The countless commercials touting Subway’s new “Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt” have gotten so ridiculous, I am about to lose my mind. A member of the Food Babe Army sent me leaked photos of the ingredient list of this highly processed sandwich. The full ingredient list is below – you don’t want to miss this.
I’ve been asked why I targeted Subway in my petition to remove azodicarbonamide from bread many times now. While I already knew this chemical is being used in restaurants and bakeries all across the country, I was fed up with the way Subway misleads its customers with their deceptive “Eat Fresh” advertising. Something needed to be done, especially since they completely ignored my investigation into their ingredients in 2012, further pressure in 2013, and repeated phone calls and requests to their corporate headquarters.
As taken from Subway’s website, “We’ve become the leading choice for people seeking quick, nutritious meals that the whole family can enjoy” – they truly want you to believe they serve health food and many people fall victim to this, thinking eating at Subway is better than eating at other fast food restaurants. Subway uses many marketing tactics to drive this point home and dupe the public – but the tactics that really bother me are their partnerships with olympic athletes, medical associations and our government leaders, because many people take their endorsements as credible and rely on them. Here’s what’s really happening:
The American Heart Association’s endorsement of Subway as “heart healthy” is a farce!
Subway was the first restaurant to get the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Certification on some menu items – so Subway prominently displays this little Heart Association logo all over their marketing materials and commercials. This is so deceptive because the Heart Association’s stamp of approval ONLY applies to a handful of Subway sandwiches without any cheese or sauces. Who doesn’t get mayo, cheese or oil on their subway sandwich? Most Subway customers are not eating sandwiches without any cheese or sauces and many are not aware that the certification does not apply when they add those items. Furthermore, the Heart-Check seal only applies to salads served with fat-free sweet onion dressing – a dressing loaded with sugar and dimethylpolysiloxane. Apparently the American Heart Association thinks it is healthy to eat silly putty and breast implants. Dimethylpolysiloxane is allowed by the FDA to be preserved by several different chemicals that don’t have to be listed on the label – including toxic formaldehyde – oh is that how they keep it “fresh?”
This certification doesn’t come cheap either. An undisclosed annual administrative fee is required by the Heart Association, and Subway has contributed more than 1 million dollars to them in the last few years. Subway may soon find themselves in the same boat as Campbell’s who was sued last year for their deceptive use of the Heart Association’s certification label in exchange for money. Especially when you consider that Subway has been permitted to use this label on sandwiches that are packed with 800 mg. of sodium – well above what the Heart Association sodium intake recommendation allows per meal – and much more than what is used in Campbell’s soup.
Who is Doctor’s Associates, Inc.?
To continue portraying the image that Subway is endorsed by a team of health-conscious doctors, you may notice that “Doctors Associates, Inc.” appears on their menu, napkins and packaging. This is simply the name of the corporation that owns Subway Restaurants and is in no way associated with any medical organization. Instead of naming their corporation like other restaurants do (i.e. McDonalds Corporation, Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc.), they chose a name that implies they are a medical organization. How do they explain the reasoning behind this? According to their student guide:
“The name was chosen by Dr. Peter Buck and Fred DeLuca in 1966. Dr. Buck was a nuclear physicist by profession, and Fred had aspirations of attending medical school to become a doctor. So, the name Doctor’s Associates Inc. seemed to fit their situation”
First Lady Michelle Obama’s endorsement of Subway as a “healthy choice” for kids is saddening.
Our First Lady is now on the record stating that “Subway’s kids’ menu makes life easier for parents, because they know that no matter what their kids order, it’s going to be a healthy choice” and “Every single item meets the highest nutrition standards.” This came after a huge announcement that Subway is launching a $41 million dollar “Pile on the Veggies” advertising campaign targeted at kids using The Muppets, in cooperation with Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative. As part of their partnership, Subway is supposed to focus all their kid-focused marketing on the healthier options available in its restaurants.
That’s interesting – since Subway began this marketing campaign in February, the advertising for Subway’s new Frito Chicken Enchilada Melt has far surpassed the few Kermit and Ms. Piggy Ads played. Do Fritos count as veggies now? What do you think kids are going to ask their parents to eat next time they go to Subway after seeing a commercial like this or this or this?
