Havel.

Another concern is the action of fructose in the liver, where it is converted into the chemical backbone of trigylcerides more efficiently than glucose. Like low-density lipoprotein -- the most damaging form of cholesterol -- elevated levels of trigylcerides are linked to an increased risk of heart disease. A University of Minnesota study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2000 found that in men, but not in women, fructose "produced significantly higher [blood] levels" than did glucose. The researchers, led by J.P Bantle, concluded that "diets high in added fructose may be undesirable, particularly for men."

Other recent research suggests that fructose may alter the magnesium balance in the body. That could, in turn, accelerate bone loss, according to a USDA study published in 2000 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

In November, however, Havel and his colleagues published a review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that examined evidence from multiple studies. They concluded that large quantities of fructose from a variety of sources, including table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, induce insulin resistance, impair glucose tolerance, produce high levels of insulin, boost a dangerous type of fat in the blood and cause high blood pressure in animals. "The data in humans are less clear," the team noted.

Others are skeptical that high-fructose corn syrup acts differently in the body than table sugar. "I don't see it as a particular evil," says Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a vocal critic of soft drinks, which he dubs "liquid candy." "It wouldn't make much difference if soft drinks were sweetened with sucrose [table sugar] or high-fructose corn syrup."

Until scientists sort out the details, many nutrition experts say it makes sense to not surpass the 10 percent recommendation of the WHO. On a 2,000-calorie intake, that works out to about 200 calories -- roughly the amount found in a 16.9-ounce bottle of soda or about eight Chunky Chips Ahoy cookies or about an three ounces of plain M&M's. (Last year, the National Academy of Sciences suggested that added sugars should not exceed 25 percent of daily calories -- about 500 calories on a 2,000-calorie intake.)

"Reducing consumption of added sugars seems reasonable to me," Havel says, "just as you should not consume too many calories from fat and you should exercise regularly."

But industry groups urged consumers not to respond by avoiding any one food ingredient. Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, notes that many of the studies used pure fructose rather than the combination of fructose and glucose found in corn syrup.

"There are many sources for the obesity epidemic," Erickson says. "There's no one single source of the obesity epidemic or the onslaught of diabetes in America. But there are many contributing factors and no scientific link to suggest that high-fructose corn syrup is a contributing factor."

Erickson says that research published in a 1993 supplement to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that there is no evidence linking the syrup to the obesity epidemic.

What does play a role, she noted, "is the lack of physical exercise. You can not discontinue the use of any one food or beverage and expect tomorrow -- or even in 10 years from now -- to be thin without increased physical activity."

That's a message being delivered not just by the food and beverage industries, but also by the U.S. Surgeon General, the National Academy of Sciences and the WHO, which also urged more physical activity -- an hour a day of moderate-intensity activity, such as walking -- in its report last week.•

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

High Fructose Corn Syrup -- dangerous stuff

Soda Warning? High-fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests

Science Daily — Researchers have found new evidence that soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may contribute to the development of diabetes, particularly in children. In a laboratory study of commonly consumed carbonated beverages, the scientists found that drinks containing the syrup had high levels of reactive compounds that have been shown by others to have the potential to trigger cell and tissue damage that could cause the disease, which is at epidemic levels.

New evidence suggests that sodas sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup may increase the risk of diabetes, particularly in children. (Credit: American Chemical Society)

HFCS is a sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. Some researchers have suggested that high-fructose corn syrup may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes as well as obesity, a claim which the food industry disputes. Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on the topic.

In the current study, Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found 'astonishingly high' levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages. These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with "unbound" fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are "bound" and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.

Ho and his associates also found that adding tea components to drinks containing HFCS may help lower the levels of reactive carbonyls. The scientists found that adding epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound in tea, significantly reduced the levels of reactive carbonyl species in a dose-dependent manner when added to the carbonated soft drinks studied. In some cases, the levels of reactive carbonyls were reduced by half, the researchers say.

"People consume too much high-fructose corn syrup in this country," says Ho. "It's in way too many food and drink products and there's growing evidence that it's bad for you." The tea-derived supplement provides a promising way to counter its potentially toxic effects, especially in children who consume a lot of carbonated beverages, he says.

