Some food additives are worse than others. Food Matters suggests these as the top ones to avoid:
1. Artificial Sweeteners
Aspartame, also known as NutraSweet and Equal, is believed to be carcinogenic and accounts for more reports of adverse reactions than all other foods and food additives combined.
The artificial sweetener Acesulfame-K has been linked to kidney tumors. All artificial sweeteners are bad news.
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) increases your LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels and contributes to the development of diabetes.
3. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
MSG is used as a flavor enhancer. It is an excitotoxin, a substance that overexcites cells to the point of damage or death.
4. Trans Fat
Numerous studies show that trans fat increases LDL cholesterol levels and increases your risk of heart attacks, heart disease and strokes.
5. Common Food Dyes
Artificial colorings may contribute to behavioral problems in children and lead to a significant reduction in IQ.
6. Sodium Sulphite
This is a preservative used in processed foods. People who are sulfite sensitive can experience headaches, breathing problems, and rashes. In severe cases, sulfites can actually cause death.
7. Sodium Nitrate/Sodium Nitrite
This common preservative has been linked to various types of cancer.
8. BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are preservatives that affect the neurological system of your brain, alter behavior and have the potential to cause cancer.
9. Sulphur Dioxide
Sulphur additives are toxic and in the U.S., they have been prohibited in raw fruit and vegetables. Adverse reactions include bronchial problems, low blood pressure, and anaphylactic shock.
10. Potassium Bromate
This additive is used to increase volume in some breads. It is known to cause cancer in animals, and even small amounts can create problems for humans.
Sources:
- Food Matters November 24, 2010
- Dr. Mercola | December 17 2010
If you’ve ever read the ingredients lists on packaged foods, you know that there’s a lot more in food these days than in generations past. Virtually every processed food now contains a laundry list of preservatives, colorings, flavorings, emulsifiers and more — and unless you’re shopping at a natural specialty store, gone are the days when a loaf of bread contained just a few ingredients.
A food additive refers to virtually any substance added to a food, but according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition, a food additive is “any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result — directly or indirectly — in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food.”
There are currently more than 3,000 food additives added to foods in the United States; ideally, you should steer clear of all or most of these, but if you’re just getting started the 10 listed above are an excellent starting point of additives to remove from your diet as soon as possible.
What are You Really Eating?
When you purchase a package of cheese, you expect it to contain milk and salt … bread you’d expect to contain flour, yeast, etc., and when you pick up a can of beans, you may think it only contains beans.
In reality, cheese is commonly laced with preservatives and colorings. Bread contains high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and sometimes trans fats. And even canned beans typically contain a slew of additives including corn syrup, coloring and other sweeteners, along with being packaged in a can that probably leaches BPA from its lining.
The fact is, if you’re like most Americans who spend 90 percent of their food budget on processed foods, you’re eating your share of these additives and then some … which is concerning when you begin to look into their potential effect on your health:
- Cancer: Additives linked to cancer — BHA/BHT, propyl gallate, trans fats, aspartame, blue 1,2, Yellow 6, potassium bromate and more — are in countless products from baked goods and chewing gum to chicken soup base, cereal, luncheon meats, vegetable oils and potato chips. If you eat a highly processed food diet, you are therefore potentially exposing yourself to cancer-causing toxins at every meal.
- Hormone disrupters: An analysis published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology found 31 potential estrogen-mimicking food additives during their research.
These include propyl gallate, a preservative used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling, and 4-hexylresorcinol, which is used to prevent discoloration in shrimp and other shellfish.
Chemicals with estrogen-like effects, known as xenoestrogens, have been linked to a range of human health problems, including reduced sperm counts and increased risk of breast cancer.
- Behavior Problems: A carefully designed, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the journal The Lancet concluded that a variety of common food dyes, and the preservative sodium benzoate — found in many soft drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings — cause some children to become measurably more hyperactive and distractible.