Oh wait – I forgot. Fritos are healthy.
Fritos = Health Food?
It may look like Subway is deviating from their healthy image with their new Frito Chicken Enchilada Melt, but it turns out that Fritos has been trying to get accepted by the public as a health food for many years now. Frito-Lay’s partnership with Subway is just one in a long list of endeavors to make customers think their chips are healthy.
This is ridiculous, right?
Back in 2007, Frito Lay notified the FDA that they were going to label their chips with “heart healthy” marketing claims and the FDA approved it. More recently, Candice Choi of the Associated Press exposed a newsletter from Frito-Lay to dieticians advocating Fritos as a good option for a gluten-free diet, which provided suggestions that their chips replace traditional breadcrumbs in recipes.
This was preceded by her reporting on Frito-Lay’s sponsorship of Registered Dietician training conferences in which they advise and teach dietitians on health trends and nutrition education. Registered dieticians are the people that are supposed to be telling us what is healthy to eat – and they are being told that Fritos are a health food! Frito-Lay even created an entire website dedicated to nutritionists called “SnackSense.com,” where they further attempt to convince health professionals that chips are healthy. Here, they tell dietitians that “There is no ‘junk’ in Fritos Original corn chips” and that they fit into a “healthier lifestyle”.
This is just another example of the food industry leading the conversation in this country about food and nutrition – and it’s really got to stop. Fortunately, last year, a group of dietitians formed Dietitians For Professional Integrity, which advocates for an end to the ties between Big Food and registered dietitians. This new group is working to share the truth that Fritos are made from GMO corn and are deep fried in corn oil (likely extracted using a very carcinogenic gas called “hexane”), which is very inflammatory.
So, what’s Subway got to say about their new sandwich with Fritos?
A member of the Food Babe Army shared the secret highly processed ingredients in the new Frito Chicken Enchilada Melt with me recently. This ingredient list is not available on the master list of ingredients Subway posts online – everyone needs to know what’s hiding in this new sandwich!
Here’s how Subway describes this sandwich:
“There’s never been another sub like it! Crunch into a pile of Fritos placed right on top of tender pulled chicken and authentic enchilada sauce for a new satisfyingly delicious bite of flavor you can’t find anywhere else!”
GIVE ME A BREAK – This is what they left out:
“There’s never been another sub like it…”
Although I’ll never sink my teeth into one of these – food bloggers are calling it a stale “Double Decker Taco” and a soggy “Taco Bell Gordita”.
“….a pile of Fritos…”
Yes, GMOs are piled high on this sandwich. The standard is to put 2 ounces of Fritos on a foot long, but there have been reports that up to two full bags of Fritos are dumped, which looks like “the bottom of a garbage can”. TWO BAGS!!!?! The ONLY ingredients in Fritos are GMOs (corn, corn oil) and salt. Frito-Lay’s parent company (PepsiCo) spent more money than any other corporation (over 4 million dollars) to fight GMO labeling initiatives in California and Washington. They have a lot of GMOs in their food and don’t want to label it – even though 90% of customers have indicated that they want GMO’s to be labeled. It doesn’t fit in with the “Fritos are healthy and natural” mantra that they want you to believe. And remember GMOs are not natural – they are made in a laboratory, increasing the use of toxic herbicides that are causing cancer and have unknown long term health impacts.
“…tender pulled chicken…”
This factory farm, antibiotic raised chicken is trucked in frozen and pre-shredded. It’s also laced with the preservative sodium benzoate, which becomes a carcinogen when combined with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Ascorbic acid is an ingredient in Subway’s Flatbread and added to many soft drinks – so there is a strong possibility that this cancer-causing combo will end up in your mouth.
“…authentic enchilada sauce…”
Last time I checked, authentic enchilada sauce was made with a few simple ingredients – tomatoes, chiles, oil, spices. However, Subway’s enchilada sauce is comprised of an astonishing 45 ingredients – including hidden MSG in the form of yeast extract along with MSG enhancers (disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate). I’ve never heard of an authentic enchilada sauce needing “Polysorbate 60.” According to the “Journal of National Cancer Institute,” the “Journal of Nutrition” and the FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series, polysorbate 60 can cause detrimental reproductive effects, organ toxicity and cancer in high doses.
