Here’s the Science Behind Why Canadians Drink Milk in Bags

Canadians have a much different way of consuming a classic component of American cuisine.

Take a walk down a Canadian grocery store and you may wonder what’s inside that gigantic bag that weighs nearly 10 pounds. Could it be rice? Or how about flour?

Nope, that would be milk. Inside the bag are actually three bladders of milk. Most people place the bladder inside a pitcher, snip a corner and pour for consumption.

So what’s the reason behind the prevalence of milk in bags in Quebec and other parts of Canada?

As usual, the difference can be explained by science.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

During a period where glass bottles often broke and resulted in wasted product, Canadians resorted to a different solution thanks to their use of the metric system.

Because liquids had to be sold in liters, manufacturing plants would have needed to make radical adjustments to meet the new requirements.

However, bags did not require such an extensive overhaul.

Plus, they produced less packaging waste.

By the late 1970s, four-liter packages of milk became the standard in Ontario, and customers continued to pick up on the trend.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In fact, milk served in bags has started to make its way to other parts of the world. You can now find bagged milk in South Africa, Hungary, and China.

Even a school in Nebraska started serving kids milk packaged in Capri Sun-esque pouches.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

No matter how you consume your milk, it’s best to keep it fresh. So whether you’re a bottle loyalist or you’ve broken the mold and gone with the bag method, at least you’re following mom’s orders to keep those bones strong and healthy.

Have you ever drank milk from a bag or pouch before? Would you try it out even if you drank bottled or cartoned milk your whole life?

Weigh-in in the comments below!

The post Here’s the Science Behind Why Canadians Drink Milk in Bags appeared first on UberFacts.

Here’s the Science Behind Why Canadians Drink Milk in Bags

Canadians have a much different way of consuming a classic component of American cuisine.

Take a walk down a Canadian grocery store and you may wonder what’s inside that gigantic bag that weighs nearly 10 pounds. Could it be rice? Or how about flour?

Nope, that would be milk. Inside the bag are actually three bladders of milk. Most people place the bladder inside a pitcher, snip a corner and pour for consumption.

So what’s the reason behind the prevalence of milk in bags in Quebec and other parts of Canada?

As usual, the difference can be explained by science.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

During a period where glass bottles often broke and resulted in wasted product, Canadians resorted to a different solution thanks to their use of the metric system.

Because liquids had to be sold in liters, manufacturing plants would have needed to make radical adjustments to meet the new requirements.

However, bags did not require such an extensive overhaul.

Plus, they produced less packaging waste.

By the late 1970s, four-liter packages of milk became the standard in Ontario, and customers continued to pick up on the trend.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

In fact, milk served in bags has started to make its way to other parts of the world. You can now find bagged milk in South Africa, Hungary, and China.

Even a school in Nebraska started serving kids milk packaged in Capri Sun-esque pouches.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

No matter how you consume your milk, it’s best to keep it fresh. So whether you’re a bottle loyalist or you’ve broken the mold and gone with the bag method, at least you’re following mom’s orders to keep those bones strong and healthy.

Have you ever drank milk from a bag or pouch before? Would you try it out even if you drank bottled or cartoned milk your whole life?

Weigh-in in the comments below!

The post Here’s the Science Behind Why Canadians Drink Milk in Bags appeared first on UberFacts.

These 19 Photos Are Proof That Americans Do the Weirdest Things with Food

Having lived in America for well over a decade now, I admit there are a lot of things on this list that don’t seem as weird to me anymore. That said, when I first got here, there were definitely plenty of foods that had me confused AF. At the very least, I will say that Americans are… unrestrictedly creative with the things they do to food.

1. This is actually a great idea that doesn’t belong here. I just wanted you to see it.

Photo Credit: Imgur

2. That is deep fried butter, and I am amused.

Photo Credit: Instagram

3. That is deep fried sugar, and I am horrified.

Photo Credit: Twitter

4. This is bad enough without the chocolate chips.

Photo Credit: Twitter

5. WAT WHY

Photo Credit: Twitter

6. Like this. Wtf is THIS?

Photo Credit: Imgur

7. These are pickles brined in Kool Aid. Just stop it.

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

That’s right. They’re called Koolickles.