- Lower IQ: The Lancet study mentioned above also found that the E-numbered food dyes (such as tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), quinoline yellow (E104) and allura red AC (E129) do as much damage to children’s brains as lead in gasoline, resulting in a significant reduction in IQ.
Processed Foods Depend on Additives
When foods are processed not only are valuable nutrients lost and fibers removed, but the texture, natural variation and flavors are lost also. After processing, what’s actually left behind is a bland, uninteresting “pseudo-food” that most people would find entirely unappetizing.
So at this point, food manufacturers must add back in the nutrients, flavor, color and texture to processed foods in order to make them palatable, and this is why they become loaded with food additives. Most commonly, additives are included to:
- Slow spoilage
- Prevent fats and oils from becoming rancid or developing an off-flavor
- Prevent cut fruits from turning brown
- Fortify or enrich the food with synthetic vitamins and minerals (which are lost during processing)
- Improve taste, texture and appearance
When reading product packages, here’s a breakdown of some of the most common food additives to watch out for:
- Preservatives (sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, potassium sorbate, BHA, BHT, etc.): Found in fruit sauces and jellies, beverages, baked goods, cured meats, oils and margarines, cereals, dressings, snack foods, fruits and vegetables
- Sweeteners and artificial sweeteners (fructose, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-K), etc.): Beverages, baked goods, confections, table-top sugar, substitutes, many processed foods
- Artificial colors (FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red Nos. 3 and 40, FD&C Yellow Nos. 5 and 6, Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2, etc.): Many processed foods (candies, snack foods, margarine, cheese, soft drinks, jams/jellies, gelatins, pudding and pie fillings)
- Artificial flavors: Pudding and pie fillings, gelatin dessert mixes, cake mixes, salad dressings, candies, soft drinks, ice cream, BBQ sauce, etc.
- Flavor enhancers (monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed soy protein, autolyzed yeast extract, etc.): Many processed foods
The Simplest Way to Avoid Food Additives?
Ditch processed foods.
You might already know that 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is for processed foods so there is massive room for improvement in this area for most of us.
Swapping your processed food diet for one that focuses on real, whole foods may seem like a radical idea, but it’s a necessity if you value your health.
And when you put the history of food into perspective, it’s actually the processed foods that are “radical” and “new.” People have thrived on vegetables, meats, eggs, fruits and other whole foods for centuries, while processed foods were only recently invented.
It’s easy to forget that the processed, packaged foods and fast food restaurants of today are actually a radical change in terms of the history of food production. The frozen food business didn’t begin until the mid-1920s when the General Seafoods Company set up shop and began selling crudely frozen fish fillets, and fast food restaurants didn’t get a foot hold until after World War II.
TV dinners didn’t even come around until the 1950s … before that it was a home-cooked meal or no meal at all.
If you want to eat healthy, I suggest you follow the 1950s (and before) model and spend quality time in the kitchen (yourself, a family member or someone you hire) preparing high-quality meals for yourself and your family.
If you rely on processed inexpensive foods you will simply exchange convenience and short-term cash savings for long-term health miseries.
When it comes to staying healthy, avoiding processed foods and replacing them with fresh, whole foods is the “secret” you’ve been looking for.
By Dr. Mercola
Raw milk from clean, healthy cows bears no comparison – in taste or nutrition – to pasteurized milk. High quality raw milk will always win out over the pasteurized variety.
It’s important to know that the milk you drink will only be as healthy as the cow that produced it. Make sure to source your raw milk from a clean, well-run farm that gives its cows access to pasture.
Raw milk from grass fed cows is full of things that your body will thrive on, including:
It’s not uncommon for people who drink raw milk to report improvement or disappearance of troubling health issues – everything from allergies to digestive trouble to skin problems like eczema.
After years of consuming highly processed foods, we are experiencing skyrocketing rates of chronic, debilitating conditions like asthma, obesity and diabetes.
Pasteurized milk was the very first processed food we were exposed to, and countless numbers of people are experiencing all kinds of health troubles, from digestive upset to perhaps even autism.