What else goes into the Fritos Chicken Enchilada Melt?
- Soybean oil – A cheap GMO oil that causes harmful inflammation in your body and is a major ingredient at Subway. It’s in their bread – including the flatbread – and you’ll find it in the Chipotle Southwest Sauce that is squirted onto this sandwich.
- Artificial colors – Derived from petroleum, they may contain carcinogens and are linked to hyperactivity in children.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup – A cheap sugar substitute that increases appetite, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia. It is also can be contaminated with mercury.
- Sugar (and a lot of it) – Since the ingredient label doesn’t say “cane sugar” it’s a safe bet that its derived from GMO sugar beets – as is the majority of sugar in the U.S. This type of sugar has no nutritional value, helps you pack on the pounds, and promotes inflammation – so it’s best to eliminate it as much as possible from your diet. I found sugar added to the bread, the chicken, the enchilada sauce, and the chipotle southwest sauce – too much for a “healthy sandwich.”
- Cellulose – Do you really want to eat wood?
- Autolyzed yeast extract combined with disodium inosinate/guanylate – A super-sneaky additive that is really MSG in one of its hidden forms.
- Polysorbate 60 (again in the Southwest Chipotle Sauce) – An emulsifier that may be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane – a known carcinogen.
- Propylene Glycol – Also known as the key component in anti-freeze.
- Calcium Disodium EDTA – This preservative is made from formaldehyde, sodium cyanide, and ethylenediamine – sounds like fresh food, doesn’t it?
- Natural Flavors – This ingredient seems so innocent, but it’s often not!
Check out the FULL LIST of over 170 ingredients here:
Thankfully, one thing this sandwich doesn’t have is the yoga mat chemical “azodicarbonamide.” A month has passed, since Subway announced that they will remove azodicarbonamide from their bread – but 93,000 people who signed this petition demanding this change have still not gotten a timeline or direct response from Subway headquarters. I called again today and asked customer service for an update. The answer is still that it will be changed in “coming weeks.” I’d love to know what they are going to replace azodicarbonamide with and if we are finally going to be able to “eat fresh.” Unfortunately, looking at all the other ingredients Subway uses in other menu items, I don’t think we have any hopes of eating fresh anytime soon. They clearly have a lot more work to do!
Please note, until they make this change, If you are still eating at Subway and ordering any other subway roll other than the flat bread – you are still eating yoga mat that is a possible carcinogen, linked to asthma, allergies and skin issues and banned all over the globe.
Join our cause to keep the pressure on Subway to make this change as fast as possible HERE and spread the word about their deceptive marketing practices (and this crazy ingredient list) with your friends and family by sharing this post – everyone needs to know what’s in their food!
Much Love,
Vani
Food babe, thank you very much for your excellent work, but please give us an answer about contacting Michelle Obama about her endorsing subway. Are you going to contact her or not?
Unfortunately, the people that buy this sh*t aren’t the ones reading your excellent, thoroughly researched article. Shame on subway. Thanks for keeping us informed.
Thank you Sweetie. I generally stay away from fast food places, though once in a while a Burger King. I will stay away from Subway. I thank you for all that you do.
I have learned a lot of things about diet from you…Love You.
Subway can kiss my ass, and they can kiss my dog’s ass, too. I saw that commercial, the olympic athletes who appeared in Subway commercials should be totally ashamed of themselves. Must be hard up for cash, WHORING yourself out for an abomination like Subway. That commercial for the new disgusting Subway creation, it looks like something somebody ate, and lost.
Like the roaches they are, PepsiCo and Subway try and hide. Thanks Food Babe, for keeping the light shining on these bastards. And thank you for spelling out what Doctor’s Associates really referred to.
back in the late 80’s I worked at the Carnation Restaurant at Disneyland (on main street) and they had a salad with fritos instead of croutons…. at the time it was rather clever – but TODAY? *We Know Better*!!!
Thank you for all work u do food babe .
