How To Read Food Labels

There is no denying that eating at fast food chains can ruin your health. Watch the movie 'Super Size Me' and you'll get the drift.

Frequent fast food dining is only one example of how we ingest toxins into us. It's all about food and packaging but that's a whole other lens.

The food at the Super Dooper Market is another generous source of toxins...

This is something we can gain control of. Knowledge of these toxins will allow you to gain control of your health. You want to feel better? Simply watch what you eat and drink.

I won't be talking too much about nutrition here. I'll save that for another lens. Because it's so important I am only going to cover the specific names of these harmful additives.

The ones you need to look for when reading the Nutrition Label on the product.

If you buy organic food only you will eliminate almost all of these poisons in the food. Eating more Raw organic food as in vegetables,fruit and nuts are highly recommended.

Not only are these foods high in nutrition but they are also high in fiber and live enzymes that aid in digestion.

In her book 'Detoxify or Die' Sherry Rogers M.D. states how important it is for the gut to be healthy.

Her book is a must read to learn about all the toxins in our environment, not just our food either. They are everywhere.

Here is a list of most of the commonly used sweeteners followed by a brief or some not so brief descriptions.

If you know of any that I have missed, send me a blurb below and I will add it to the list and put your link in it too if you want.

refined sugar
corn syrup
high fructose corn syrup
fructose
dextrin
maltodextrin
aspartame
saccharin
sucralose

These sweeteners should be regarded as unfit to consume.

Ten Reasons to give up Sugar. It's not easy but, both my wife
and I gave it up -- and if we did it -- you can too.

1. Sugar causes blood glucose to spike and plummet.
2. Sugar increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
3. Sugar interferes with immune function.
4. A high-sugar diet often results in chromium deficiency.
5. Sugar accelerates aging.
6. Sugar causes tooth decay.
7. Sugar can cause gum disease, which can lead to heart disease.
8. Sugar affects behavior and cognition in children.
9. Sugar increases stress.
10.Sugar takes the place of important nutrients.

Click Here for the full article....

Cheaper than sugar, corn syrup is very widely used in todays processed foods. To make things more toxic, the corn used to produce this sweetener has been genetically modified. In other words,the genes have been modified. It is no longer a natural substance.

HFCS is processed using "mercury-grade" caustic soda, consequently,last January, a study published in Environmental Health revealed that nine out of twenty samples of commercial HFCS contained detectable levels of the heavy metal mercury and these were found in commercially available food products on the store shelves.

Number one on the list of worst food ingredients: high-fructose corn syrup. This metabolic wrecking ball elevates insulin resistance, triggers metabolic syndrome, depresses the immune system, interferes with the body's ability to burn glucose, and causes dangerous depletion of key minerals including chromium, zinc, and magnesium.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is contained in so many products, that is why it's important to read the labels. It is a prescription for metabolic disaster that can lead to a host of health problems including early onset of diabetes and weight gain. Reason: fructose cuts your production of leptin, the hormone that tells us we are full.

If you have children watch out for this toxic substance in fruit juices and drinks. No one should be consuming this-- especially children.

To learn more about the dangers of HFCS do a search on Google. Just remember there are two sides to this story. Yes or no,true or false. Is it good for you or bad. That's the bottom line. Only you can find out the truth for yourself but I'll help You.

When you are making your cup of coffee and you reach for the sweetener: Which one do you grab. Unless you drink it black you have a choice to make.

Grab a little blue or pink or yellow envelope,or you can skip them all together. It's your choice.
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If you want to know the truth about aspartame's dangers then you owe it to yourself and your family to do more research -- then come back here and learn about all the other toxins in our food.

Please note: Any search will render results from both the pro's and con's. So how do we know which is true and which is false? If there is a financial interest at all with the product than it most likely is false. Remember when money rules -- corruption and deceit follow,and people don't matter.

Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include:

Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

Can you believe that a product like this is still on the market. Unbelievable!

So how do we find out if aspartame is in our food or drink? We find out by Reading the Labels.

Your best bet is to not use it at all but to use Stevia or Agave or Honey instead. Yes I know it will cost you money because you'll have to provide your own.

It won't be in handy dandy sweetener dispenser at your cafeteria at work or 99% of all restaurants.
But how much is your life worth?

How many visits to the hospital do you want to make?
How much of your hard earned money do you want to spend on prescription drugs? Most do more harm than good.

Again... It is up to you to choose wisely!

Great News...