Photo Credit: Instagram

8. Listen, I’ll eat it, but we can’t be calling it ‘cheddar cheese’, people.

Photo Credit:

9. Why do people pay for snow cones?? It’s just ice! IT’S A CUP OF ICE CAROL

Photo Credit: Instagram

10. A donut bun cheeseburger is one of the more ‘American’ things I’ve seen…

Photo Credit: Twitter

11. Ok but why tho

Photo Credit: Twitter

12. I have questions…

Photo Credit: Twitter

13. Oh, so we’re flavoring condiments with other condiments now? Cool.

Photo Credit: Twitter

14. I am going to give this points for creativity, and you can’t stop me.

Photo Credit: Twitter

15. Have you ever really thought about what jerky is? Cuz I guarantee your teeth and cholesterol have.

Photo Credit: Flickr, andreelau

16. Explain how this applies to chips, please.

Photo Credit: Twitter

17. We’re deep frying bubble gum now? WHAT FOR

Photo Credit: Twitter

18. “Excuse me, ma’am, is that a brick of fries O_O”

Photo Credit: Buzzfeed

19. Oooo. “Natural butter flavor with other natural flavors contains no butter” is one of my all-time favorites.

Photo Credit: Twitter

We should all be ashamed about that last one. Truly.

The post These 19 Photos Are Proof That Americans Do the Weirdest Things with Food appeared first on UberFacts.

15+ Things Picky Eaters Will Both Relate to and Have Some Sort of Problem With

Are you a picky eater? At very least, you probably know one. It’s tough to be one, and it’s insanely hard to live with one.

Either way, you’ll definitely relate to these situations way too hard.

1. The Picky Eater’s ‘Trying Something New’ Face

Photo Credit: Twitter

5. The Picky Eater’s Typical Response (‘food is trash’)

Photo Credit: Twitter

2. Once Again… Picky Eaters = Students for Life

Photo Credit: Twitter

3. The Ultimate Question

Photo Credit: Twitter

4. Picky Eater Instructions 101

Photo Credit: Twitter

5. *also Froot Loops

Photo Credit: Twitter

6. *and vegetables… and fruit… i guess dessert is cool… but not tiramisu… or fruit pies

Photo Credit: Twitter

7. Golden Rule #4: The Picky Eater’s Burger Shall Always Have the Most Toppings (…on the outside of the wrapper)

Photo Credit: Twitter

8. Picky Eaters = Students for Life

Photo Credit: Twitter

9. The Picky Eater’s Proudest 2nd-Proudest 3rd-Proudest Moment

Photo Credit: Twitter

10. The Picky Eater’s Proudest 2nd-Proudest Moment

Photo Credit: Twitter

11. The Picky Eater’s Special

Photo Credit: Twitter

12. The Picky Eater’s Plate (after every meal, because they’re literally picky)

Photo Credit: Twitter

13. The Picky Eater’s Typical Receipt (plastered with their favorite word [NO])

Photo Credit: Twitter

14. The Picky Eater’s Proudest Moment

Photo Credit: Twitter

15. Golden Rule #23: A Good Support System is Imperative to Ensure the Picky Eater’s Survival

Photo Credit: Twitter

16. Every Picky Eater Fail Ever

Photo Credit: Twitter

17. It Takes a Special Kind of Person to Be the Friend of a Picky Eater

Photo Credit: Twitter

18. And an Even Specialer Kind of Person to Tolerate Their Bullshit

Photo Credit: Twitter

Did I tell you or did I tell you? Or did I TELL you.

Mmhmm that’s what I thought.

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Here’s What Experts Say about Eating for Comfort vs Enjoyment

If you’re anything like me, you may have a bad habit of eating your feelings. It’s actually a very common thing, but it can be seriously bad for your health if you’re not practicing moderation.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Experts agree that if we eat for comfort and it becomes a habit, we can hurt ourselves physically from overeating, while also doing emotional damage because we’re using food to avoid facing our feelings.

Karen R. Koenig, an eating psychology expert, blogger and author shared this with Huff Post about comfort food:

“A misleading misnomer if there ever was one, comfort is not something we want to keep associating with food. We want to file food in our brains under nourishment and occasional pleasure. We want to seek comfort through friends, doing kind things for ourselves and engaging in healthy activities that reduce internal distress.”