I love you to pieces! I’m so thankful I found your site when I did.. (I was looking up something on powdered pb and your article came up). It’s funny because once I started eating organic and worrying about gmos, I received so much crap from my friends and family, luckily I still have a sense of humor and dont take it personally. But now my friends and family are informing me on these food issues they’ve seen on the news, which I’ve known about for a while thanks to you and everyone that has helped get you to where you are. I just love hearing them inform me because then you know its finally starting to click for them.
Thank you once again for everything! I was wondering if when you got time you could write something about the dirty dozen and clean 15. I feel like a lot of lists are misleading after knowing what I know now. I have been buying all my produce organic but it gets tough when it only lasts so long and the store isn’t the closest distance. It would be nice to know which fruits are safest to buy conventionally. But ok my novel is over. once again, thanks a ton!
Please check out makeup….I know contents in nail polish are not good for your
liver and new makeup that goes on so easy causes holes in your brain according
to dr w.c. Douglas.
Please hookup with alex jones as you did before. He can advertise and get signatures and you can push the petitions. Ie.
our constitution was made to stop power hungry nuts from taking over which
is whats happening now. Petitions demanding the FDA do there job to protect
the people not kill the people.
and a petition demanding politicians work for us not us work for them. And
demand that they uphold the constitution. (When they get their position they
swear to uphold the constitution and don’t) first signs will be our privacy and
rights protected. Politicians don’t uphold the constitution in anyway as you
know. I think you and alex have the guts to take on and I wish you success.
THE CONSTITUTION STATES CLEARLY THAT YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A
FRUITFUL LIFE. (Which is a successful employment where you keep your
money, privacy, neither of which we have) this I thought I would add
because many don’t understand what rights we have that are overridden
because the people in authority are not held to account.
OUR CONSTITUTION IS THE LAW AND WHEN BROKEN SOMETHING
SHOULD HAPPEN BUT IT KEEPS GETTING BROKEN. WE ALL SHOULD
STAND UP TO.
You are so correct. Our rights and freedoms are being taken away so gradually that the mainstream public is not even aware it’s happening. Or if they are aware, it’s simply accepted because it’s in the name of, so called, “security or terrorist threats”, which we’ve never actually had.
This is not off topic. You tied it together very well.
P.S. If my “main man” Ralph Nader wasn’t still alive, I’d swear The Food Babe was him reincarnated. Praise to Ralph, who started this whole activist thing 40+ years ago.
Finding out so much information has changed how my family eats, going down to the future generations of my grandkids and great-grandkids. We were trying to eat healthier and would often go to subway because we really did want to believe that it was better. We feel so betrayed by false marketing but thanks to you, our eyes are now open. Now my grandson sniffs everything, wondering what else might be in his food and is reading labels all the time. Yoga mat indeed, our new motto around here is did you check if it smells like plastic? More real foods, less processed and fast foods, this family is changing long term habits and waking up others that are being deceived.
I’m shocked reading this especially as I recently came across a video of someone from subway who’d lost a ton of weight doing a talk and showing the old pants he used to have to wear. Afterwards they interviewed an overweight lethargic teenager who was upset because she said the only way to lose weight and get healthy again was to eat from subway twice a day and she couldn’t afford to do that. Her mother said the guy was an inspiration not realising he’s just promoting subway as a healthy choice. There’s more to health and good food than weight loss!
Your work is invaluable all the while we continue to have worst-than-useless government “health” agencies, which are really only industry front groups posing as impartial public advisors. Your work highlights just how completely useless they are, and sets the model for what we need the “official” agencies to be in the future.
Subway is playing around on the azodicarbonamide issue. Rather than moving on to something else you should keep on them for that until they actually do something.
Jim
I think it is better to eliminate all junk food..fast food places from one’s diet regime. It is easier to eat healthier food in general without trying to figure out what toxic ingredient is hiding between the sandwich..Thank you for you work…You do make a difference!
I really enjoy your school. nobody is telling us the what is behind those sneaky restaurants, fast foods and shopping centers. It is real scary what we don’t know what is on our foods nowadays. a big kiss is going your way with a thanking flowers. you are the best and we are very proud of you. you are truly a friend to all of us. My friend may GOD bless you. thanks a million. you are a sweetheart. BIG KISS.
