At Earth Fare, we often get a surprised or even angry reaction to the fact that we carry Coca-Cola.  Specifically, we only carry Coca-Cola made and bottled in Mexico.

What’s the difference?

Besides the glass bottle, Mexican Coke is the only version of Coca-Cola made with cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

We have been carrying cola soft drinks for years – in fact, Blue Sky soda changed their formula to exclude high fructose corn syrup when we became the first national chain to ban HFCS in 2004.

Although there is much debate over the health risk of consuming high fructose corn syrup vs. cane sugar, we believe recent studies by Princeton University show HFCS causes obesity & diabetes.

If you are going to indulge in a treat, like soda, doesn’t it seem better to do so with natural ingredients rather than chemically processed fake food?

Entering a natural foods store can be intimidating to many. Since our Food Philosophy bans ingredients, not companies, we hope that by carrying recognizable brands that meet our Food Philosophy standards, we help our new customers at the beginning of their health journey to feel more comfortable in our stores.

We’d like to buy the world a Coke – WITHOUT High Fructose Corn Syrup!

Almost two years ago, I cut out high-fructose corn syrup. In just a few months, I had lost forty pounds! This amazing result was only the beginning of my journey, with more miracles to come. My boyfriend and I decided to try to conceive. I bought Toni Weschler’s book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” from my local Earth Fare. I was convinced that I would have a natural conception, pregnancy and birth but I learned that my progesterone levels were too low to conceive.

I began searching for an alternative to hormones. I learned about maca root, a rare member of the radish family with many health benefits, among those the ability to regulate hormonal imbalances. I purchased encapsulated Maca root powder from Earth Fare. After eight months of trying to conceive, I became pregnant the next cycle!

Our midwives and our childbirth educator all placed great importance on nutrition for growing a healthy baby and avoiding preventable complications. They also gave us suggestions to replace our old staples with: sprouted grain bread, almond nut butter, Greek yogurt, and fruit juice-based sports drinks for my boyfriend, a marathon runner.

Even though diabetes and gestational diabetes run in my family, it was never an issue in my pregnancy.

We had an amazing homebirth experience. Everything went like clockwork and our gorgeous daughter was in excellent health. The midwives asked me if I was ready to get up and walk after the baby was born and I felt I could cartwheel!

I know good nutrition and staying active played an important part in this outcome. Now that the baby is here, we are even more determined to our commitment to wholesome food. I believe that my daughter’s tastes will develop according to what she tastes in my milk.

Finances keep us from eating all organics but through budgeting, meal planning, coupons and Earth Fare’s “Fare Deals” we are able to give more unsavory ingredients the boot. Friends complain that eating organic is expensive but I am determined to show them how manageable it can be!

You can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers by clicking here.

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Frances’ story (in her own words):

I have been dealing with arthritis since 1967, when someone went through a red light and hit my car.

It took almost a year to recover and be able to walk again. Since that time I have become aware of the effects of adulterated food on my body. Corn syrup makes my joints swell so I avoid anything with corn syrup in it.

At the beginning it was a difficult task till I realized that if I shopped the perimeter of the store and bought locally grown produce from Farmers I knew grew their food organically, I’d feel better.

Lucky for me I like to cook so preparing my own meals isn’t a problem.I just avoid sugar and white flour, rice etc and my arthritis stays in check.

I was first introduced to Earth Fare when visiting Asheville. I stocked up on oats, wheat berries, barley, brown or red rice, and other grains. I use them to make breakfast. I add them to homemade soup or enjoy rice as a side dish.

Organic fruits and vegetables taste so much better. They remind me of my childhood when I could go out t the garden and eat a fresh warm tomato right off the vine. I’m happy Earth Fare has come to Charlotte.

I love the chair massages, wine and beer samples and other events. In addition to healthy eating I swim and do Tai Chi daily and all these keep me moving!

Want to know how you can share your story with Earth Fare’s readers? Click here and then click “Share Your Story” in the right sidebar. We want to hear your health story!

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They’re waging a war against unhealthy school lunches.

Perhaps the most famous lunch crusader is the anonymous Mrs. Q, who took on a project (Fed Up With School Lunch) that garnered her national attention – she decided to start eating the school lunches her students were eating. She also photographed and blogged each lunch, and shined a harsh light on what kids are eating in many schools nationwide.

We asked our facebook fans to weigh in on the issue, and the response was immediate and emphatic! Most of you said you typically pack your kids’ lunches. Bonnie told us about the turning point for her, writing:

“We have always packed their lunches because our daughter has food allergies. We did let them buy on pizza day last year a few times, but that stopped when I volunteered one day at my son’s school.

It was pizza day and the lunch monitors were walking around with GIGANTIC bottles of ranch dressing and pouring it all over the pizza (which didn’t look all that good) for the kids. Some of the kids near where I was sitting actually ate the dressing with a spoon and then they got more put on their tray! It was disgusting to watch and that was the last time we gave money for lunch.”

So, what’s it like in your house? How are the options at your kids’ school? Are you waging your own war on school lunches? Let’s hear your story!

 What do you need to do to get a FREE pantry makeover? It’s simple! Get on the health journey, and then get the reward. You can use your coupon to trade in FIVE unhealthy staples from these five categories: (1) Peanut Butter, (2) Soda, (3) Cereal, (4) Salad Dressing, and (5) Jelly.

 Check out the pantry makeover in action:

Earth Fare Boot Patrol: Pantry Makeover from Earth Fare on Vimeo.

Sign up now for the health journey. Once you register, you can print out the coupon and bring it with you to Earth Fare. (Psst – you can get your pantry makeover even if you’re not in Auburn. Just take your coupon to your local Earth Fare store! We’re all for equal opportunity health!)

 Get my pantry makeover!