This is why even organic milk, which should be from relatively healthy cows, is STILL not a healthy choice for milk, as it is still pasteurized.
Yet, many people thrive on raw dairy. As with nearly any food, the closer you consume it to its natural state, the better. And this is also true for milk.
Raw Milk Safety Standards – Actually HIGHER than Those for Pasteurized Milk
It’s essential to understand the reasons why most dairy is pasteurized in the first place.
The dairy cows used to produce much of the pasteurized dairy sold in the United States are raised in such unsanitary conditions that it affects the cows’ health and hence the quality of their milk.
Factory farming conditions are the reason why the milk has to be pasteurized in the first place. If it wasn’t, it simply would not be safe to drink. This fact is also what prevents the conventional dairy industry from competing with smaller organic farms.
In terms of quality and nutritional content of the milk, you simply cannot compare the milk produced by factory farms to that of organic farm that raise their cattle on grasses and let them out to pasture. These cows are healthy, and produce high quality, uncontaminated milk that does not require pasteurization to kill off dangerous pathogens.
Still, despite the fact that grass-fed organically-raised cows are at a distinct advantage, from the get-go when it comes to the quality of their milk, organic dairy farms in most states still must meet or exceed pasteurized milk standards, without pasteurizing.
California, specifically, (where raw milk is legal) has its own special set of standards for raw milk for human consumption.
So, if it’s not really about food safety, what’s all the hubbub about?
In a word: money.
The conventional dairy industry, realizing that consumers are flocking toward raw milk because of its health benefits, has redoubled their efforts to quench raw milk sales.
You might think that if raw dairy became attractive enough the dairy industry would simply follow suit and begin producing raw products to meet the demand. Alas… this is virtually impossible because of the way their overcrowded farms are run.
You simply CANNOT drink factory farmed milk raw. It would be extremely unsafe. Their business depends on pasteurization, and that is why their powerful lobbyists will stop at nothing to persuade government agencies to keep raw milk bans in full force.
Big Dairy simply cannot compete, so to maintain their market share, they’re employing dirty tactics to destroy the competition instead.
Time Magazine Runs Article on Raw Milk Wars
Milk may be a symbol of wholesomeness for most of us, but according to Time Magazine, it’s also a battleground between government regulators and natural health food proponents who want to drink whole, raw milk.
The war is a test of their freedom to choose to drink a rich-tasting beverage full of beneficial bacteria, enzymes, vitamins and amino acids, that are mostly destroyed through pasteurization, the proponents say.
But to the FDA, it’s a basic health issue: “Raw milk is an inherently dangerous product, and it really should not be consumed by anyone at any time for any reason,” a representative from the FDA tells TIME.
Unfortunately, if the FDA sergeants get their way, they’ll win the war with help from Congress and the proposed Food Safety Modernization Act.
Meanwhile, a federal court has struck down Ohio’s law banning labels on dairy products that say they’re made with milk that’s free of hormones.
As reported on NPR.org, that means companies that want to say their products are “rbGH free” and “rbST free” and “artificial hormone free” are now free to do so.
“But the bigger deal might be that the ruling challenges the FDA’s 17-year-old finding that there’s “no significant difference” between the milk of cows given growth hormone and those that aren’t,” NPR said.
“Just that sort of distinction, or lack of it actually, is part of the ongoing debate about how to label genetically engineered salmon.”
The Court of Appeals also listed the reasons why there is a difference between milk from cows given growth hormones and those that don’t get hormones – and one was that there is more pus in the hormone-treated cows’ milk than in hormone-free.
Other states have already given permission for special labels on milk, but NPR.org speculated that if the FDA approves genetically modified salmon (GM), consumer groups may use the court’s ruling to label non-genetically engineered salmon.
Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
Time Magazine couldn’t be more correct when stating that “for some Americans, milk has become a test of their freedom. And they’re not paranoid kooks either; the government really is out to get them, authorizing seizures of bottles and jugs of unpasteurized milk and, in one recent case, a full-on, agents-brandishing-guns raid.”
