A warm and healthy food is the perfect choice for a family meal and every season is the perfect time for it. However, choosing your best family soup can be really challenging because there are plenty of options.
The soup is usually regarded as an easy and quick choice for dinner or even lunch and apart from that, it can even help you fight illness and keep fit.
Well, this is partially true because sometimes the “healthy” soup can be nothing more but a can full of processed food and toxins. So, if you are wondering are there any dangers of eating canned soup keep reading and learn about the content of the canned soup that you feed your family with.
TOXIC SOUP INGREDIENTS TO WATCH OUT FOR :
1. MSG ( processed free glutamic acid)
This additive is one of the most common flavors used in canned soups. It is often found in bouillon and broth, stock, whey protein items, natural or other flavorings, citric acid, barley malt, soy proteins, sodium citrate and more. This additive can cause headaches, abdominal cramps, migraines and other symptoms in people who are sensitive to it.
However, anyone else is affected as well. The MSG is a controversial additive which is generally recognized as safe by the FDA. Even though companies are obliged to label it, they often can work without doing so. The problem is that MSG is created through manufacturing or fermentation in comparison to the glutamic acid which may occur naturally.
As a result, MSG is sort of “processed free glutamic acid”. Many studies have shown that MSG is linked to liver inflammation, weight gain and many other health conditions. In an experiment conducted with mice, when MSG was injected the mice themselves had a lot of troubles such as endocrine related issues and delayed puberty.
According to Dr. John Olney, MD, MSG destroys neurons in the developing brain. Moreover, even though MSG may not be directly put in the soup it can be found in other ingredients and be hidden under other names. It is always present it yeast nutrient, texture protein, yeast extract, gelatin, autolyzed or hydrolyzed ingredients, calcium caseinate and sodium.
2. GMOS And Pesticides
If the label doesn’t contain “USDA ORGANIC”, the soup probably contains GMOs. This especially refers to the ones made with sugar, corn, soy or other additives that are derived from GMO plants. In addition, huge percent of these plants are treated with herbicides and pesticides.
3. BPA Cans
It is a well known fact that most soups come in cans and that the majority of them contain BPA. This chemical is actually an endocrine disrupter and this has been proven by many lab animals and experiments. Many studies have shown that BPA is linked to obesity, pre-cancerous changes, reproductive abnormalities, insulin resistance and early onset puberty.
CBS News reported on a study in 2011 by Harvard School of Public Health that showed that people who ate canned soup daily just for 5 days had more than “1000 percent increase in urinary BPA” over people who had fresh soup for 5 days. As we can see, BPA as a toxin acts very quickly and it may easily build up in our system. The fact that canned soups contain BPA is the biggest danger of eating the canned soups themselves.
4. High in Sodium
It is well known fact that most of the canned soups are high in sodium. To be more precise they contain unbelievable 400 mg in a can. Progresso`s Lentil Soup contains even 810 mg of sodium per serving.
According to a research conducted by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Americans already consume too much sodium and this is an additional threat. Since most of the canned soups are very high in sodium, eating canned soup is a potential danger for our overall health.
TOXIC SOUP BRANDS
Most of the canned soups brands you will find in the supermarket are toxic. We offer you a short list of some of the worst choices you can make when it comes to canned soups.
1. Progresso Soup
As mentioned above, this brand offers soups that are very high in sodium, especially Progresso Lentil Soup. Fortunately, this brand tends to list their ingredients so that we can be sure what exactly the soup contains. If we take “Heart Healthy Savory Garden Vegetable” soup for example, we can see that it contains hydrolyzed corn protein.
This may mean that it contains MSG as well. If you are allergic to egg, milk, processed gluten and wheat avoid this soup because it is listed that it contains modified food starch- linked to the foods mentioned above. In addition, it contains soy lecithin which comes from GMO soy. Most of the soups come in BPA cans as well.
Finally, it has caramel color and added corn syrup. To sum up, this soup contains almost all of the toxins mentioned above and it is definitely one of the most toxic soup brands.
2. Healthy Choice
The official website of the Healthy Choice doesn’t provide a full list of all the ingredients but only the main one or two instead. However, there is another website that offers more detailed information (Fooducate).
According to this source, this brand has several items that contain MSG, it has sugar (4g) and it is high in sodium (480mg). It also contains disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate which are ineffective without MSG.
Logically, this soup contains MSG. Even though it is low in calories, this soup is not the best choice since it contains a lot of ingredients that are highly processed.
3. Wolfgang Puck Organic Soups
On the official website they claim: “Wolfgang Puck’s all natural soups are preservative-free and contain no added MSG, except for that which naturally occurs in autolyzed yeast extract.” Even though it is said that there are no MSG found in their products, the process of autolyzing yeasts actually produces MSG.
