Have you seen the film Fast Food Nation or Super Size Me? Either will give you a serious look into the detrimental effects of today's food supply. The more you know about fast food the better off you'll be. Or on the other hand ignorance is bliss and this article isn't for you.

Staying healthy in the 21st century is one of the biggest challenges we as a people are facing. Our air is polluted, our water is polluted, our top soil is eroded, and our food is nutritionally deficient and laden with pesticides and chemicals. Women have jet fuel in their breast milk (not from food per se, but from the jets flying overhead), people even have Strontium-90 (Sr-90) detected in our bones! I could go on and on, I could write an article just on Strontium-90. Point being pollution is taking a toll on our bodies. This is a time when we should be more concerned than ever about eating well, yet, we are still pulling up to order drive-thru. Fast food is not food it's over processed filler, chemicals and empty calories.

What is in that burger and those fries? Oh, but you say you order a salad when you drive-thru, sorry to tell you this, it's not what you think. Keep reading. They add emulsifiers, preservatives, MSG, artificial colors, trans fats, and hidden ingredients under generic labels such as spices, or natural and artificial flavors.

Trans fats

Trans fats make each cell in your body more rigid, reducing the rate at which nutrients may enter the cell wall and reducing the rate in which toxins may exit. [Contact me for more info on how to reverse the effects of trans-fats.]

MSG (Glutamic Acid)

MSG fools your taste buds, used as a flavor enhancer it was patented by Japanese Ajinomoto Corporation in 1909. Here is some information I obtained from an FDA website: Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well. Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Other possible effects are temporary worsening of asthma, and possible various nervous system disorders [like Parkinson's disease]. According to a 1995 FASEB Report an unknown percentage of the population may react to MSG and develop MSG symptom complex, a condition characterized by one or more of the following symptoms: burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest, numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back, tingling, warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms, facial pressure or tightness, chest pain, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, bronchospasm (difficulty breathing) in MSG-intolerant people with asthma, drowsiness, weakness.

"MSG is like nicotine for food!"

There is some speculation and various studies that show MSG responsible for obesity. MSG is injected into laboratory rats to induce obesity. It also has been shown to increase appetite in male rats and to induce obesity in female rats and chickens. Scientists in Spain have recently concluded that MSG when given to mice increase appetite by as much as 40%. Further speculation links MSG to Autism, ADHD, and even diabetes.

McDonalds

A salad from McDonald's may contain liquid margarine, and propylene glycol alginate, that's not even food! A McDonald's chicken breast fillet contains an unspecified variety of sodium phosphates, so it is a cleanser, a foaming agent or an anti foaming agent, what!? Many of their items contain MSG as well. Even their coffee is toxic.

Taco Bell

Here are some of the ingredients found in almost their entire menu: autolyzed yeast extract (hidden MSG), Disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are flavor, dimethylpolysiloxane (defined as: optically clear, and is generally considered to be inert, non-toxic, and non-flammable, is used in silicone caulk, adhesives, and as an anti-foaming agent [6]). Huh!? Is this the inventory of a hardware store? No, it's Taco Bell. Unbelievable you say, unfortunately it's true.

Burger King

A salad dressing like Ken's Fat Free Ranch Dressing includes titanium dioxide (an artificial color, or sunscreen, depending on use), preservatives, and the infamous ingredient apparently mandatory in all ranch dressing: monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Wendy's, Subway, more of the same. KFC claims to have zero trans fats however it does. They are simply rounding down from 0.5g per serving to 0.0g.

In Grocery Stores Too!

MSG is in everything! The Campbell's soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, Kraft salad dressings, especially the 'healthy low fat' ones. Items that don't have MSG have something called Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate. It's shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. They hide MSG under many different names in order to fool those who catch on. This is why I shop at a health smart store, read labels and avoid brand names.

Another Blow

Unfortunately the food manufacturers have gotten a bill passed by the US House of Representatives, dubbed the 'Cheeseburger bill' where food manufactures cannot be sued or held responsible for the effects of their poisonous food. Yikes, no responsibility, looks like we need to watch out for ourselves and start eating smart.

References

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3785512&dopt=AbstractPlus

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/msg.html