You can have your coffee and your sweetener too.

It is now possible to buy a sweetener called stevia in little green packets. Stevia comes from a plant in Paraguay South America. It is a totally natural herb and safe to consume.

Raw organic honey and agave nectar are very smart alternative sweeteners also. see below...

Saccharin has been found to cause tumors in the bladders of male and female rats. With this overwhelming evidence from the experiments with rats.How come millions of folks out there still use the stuff?

The main reason people still use it is ignorance. They don't think that it can hurt them even though it causes these tumors in laboratory rats. After all we're not rats . We're people and we're different.

Are we really that different? If we consume the stuff will we get tumors? I say why take the chance.
Do you want to be part of your own scientific experiment?

There are other safe alternatives to sweeten your coffee or tea. Try stevia or agave nectar. Organic raw honey is a must for every pantry.
Read the full article

Maltodextrin is derived from the starches of corn,rice and wheat. Although it is claimed that it is digestible it does not mean that digesting it is good for you.

If derived from corn there is a really good chance that the corn has been genetically modified(GMO).
Anything GMOed should be avoided in our diet.

My wife and I avoid it completely. And how do we do that? We read the labels.

Lets take a close look at cooking oils since they play such a big part in our diet.

Here is an article I read that has credibility.
It's all true. Take my advice and eliminate canola oil from your diet.

The Truth About Canola Oil - A must Read

Before you buy your next bottle of cooking oil...

I think it's important that as many people as possible KNOW about the origins of this product. Then, if you choose to buy it, at least you're doing so with your eyes open.

RAPE IN A DIFFERENT GUISE
Dear Editors

Recently I bought a cooking oil that's new to our supermarkets, Canola Oil. I tried it because the label assured me it was lowest in "bad" fats.

However, when I had used half the bottle, I concluded that the label told me surprisingly little else and I started to wonder: where does canola oil come from?

Olive oil comes from olives, peanut oil from peanuts, sunflower oil from sunflowers; but what is a canola?

There was nothing on the label to enlighten me, which I thought odd. So, I did some investigating on the Internet.

There are plenty of official Canola sites lauding this new "wonder" oil with all its low-fat health benefits. It takes a little longer to find sites that tell the less palatable details.

Here are just a few facts everyone should know before buying anything containing canola. Canola is not the name of a natural plant but a made-up word, from the words "Canada" and "oil".

Canola is a genetically engineered plant developed in Canada from the Rapeseed Plant, which is part of the mustard family of plants.

According to AgriAlternatives, The Online Innovation, and Technology Magazine for Farmers, "By nature, these rapeseed oils, which have long been used to produce oils for industrial purposes, are... toxic to humans and other animals".

(This, by the way, is one of the websites singing the praises of the new canola industry.)

Rapeseed oil is poisonous to living things and is an excellent insect repellent. I have been using it (in very diluted form, as per instructions) to kill the aphids on my roses for the last two years.

It works very well; it suffocates them. Ask for it at your nursery. Rape is an oil that is used as a lubricant, fuel, soap and synthetic rubber base and as a illuminate for color pages in magazines. It is an industrial oil. It is not a food.

Rape oil, it seems, causes emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation, irritability, and blindness in animals and humans. Rape oil was widely used in animal feeds in England and Europe between 1986 and 1991, when it was thrown out.

Remember the "Mad Cow disease" scare, when millions of cattle in the UK were slaughtered in case of infecting humans? Cattle were being fed on a mixture containing material from dead sheep, and sheep suffer from a disease called "scrapie".

It was thought this was how "Mad Cow" began and started to infiltrate the human chain. What is interesting is that when rape oil was removed from animal feed, 'scrapie' disappeared. We also haven't seen any further reports of "Mad Cow" since rape oil was removed from the feed.

Perhaps not scientifically proven, but interesting all the same. US and Canadian farmers grow genetically engineered rapeseed and manufacturers use its oil (canola) in thousands of processed foods, with the blessings of Canadian and US government watchdog agencies.

The canola supporting websites say that canola is safe to use. They admit it was developed from the rapeseed, but insist that through genetic engineering it is no longer rapeseed, but "canola" instead.

The word Canola comes from the words "Canadian oil"; and the plant is still a rape plant, and most likely genetically modified. The new name provides perfect cover for commercial interests wanting to make millions. Look at the ingredients list on labels.

Apparently peanut oil is being replaced with rape oil. You'll find it in an alarming number of processed foods.