Moreover, the cans are not BPA free. As mentioned in the beginning, there are not detailed information about the ingredients on their website, but according to Fooducate, their Organic Hearty Garden Vegetable Soup contains 7g of sugar, “natural flavors” and 690mg of sodium.
Many consumers were eager to know if their cans contain BPA indeed and the response from the manufacturers is the following: “For more than 40 years, BPA has been safely used in the linings or lids of metal cans, including many used by Wolfgang Puck. Our current can packaging is one of the safest in the world. In fact, expert regulatory bodies around the world have declared that BPA is safe for food packaging.
According to extensive scientific evidence, the use of BPA in can linings poses no threat to human health. However, we understand that some consumers still have concerns around BPA.
That’s why we are exploring packaging formats and working to phase out the use of BPA in our product linings. We are researching alternatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s list of approved food contact materials. Once safe and effective alternatives are identified, we will begin the transition.”
4. Campbell’s Soup
The nutrition facts about this soup are available on their website but the list of ingredients isn’t. Moreover, there is a disclaimer about the nutrition facts: “The nutrition information contained in this list of Nutrition Facts is based on our current data. However, because the data may change from time to time, this information may not always be identical to the nutritional label information of products on shelf.”
There is an article written by Truth in Labeling, in regard to Campbell`s claim that it doesn’t use MSG. The thing is, MSG on their site is defined as “an abbreviation for monosodium glutamate,” they can legitimately use the label “no MSG” on anything that has MSG under a different name.
Campbell`s announced that they will remove the BPA cans by 2015. Moreover, some of their soups are packaged in cartons rather than steps. These two steps are really important in getting close to the demands for cleaner and safer food by the consumers.
BETTER CHOICES: NO BPAS, ORGANIC.
1. Trader Joe`s Organic Tomato Soups
The tomato varieties are the only ones that are safe at Trader Joe`s. They contain organic ingredients and they are packed in BPA-free cans. It is recommended to read the ingredients carefully because many products have MSG.
2. Pacific Organic Soups
Even though most of the ingredients are organic, sugar and MSG are still present. Moreover, besides being BPA-free and being packed in cartons you need to read the ingredients carefully.
BEST NON TOXIC SOUP CHOICES: NO MSG, NO BPA, ORGANIC, LOWER SODIUM:
1. Imagine Soups
This brand stocks their soups in a Tetra-Pak rather than a can. However, not all their soups are organic and some of the creamy and chunky soups have signs of MSG and added sugar. There is still a variety to choose from that are organic and MSG-free.
2. Amy`s Organic Soup
Even though most of Amy`s soups are made of organic ingredients and they are stocked in BPA-free cans, make sure you read the ingredient on their website so that you can be sure that there aren’t any items you be concerned about such as gluten or soy free. Amy’s claims that: Their organic flavorings are “100% pure herbs & spices (no hidden ingredients).”
BEST CHOICE? MAKE YOUR OWN SOUP
Obviously, the safest way to avoid the dangers of consuming canned soup is to make your own homemade soup. If you have a crockpot for example, it is extremely simple to make your soup at home: just chop up your ingredients, season, add water and press the “soup” button or set the timer as directed. Bone broth or fresh-cooked meat broth are one of the best soups for balancing the gut and supporting your body to help you fight disease, especially if you are cooking with organic produce and with grass fed or organic meats. In case you still need more help, we offer you a list of several bloggers that will inspire you with some soup ideas and they will help you to get started.
-Hollywood Homestead
Learn how to make a gelatin-rich broth and learn why bone broth is a better substitute for Botox. In the Winter Soups E-book, you can find more than 52 recipes including soups that are great for GAPS diet and dairy and gluten free soups.
-Coconut Mama`s Soups
The Coconut Mama has a great lesson on how to save money, reduce waste and how to turn your veggie scraps into vegetable broth. The recipes include Meat Loaf & Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup, Spicy Sprouted Lentil Soup and Thai Coconut Chicken Soup.
-Food Babe
Food Babe offers recipes for protein rich Carrot Ginger with Lentil Soup and Healthy Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup. In addition, you can find the discussion she had with Campbell`s Soups and you can freely join in the discussion.
-Food Renegade`s Soup Recipes
You can learn many things on this blog such as why Food Renegade doesn’t approve of Pacific`s Organic Cream Of Mushroom Soup but gives approval for Campbell`s Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup. Moreover, you fill find plenty of recipes too such as Pizza Chili, Roasted Red Pepper& Shrimp Bisque and Egg Drop Soup.
-Nourished Kitchen`s Soups and Stews
You will find many soup and stew`s recipes here including Mushroom Stew, Gluten-free Chicken & Dumplings and Cream of Chicken Soup. You will also learn why is the bone broth good for you.
Sourced: mamavation