Thanks for exposing Subway’s false advertising claiming to provide healthy food. I’ve always suspected that preservatives are used because they need to keep the cold meats and vegetables, etc from spoiling during transit, but there’s so much more in these ingredients that I didn’t know – and that we consumers have a right to know. Kudos – You’re doing us all a huge favor exposing this!
I appreciate your awesome work and valuable information, but what world are you living in? Have you looked at what the average person(family)looks like? They are overweight, over medicated and unhealthy. The general population can only change SLOWLY or they will be overwhelmed and stop. I understand your reasoning of misleading information, but what fast food company doesn’t? At least Subway is trying to provide a healthier option for the general population. Is it perfect, No, but what food industry is? Please give them some credit for trying to make quick food easier.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that credit Tj b. It won’t come. It didn’t when Subway said they were going to get rid of the bread ingredient that the food babe claims they did because of her. I am guessing Subway wised up and decided that if they were going to be attacked for doing what they thought was the right thing then maybe it wasn’t worth it to cave in to the food babe. I think they are telling her to have a little whine with their new Subway sandwich.
I worked at a subway 4 years ago for a couple of months and hated every second of it! The veggies come in big boxes and those have to be sliced, everything else comes pre-made and pre-sliced/shredded and is just microwaved. The bread comes already formed in dough logs and has to be proofed and then baked. The ENTIRE back area where the staff worked was on camera, with someone watching most of the time. It was disheartening to learn all their “fresh” ingredients were not “fresh”. I haven’t eaten at a Subway since and we have given up all fast food recently. Thank you Food Babe for telling the public the truth!
The majority of society today is impatient and do not want to pay the price for good whole food, so how do you expect these FAST food companies to do this? “Hang on a second while I go outside to pick that lettuce- tomato-green pepper, oh hang on a second while I slice that organic turkey or ham.” People who eat fast food want cheap and fast. Really? At least they are providing a better option to people who don’t have or want to pay more & wait while everything is FRESHLY made FAST! Stop bashing companies and the focus should be on the goverment(FDA-Department of Agriculture and so on) to eliminate certain additives and pesticides. What about the companies that emit pollution in the ground where food grows, the farmers who use heavy doses of pesticides? Change policies.
Tj b – Last time I checked I can have my own opinion, especially about things I have personally seen/been through. Don’t “bash me” because I posted a comment. Yes, the government needs to change their policies, but places like this pay big bucks so they won’t. I am an American and therefore can bash if I want to.
I am not bashing you. I am just stating that the general population who go to fast food places; want cheap and fast. What would be your suggestion to achieve this? Also, what does a camera in back room have anything to do with this entire blog? The business probably has the cameras for security and theft, which occur in every workplace. I too, can have a option, but choose not to bash companies who provide jobs and opportunity to individuals.
Thanks food babe! My previous boss alwasy made us walk the aha’s heart walk, which is always sponsored by subway and it made me so sick.
Let’s just say, if a food does not say GMO FREE, then it probably isn’t. So if pepsi and fritos refuse to label their product, I will assume that it has GMOs in it. By simply fighting to not label, they are subconsciously admitting they use them. The harder they fight, the more I believe GMOs are scary and very bad. I can use my deductive reasoning skills for this alone.
The only thing that I have ever used Fritos for, was as a fire started. It is full of so much unhealthy fat that it lights right up like a torch.
Great article, but you forgot to mention that High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from GMO corn. Still a great article though; I just thought you should include this fact. Thanks for all you do!
Love Your Posts! I own a nutrition & personal training biz in AZ and your blogs are written exquisitely with life changing information based on facts. I have been sharing this info with my clients and they are shocked. I’m not….I occasionally used to eat at Subway back in the late 90’s and it seemed ok then but as the years went by I could tell their food products were changing and something wasn’t right. I haven’t eaten at Subway since probably 1999 and I’m really glad I haven’t!!
As a general rule, Carol and I limit eating at restaurants partly because it’s so expensive compared to home-cooked but, mostly because, the quality is deceivingly unhealthy.
I have some direct knowledge. From the 1970’s to the 1990’s, I held various positions including Busboy, Dishwasher, Prep Cook, Cook, and Supply Assistant so, I’ve witnessed many questionable practices.