There's more, but to conclude: rape oil was the source of the chemical warfare agent mustard gas, which was banned after blistering the lungs and skins of hundred of thousands of soldiers and civilians during W.W.I.

Recent French reports indicate that it was again in use during the Gulf War.

Check products for ingredients. If the label says, "may contain the following" and lists canola oil, you know it contains canola oil because it is the cheapest oil and the Canadian government subsidizes it to industries involved in food processing.

I don't know what you'll be cooking with tonight, but I'll be using olive oil and old-fashioned butter, from a genetically unmodified cow.

Here is more information..........

Canola oil from the rape seed, referred to as the Canadian oil because Canada is mainly responsible for it being marketed in the USA.

The Canadian government and industry paid our Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) $50 million dollars to have canola oil placed on the (GRAS) List, "Generally Recognized As Safe".

Thus a new industry was created. Laws were enacted affecting international trade, commerce, and traditional diets. Studies with lab. animals were disastrous.

Rats developed fatty degeneration of heart, kidney, adrenals, and thyroid gland. When canola oil was withdrawn from their diets, the deposits dissolved but scar tissue remained on all vital organs.

No studies on humans were made before money was spent to promote Canola oil in the USA. Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a rare fatal degenerative disease caused by a build up long-chain fatty acids (c22 to c28) which destroys the myelin (protective sheath) of the nerves.

Canola oil is a very long chain fatty acid oil (c22). Those who will defend canola oil say that the Chinese and Indians have used it for centuries with no effect, however it was in an unrefined form (taken from FATS THAT HEAL AND FATS THAT KILL by Udo Erasmus).

My cholesterol level was 150. After a year using Canola oil I tested 260. I switched back to pure olive oil and it has taken 5 years to get it down to 160. Thus began this project to find answers since most Doctors will say that Canola oil is O.K.

My sister spilled Canola oil on a piece of fabric, after 5 pre-treatings and harsh washings, the oil spot still showed. She stopped using Canola oil, wondering what it did to our insides if it could not be removed from cloth easily.

Our Father bred birds, always checking labels to insure there was no rape seed in their food. He said, "The birds will eat it, but they do not live very long.".

A friend, who worked for only 9 mo. as a quality control taster at an apple-chip factory where Canola oil was used exclusively for frying, developed numerous health problems. These included loose teeth & gum disease; numb hands and feet; swollen arms and legs upon rising in the morning; extreme joint pain especially in hands, cloudy vision, constipation with stools like black marbles, hearing loss; skin tears from being bumped; lack of energy; hair loss and heart pains. It has been five years since she has worked there and still has some joint pain, gum disease, and numbness.

A fellow worker, about 30 years old, who ate very little product, had a routine check up and found that his blood vessels were like those of an 80 year old man.

Two employees fed the waste product to baby calves and their hair fell out. After removing the fried apple chips from the diet their hair grew back in.

My daughter and her girls were telling jokes. Stephanie hit her mom's arm with the back of a butter knife in a gesture, "Oh mom" not hard enough to hurt. My daughters arm split open like it was rotten. She called me to ask what could have caused it. I said, "I'll bet anything that you are using Canola oil". Sure enough, there was a big gallon jug in the pantry.

Rape seed oil is a penetrating oil, to be used in light industry, not for human consumption. It contains a toxic substance.

Even after the processing to reduce the erucic acid content, it is still a penetrating oil.

We have found that it turns rancid very fast. Also it leaves a residual rancid odor on clothing.

Rape seed oil used for stir-frying in China found to emit cancer causing chemicals. (Rapeseed oil smoke causes lung cancer) Amal Kumar Maj.

The Wall Street Journal June 7, 1995, pB6(W) pB6 (E) col 1 (11 col in). Compiled by Darleen Bradley.

Canola oil is a health hazard to use as a cooking oil or salad oil. It is not the healthy oil we thought it was.

It is not fit for human consumption, do not eat canola oil, it can hurt you. Polyunsaturated or not, this is a bad oil.

Here is some really good information about our Reality that has to do with something we all have in common... Food.

Since the early part of the century when the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had begun to keep track of food 'disappearance' data (the amount of various foods going into the food supply), a number of researchers had noticed a change in the kind of fats.

Americans were eating. Butter consumption was declining, while the use of vegetable oils, especially oils that had been hardened to resemble butter by a process called 'hydrogenation', was increasing dramatically.