There is indeed a war going on, and it’s threatening one of your most basic freedoms – the right to eat a wholly natural, healthful food!
The FDA has long banned the sale of raw milk across state lines, and in many states it’s illegal to sell raw milk entirely. (For more information about laws in various US states, please see this link. For information about raw milk in other countries go here.)
Why has a natural food source been banned for sale in so many areas?
Well, they claim raw milk is simply too dangerous to consume and by restricting its sale they are serving the public health and reducing the risk of illness….
Yet shockingly there’s no evidence backing up this claim.
According to CDC data, from 1993 to 2006, only about 116 illnesses a year were linked to raw milk. That amounts to less than .000002 percent of the 76 million people who contract a food-borne illness in the United States each year!
Looking at the evidence, or rather lack thereof, it is quite clear that raw milk has been unfairly singled out and targeted by the FDA, the USDA, and even the FBI, despite the fact that it’s so low on the food-borne illness risk scale it’s hardly measurable.
The recent enforcement efforts against raw milk sales is so disproportionate to the risk it poses to consumers that it defies all logic.
Is the Ban on Raw Milk Unconstitutional?
Raw milk enthusiasts and raw dairy suppliers began fighting back in early 2010, filing suit against the FDA, claiming that banning interstate sales is unconstitutional.
The rebuttal received from the FDA was shocking to say the least.
It contained the following outrageous statements, which make it very clear they believe you have no right to natural, unadulterated food:
“There is no absolute right to consume or feed children any particular food.”
“There is no ‘deeply rooted’ historical tradition of unfettered access to foods of all kinds.”
“Plaintiffs’ assertion of a ‘fundamental right to their own bodily and physical health, which includes what foods they do and do not choose to consume for themselves and their families’ is similarly unavailing because plaintiffs do not have a fundamental right to obtain any food they wish.”
The FDA’s brief goes on to state that “even if such a right did exist, it would not render the FDA’s regulations unconstitutional because prohibiting the interstate sale and distribution of unpasteurized milk promotes bodily and physical health.”
“There is no fundamental right to freedom of contract.”
With these assertions, the FDA essentially claims to have the authority to prohibit any food of their choosing, and make it a crime for you to seek it out.
This is simply unacceptable.
Still, There is Good News!
In the middle of all this fascist-like drama, a federal court has repealed Ohio’s law banning the use of ‘rBGH-free’ labels on dairy products, giving raw dairy producers and consumers new hope.
This ruling means that companies that want to clearly state that their products are “rBGH free,” “rBST free,” or “artificial hormone free” are now allowed to do so.
This is an important victory that may shape the future of other genetically modified (GM) foods, such as GM salmon – the approval of which is currently being debated by the FDA.
If the salmon is approved, the next question is whether or not it must be labeled as genetically modified.
For the past 17 years, the FDA’s has held on to their initial finding that there’s “no significant difference” between the milk of cows given genetically modified artificial growth hormone and those that aren’t.
By overturning the ban on “rBGH free” labels in Ohio, it reopens the debate, which is exactly what needs to happen. In worst case, if the FDA decides not to label GM salmon as such, consumer groups can use this court ruling to label natural, NON-GM salmon instead.
Get Informed and Protect Your Food Freedom
I urge you to a take a stand to protect your freedom of food choice by joining the Raw Milk Campaign to make access to healthy raw milk a right for all Americans. You can find Local Chapters and Chapter Leaders by sending an email to: chapters@westonaprice.org.
You can also find lots of valuable information in Gumpert’s book, The Raw Milk Revolution.
Finally, if you’re interested in purchasing raw milk, RealMilk.com can help you find a high-quality source in your area.
Sources:
Dr. Mercola Website | November 12 2009 & December 15 2010
Time Magazine September 20, 2010
NPR.org October 1, 2010
Most of us know that foods like doughnuts, ice cream, cakes and cookies are high in processed sugars. These items should be eaten sparingly (if at all) since eating too much sugar contributes to obesity and diabetes. What many of us don’t know is that a vast array of modern processed foods actually contain more sugar than any of the dessert items listed above.