From 1996 to the present, while working as The Junkologist, there have been any number of times I’ve been in commercial kitchens removing equipment and have seen things that might gross you out; even threaten to keep you home, preparing your own meals with ingredients you hope are safer to consume.
Well you’ve hit the nail on the head. The most likely way people get sick from food is in the handling and preparation of it.
I HAD A QUESTION, YOU HIGHLIGHTED “BROWN SUGAR” FOR THE FULLY COOKED CHICKEN, HOW IS BROWN SUGAR A GMO? I’M CURIOUS, THANKS 🙂
Sugar beets are GMO, and therefore some – not all – sugar is GMO.
From the non- GMO Shopping Guide:
“Sugar If a non-organic product made in North American lists “sugar” as an ingredient (and NOT pure cane sugar), then it is almost certainly a combination of sugar from both sugar cane and GM sugar beets.”
Hi Vani! Bless the day I found your website! I’ve been a label reader for a long time but you have opened my eyes to so many more things! I’ve also become an avid juicer and cannot believe how quickly my belly fat dissolved! My skin also looks radiant and I feel like I’m in my 20’s again! I’m 56 and loving it! Keep the good info coming. I waited anxiously to see your emails in my inbox 🙂
Thanks for the information on Subway. My daughter and I went partially organic a while ago, but you pushed us forward big time. No non-organic tea or coffee for us any more. We don’t drink soda and haven’t eaten fast food in decades. It is horrible the way these major corporations try to feed us. I appreciate all you do to keep us informed.
What would be so hard about using whole grain organic corn, a healthy organic oil, and natural salt like sea salt to make Fritos’ corn chips? That be a delicious treat! They could do this , so keep the pressure on, Food Babe!
So true!
Dear Food Babe, please check out Sharky’s Woodfire grill, they have a lot of good ingredients and organic produce, even their workers wear shirts that say “say no to GMO” yet they still use GMO canola oil to fry their chips made from organic corn. Please put the pressure on them to change their oil to non-GMO. If not people will just assume that all their ingredients are organic and non-GMO. On the menu they even have an “organic bean and cheese burrito” however the only thing organic in it is the beans! Very deceiving so much that when I asked the employee there about it she said out of ignorance “everything at sharky’s is organic” which is far from the truth. I like the place but would like to see them push the envelope to be even more organic and GMO free! Please help Food Babe!
What would be so hard to use whole grains is money they don’t want to spend and a gullible public that just wants to eat without challenging the food industry to use life sustaining ingredients , I have a habit of checking out customers shopping carts when I go to grocery stores OMG!
Seeing that long list of ingredients in one sandwich is pretty disgusting. I avoid eating out because of this. While I think all the publicity is great since the whole “fresh bread” battle began, I think it is kinda pointless to try to get places like Subway to be healthy because you would have to fight them one ingredient at a time. But I think the conversation is important. People need to know what they are eating and where it comes from, but I think places like Subway (and all other fast food restaurants) are a lost cause. Buy organic, eat at home:)
Every time I see that “Crunch A Munch” commercial, I get cranky-ass.
It is so utterly disgusting what’s being offered to us “consumers” under the guise of being “healthy”. Once again, it only makes me wonder how Jared, Subway’s “spokesman”, really lost all of those pounds. After all, ingesting all of this non-food will also shed the pounds, yes?
With summer around the corner…Would you please check into which sunscreens are safest while you are at the natural trade show? I would LOVE to know which brands to buy for myself and my children. Thank you!
With summer approaching…would you please check in to which sunscreens are safest and most natural? I would love to know which brands are best to buy for myself and my children.
This article is great!!! It makes me equally as upset every time I see these deceptive commercials with the athletes!!! It breaks my heart that people feed these things to themselves and their children and think they are making a good healthy choice. You are doing a wonderful job bringing this to light with your hard work and research!!!!
Then there are the people who don’t care ,& eat this GARBAGE
Another thing that Subway needs to remove from their sandwiches is SALT. Just like azidocarbonamide is used in yoga mats, salt is used to de-ice roads and sidewalks in winter. I am pretty sure I don’t want to eat something that regularly comes in contact with asphalt and dead leaves.