The statistics pointed to one obvious conclusion: Americans should eat the traditional foods - including meat, eggs, butter and cheese - that nourished their ancestors, and avoid the newfangled, vegetable-oil-based foods that were flooding the grocers' shelves.

The technology by which liquid vegetable oils could be hardened to make margarine was first discovered by a French chemist named Sabatier.

He found that a nickel catalyst would cause the hydrogenation(the addition of hydrogen to unsaturated bonds to make them saturated) of ethylene gas to ethane.

Subsequently, the British chemist Norman developed the first application of hydrogenation to food oils and took out a patent.

In 1909, Procter & Gamble acquired the US rights to a British patent on making liquid vegetable oils solid at room temperature. The process was used on both cotton-seed oil and lard to give "better physical properties", to create shortenings that did not melt as easily on hot days.

The hydrogenation process transforms unsaturated oils into straight 'packable' molecules by rearranging the hydrogen atoms at the double bonds.

In nature, most double bonds occur in the cis configuration - that is, with both hydrogen atoms on the same side of the carbon chain at the point of the double bond.

It is the cis isomers of fatty acids that have a bend or kink at the double bond, preventing them from packing together easily.

Hydrogenation creates trans double bonds by moving one hydrogen atom across to the other side of the carbon chain at the point of the double bond.

In effect, the two hydrogen atoms then balance each other and the fatty acid straightens, creating a packable 'plastic' fat with a much higher melting temperature.

Although trans fatty acids are technically unsaturated, they are configured in such a way that the benefits of unsaturation are lost.

The presence of several unpaired electrons presented by contiguous hydrogen atoms in their cis form allows many vital chemical reactions to occur at the site of the double bond.

When one hydrogen atom is moved to the other side of the fatty acid molecule during hydrogenation, the ability of living cells to make reactions at the site is compromised or altogether lost.

Trans fatty acids are sufficiently similar to natural fats and the body readily incorporates them into the cell membrane; once there, their altered chemical structure creates havoc with thousands of necessary chemical reactions - everything from energy provision to prostaglandin production.



Are you practicing your label reading? It can only benefit your Health and Wellbeing.

If you have any questions at all about food additives send me a blurb and I'll let you know my findings on it.

However there are so many additives in processed foods that you will come to realize that eliminating processed foods from your diet completely would be a very smart move on your part.

Eat more Organic and Raw is what my wife always says. Good advice from a woman who knows.
Check Out Her Lenses Here

Did you know that the soybean from which all soy products come from if not fermented properly contain potent chemical toxins? I didn't know that either but was lulled into a false sense of security about soy products.

Because of continued health problems with my dear wife we started an investigation over food.

Processed food to be exact. We began looking at every single ingredient in the foods we were eating.

Soy beans were one of them. I takes two summers to ferment soy enough to release the toxins that are present in the bean.

That takes too much time for the big, big soy companies. They just skip that process and get it out to the unsuspecting consumer as soon as possible.

You may be wondering like I was: What kind of toxins are in a harmless looking bean that later end up as soy products?

You won't be too familiar with these names because if you don't seek this information out you you won't learn about it and surely won't see it on TV commercials.

You will find phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines in high levels. But that's only the half of it.

Phytoestrogens that destroy endocrine function and contain potent antithyroid agents in great quantities in soy, including Genistein the potential killer isoflavone.

Breast cancer,infertility, hypothyroidism,thyroid cancer,and many other diseases have been linked to soy.

How could this be possible? Isn't some government agency checking these things out to protect us law abiding citizens from harmful products?

Unfortunately most people think this way and so as a result, they hand their lives over to what is approved by the authorities.

There are some very large muti-National corporations that make all this happen because they have very deep pockets.

Start your own investigation. The Internet is
perfect. Again, You will see both sides to the
story but you can bet that the ones who say it's good and OK to consume have some sort of financial interest in the sale of this toxic bean. When money rules -- People don't matter...

Did you know that soy is used to make a well known brand of weed killer?
Read More

It is unbelievable how many processed foods contain this mono sodium glutamate. The main reason it is in food is because it is a chemical that was invented to make money for it's inventor company as a flavor enhancer.

If there is money involved then you can bet that because money corrupts so well the big chemical producing companies have a vested interest in their product and will get it in as many food products as possible, for the good of the company and it's share holders.

Isn't it a shame that in our society, money seems to come first. It seems to over-ride the health and wellness of it's citizens.