The following is a list of some commonly eaten foods and their sugar content.
(Taken from www.mercola.com)
- Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut — 10 grams
- Ben & Jerry’s vanilla ice cream — 16 grams
- Starbucks caffè latte grande (16 oz) — 17 grams
- Subway 6″ sweet onion teriyaki chicken sandwich — 17 grams
- Yoplait original yogurt — 27 grams
- Vitamin Water (20 oz bottle) — 33 g
- Oscar Mayer Lunchables crackers, turkey & American cheese — 36 grams
- Coca-Cola Classic 12 oz can — 39 grams
- California Pizza Kitchen Thai chicken salad — 45 g
- Jamba Juice blackberry bliss 16 oz — 49 g
- Odwalla SuperFood 450 ml bottle — 50 g
- Starbucks caffe vanilla frappuccino grande (16 oz) — 58 g
According to Dr. Mercola:
“This outrageously excessive sugar consumption has caused people’s appetite regulation system to go awry. Leptin, the hormone responsible for satiety, isn’t working properly anymore in a majority of people.
It has now become clear that limiting sugar – and fructose in particular — in your diet is a key to longevity for a number of reasons.
For example, according to Dr. Richard Johnson, author of The Sugar Fix, about 25 percent of all Americans consume over ½ a pound of added sugars a day, and this statistic dovetails nicely with the statistics showing that one in four Americans is either pre-diabetic or has type 2 diabetes.
Diabetics have, on average, a reduced lifespan of about 15 years.”
To read the rest of Dr. Mercola’s article and learn more about the devastating effects processed sugar, please follow the link below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/15/shocking-sugar-content-of-common-food-products.aspx
Our bodies require so many nutrients to function optimally that filling our daily diet with empty calories will gaurantee nutritional deficiencies. Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped junk food manufacturers from filling their foods with both refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup. What’s worse, the industry behind these foods has launched expensive ad campaigns claiming their priducts are “natural” and “harmless.” Dr. Mercola recently wrote an excellent article regarding the true dangers of consuming sugar and high fructose corn syrup. An excerpt from teh article can be found below. To read the entire article, just follow the link below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/23/nutrition-experts-battle-industry-groups-over-sugar.aspx
“There’s a heated debate going on over the health risks of consuming too much sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and other caloric sweeteners.
On one side are leading nutrition experts, who believe that these sweeteners add empty calories to people’s diets and promote weight gain.
Emerging scientific research indicates that consuming too much of these sweeteners may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
On the other side are industry groups representing sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They claim that their products are natural and don’t cause weight gain or health problems. And they have launched advertising and marketing campaigns to spread this idea.
The American Heart Association is on the nutrition experts’ side. The group recently issued a scientific statement saying that high intake of added sugars is implicated in many poor health conditions, including obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke.” – www.mercola.com
Obesity is a national epidemic. It is estimated the one out of every three children is obese. With the long list of health problems associated with obesity it is simply a gaurantee that if these children remain obese they will face huge health problems in their lives. In an effort to raise awareness about the obesity epidemic and offer some solutions, First Lady Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move” campaign in February. The American Academy of Pediatrics also has a simple formula for helping prevent childhood obesity.
It’s 5-2-1-0, and it breaks down like this:
5: Eat five vegetables and fruits a day (the majority of this should be vegetables).
2: Limit screen time — TV in particular — to 2 hours or less a day. The AAP says to avoid any screen time for children under the age of 2.
1: Do one hour of physical activity a day.
0: Have zero sugar-sweetened drinks.