Salt is the least of your worries. You actually need QUALITY salt; not processed denatured table salt. Real salt, like Celtic brand sea salt or Himalayan salt provides lots of minerals, and your body needs some sodium. Or just a decent sea salt would be fine too. Table salt is processed and has added chemicals and is not the best. Check out Dr. David Brownstein’s info on salt. He has a book “Salt Your Way to Health”. I haven’t read it, but have read some his articles and saw a couple videos.
Wow! Salt is salt (Sodium) in any form is a poison added to foods for who knows why other then taste. Dr Fuhrman has a good story about salt on his website. Drfuhrman.com. Seems like everybody is writing a book these days. We hope to get our sodium naturally in such foods as Celery. Which we consume daily and that (celery) must be from an organic source! It is on the hit list as one of the most chemically sprayed veggies. And we wonder where cancer will show up next??
Go organic folks:-))
Leo, unrefined salt is not a poison. Dr. Furhman has lots of books to sell as I’m sure you know. So is sodium in food also a poison? I do go organic as much as I can. I know about produce with the most chemicals and the EWG lists, and these days I always get organic celery.
There’s always more to learn, dear….
Here’s a bit about unrefined Celtic sea salt and why it’s actually a healthy salt.
“Why is Celtic brand sea salt considered a nutritious salt?
Celtic sea salt includes a spectrum of naturally occurring, essential minerals as nature intended. There are absolutely no additives or anything removed from the salt that would alter it. Celtic Sea Salt supplies the body with over 80 vital trace minerals and elements, along with a proper balance of sodium chloride (a scientific name for salt).
The brine and minerals, found in this sea salt, are natural electrolytes that give your body a “positive electrical charge”. Our health depends on the abundance of these vital minerals to assimilate vitamins and nutrients to our cells. We believe that it is a misunderstanding that “all” salt is harmful to you. Perhaps, it’s what’s been added to other salts that has an unsettling side effect to our health.”
T/ed you’re funny.
Hey, don’t forget about Praseodymium and Dysprosium, and of course there’s Europium (for the European environmentalists), and Wolfram (not to be confused with Wolfman), and Geranium (cheerful mineral, just like the flowers), and the planetary trio of Uranium, Neptunium and Plutonium coming in at <0.001ppm. There’s also gold and silver in that there salt!
Maybe I should go get some bleached anti-caked salt.
Wasn’t me. Ed is not Ted. Ted is going to enjoy his weekend, food babe free
Lets face it Food Babe, 99% of food in super markets and restaurants have many more chemicals added to them then you want to know. You have talked about Bread and why we should eat it and I say “Bread is Dead” and there are NO redeeming qualities in it. Our S.A.D. diet is a farce!
Your service and investigation are good, however, more people need to read and read the right books in order to find out the real truth on their daily intake. In short, keep it simple, keep it as raw as possible and by all means…organic is where it’s at.
Thanks and keep us informed.
LAB
CORRECTION Food Babe:
First of all thanks for all your investigative writings, videos and valuable information that you publish. I am a big fan!
However, I believe you may have made a factual error when you stated
“Propylene Glycol – Also known as the key component in anti-freeze.”
Actually, I believe it is Ethylene glycol that is used in anti-freeze, de-icing fluid etc. Check the article in wikipedia for clarification.
sincerely,
bearvalleydave
Of course. Of course it’s wrong. Because we don’t check facts on this blog. If we did, there would be no blog. .It’s easier to speculate, to guess, to derive. It makes for a juicier story.
That’s true, ethylene glycol is more commonly used in antifreeze. Propylene glycol is similar and has similar properties but is considered less toxic and considered generally recognized as safe by the USDA. It is used in some antifreeze applications though.
“Like ethylene glycol, propylene glycol is able to lower the freezing point of water, and so it is used as aircraft de-icing fluid.[4][8] Water-propylene glycol mixtures dyed pink to indicate the mixture is relatively nontoxic are sold under the name of RV or marine antifreeze. It is also used to winterize a vacant structure.[9]Propylene glycol is a minor ingredient in the oil dispersant Corexit, used in great quantities during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.[13][14] Propylene glycol is present in the vapor used in vaporizers.”