As I have stated earlier. We are better off avoiding all processed foods. Foods in a box,foods wrapped in plastic with styrofoam trays. Drinks in plastic bottles also should be avoided. Not just because plastic containers give off toxins (also known as outgasing)but because of what they are made of.

Read Sherry Rogers book 'Detoxify or Die' below

I have discovered a lens about MSG specifically.
I am including the link here.

For the past three years my Wife and I have been using the products of Blessed Herbs. We started out with the Internal Cleansing Kit and do a Colon Cleanse once a year.

Digestive health is very important and a Daily Dose of their 'Digestive Stimulator' keeps things moving.

These are the highest quality organic herbal health products available.

Don't wait for my other lens about Blessed Herbs go see their Buffet of Organic Herbs Now...

Find it at Blessed Herbs.com!

the Colon Cleansing Kit

the Colon Cleansing Kit - Plus Probiotics >

the Colon Cleansing Kit - Partner Pack (for 2) >

the Colon Cleansing Kit - Partner Pack (for 2), Plus Probiotics >

the Internal Cleansing Kit

the Organic Superfood - 1 box of 30 packets

the Para Cleansing Kit

Enjoy this little piece about a substance that is unfit to eat. It looks a little bit like butter but that's about it.

My Mom (rest her soul)used to buy this stuff and feed it to my brothers and sisters and I.

I distinctly remember that she used aluminum cookware and teflon coated pans. "Holy Cow"I am amazed I'm still alive.

She developed and suffered from Alzheimers disease and died from the complications.

My Father was an artist,painter,commercial artist,church decorator. He was always around paints and thinners that gave off toxic fumes and if it contacts your skin can absorb into your pores and cause harmful effects.

He developed leukemia and of course it was fatal.
Oh Thank You GOD I am still alive. I worked for my Dad and was around those fumes a lot....

I truly think, based on scientific data that I have researched. My Mother and Father died from these diseases because of Toxic Overload. If you don't know what that is then it's time to find out.

I dedicate This Comparison to my Mom and Dad, who didn't know any better just like the rest of us.

I Love You Mom and Dad

Margarine or Butter

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.

It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings.

DO YOU KNOW.. the difference between margarine and butter?

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine...

Very high in trans fatty acids .

Triple risk of coronary heart disease.

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact....

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC..

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it.

Even those teeny weenie microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends..... (Go Ahead "butter them up")!

Sodium Lauryl Sulphate or (SLS) and its close relative Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES)
A foaming agent that has a harsh chemical ingredient which is in most commercially produced shampoos and bubble baths. Can be very drying and irritating.

SLS and SLES are esters of Sulphuric acid - SLS is also known as "Sulfuric acid monododecyl ester sodium salt", however there are over 150 different names by which it is known. In fact, SLES is commonly contaminated with dioxane, a known carcinogen.

SLS and SLES is Commonly found in

Soaps
Shampoos
Bubble-baths
Tooth paste
Washing-up liquid / dish soap
Laundry detergent
Childrens soaps / shampoos
Stain Remover
Carpet Cleaner
Fabric glue
Body wash
Shave cream
Mascara
Mouthwash
Skin cleanser
Moisture lotion / Moisturiser
Sun Cream

read more here
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Propylene Glycol

A cosmetic form of mineral oil found in automatic brake and hydraulic fluid and industrial antifreeze. In the skin and hair, propylene glycol works as a humescent, which causes retention of moisture content of skin or cosmetic products by preventing the escape of moisture or water.

The Material Safety Data Sheet warns users to avoid skin contact with propylene glycol as this strong skin irritant can cause liver abnormalities and kidney damage.

Propylene glycol is Commonly found in:

* makeup
* shampoo
* deodorant
* detangler
* styling mousse
* cleansing cream
* mascara
* soap
* skin cream
* bubble bath
* baby powder
* conditioner
* toner
* after shave
* baby wipes

Also in:

* Tyre sealant
* Rubber cleaner
* De-icer
* Stain removers
* Fabric softener
* Degreaser
* Paint
* Adhesive
* Wallpaper stripper
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Fluoride is an element from the halogen group, as are iodide and chloride. It is commonly added to the water supply as hydrofluosilicic acid, silicofluoride or sodium fluoride. Fluoride is also found as an additive in toothpastes and some mouthwashes, as a tooth decay preventive ingredient.

Fluoride is toxic and has been linked to hypothyroidism and other health concerns. It is important that you Read More about this so you realise how harmful this crap is and avoid it at all cost.

read more here