James’ Story (in his own words):

About four weeks ago, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumors.  He had them removed, and thankfully, he is doing well and getting ready to start radiation and chemo.  After the surgery, the surgeon came in and started to talk about changing his diet.  I figured that I, his 22 year old son should start this BEFORE I have health problems.

I had been thinking about eating healthier.  I was trying to do this by just being careful with what I bought at the regular grocery store and not buying processed foods.  This became something difficult to find.

My brother introduced me to Earth Fare about one week ago.

When I entered the doors, I felt like a kid in a candy store, except it was all good for me! I was so happy to finally find a place that I can buy food that is not only good, but also good for me and I don’t have to worry about harmful side affects.  Within the week, I brought my roommate from college showing him all the great things in the store.

This is the beginning of a long, healthy life.  Thank you, Earth Fare, for making healthy eating easy!

Now, other major food producers are following suit.  Say goodbye to HFCS in these products:

• Hunt’s Ketchup (if Hunt’s can, why can’t Heinz?)
• Starbucks Baked Goods
• Gatorade
• Wheat Thin Crackers

From the short list above – a condiment, beverage and crackers – it’s clear that HFCS has invaded a lot of our processed foods!

Why is this so bad?  HFCS is NOT natural!  No matter what the Corn Refiners Association advertisements say, it’s not!  It was created in a lab via chemical processes, and introduced into foods forty years ago.

It’s used because it’s cheaper than real sugar, but is it really worth all the harmful health costs?  HFCS has been linked to the obesity epidemic – it could cause insulin and leptin resistance.  Insulin resistant means the human body does not respond to sugars correctly, and as a result, blood glucose levels can rise.  Leptin resistance means the body does not recognize when it’s full.

Have you booted HFCS?  Have you noticed a difference?  Tell us your story.

But, during this last episode of Glee (yes, I’m a Gleek), I decided to pay attention to the commercials. And. WOW! I was completely shocked by what I saw.

Here’s how it broke down. During the first set of commercials, I saw Red Baron Pan Pizza and Burger King BBQ Ribs. While pizza in moderation is fine, there’s little that’s fine about Burger King’s BBQ Ribs. The sauce is made of high fructose corn syrup! (I’m sure you saw that one coming!) And, even worse, there are 1,290MG OF SODIUM! That’s more than HALF the amount of sodium that you should eat in one day.

The only fresh veggies that I saw during the first GLEE break were the lettuce and tomato. And, considering how those usually look in fast food restaurants, they can hardly be considered FRESH!

And, this was just the first set. The next set was even worse: Coca Cola (HFCS to the max!), Hershey’s Smores, more fast food burgers, steak and Sonic ice cream. And, later, we had M&Ms (here come your artificial colors!), Domino’s, BK Slurpie, Subway, McDonalds…and the list goes on and on and ON!

So, in my humble opinion, YES, TV food ads promote unhealthy diets. What do you think?

Marinda’s Story (in her own words):

It’s hard to believe that my 4 year-old son (now 5) helped the WHOLE family become a lot more healthy. He is very active and has a huge personality.

When I took him to his 4 year physical, I mentioned to the pediatrician that he is very hyper at times, takes me a while to calm him down and doesn’t sleep well at night. He said that it was his diet and he said to cut out 3 important factors: (1) MSG, (2) caffeine and (3) artifical colors. I immediately went home and cleaned out the pantry.

I have really noticed a difference since then and he even seems more mature. So, now when he wants something and I say no, honey it has “colors” in it. He is fine with it because I have told him that is is not healthy for him.

He has adjusted so well and I am so glad I asked the doctor about it….because not only is he healthier, but I have included the WHOLE family in our new way of thinking and have went another step to knock out high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), nitrites, etc and try to buy organic when I can to weed out even more “junk” in my ongoing quest. I am really happy to know I can make a major difference in the health of my families lives.

Do you know what you are really drinking?

Skeptical that food ingredients have become unrecognizable?  Here’s a little trivia: Read the ingredient list below (that is, if you can even read/pronounce it), and name what food it is. 

INGREDIENTS: ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLID ACID), CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL (WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS), SUGAR, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF CRACKER MEAL, WHEAT STARCH, SALT, DRIED STRAWBERRIES, DRIED PEARS, DRIED APPLES, CORNSTARCH, LEAVNING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE), MILLED CORN, CITRIC ACID, GELATIN, CARAMEL COLOR, SOY LECITHIN, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN AND/OR COTTONSEED OIL, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, XANTHAM GUM, MODIFIED WHEAT STARCH, COLOR ADDED, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, RED#40, NIACINAMIDE, REDUCED IRON, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), YELLOW#6, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, THIAMIN HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B1), TUMERIC COLOR, FOLID ACID, BLUE #1. 

So, what’s the answer?  **drumroll**  Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts!  Surprised?  Don’t worry…who would recognize a list that sounds more like a science lab creation?! 

If Pop-Tarts are such a simple, easy and convenient food, then why are there so many unfamiliar and unhealthy ingredients in it?   There are loads of unhealthy ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils and artificial (means not natural) colors like Yellow #6, Red#40 and Blue#1.

Good for you?

An important fact about ingredient labels is that the ingredients are listed in order of the most prevalent ingredient by weight.  That means, in these Pop-Tarts, enriched flour is the most prevalent ingredient followed by corn syrup (a sugar) and then high fructose corn syrup (an unhealthy, artificial sweetener).  Basically, the bulk of these Pop-Tarts is fiberless flour and unhealthy, unnatural ingredients! 

We all like to enjoy sweet treats once in awhile (and we should!), but we can enjoy these treats without eating so many unhealthy ingredients!   What is your favorite natural sweet treat?

Check back next week for the next part of this series to find out which ingredients you should avoid!