Did you know that Guinness used THIS to clarify their beer? Did you know that bees are fed THIS? Did you know that THIS part of the beaver is used in your baked goods? IF you’ve wondered, you’ll find these answers and more here…and you’ll be shocked. Thanks for the insight, Wes!

Guinness Brewery used fish bladders to clarify their beer

Guinness, like many other brewers, use isinglass, a by-product of the fishing industry that’s used to clarify the beer and make yeast settle faster. While most of the agent is filtered out during the brewing process, there are still traces of fish bladders in the finished product. – Reported by Fox News in 2015

Personal Trainer Wisdom: An interesting process that I don't believe is used too often for other beers. Although Guinness just discontinued this practice, it's a reminder that it’s worth learning about your favorite products (especially if you're a vegetarian).

Cattle bone char is used to process sugar

Bone char, which is used to process sugar, is made from the bones of cattle from Afghanistan, Argentina, India, and Pakistan. The bones are sold to traders in Scotland, Egypt, and Brazil who then sell them back to the U.S. sugar industry. The European Union and the USDA heavily regulate the use of bone char. Only countries that are deemed BSE-free can sell the bones of their cattle for this process. Bone char—often referred to as natural carbon—is widely used by the sugar industry as a decolorizing filter, which allows the sugar cane to achieve its desirable white color. – Reported by Peta

Personal Trainer Wisdom: Another process that may be harmless to your health but a violation of your ethical principles regarding animals. How important is this need for a decoloring filter?

Bees are fed high fructose corn syrup

Beekeepers feed their hives over the winter, when the bees are not working pollinating crops. Because of its cheaper expense, beekeepers, like processed food manufacturers, have moved away from supporting the bees and the baby bees (grubs) with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) instead of honey. – Reported by Hopkins Medicine

Personal Trainer Wisdom: You are what you eat, and you certainly are affected by your prey’s diet as well. Think: Cellular and genetic levels.

Eggs are not dairy.

Eggs and dairy are lumped together on the prehistoric food pyramid….but eggs are not dairy.

Personal Trainer Wisdom: Due to decades of misinterpretation, generations are now convinced that eggs, like butter, milk, and cheese, are considered dairy. Besides the obvious physical differences, eggs don’t contain lactose or casein…defining characteristics of dairy. All forms of dairy are essentially the product of an animal (ie milk). While you can argue eggs are a product of animals, their structural makeup is essentially the beginning stages of life (ie chicks).`

The secretion from the anal glands of beavers are in your baked goods.

Castoreum, which is used as vanilla flavoring in candies, baked goods, etc., is actually a secretion from the anal glands of beavers. – Reported by Wikipedia

Personal Trainer Wisdom: Have no wisdom here. Poor beavers.

Photo Credit:
Mental Floss .com–Is fish bladder really necessary for making beer?

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