Skinny Bitch (15 page)

Casein, caseinate, sodium caseinate:
Milk protein found in dairy products, as well as “non-dairy” creamers, and soy cheese.

Cysteine, L-form
: An amino acid from hair, which can come from animals. Used in some bakery products.

Cystine:
An amino acid found in urine and horsehair. Used as a nutritional supplement.

Duodenum substances:
From the digestive tracts of cows and pigs.

Added to some vitamin tablets.

Fatty acids:
Can be one or any mixture of liquid and solid acids such as caprylic, lauric, myristic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic.

Alternatives: vegetable-derived acids, soy lecithin.

Fish liver oil:
Used in vitamins, supplements, and milk fortified with vitamin D. Alternative: yeast extract ergosterol.

Gelatin, gel:
Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. From cows and pigs. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings and in vitamins as a coating and as capsules. In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts. Sometimes used to assist in “clearing” wines.

Alternatives: carrageen (carrageenan, Irish moss), seaweeds (algin, agar-agar, kelp), pectin from fruits, dextrins, locust bean gum, cotton gum.

Glycerin, glycerol
: A byproduct of soap manufacturing (normally uses animal fat). In foods, mouthwashes, chewing gum, toothpastes. Derivatives: Glycerides, Glyceryls, Glycrethglycreth-26, Polyglycerol. Alternatives: vegetable glycerin—a byproduct of vegetable oil soap, derivatives of seaweed.

Isinglass:
A form of gelatin prepared from the internal membranes of fish bladders. Sometimes used in “clearing” wines and in foods. Alternatives: bentonite clay, “Japanese isinglass,”

agar-agar. (See alternatives to Gelatin).

Lactic acid:
Found in blood and muscle tissue. Also in sour milk, beer, sauerkraut, pickles, and other food products made by bacterial fermentation. Alternative: lactic acid from beets, plant-milk sugars.

Lactose:
Milk sugar from milk of mammals. In foods, tablets, baked goods. Alternatives: plant-milk sugars.

Lard:
Fat from hog abdomens. In baked goods, French fries, refried beans. Alternatives: pure vegetable fats or oils.

Lecithin or choline bitartrate:
Waxy substance in nervous tissue of all living organisms, but frequently obtained for commercial purposes from eggs and soybeans. Also from blood or milk.

Alternatives: soybean lecithin or corn-derived.

Lipase:
Enzyme from the stomachs and tongue glands of calves, baby goats, and lambs. Used in cheese-making and in digestive aids. Alternatives: vegetable enzymes, castor beans.

Lipoids, lipids:
Fat and fat-like substances that are found in ani-mals and plants. Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Marine oil:
From fish or marine mammals (including porpoises).

Used as a shortening, especially in some margarines.

Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Methionine:
Essential amino acid found in various proteins (usually from egg albumen and casein). Used for freshness in potato chips.

Monoglycerides, glycerides, (See Glycerin):
From animal fat. In margarines, cake mixes, candies, foods, etc. Alternative: vegetable glycerides.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG):
Flavor enhancer blamed for reproductive, nervous system, and brain disorders. Found in soups, sauces, gravies, and sometimes hidden in baby food, baby formula, low-fat and no-fat milk, candy, gum, processed foods, and applied to non-organic fruits and vegetables as a wax or pesticide.

Myristal, ether sulfate, myristic acid:
Organic acid in most animal and vegetable fats. In butter acids and food flavorings.

Derivatives: isopropyl myristate, myristal ether sulfate, myristyls, oleyl myristate. Alternatives: nut butters, oil of lovage, coconut oil, extract from seed kernels of nutmeg, etc.

“Natural sources”:
Can mean animal or vegetable sources. Most often in the health food industry (especially in the cosmetics area), it means animal sources, such as animal elastin, glands, fat, protein, and oil. Alternatives: plant sources.

Nitrates:
Potentially deadly, carcinogenic preservatives. Found in processed foods and meats.

Nucleic acids:
In the nucleus of all living cells. Used in vitamins, supplements. Alternatives: plant sources.

Oleic acid:
Obtained from various animal and vegetable fats and oils. Usually obtained commercially from inedible tallow.

(See Tallow.) Alternatives: coconut oil.

Olestra:
A fat substitute found in low fat and dairy-type products that reduces fat-soluble vitamins in the body.

Panthenol, dexpanthenol, vitamin B-Complex complex factor,
provitamin B-5:
Can come from animal, plant, or synthetic sources, so be sure to buy only plant-based.

Pepsin:
In hogs’ stomachs. A clotting agent. In some cheeses and vitamins. Same uses and alternatives as Rennet.

Polysorbates:
Derivatives of fatty acids.

Potassium bisulfite, sodium bisulfite, sulfur dioxide:
Used as anti-fungal, anti-browning, or antioxidant in cheeses, processed meats, canned fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, and/or baked goods. Can cause asthma, shock, or death.

Potassium bromate:
Found in baked goods, can cause cancer and kidney and nervous system disorders. Banned worldwide except Japan and U.S.

Rapeseed Oil:
An emulsifier and stabilizer found in baked goods, dairy products, processed meats. Can cause cancer, heart disease, vision loss.

Rennet, rennin:
Enzyme from calves’ stomachs. Used in cheese-making and in many coagulated dairy products. Alternatives: lemon juice or vegetable rennet.

Saccharine:
Artificial sweetener found to cause cancer.

Stearic acid:
Fat from cows and sheep and from dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters, etc. Most often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs. Used in gum, food flavoring. Derivatives: stearamide, stearamine, stearates, stearic hydrazide, stearone, stearoxytrimethylsi-lane, stearoyl lactylic acid, stearyl betaine, stearyl imidazoline. Alternatives: Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut.