Sarah Allen, a psychologist who specializes in eating disorders has some additional advice:

“As soon as you start looking for food, stop. Think, ‘Am I hungry? Do I need food in my stomach, or is one of my triggers going off? What do I need right now?’”

But yeah, that’s good and all… but why is it so hard to NOT do those things?

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Susan Albers, author and clinical psychologist, explains the underlying factors.

“When we’re stressed, our bodies are flooded in cortisol. That makes us crave sugary, fatty, salty foods.”

Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone. It regulates how our bodies process all the macro nutrients we consume (carbs, fats, proteins), so when stress and anxiety enter our emotional equation… we carbo-load like crazy.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The experts agree that while a hormone like cortisol is a powerful trigger to comfort eat, we need to practice more mindfulness when eating. So instead of letting our mood drive consumption, we need to concentrate on meals, not snacks. Also, emotional eating usually ends up in overconsumption, which means we aren’t even tasting the food we eat. Experience a meal, savor the flavors and understand how you feel when you’re full.

One last bit of advice? Never go cold turkey. People put unrealistic expectations on themselves, which leads to being unable to meet goals. Start off with manageable, achievable goals and then continue to build up to your ultimate goals, whatever those may be.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Basically, enjoy those treats! Because we deserve them. But try to view eating that cookie or candy or baked good or WHATEVER as a way of enjoying yourself, not consoling yourself.

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Science Weighs In on When It’s Okay to Grab a Midnight Snack, and When to Say No

If you’re trying to eat healthy, or maybe lose a few pounds, one of the most common things people will tell you is to stop snacking after a certain time – usually after dinner. That means those late night munchies are a strict no-no. But is it really true that we can never give in to those midnight cravings?

First of all, let’s dispel the myth that food eaten after a certain hour always turns into fat, like the your stomach knows how to read a clock. You gain weight when more calories go in your body than go out, full stop. And yet, the participants in multiple experiments have proven that people who tend to eat late at night do tend to gain more weight and keep it on.

So what’s up with that?

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Well, a recent group of studies out of Northwestern University seems to indicate that being a night owl has more to do with nighttime eating and its negative effects – night owls are just more likely to eat late. It’s like this: the people for whom the halfway mark of a normal night’s sleep was between 1am and 5:30am (ie. people with earlier bedtimes) tended to have only a meal after work and nothing before bed, while the people for whom the halfway point of their normal night’s sleep was after 5:30 (ie. night owls) were more likely to have another snack before crawling under the sheets. The second group also often got less sleep than the first.

The studies also noted that people tend to make poorer choices when they’re tired or interested in a television series at the end of the day – we reach for easy things like takeout, chips, or pizzas instead of making the trip or stop at the grocery for proteins and vegetables.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

That said, if you are someone who has the luxury of staying up late and sleeping in, there’s no reason you can’t eat if you’re hungry, even after dinner.

Here are some simple tips to keep yourself satisfied, sleeping well, and at your desired weight.

#1. Watch your calories.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Try keeping a log of the calories you eat all day long, and if it’s not too many, it’s fine to have a snack – just try to choose something on the healthier side, and do your best to eat 2 or 3 hours before you plan to go to bed. Otherwise, your digestion could disrupt your sleep and lead to more issues the following day.

#2. Choose your snacks wisely.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Not only is it important to choose something low in calories if your day is almost done, but choosing something that can help promote sleep – dairy, fish, turkey, bananas, kiwi, cherries, almonds, and honey are all options that offer melatonin and serotonin that can help you snooze through the night.

#3. Do some self-evaluation.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

If you do find yourself wanting to indulge late at night more often than not, you might be looking at some kind of compulsion – overeating can be linked to emotional issues. Check on yourself, and determine whether your desire to eat at night could be feelings-related.


So, it’s not a bad thing to give into your hunger later at night, especially if you’re a night owl. You just need to remember that what we eat and when does affect our ability to get good sleep and keep ourselves on an even keel. Don’t force yourself to go hungry, just be conscious of the choices you’re making and do you!

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