What’s Hidden in My Ketchup?

I’ve always been more of a mustard kind of girl. Dijon especially. But every now and then a great [grass-fed] burger or some sweet potato fries call for ketchup. There’s just no way around it.

A couple days ago I visited my new local diner (in my new W Village hood) for some breakfast. I ordered a tasty omelette made with turkey sausage, spinach, and Muenster cheese…with hash browns on the side. When the plate arrived, I found myself reaching for the ketchup. Ketchup on eggs, you ask? Well certainly ketchup for my hash browns, but yes, I also like a little ketchup on my eggs (sometimes). I get it from my dad. In any case, it was my greatest hope that the ketchup sitting right there on the table would somehow be Heinz’s organic ketchup. Alas, it was not. Not organic? Not for me.

Rather than explain why I wouldn’t eat the regular ketchup, I prefer to show you. Below is a quick pic I snapped with my camera phone of the label on the ketchup. What do you see?

Notice High Fructose Corn Syrup? Followed immediately by some mooooooore corn syrup? And let’s also highlight the last, seemingly innocuous ingredient: natural flavoring.

What is high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? Plainly put, it’s a substance found in processed foods that is used as an artificial sweetener. It’s neither natural nor remotely good for your health. In fact, in one of my nutrition courses in college, I remember my professor saying something about HFCS that will always stay with me, forever echoing in my mind. She said, “There are two things that will kill all humans: trans fats and high fructose corn syrup.” Yeee — — ucccck.

To be specific but hopefully not too over clinical, HFCS is made when a group of corn syrups undergoes an enzymatic process to convert some of its glucose into fructose. (Basically turning one sugar into another). The sad thing is that this stuff is in seemingly everything — it’s in your ice cream (even ones that seem more natural like Breyer’s!), in your bread, your cereal, your yogurt, soups, lunch meats, and the list goes on. It seems impossible to escape it!

But you can. And in the case of ketchup, you can find organic ketchup more and more — including from Heinz! It’s ketchup made with real sugar. And guess what folks, real sugar, when eaten in moderation, won’t hurt you.

Natural Flavoring

Doesn’t this sound organic or something? Even healthy? I mean, it’s natural! NO.

So then, what is Natural Flavoring? It’s MSG: Monosodium Glutamate.

A lot of people out there are familiar with MSG — they know it’s not good for you but they don’t really know why. Most people associate MSG with Chinese food restaurants because they used to use it regularly in their food. Let’s talk about MSG for a second because what I say may freak you out a bit, but it’s something you should hear, absorb, and remember. This one’s important.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has classified MSG to be safe. But it’s not. Way more people than you’d like to know about have had violent, demonstrable reactions to MSG including migraines, headaches, upset stomach, fuzzy thinking, diarrhea, heart irregularities, asthma, and mood swings. My roommate in college had a freak reaction to it and started shaking all over and we had to give her a cold shower until the shaking stopped. It was terrifying.

MSG has also been scientifically correlated to obesity. Why? Because MSG literally causes those who eat it to exhibit addictive behavior — they simply cannot stop eating the MSG-laden food. Are you familiar with a certain potato chip’s slogan, “Betcha can’t eat just one!” Know why you can’t eat just one? Because the chips are full of MSG and your brain will literally not let you eat just one.

Similar to HFCS, MSG is in nearly everything that’s processed, canned, or pre-packaged. Soups, salad dressings, you name it. It’s there. Even when the box or container says “Contains no MSG,” it’s there. How is that possible? MSG has over 25 other names it goes by. That’s how. The food industry gets around the “Doesn’t Contain MSG” thing by calling MSG something else. Here are some of MSG’s aliases:

• Ajinomoto
• Vetsin
• Ac’cent
• Textured Protein
• Autolyzed Yeast
• Yeast Extract
• Yeast Food
• Glutamate
• Glutanic Acid
• Autolyzed Plant Protein
• Sodium Caseinate
• Calcium Caseinate
• Natural Meat Tenderizer
• Hydrolyzed Protein
• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
• Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
• Soy Protein Extract … and of course …
• Natural Flavors

So the next time you think about pouring ketchup all over those hash browns of yours, check the label! Be more conscious of what you put into your body! You only get one, treat it well and it will treat you well.