Tallow, fatty alcohol:
Rendered beef fat. May cause eczema and blackheads.

Urea, uric acid, carbamide:
Excreted from urine and other bodily fluids. Used to “brown” baked goods, such as pretzels.

Derivatives: imidazolidinyl urea, uric acid.

Vitamin A:
Can come from fish liver oil (e.g., shark liver oil), egg yolk, butter, and synthetics. In vitamins, supplements.

Alternatives: carrots, other vegetables, lemongrass, wheat germ oil.

Vitamin B-12:
Can come from animal products or bacteria cultures.

Alternatives: Vegetarian vitamins, fortified soymilks, nutritional yeast, fortified faux meat substitutes. Vitamin B-12 is often listed as “cyanocobalamin” on food labels.Vegan health professionals caution that vegans get 5-10 mcg/day of vitamin B-12 from fortified foods or supplements .

Vitamin D, ergocalciferol, vitamin D-2, ergosterol, provitamin D-2,
calciferol, vitamin D-3:
Vitamin D can come from fish liver oil, milk, egg yolk, etc. Vitamin D-2 can come from animal fats or plant sterols. Vitamin D-3 is always from an animal source. Alternatives: plant and mineral sources, completely vegetarian vitamins, exposure of skin to sunlight.

Whey:
A derivative of milk. Usually in cakes, cookies, candies, and breads. Used in cheese-making. Alternatives: soybean whey.

Bear in mind, even though these are on our “bad” list, they are fine when derived from non-chemical, non-animal sources.

Scary-Sounding But Actually

Harmless Ingredients*

Alpha tocopherol, Alpha tocopherol acetate:
Vitamin E derived from corn, peanuts, or soy.

Arrowroot:
A natural thickening starch, derived from the arrow-root plant.

Absorbic acid:
Synthetic vitamin C, often derived from corn.

Brown rice syrup:
A sweetener derived from brown rice.

Cellulose:
Plant fiber.

Coconut Oil:
Great for frying and baking because it can withstand high heats without becoming carcinogenic. Also helps the body metabolize fatty acids.

Date Sugar:
Sweetener derived from dates.

Inulin:
Present in many herbs. Acts as a probiotic and promotes healthy intestinal tract.

Linoleic acid:
Derived from corn, soy, or peanuts.

Saffron:
Natural food coloring derived from a plant.

Sucanat:
SUgar CAne NATural, a natural sweetener.

*Sourced from
Food Additives: A Shopper’s Guide To What’s Safe

& What’s No
t by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C., and PETA’s
Caring Consumer Guide.
220

Chapter 12

FYI

Um, just bcause we wrote this book doesn’t mean we’re perfect. If you see us eating junk food or doing beer bongs, don’t hold it against us. We believe in enjoying life
and
maintaining a healthy balance. We’re human.

Also, we have some fat, gross body parts, too. We’re women.

Yeah, eating onions and garlic makes your breath smell like someone took a shit down your throat. But they fight cancer and help detoxify your liver. So eat ‘em.

What’s all the drama surrounding hydrogenated oils? We’ll tell you. Manufacturers add hydrogen to mono- or polyunsaturated fats (good fats), in order to change their consistencies. The end result, trans-fatty acids (bad), is a more solid product with a longer shelf life. Margarines, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, potato chips, meat and dairy products, and shortening can all contain hydrogenated oils. Trans-fatty acids can cause derangements of cell structure, accelerated aging, and a predisposition to diseases.221

Think about it. They are literally altering a naturally occurring product’s molecular structure by adding hydrogen molecules to it.

Eating these chemically altered foods containing hydrogenated oils will increase your risk of heart disease. Sad to say, heating oil at high temperatures also changes its natural molecular configura-tion and produces free-radicals. Free-radicals not only destroy essential fats and vitamins but are also linked to cancer and heart disease.222 This is why olive oil and peanut oil, which are both healthy, can be very
unhealthy
in dishes like fried eggplant or French fries. Avoid eating fried foods (sniffle) and re-using heated oils. Never heat oil to the point where it is smoking. Cook with canola oil or coconut oil using low heat and for the shortest amount of time possible.

Don’t be a cheap asshole. Yeah, yeah, yeah, organic produce is usually more expensive than conventional produce. But we spend countless dollars on clothes, jewelry, manicures, magazines, rent or mortgages, car payments, and other bullshit. Surely our health and our bodies (we only get one body) are more important than anything else in our lives. Even if you are spending more on organic food, you’ll save money in the long run if you’re preparing more meals and snacks at home (which is always cheaper than buying food on the fly). Organic is worth the extra money, and you should aim to have everything you eat be organic. But especially when buying fruits or vegetables that you eat without peeling the skin. Always buy organic blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples, and pears. Peanuts and peanut butter, too, because conventional ones are loaded with pesticides. Buying organic produce is the only way to guarantee you’re not eating genetically modified organisms.

According to
Food Additives: A Shopper’s Guide to What’s Safe &
What’s Not,
“genes are taken from one species of plant, animal or virus and inserted into another species in order to produce a desir-able trait, such as disease resistance or hardier crops. No one knows the long-term effects of eating genetically modified foods.

Genetically modified foods are being sold now and they are not being labeled. Certified organic foods are the only foods guaranteed not to be genetically modified.”223

Brushing your teeth is a great way to ward off sweet cravings and stop yourself from eating. But, two or three times a day, every day for your entire life, you swallow trace amounts of toothpaste.

What’s in it? Chemicals? Artificial sweeteners? Would you eat it?

Read the ingredients. Buy natural.

The skin is the body’s largest organ. Every day, we slop all sorts of potions and lotions and makeup on ourselves, and rub them into our skin. Ever read the ingredients of these products? Ever consider that you are putting chemicals directly onto your largest organ?