But eliminating or reducing consumption of HFCS is preferable, the researchers note. They are currently exploring the chemical mechanisms by which tea appears to neutralize the reactivity of the syrup.Ho's group is also probing the mechanisms by which carbonation increases the amount of reactive carbonyls formed in sodas containing HFCS. They note that non-carbonated fruit juices containing HFCS have one-third the amount of reactive carbonyl species found in carbonated sodas with HFCS, while non-carbonated tea beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup, which already contain EGCG, have only about one-sixth the levels of carbonyls found in regular soda.

In the future, food and drink manufacturers could reduce concerns about HFCS by adding more EGCG, using less HFCS, or replacing the syrup with alternatives such as regular table sugar, Ho and his associates say. Funding for this study was provided by the Center for Advanced Food Technology of Rutgers University. Other researchers involved in the study include Chih-Yu Lo, Ph.D.; Shiming Li, Ph.D.; Di Tan, Ph.D.; and Yu Wang, a doctoral student.

This research was reported August 23 at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, during the symposium, "Food Bioactives and Nutraceuticals: Production, Chemistry, Analysis and Health Effects: Health Effects."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society.

Copyright © 1995-2007 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact: editor@removeme.sciencedaily.com

Replacing corn syrup

If you've ever tried to make candy at home and your kids can't tolerate corn, then you've likely come across this problem: corn syrup. It's found in many candy recipes, including chocolate treats. Here's an alternative you might consider. Sweet Cactus Farms makes an agave nectar -- from a cactus plant. It's sweet, organic, kosher, gluten free, dairy free, nut free and it absorbs slowly enough into the body that it's even OK for diabetics. I bought an 8 oz. bottle for $5. That's retail. Find it wholesale for $4 through a co-op or other supplier, including the manufacturer's website.

Organic shortening? Really?

Yep, you read the headline correctly -- organic shortening. Spectrum Organics makes an organic shortening that's made from 100% organic expeller pressed palm oil. It lacks the bad stuff in Crisco -- like soy. And, it's free of trans fat. That certainly doesn't mean it's fat free. But, it's great for the allergy cook and for kids on the autism diet. So, maybe that impossible pie crust is possible after all?

Safe Easter candy

Just a tip on one candy that you might consider when searching for safe stuff to fill Easter baskets ... cane sugar candy. It's very simple -- cane sugar and water. No candy is really healthy. I found bags of this at the Asian grocery for 79 cents a pound. No preservatives, corn, soy, grains, etc. Just cane sugar and water. They're similar to hard candy. They will either melt in the mouth or crumble if bitten. Very good.

French fry lawsuits

Thought I'd update the McDonald's fries issue, since I think this is just going to grow.

