I wrote recently about the hidden amounts of sugar found in the foods we love so dearly. I learned all about this topic during my visit to Tucson's Canyon Ranch -- a world renowned health and healing destination -- and this sweet lesson came right as I'd decided to rid my diet of as much sugar as possible. Learning that one can of soda houses 12 teaspoons of sugar and a typical container of fruit yogurt has eight sealed the refined sugar deal for me. No more, I say. It's just not worth it.

Now here comes the lowdown on fat. Some say the fat we eat is the fat we wear. Perhaps. But one thing is for sure -- fat kills. That's Fit blogger Rigel Gregg wrote a May 24 post all about it, documenting five ways wearing fat can kill us -- it strains our heart and raises our insulin, leading to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, for example. Now I'm here to clue you in on the fat hiding in more of our favorite foods.

Here goes.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it, says conventional wisdom. But if it is broken, then by all means -- fix it.

Many of us have broken pantries. Pantries full of chips, cookies, candies, oils, sugars, and well, let's just name it: junk. Our pantries are broken because they don't work in a world where health and wellness and prevention should be on everyone's menu. They are ineffective, insufficient, and downright bad for us.

My pantry has been in disrepair for a long time. Now, however, thanks to a build-your-pantry cheat sheet I brought home from Canyon Ranch, it's on the mend. Yours can be too. Just borrow from this abbreviated list next time you're in the grocery store and in no time, your pantry will be lookin' good. So will you.

I have never completely cut a certain food from my diet just because of speculation that it may cause cancer. Because I eat most everything in moderation, I have felt that anything I am ingesting is too small an amount to make any real difference. I have heard recommendations about nixing preserved foods and anything treated with hormones and refined sugar and while I try to eat a balanced, healthy diet -- with a bit of sweet stuff thrown in -- I do sometimes indulge my cravings for foods that are not very healthy. Like chips -- which writer Robert L. Wolke says he is definitely eliminating from his diet.

The chemical acrylamide -- a probable carcinogen -- has been found in fried starchy foods, especially potato chips and French fries. This chemical is not a contaminant that somehow appears in our food but is created by chemical reactions that take place during cooking at high temperatures. It's a chemical that has been used in industry and has been known to damage the central nervous system, the immune system, and the reproductive system. And it may cause cancer. Recently, acrylamide was discovered in foods at hundreds of times the .5-parts-per-billion level that is considered safe in drinking water.

Authorities in Germany have already begun enforcing regulations to minimize the amounts of acrylamide in foods. But the United States has been criticized for dragging its feet on this issue. In fact, the National Uniformity for Food Act (H.R. 4167) recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, with 94 percent of Republicans supporting it and 64 percent of Democrats opposing. It has gone to the Senate, where it was the subject of a hearing on July 27. The act would prohibit states or local governments from setting more stringent limits on toxic substances.

Each of us can still take personal action with regard to the foods we eat -- despite what the government dictates. We can decide what to eat and what not to eat. In the interest of our health. And our future.

For information on acrylamide levels in hundreds of different foods, click here.

Melissa Etheridge's song Run for Life -- inspired by her own personal battle with breast cancer -- plays just as the pink and white SUNCHIPS® website is opened. And visitors to the site learn quickly that they can contribute to the Crunch for the Cure campaign by simply purchasing a bag of specially-marked SUNCHIPS® and entering in the special printed code here. For each code entered through December 15, 2006, SUNCHIPS® brand will donate .25 cents to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in support of its breast cancer initiatives. A pink breast cancer ribbon is the special mark on these bags of SUNCHIPS®, signifing a partnership in the fight against breast cancer.

This website also includes information about breast cancer, about Susan G. Komen races and volunteer opportunities -- and it even provides a means for thanking favorite Race for the Cure® volunteers. Readers can post their own thank-you messages that will appear on a virtual thank you wall.

Thank you SUNCHIPS® for your commitment to this cause.

Right now -- at this very moment -- my two boys have turned our living room into a mess of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals. They put on their jammies and closed all the blinds and are pretending it's bedtime. But it's actually lunch time, so they have spread out paper plates and plastic silverware and bags of chips and boxes of crackers all over the floor -- on top of all their bedding. I delivered them their lunch platters and lemonade and there they sit, in the room next to me -- chattering away, stuffing their little mouths, full of life. And I am in awe -- of the simple joy that comes from a living room camp-out and picnic, of the beauty these children bring into my life. I am mostly in awe of the fact that no matter what cancer takes from me -- my hair, moments of health, my innocence -- it cannot ever take this very moment from me. And that makes today a happy day.

Fast food and junk food snacks are not good for health. Smoking is not good for health. Little sleep and non-existent periods of relaxation are not good for health. Lack of exercise and weight gain from stress eating are not good for health. But according to researchers, women who work long hours are prone to some or all these habits, and that is not a good thing for their health. Smoking, damage to the immune system due to unrelenting levels of stress, lack of exercise and weight gain all increase cancer risks.

Leeds University conducted a study that showed women typically respond to the stress of working long hours by engaging in negative habits that are detrimental to their immediate and long-term health. According to researchers, the reaction to stress can manifest in choosing unhealthy high fat and high sugar snacks before choosing healthier food.