Dr. Mercola recently wrote an excellent article about the obesity epidemic and gave specific suggestions for how parents can deal with it. You can find it at the following link.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/06/how-to-win-the-food-battle-with-your-child.aspx
Many of us know that consuming large amounts of processed sugar is very detrimental to our health. Not only does it add many empty calories to our food, it can cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes. The way many people avoid sugar is by comsuming food with artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners are not healthier than sugar. In fact, they can be just as harmful as processed sugar. One of the most commonly used artifical sweetener is Aspartame. Dr. Mercola took to this blog recently to address some of the very real health risks associated with Aspartame. The entire article can be found at www.mercola.com but we’ve included an excerpt below. So, the next time you’re trying to decide between regualr soda or diet just say no to both and grab a glass of water!
“Aspartame producer Ajinomoto is launching a new initiative that will rebrand the sweetener as “AminoSweet”.
Aspartame is used in many foods and beverages marketed as low calorie or sugar-free. However, its reputation has been clouded somewhat by studies that have investigated reports of ill effects.
Just to remind you, the side effects of aspartame can include:
- Headache
- Change in vision
- Convulsions and seizures
- Hallucination
- Nausea and vomiting
- Joint pain
It can cause many, many other problems as well.” – www.mercola.com
For a long time now we’ve understood that there is a connection between high levels of stress and getting sick. Stress that we experience not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well, can have a detrimental effect on our immune system. So the question becomes, if too much stress can be harmful to immune function, does that mean the opposite is true? Could relaxation, positive thinking and an optimistic outlook on life actually help your immune system? According to a recent study, the answer is YES! The study can be found at www.mercola.com, but we’ve included Dr. Mercola’s summary below as well.
“In a study of about 125 first-year law students, researchers examined the relationship between personal optimism and cell-mediated immunity (CMI), which plays a central role in protecting you against viral infections.
At five points over the course of the school year, participants answered a series of questions and had their CMI measured through a simple skin test. To gauge their optimism level, they were asked to what degree they agreed with a series of statements, including “I will be less successful than most of my classmates” and “It’s unlikely that I will fail.”
The end-of-year results were decisive. Changes in CMI across time correlated with changes in optimism. When optimism increased, so did CMI. When optimism decreased, so did CMI.”
Obesity among children is on the rise, and this is a big concern for our entire country. With healthcare costs already on the rise, having generations of children suffering from obesity gaurantees that healthcare costs will continue to go up. In addition, children who suffer from obesity are at a significantly greater risk for conditions such as Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gout, heart disease and certain types of cancers. Our bodies simply cannot operate optimally when we carrying large amounts of extra weight and this is especially dangerous for children. Their bodies are growing, their brains and organ systems are still developing. If their bodies can’t perform optimally during years of critical development, their health will suffer for the rest of their lives. Dr. Joseph Mercola recently wrote an article discussing one of the reasons children are suffering from obesity so much these days. The link to this article can be found below.
For more information on how to put together a healthy, balanced diet please contact our office.
http://blogs.mercola.com/sites/vitalvotes/archive/2010/02/17/childhood-obesity–its-not-the-amount-of-tv-its-the-number-of-junk-food-commercials.aspx
Maintaining your exercise program can be a challenge during the winter months – freezing temperatures, rain and snow can deplete anyone’s motivation for staying in shape. As tempting as it might be to stay on your couch during the winter months, one of the best things you can do for yourself is exercise. During the winter months especially our bodies need the activity and fresh air. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola (www.mercola.com) some of the benefits to maintaing your exercise program are:
1. Exercise helps boost your immune system, which means fewer colds and flu during the winter months.
2. Exercise has been shown to decrease your risk of diseases as wide ranging as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer. In addition, there is evidence regular workouts can cause healthy structural changes in your heart.
3. Exercise is also a great way to relieve tension and manage the dangerous physical symptoms of stress. When you exercise, endorphins are released in your brain. Endorphins are all natural tranquilizers and mood elevators which create feelings of relaxation and renewal.
Dr. Mercola has written an excellent article about how to beat the winter blues with exercise. We’ve included the link below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/23/Winter-Workouts-Can-Boost-Your-Mood.aspx
