Healthy Food Bytes: 10 Steps to Better Health
Only 10 – you can do it!
1. Make sure to get fresh air and sunshine every day. The best natural source of vitamin D – and it’s free.
2. Drink plenty of pure, clean water. Yes, I mean filtered. No, I don’t necessarily mean buying bottled water. Think about investing in a carbon filter system for your home and workplace.
3. Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
4. Exercise – there’s no way around it. You can’t achieve optimum health without it. Include both aerobic and some sort of resistance such as weights or Pilates or Yoga. Find a schedule that works for you and do it. No more excuses.
5. Eat foods as God intended them to be eaten. Stay away from white, refined, processed foods
6. The relationships you have should enhance your life. Don’t blame others; you are responsible for the relationships in you life. What can you do to make your relationships happier and healthier? What toxic relationships do you need to say good-bye to or keep at arms length?
7. Bring back passion into your life. Pursue something you always loved or wanted to try. Make time for your passion.
8. Get in touch with your spirituality. Studies show that spiritual people are healthier. No kidding.
9. Get educated about health. It’s a process, as most people don’t really understand optimal health.
10. Start creating healthy habits; as in eating more fruits and vegetables, switching to whole grain, drink green tea and cutting out soda (diet or regular) and sugar as much as possible. Start today.
Thanks for reading Healthy Food Bytes: 10 Steps to Better Health
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Ingredients you will not find in my pantry
Healthy Food Bytes: Ingredients you will not find in my pantry
Aspartame (NutraSweet™ ): Aspartame is nearly 200 times sweeter than white sugar and is only useful in cold and uncooked foods. This chemical breaks down and loses its sweetness when heated. Its shelf life is about one year, after which time it decomposes into methanol-a toxic wood alcohol. The methanol then breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin and a known carcinogen. It can cause retinal damage, interfere with DNA replication, and may cause birth defects. It can also cause damage to the immune system. Now that aspartame has been on the market for many years, its side effects are becoming apparent. Adverse reactions include high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia, ovarian cancer, brain tumors, seizures, brain damage in fetuses, extreme swelling, throat swelling, and retina deterioration. Keep in mind, these dangerous side effects are worsened when
NutraSweet™ is heated or used in cooking.
Sucralose (Splenda®): Sucralose is a calorie-free sugar substitute derived from sucrose (white sugar) through a process that selectively substitutes three atoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule. This makes sucralose a chlorocarbon, a substance that has long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. Sucralose has also been shown to cause swelling of the liver and kidneys. The structure of the sugar molecules is changed so that it's up to 600 times sweeter than sugar. There are limited human or long-term studies of this product.
Artificial Colors: Artificial in terms of food means "a substance not duplicated in nature." There are currently seven artificial coal tar-based dyes on the market. There is evidence that four of the seven cause cancer in laboratory animals. Furthermore, six of the seven being used in the US have been banned in other countries.
Artificial Flavors: There are more than 2,000 flavorings, of which 500 are natural and the rest are synthetic. The synthetic flavors are made from many different chemicals and can be toxic to the nervous system, kidneys, and liver, but because they are usually consumed in small amounts, the FDA considers them safe. I personally do not care to put a “little” poison into my body. There are also "flavor enhancers," which are substances that improve the flavors of a food. As with any synthetic compound, sensitive people can have allergic reactions.
Bleached Flours: Milling whole wheat into white flour removes approximately 83 percent of the nutrients. Additionally, chemicals are used to whiten and preserve bleached flour. Chlorine dioxide, an irritant to both the skin and the respiratory tract (similar to Clorox®) is often used to bleach flour. Benzoyl peroxide is another chemical used to bleach flour. The bleaching process leaves residues of toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons and dioxins, both harmful for the body and the environment. Methionine, an essential amino acid found in flour, reacts with bleaching chemicals to form a toxic compound called methionine sufoxine, which has been found to cause nervousness and seizures in animals.
Dairy Products with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone): Bovine growth hormone (BGH) is a protein naturally produced by cattle. The gene has been cloned into bacterial cells to create a genetically engineered version called rBGH. It has been available and used by US farmers since 1994 to increase milk production in dairy cows. Cows injected with rBGH have shorter life expectancies and increased incidence of disease. These cows have also been found to secrete higher levels of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), a hormone that is tied to increased growth of cancer cells. It is reported that an excess level of IGF-1 increases the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer in humans. Furthermore, rBGH is associated with high incidences of udder infections, internal bleeding, stress-related weight loss, and severe reproductive disorders in cows. Also, bovine growth hormone can only be used on cows and not on goats, therefore all goat milk products are produced without the use of rBGH.