Anger sizzles over seasoning used in McDonald's fries

By Lylah M. Alphonse,
Globe Staff February 22, 2006

Kathleen Fischbach's 6-year-old son, Andy,
has autism as well as celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by
gluten, the protein found in wheat and many other grains. He is also sensitive
to casein, a dairy protein. On his strict gluten- and casein-free diet, known as
GFCF, anything with wheat or dairy in it -- bread, pasta, cheese, almost all
fast food -- is off limits. But McDonald's french fries were a ''safe"
treat.
Not any more.
As news broke last week that the fast-food giant has
been using wheat and dairy ingredients to flavor its fries for years, people in
the celiac and autistic communities were up in arms. As of Friday, at least
three lawsuits had been filed against McDonald's. For those with celiac disease,
even a trace of gluten can lead to severe intestinal damage; for many autistic
children, gluten and casein cause hyperactive behavior and a host of
gastrointestinal problems.
''Parents of children on the GFCF diet drive
themselves nuts checking and rechecking every ingredient in every item they
buy," says Nicole GuBrath of Colorado Springs, Colo., whose 5-year-old son has
been on the diet for about three years. ''I am furious that McDonald's was able
to lie for so long and poison our children with known allergens when we work so
hard to keep them away."
Lynne Monnett, who grew up in the Boston area, lives
with her husband and six children in Central Florida. All of them suffer from
celiac disease, and they used to stop at McDonald's for french fries. ''My
children have various food allergies in addition to celiac, and they've been
increasing instead of decreasing," she says. ''McDonald's fries were one item
they were always allowed to have, that we thought was safe.
''My life and my
childrens' lives were unnecessarily toyed with," Monnett says. ''And I'm pretty
upset about it."
McDonald's acknowledged on Feb. 13 that a seasoning agent
containing beef, wheat, and dairy ingredients -- previously listed as ''natural
flavor" -- is added to the oil at the factory where the potatoes are precooked
by the supplier. McDonald's director of global nutrition Cathy Kapica told the
Associated Press that the supplier removes all wheat and dairy proteins from the
flavoring. ''Technically, there are no allergens in there," she said.
The
disclosure was in response to new rules by the Food and Drug Administration for
the packaged foods industry, including one that requires that the presence of
common allergens -- including milk, eggs, wheat, fish, and peanuts -- be
reported. Because it is a restaurant, McDonald's does not have to comply with
the new regulations but is doing so voluntarily.
''We knew there were always
wheat and dairy derivatives in there, but they were not the protein component,"
Kapica said. Those who have eaten the french fries in the past without an
adverse reaction should be able to continue to do so, she said.
Nonetheless,
McDonald's early this month removed the fries from its list of gluten-free
offerings.
Fischbach, who lives in Minneapolis, says she caught wind of the
change the day after the Super Bowl -- which was also the day after she had
taken her son to McDonald's. She contacted the company, based in Oak Brook,
Ill., to see if the rumors were true. ''I called three times," she says, ''I
spoke with three different people and got three different answers."
On
Friday, Debra Moffatt of Lombard, Ill., who has celiac disease, filed a lawsuit
in Cook County Circuit Court accusing McDonald's of misleading the public. The
lawsuit seeks class-action status. McDonald's Corp. senior vice president Jack
Daly said in a statement that the company has not yet reviewed the case, but is
testing its french fries for gluten through a food allergy research program at
the University of Nebraska.
Also on Friday, Mark and Theresa Chimiak of
Juptier, Fla., sued McDonald's, claiming that their 5-year-old daughter has a
gluten intolerance. Nadia Sugich of Los Angeles filed a suit on Wednesday since
she is a vegan and would not have eaten the french fries if she had known they
contained dairy products.
In 2001, several lawsuits were filed after
McDonald's confirmed that it had used beef tallow to season its fries since the
early 1990s, even though McDonald's told consumers the fries were vegetarian.
Others would consider joining class-action suits. ''I think the thing that makes
me the most angry is that they promoted the fries as gluten free," says GuBrath,
whose 4-year-old son has been on a GFCF diet for years. ''I would like to see
[McDonald's] give a substantial donation to autism and celiac causes."
Lylah
M. Alphonse can be reached at alphonse@globe.com.

It'za nightmare

Here's another restaurant nightmare.

This time it's Pizza Hut and the story comes from NOTmilk (website: http://notmilk.com & newsletter: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/.

Got Pizza Hut? Got Silicone!Once upon a time, it used to be a beautiful day
inthe neighborhood...that no longer applies to theworld of 2006.Good morning,
boys and girls. Can you say:Polydimethylsiloxane?Polydimethylsiloxane is a
substance that is manufactured byDow Chemical and is primarily used in
food-manufacturingfactories as a de-foaming agent for commercial
boilers.Polydimethylsiloxane is not approved for use as a foodadditive, yet,
Pizza Hut is using this silicone-basedchemical as a stabilizer for cheese on its
patentedpizza products. Some of those pizzas go directly to yourchild's schools
and are served at lunchtime.In order to preserve their frozen pizzas, Pizza
Hutclaims that their silicon emulsifier is a necessarypreservative and
emulsifier.Although the package does not list its own secret formula,it does
list "other additives" under the guise of this patent:Patent # 4894245A review
of the United States Patent Office website confirmsthis story that was first
reported on page 5 of the February,2006 issue of Pete Hardin's "Milkweed." The
actual patent:http://tinyurl.com/7d6t8The
following is included in the online patent:"A silicone emulsifier (Dow Corning
FG-10) is mixed with waterto form a 0.05% emulsifier solution. This solution is
sprayedon the frozen cheese granules at a rate of 1.75 parts ofsolution per 100
parts by weight of cheese."Our children are eating silicon in school
cafeterias.Silicon is not an approved substance for human consumption.Neither is
Polydimethylsiloxane, or formaldehyde whichresults as a byproduct when frozen
silicone-sprayed pizzais subjected to heat. Polydimethylsiloxane breaks down
intoformaldehyde when subjected to heat in excess of 150 degreescentigrade.
As guardians for all children, should we continue allowingschool kids to naively
ingest silicone and formaldehyde?How dangerous is formaldehyde? The National
Cancer Institutereports:"Formaldehyde has been classified as a human
carcinogen(cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency forResearch on
Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by theU.S. Environmental Protection
Agency." Write a letter to your local school board. The healthof our children is in great jeopardy.http://themilkweed.com/Current.htmRobert
Cohenhttp://www.notmilk.com/