The study compared how men and women respond to stress, and if there was a difference. Some experts stated that men are less likely to be affected by working long hours because they are not expected to multi-task when they get home from work in the same way women are expected to do. Researchers said most women agree to their take on the matter.

Knowing that some women alleviate stress in unhealthy ways, gives women an opportunity to step back and assess how they might choose better strategies for dealing with stress -- or in minimizing some of the causes of stress in their life. Aside from these research findings, I think both men and women in modern society are under enormous daily stress and we all need to step back and evaluate how much of our health we are willing to compromise.

UK's Food Standards Agency, FSA, is suggesting a ban on television advertising of junk foods in a continuing effort to curb the rising number of overweight children. The FSA's three possible actions that could be taken in relation to television food ads, as reported by Reuter are:

1. Ban all food and drink ads during television programs that are made specifically for children, or that appeal to children of nine and under, which covers a broad range of programs like The Simpsons.
2. The first ban option except the restricted food advertising would simply be for junk food high in fat, salt or sugar.
3. Limits on the number of food and drink ads shown per hour at any time when children are likely to be watching.

No celebrities or animated figures will be allowed in food commercials aimed at children. What happened to the parental NO? Unless you have your child doing the grocery shopping alone, how is junk food making it into the home? I can understand a need to make certain lunch programs at school are regulated to ensure healthy foods are being served to our kids while they are away from home, but are we really all that incapable as parents of saying no when asked for the latest sugary-treat? Or, while the regulatory agencies wrestle over the fine print of the new proposed bans, why don't we just turn off the television, get up and go take a walk with our kids?

Every year many Americans are faced with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. What do a lot of these diseases have in common? The way we as a society chose to eat and treat our bodies. Now I don't want to start a major debate on factors like heredity, environmental issues and the like but we need to face facts that we have become a fast food, fast-paced society dealing with a lot of stress and bad eating habits and are paying less attention to a well balanced diet and the necessary exercise to stay fit. I am as guilty as the next person.

Eating raw vegetables as snacks instead of chips, nuts, pretzels, cheese and crackers and more, will not only help you lose weight but it will help you with digestion and will help your body maintain a more alkalized ph balance where disease can not live. As your body becomes more acidic the acid wastes build up in tissues and stored fat. If your body is in an alkaline state it is like heaven for normal cells and like hell for cancer cells. Cancer cells thrive and multiply when your body reaches a low enough PH level. Even eating slightly steamed or grilled veggies is better than fully cooked.

As we become more aware that we are what we eat and what we eat affects our immediate and long-term health, we are making healthier choices with an eye on nutrition and weight loss. You choose granola instead of sugary breakfast cereals, salad instead of the cheeseburger, dried fruit, yogurt-covered nuts and banana chips instead of a candy bar. But nutritionist Joy Bauer warns that some of the foods we consider the healthier choices, might be so loaded in sugars, fats and calories that we are defeating our purpose of being healthy without realizing it.

Bauer appeared on NBC's Today show with Al Roker, and gave some examples of foods that are considered healthier choices but might not be -- and offered some suggestions on alternatives.

• Granola, loaded with sugar, is one of the most calorie-dense cereals. Bauer suggests you keep your portions small, and mix it with cereals with less calories and sugar such as Bran Flakes or Cheerios.
• Salad, such as a typical Caesar salad, with dressing, croutons and cheese topping, has 1,130 calories and 90 grams of fat. Bauer suggests that you request a salad with no dressing and no croutons. Instead, use an olive oil and vinegar dressing.
• Dried fruit is higher in calories that fresh fruit. Bauer's example -- 12 small pieces of dried mango have 320 calories, which equals the same as 2 apples, 15 grapes, and half of a small cantaloupe combined.
• Yogurt-covered nuts have little is any redeeming nutritional value. Loaded with sugar, fat, and no active cultures, 20 yogurt covered nuts contain 460 calories, 32 grams fat, 14 grams saturated fat, and 8 teaspoons sugar.
• Banana chips are fried in oil and sugar. One cup of banana chips has 300 calories, 20 grams fat, 18 grams saturated fat, and 19 grams sugar, or 4 3/4 teaspoons of sugar. Bauer's common sense solution? Eat a real banana. It has 110 calories and no added fat or sugar.
  

To learn more about foods that might seem good for you but aren't, and foods that are good for you, visit Joy Bauer Nutrition, life is hard, food should be easy.

UK newspapers are reporting a recall of chocolate and bagged snacks after it was found one of the ingredients contained potentially cancer-causing toxins. Three brands of products made with a rice flour were found to have aflatoxin B1 -- a naturally occurring  mold shown to cause cancer in animals -- at levels above the legal limit, according to the Food Standards Agency. Stated in the alert, the rice flour is thought to have originated in Pakistan and imported to the UK from Sweden. At this time, the products in question are Quaker Caribbean Chicken Seasons, Sainsbury's Chocolate and Toffee Crispie Bites and Smiths Bacon Fries. All companies that use rice flour in the manufacture of food product are being asked to voluntarily recall those products.