You wanna eat that? Why do we need it in our food?
All of the ingredients you have listed that you claim are terrible are all fine to eat. MSG is no worse than any other salt unless you have a sensitivity to is, cellulose is found in all plants, the sugars you listed are fine in moderation, GMO’s do nothing but increase crop yields, and the preservatives are there to prevent spoiling and are safe for consumption. I know that I like food that hasn’t spoiled and tastes good. That is all the only thing these ingredients do, and are no worse for you than eating pretty much any other food. They all sound scary when you break them down to their chemical formulas, but you can make anything sound scary doing that. That is the only way you can make your article seem believable. Food is soooo scary. You bloggers with your scare tactics cause trouble where there is no reason for it.
And no, I am not a fan of Subway. I never eat there because I think their food tastes bad, not because because of the ingredient lists such as the one you dissected. Also, if anybody thinks that putting fried chips on a sandwich is healthy, I hope they eat them every day to help with natural selection.
Lol, on natural selection. I agree on your comments. Everyone has a choice.
Food babe,
Good morning! Don’t beat up on Michelle Obama too much! She has good intentions and is doing the best she can with what she knows. From where we were, Subway has been a “healthier” choice than what fast food options we had. You are taking things to the next level by educating the masses further than the current level that we are at. In x number of years, the vast knowledge that you have will hopefully be commonplace and common practice by our food suppliers. Please continue doing your thing and have a great weekend!
Jimbo
Today, I got a booklet from Medicare offering Subway giftcards for passing health exams. I am not the picture of health, but I can pass every test BECAUSE I DON’T EAT AT SUBWAY. This makes me so sad. I am almost 30 and have gone my entire twenties suffering from cancer. The only time my cancer has been in control is when I stopped consuming most of the products dubbed healthy by the media. 🙁
So blame and bash Subway. What about the government, they put the gift cards in your booklet. People should not receive gifts to pass health exams. It’s YOUR health, YOUR responsibility. Read books for information, not listening to the media.
When I saw the frito sub being advertised on tv I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing. This is a joke. Subway advertises how “healthy”they are, but seriously fritos on a sub. I couldn’t believe this especially all the lime light they have been getting with their bread ingredients. This is sickening and sad. Its scary that companies get away with this and pretty much trick people into buying their product because they think its healthy. No wonder why there is so many health issues today. I think people are trying to eat better but really don’t have any clue what they are eating. They have trust in the companies they buy food from because of the tricky marketing they use.
Bravo to Karen who seems like the only well-read and realistic person commenting on this blog. I actually had unsubscribed from this Food Babe newsletter nonsense (just the name alone should say it all) but unfortunately it hasn’t kicked in. Just let people make their own choices, everyone who eats junk food, smokes cigarettes or drinks alcohol knows that none of the above in excess. Instead of trying to bring down a big Corporation that generates jobs so that families can make a decent living, why don’t you advocate for something more meaningful than to inflate your ego by getting all these replies telling you how amazing you are, show results with hard evidence on how you’ve made one person’s life better (besides yourself) since you started your crusade.
“Instead of trying to bring down a big corporation…”
Wow, the food babe is taking down another big corporation here. Go food babe! You sound as overdramatic as Karen. Maybe you are Karen.
Do you have any clue how many people you are hurting with these blogs? There are thousands people work for Subways and they can lose their jobs because of you. I really feel sorry for you if that ever happens. If I were you I would really read up on things before you blog about them!
Yeah, we shouldn’t expose disgusting company practices because “jobs”… derp.
If they keep this up they are going to lose me and my family as customers permanently.
Foodbabe love u
What is xanthan gum and why is it used in so many foods?
You are all sheep!. Before jumping on her bandwagon you should all do your own research. The only way to get away from any chemicals in food is to grow your own vegetables and raise your own meat. Get real lives people!!!
Have you ever done an article on healthy foundation for your skin?
http://www.apfoodingredients.com
I love that you do such an extensive dive into the truth. Thanks for keeping our eyes open. What would we do without you.
Thank you for all you do to keep us informed and for being courageous in taking on big corporations.