Eating For Health

Most people know too much salt increases your risk for high blood pressure and strokes.   Although everyone knows about salt in the salt shaker but many people aren’t aware of the hidden salt in the foods we eat and even drinks.   In fact, more than 70% of the salt (sodium) in our diet comes from packaged, prepared foods and restaurant foods.   🧠 What Sodium Does in the Body Sodium helps regulate fluid balance , nerve function , and muscle contractions . It’s essential—but only in small amounts. Most people consume far more than the recommended daily limit. The American Heart Association recommends 2300 milligrams of sodium a day.   Yet, the average American consumes about 3,300 mg a day or about 50% more than the recommended amount.     ⚠️ Health Risks of Too Much Sodium High Blood Pressure ( Hypertension ): The most direct and dangerous effect. Sodium causes the body to retain water, increasing blood volu...

So many companies are joining the MAHA movement.   Last week I wrote about the major changes Walmart is making to 1,000 Great Value foods .   Pepsi is joining the movement as PepsiCo is revamping its iconic Lay’s potato chips , one of America’s top selling brands of potato chips.   Everything from ingredients to packaging is changing.   🥔 Ingredient Overhaul:   Lay’s is stripping away artificial flavors and colors across its core chip lineup. That means no more synthetic dyes or mystery additives. Instead, you’ll find: No artificial flavors or colors : Lay’s is removing all synthetic additives from its U.S. chip portfolio, including Lay’s Classic, Baked, and Kettle Cooked varieties.   No more artificial colorings on barbecue chips . Natural replacements : Chips will be flavored and colored using ingredients like spices, fruit and vegetable extracts, yeast, herbs, and plant-based colorings such as paprika and vege...

So many companies are revising their food products in response to Robert F. Kennedy’s MAHA movement.   Walmart has announced they will be removing synthetic foods dyes as well as 30 other ingredients from the Great Value store brand by January 2027.   This would affect about 1,000 food products.   🧪 Food Dyes Being Eliminated Walmart plans to phase out the following synthetic dyes from Great Value and other private-label brands:          Blue No. 1 and No. 2           Green No. 3           Red No. 3, No. 4, and No. 40           Yellow No. 5 and No. 6           Citrus Red No. 2           Orange B (hasn’t been used for decades )             Canthaxanthin Why?   Because artificial food dyes have been linked to a variety of health concerns such as behavioral health issues ...