McDonald's gluten fries

I'm going to post a copy of an article just written on the McDonald's fiasco regarding the dairy and wheat in its french fries that it had not disclosed to the public. This is very disturbing. My daughters cannot eat wheat or dairy and have serious reactions to both. McDonald's claimed its fries were clear of both allergens. My family has spent countless hours trying to figure out why my daughters were breaking out with rashes, getting sick, etc. We ruled out the fries based on the company's info. I'm also concerned about the type of oil the fries are cooked in. I believe, based on seeing the oil firsthand, that it contains soy, which the company does not disclose. Here's the article:

Fury At Milk And Wheat In McDonalds' French Fries

20 Feb 2006 -- When McDonalds serves its French Fries, everyone believes
they contain just potatoes and cooking oil - even people who are vegan (eat no
animal product at all) or allergic to wheat. We trust the company and believe
everything they say. Because that is what they have been saying - that their
fries are gluten-free. It has been revealed that McDonald's fries do contain an
animal product - Milk. They also contain wheat. There are thousands and
thousands of people around the world who are allergic to wheat (mainly because
of the gluten in wheat). Surely, out of respect for people who get ill when
consuming wheat, the company could have let us know that wheat and milk were
being added to its French Fries. So far, three people in the USA are suing
McDonald's because of this. Debra Moffatt, from Chicago, has celiac disease. She
cannot consume gluten, which is present in wheat. If she consumes wheat she
experiences serious gastrointestinal problems. Mark and Theresa Chimiak have a
5-year-old girl who is gluten-intolerant. The little girl, Annalise, became
seriously ill after eating French fries in McDonalds. Mark and Theresa, from
Florida, are also suing McDonald's. Nadia Sugich, a vegan, is also suing
McDonald's. Vegans do not eat any animal products at all (vegetarians include
dairy and eggs in their diet, vegans don't). Had she known the product contained
milk she would not have touched them. What many people find incredible is that
McDonald's claimed its fries were free of gluten and milk. It has just added in
its web site that its fries do, in fact, contain wheat and milk ingredients -
now that people are starting to take it to court. What is the consumer to do if
claims made by fast food centers are completely untrue? How can a parent protect
a child if that child has a serious allergy? One minute they claim something is
not present, then they say it is after lawyers start saying they are going to be
sued. Now, McDonald's Vice-President is saying that wheat and milk were added to
enhance the flavour of the French Fries. There is nothing wrong with that. What
is wrong is not telling people about it. Even worse, is telling people there is
no gluten in a product when there is - that is dangerous. Apparently, there is a
third ingredient we knew nothing about in McDonald's French fries - a trans fat.
Here are some comments from our readers:“I am vegan. I have eaten their
vegetable burger with fries for many years. I will never do it again. I really
hope their vegetable burgers were animal free.” “I really do not know where to
take my children any more. I thought these companies had to work under certain
rules - rules laid down to protect the public.” “I cannot believe they would
deliberately add a potentially dangerous ingredient and still claim their
product is free of it. I cannot eat gluten, I get very ill if I do. Each time I
go out to eat now, I am going to feel uneasy.”

Written by: Christian Nordqvist Editor: Medical News Today