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The “Natural” Label on Food Products

What Does Natural Mean? The FDA's New Definition Might Change Your Pantry | Bon Appétit

Image from bonappetit.com

Emily Samson

Walking down the aisle of a grocery store, it is common to see products labeled as “natural”, “all natural”, or “made with natural ingredients”. These labels can be found on everything from peanut butter to candy to cereal. Many people see the word “natural” on a food product and think it might be better for them. In 2016, the International Food Information Council found that “natural” was one of the top three phrases chosen to define a healthy eating style. Additionally, many consumers thought a “natural” label meant the food was produced with no pesticides and contained no artificial ingredients or GMOs. But what does the word “natural” really mean on these labels?

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are both responsible for regulating food labels in the United States. However, neither the FDA nor the USDA have strict guidelines for the word “natural” on food labels. According to the USDA’s guidelines, a “natural” product cannot contain artificial ingredients and should be minimally processed. Being minimally processed is defined as processing the food in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product. The FDA states that if a food product is labeled as “natural”, nothing artificial, such as artificial food coloring, has been added to it. Additionally, the FDA does not consider the word “natural” on food as describing any nutritional or health benefits.

Many people correctly assume that “natural” products do not contain artificial ingredients. However, both the USDA and FDA’s regulation of the word “natural” allows foods to be genetically modified and produced with pesticides, which goes against what many people believe about these products. Additionally, the word “natural” on a food product does not indicate that the product is healthier than an alternative.

If you want to avoid eating food produced with pesticides or GMOs, you can choose foods that have the “USDA certified organic” label. However, it is also important to remember that even if a product has a “USDA certified organic” or “natural” label, it does not mean that it is a nutritionally healthier alternative. Those labels only indicate how the product was produced.  

https://food.unl.edu/sorting-food-facts-and-myths-do-foods-labeled-natural-deliver-your-expectations 

https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/use-term-natural-food-labeling

https://www.organicvalley.coop/blog/what-does-organic-mean/

https://modernfarmer.com/2019/04/reminder-the-word-natural-means-absolutely-nothing-on-food-labels/

All, Common Myths

Do Blue Light Glasses Really Help?  

Image result for blue light glasses

Image from womenshealthmag.com

Emily Samson

The average American adult spends as many as 12 hours a day in front of a TV, computer, or phone, and the pandemic has likely added an hour or two to that number. There is no evidence that electronic screen usage causes eye damage. However, there is a theory that people might experience more symptoms, such as tiredness or dryness, with greater screen time. Concepts like these merit great care. It can be argued that associating screen activity or exposure with eye damage has done more harm than good. If this theory is inaccurate, it might unnecessarily increase worry about screen time and unhelpfully create or reinforce unhealthy avoidant behavior.     

The theory is that people tend to develop screen time habits, such as blinking less than usual, which can lead to more symptoms of eye dryness or irritation. In this context, one recommendation for eye health is glasses that limit exposure to blue light. Since the onset of the pandemic, blue light glass retailers have reported a surge in sales. Is this another example of creating an illness in order to sell the cure? Or is there some verifiable health benefit?  

 Blue light glasses block around 20% of blue light waves. Most light sources, such as the sun, emit a broad spectrum of light, including blue light. Electronic screens, which are made out of light emitting diodes (LEDs), emit more blue light than traditional light sources. 

Studies show that blue light helps regulate the body’s sleep cycles. During the day, blue light can boost alertness. A study of eight people suggested that too much blue light at night can disrupt the body’s sleep patterns. However, the evidence is incomplete, and this is still up for debate.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology advises that it is not helpful to spend money on blue light glasses, because there is insufficient evidence that eye strain is an issue or that blue light is problematic. Rather than purchasing blue light glasses, they recommend following the 20/20/20 rule to limit any unwanted eye symptoms. Every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away from you for 20 seconds. It may also help to keep the screen an arm’s length away from your eyes and perhaps limit staring at a bright screen in a dark room. If your eyes feel dry, simply blink or take a short break from looking at your screen. 

 https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/blue-light-digital-eye-strain

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side#:~:text=LED%20lights%20are%20more%20efficient,less%20than%20most%20fluorescent%20lightbulbs.

All, Medicine

Daily Use of Over-the-Counter Pain Medication

Advil vs. Tylenol. Which to Use, and When - WSJ

Image from wsj.com

Prachi Shah

Two of the most common medications for alleviation of pain, acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil), are used daily by many people with pain from arthritis, tendinopathy, back pain, and other persistent conditions, but is it safe to use these drugs daily? 

Ibuprofen acts in the body by directly preventing the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin H-5– an important signal to the brain indicating that there may be damage to the body. Since your brain stops receiving the message indicating damage, you stop feeling pain. Aspirin has a slightly different effect on a molecular level, but the same result. Since prostaglandins play a role in blood coagulation and protecting the digestive tract lining, the regular use of ibuprofen or aspirin can cause irritation of the digestive tract and an increased risk of bleeding. Some people get gastrointestinal symptoms with just one or two doses of ibuprofen or aspirin, but that might not be an indication of damage. 

Acetaminophen is thought to work somewhere in the central nervous system,  interrupting the “pain message”’ closer to the brain, but no exact mechanism has been determined yet. Acetaminophen is digested in the liver, and although the majority of it is digested and excreted normally, a small amount is converted to a toxic byproduct. So, if too much acetaminophen is administered too quickly, the toxic byproduct can build to dangerous levels. There are numerous stories of people inadvertently overdosing on acetaminophen, which can damage the liver to the point that it no longer functions. This also means that acetaminophen in combination with other things that harm the liver, such as excessive alcohol, can be dangerous.

While the use of high doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen can cause liver and kidney damage, the risk of this is small. These are some of the most widely used and safest medications known. Most pills contain only a fraction of the dose needed to cause damage. For example, a standard ibuprofen tablet contains roughly 200 mg of ibuprofen. A dangerous level in an average adult is upwards of 3,200 mg (or 16 pills) in one day or 800 mg (four pills) at once. 

All medicines merit caution. Experts recommend the following tips for safe pain alleviation:

  1. Make sure to know all the possible sources of acetaminophen ingested in one day. It is a common ingredient in many over-the-counter remedies and has multiple brand names, so it’s important to check the ingredient list before taking multiple medications.
  2. Take  as little as possible, and make sure to check the recommended dosage. The maximum amount of medication that is safe varies by factors such as size, sex, and medical conditions. 
  3. Avoid mixing medications/substances. This includes drinking alcohol while taking these medications, as well as asking a health provider about which over-the-counter medications are safe to take along with prescribed medications. 

Over-the-counter pain relievers, such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin, can be available and affordable treatments to help alleviate simple aches and pains. They can be taken on a daily basis if one is careful. 

https://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2008/04/professor/01/

https://www.hopkinsallchildrens.org/Patients-Families/Health-Library/HealthDocNew/How-Do-Pain-Relievers-Work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mcuIc5O-DE

https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/acetaminophen-safety-be-cautious-but-not-afraid

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/tylenol-acetaminophen-poisoning#1

https://www.news-medical.net/health/Ibuprofen-Mechanism.aspx

https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/ibuprofen/

https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2018/03/acetaminophen-liver-failure#:~:text=%E2%80%9CSevere%20damage%20could%20occur%20if,cause%20problems%2C%E2%80%9D%20he%20adds

https://www.healthline.com/health/can-you-overdose-on-ibuprofen#dosage