Kentucky Fried Chicken will be displaying warnings on its fried or baked potatoes saying that they can contain a suspected cancer causing chemical, acrylamide.

KFC settled a state lawsuit in California and will also have to pay $341,000 in penalties and funding for Proposition 65 enforcement, which is a voter-passed measure that requires businesses to post warnings about dangerous chemicals contained in food. Acrylamide is created when chemicals in food react to high heat.

I'm not surprised that french fries from a fast food restaurant are dangerous. What shocked me though is that the warning also states "It (acrylamide) is created in fried and baked potatoes made by all restaurants, by other companies, and even when you bake or fry potatoes at home".

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.

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.