A "Mighty O" Heart Attack

A usually interesting vegan blogger today was praising "Mighty O Donuts" in Seatte.  To quote the blogger:

"Their donuts are all vegan and organic. Because there are no animal derived ingredients they are cholesterol free. Mighty O's are made locally, right in the shop and contain no trans fats, artificial colorings or ingredients and are calorie free."

Well, let's glom the nutritional numbers see if we can figure out what the little kid shown in her photo is actually eating.  Sure, it's going to be essentially flour, fat, oil, and sugar (that's what's in a donut).  I'm guessing it's the "peanut sprinkles" chocoloco (BTW: most of the other donuts are much HIGHER in the numbers below).  They don't note the fat content of the peanut sprinkles.

Here's the numbers and percentages for a 2,000 calorie a day grown ADULT:

FAT:  16 grams (almost a third of the total fat for an adult for a day a la Federalists, essentially full-day for Esselstyn and Ornish (who've reversed heart disease:  14 to 24 grams of fat per day)

SAT FAT:  7 grams (about 35% of what the American Health Association recommends for AN ADULT)

SUGAR:  16 grams of sugar (a little under half what the AHA recommends daily for ADULT MEN)

Wonderful.  At least, as the website notes so loudly, that their donuts are "organic," "clean," "non-gmo," and contains "nothing artificial.  After all, we wouldn't want a dirty heart attack.  What the are doing might sound noble ('environmental," "free trade," yadda yadda yadda...), but in reality they are making and selling a highly addictive and decidedly unhealthy VEGAN processed food fat, sugar, and oil delivery vehicles.

...and some wonder why are kids are showing such high obseity and Type II Diabetes rates!  It ain't just because the're not vegan, kiddos.  It's the glazed or sprinkled ticking nutritional time bombs served with a smile.  But, since the saturated fat can feed Altzheimer's, maybe they'll forget about it later.

Here's the company's "core values" (no direct link, badly designed Flash navigation):

• "Respect for individuals, community, and culture" (but we don't care if our products are nutritionally useless and promote heart disease, diabetes, Altzheimer's and obesity)
• "Respect for nature and the environment" (except for your cardiocascular system)
• "Recognize that continual improvement is necessary for our growth and existence.  Be innovative."  (...find new ways to package fat, sugar, salt, and flour, with a high profit margin, to sell to taste addicts)
• "Preserve modesty as an essential tenant to serve others" (WTF? Well, maybe it's "clean" modesty)
• "Be truthful.  Recognize that our success is based on more than profits." (that's true!  It's based on selling fat and sugar-ladden flour products with nano-nutritional value that significantly increase the odds for a shorter life span, while feeding the buyer's addictions)

It's also ironic 'cause they list a ton of artificial food-like ingredients they are avoiding and even include a link to a webpage about "Food Additives" that can cause cancer.  Pity they've missed the heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and Altzheimer's potential from their "natural" ingredients (oil is natural?  I've yet to see an "olive oil" well.).

Transcend your taste bud's addiction to fat, sugar, and salt... transform them into discriminators of REAL food, and not such deep-fried or baked sugar, fat, and flour nutritionally vapid nonsense as "Might O" Donuts.

That's PRESERVING LIFE... and being seriously RESPECTFUL to your body and to those people that love you.  Your health is based on more than taste... And that's the recognizable truth.

Comments

[Jenny]

I was so excited to visit Mighty-O when visiting Seattle!! But I literally couldn't stomach one of their donuts. It was the most heavy things I've ever consumed and I proceeded to get sick to my stomach. They advertise their use of palm oil, but perhaps they should switch...

[Thanks for your note... it sounds good, "vegan donuts," but in reality, it's bad for your health. It's great to get feedback like yours. Best regards, Mark]

[Pearl]

Hm, interesting. it'll be interesting to see if further studies duplicate the findings around Alzheimers.

[Well, there's some evidence already regarding calories:

http://foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/G_eneral_H_ealth_34/101506092008_Want_to_prevent_Alzheimer_s_disease_Eat_less.shtml

There wa some research, too, regarding saturated fat and Altzheimer's:

http://soulveggie.blogs.com/my_weblog/2009/09/saturated-fat-altzheimers-the-link.html ]

buyer beware always. stores must sell what sells and human brains automatically think short term.

yes, natural food has a rug of loopholes. arsenic is as natural as most any other compound. the idealizing of nature as pure protector is more ideological than biological.

[Agreed... thanks for your feedback.... Best regards, Mark]

[Chaz]

I just don't understand why these businesses have to add oil and sugar to their
"treats". If everything is so "organic," so "natural," why not just allow the fruit to act as the sweetener, and bake the "treats" in non-stick apparatuses. That is why I make my own "treats." I find things taste just as good without a lot of additives. I totally agree with your statement that one must reprogram their taste buds and mind in order to truly be healthy.

Again, your blog is an eye-opener.

[Thanks much for the feedback. I'm in total agreement with you. I think part of the problem is that companies (vegan-oriented) and bloggers (the same) are stuck at the level of "duplicating the taste" of non-vegan products or meals, and not recognizings the unhealthy aspects of those "duplications" that, although now vegan, are ultimately still deleterious to our health.

Yup... reprogramming (or recalibrating) one's tastes buds is doable (and as vegans, we've done this to varying degrees), it's really important regarding fat, sugar, and salt.

Appreciate your thoughts.... Best regards, Mark ]

[vgpedlr]

I like the expose. A donut is still a donut, and I get sick of people who think organic=healthy. Healthier for the soil, but not your arteries.