Healthy Junk Food....is there such a thing?

NOTE: If you were wondering if I'd fallen of the face of the earth for awhile there... I am pleased to inform you that I have not. The last month has truly been a bit of struggle as I attempt to sort out my post-undergraduate life...job hunting is a job in itself...and a crappy one at that..anyway, I've decided that sitting around waiting for things to fall into place is not a good use of my time off.... so alas I am back...and I promise no more month long stretches without fixatedonfood!
I've been reading a lot lately about the proposed rule changes by Health Canada regarding the fortification of foods. I read an article last week that detailed the proposal and shed some insight on the potential drawbacks. Basically, Health Canada is toying around with the idea of relaxing the current regulations on what products you can and can not fortify by adding vitamins & minerals to improve the nutritional content.

But wait a minute.... Isn't fortification a good thing you might ask? Well, yes...when used appropriately. Take breakfast cereals, which have been fortified for years in Canada with niacin...a measure taken to help ensure that the diets of Canadians contained the necessary nutrient. The current hoop-la at Health Canada with fortification has to do with what products are going to be targeted...and for the most part it appears to be the 'junk' foods.

Health Canada's proposal doesn't mention which foods can be fortified, but it does mention those that can not. That list includes: flour, bread, pasta, sugars, syrup, alcoholic beverages, milk and butter. There is also a second list of products over which fortification will be accepted, but where regulations will also be in place. These products include produce, meats, fish, eggs, poultry and fresh brewed coffee and teas. The potential problem is that products that do not make either of those lists are basically a free-for-all....to be fortified at the discretion of the product's producers. The major concern here is that companies will use the new guidelines to fortify otherwise nutritionally-devoid products so that they can achieve a better position in the market as being 'healthy'. The resulting message to consumers: why eat foods that are actually healthy (ie/fresh fruits & veggies), when you can just eat potato chips that are fortified with vitamin D and C for example!

But industry people tell us otherwise. Nancy Croitoru, the head of the Consumer Products of Canada was quoted in a healthzone.ca article with saying: "Nobody is talking about adding niacin to Pogo sticks. We're not looking at the fortification of foods that have no nutrient value. Instead, the industry wants to do things like add calcium to orange juice, for the kid who is allergic to milk"...I find orange juice to be a rather interesting example, seeing as many dietitians I know are almost anti-fruit juice! Sure you can fortify it with calcium for that kid allergic to milk...but....and here's the dietitian in me speaking....that kid is also likely getting a whack-load of sugar in that glass of orange juice, and is not getting the fiber that s/he would get from eating a fresh orange....and we know that most Canadians consume WAY to much sugar, and not nearly enough fiber!

Health Canada has further supported product fortification by releasing a statement to the press stating that focus groups showed that people would not consume more junk food if it were fortified. "The response said that current junk-food consumers might switch brands to the fortified versions if regulations were enacted". Now in a fantasy world, I might settle for that...I mean, we know that snack foods are something that many people are going to consume...but did the folks at Health Canada forget that we are in the midst of an OBESITY CRISIS in this country? Am I the only person not satisfied with accepting the substitution of 'crap' with something 'less crappy' ...but that is still crap??? We need to be focusing our efforts here on promoting healthy eating in this country the good ol' fashioned way...through eating well rounded meals, that contain all of the food groups as represented by Canada's Food Guide...which ironically is put out by Health Canada.

So by now you might be wondering why I included a picture of Baked Tostitos in this blog...well...its quite simple...I like them! By no means am I 'anti'-snack foods...I've mentioned before that I am not a nutrition fanatic.....I can hit the couch with a bag of chips for prime time tv like anyone else...the key is this: I enjoy my Non-Fortified Baked Tostitos for what they are...a snack food! and I'll likely add to those Baked Tostitos some homemade guacamole to improve the nutrient composition of my snack. And, I'll enjoy that more than I'd enjoy a Baked Tostito that was fortified with every vitamin & nutrient in the book...why? Simple...my boyfriend makes wicked guacamole that I love and avocados are PACKED with natural nutrients!