Hydrogenated and/or Partially-Hydrogenated Oils: Hydrogenation is a process that takes an unsaturated fat, such as vegetable oil, and makes it solid at room temperature, thus more saturated. A large percentage of the once healthy fats are converted to the trans-configuration, also known as trans-fatty acids. This process changes the molecular shape of these fatty acids, which negatively alters their biological functions. Excess trans-fatty acids can promote increased cholesterol and triglyceride counts, make blood platelets stickier, which encourages blood clotting, worsen an essential fatty acid deficiency, interfere with the body's detoxification systems and with insulin receptors, increase inflammation, and negatively impact the immune system.
Non-Organic Produce limited as much as possible: Conventional farming uses numerous synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to treat the soil and plants. There are many concerns with the use of these chemicals. First, many of the chemicals used are known to be toxic to humans. Secondly, large-scale pesticide spraying has created enormous pollution problems. A small percentage of the applied pesticide actually hits its intended target-the pests-and excess goes into groundwater, rivers, and into the air. Lastly, not only do these chemicals remain on the foods they are sprayed on, they also soak into the soil, where they may remain for years (pesticides that have been banned for years, like DDT, still linger in our soils). Organic growers manage pests through prevention-proper soil management, cleanliness, timely planting, companion planting, and beneficial insects-and foster biodiversity. By law, certified organic foods cannot be genetically engineered, irradiated, or grown with synthetic materials.
Olestra: This synthetic fat is a combination of soybean oil and sucrose. These ingredients are manipulated into molecules too large for the intestines to absorb or digest. Therefore, Olestra passes untouched through the digestive system. Preliminary studies suggest that Olestra causes tumors in laboratory animals. Olestra interferes with fat-soluble vitamin absorption, which includes vitamins A, E, D, K, Co-enzyme Q10, carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, and beta-carotene. Studies have shown that 8 grams per day (equivalent to 16 potato chips containing Olestra) caused dramatic depletion of fat-soluble vitamins within two weeks. Olestra may also cause intestinal cramping, flatulence, and loose stool.
Thanks for reading Healthy Food Bytes: Ingredients you will not find in my pantry
Aspartame (NutraSweet™ ): Aspartame is nearly 200 times sweeter than white sugar and is only useful in cold and uncooked foods. This chemical breaks down and loses its sweetness when heated. Its shelf life is about one year, after which time it decomposes into methanol-a toxic wood alcohol. The methanol then breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin and a known carcinogen. It can cause retinal damage, interfere with DNA replication, and may cause birth defects. It can also cause damage to the immune system. Now that aspartame has been on the market for many years, its side effects are becoming apparent. Adverse reactions include high blood pressure, headaches, insomnia, ovarian cancer, brain tumors, seizures, brain damage in fetuses, extreme swelling, throat swelling, and retina deterioration. Keep in mind, these dangerous side effects are worsened when
NutraSweet™ is heated or used in cooking.
Sucralose (Splenda®): Sucralose is a calorie-free sugar substitute derived from sucrose (white sugar) through a process that selectively substitutes three atoms of chlorine for three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sucrose molecule. This makes sucralose a chlorocarbon, a substance that has long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. Sucralose has also been shown to cause swelling of the liver and kidneys. The structure of the sugar molecules is changed so that it's up to 600 times sweeter than sugar. There are limited human or long-term studies of this product.
Artificial Colors: Artificial in terms of food means "a substance not duplicated in nature." There are currently seven artificial coal tar-based dyes on the market. There is evidence that four of the seven cause cancer in laboratory animals. Furthermore, six of the seven being used in the US have been banned in other countries.
Artificial Flavors: There are more than 2,000 flavorings, of which 500 are natural and the rest are synthetic. The synthetic flavors are made from many different chemicals and can be toxic to the nervous system, kidneys, and liver, but because they are usually consumed in small amounts, the FDA considers them safe. I personally do not care to put a “little” poison into my body. There are also "flavor enhancers," which are substances that improve the flavors of a food. As with any synthetic compound, sensitive people can have allergic reactions.
Bleached Flours: Milling whole wheat into white flour removes approximately 83 percent of the nutrients. Additionally, chemicals are used to whiten and preserve bleached flour. Chlorine dioxide, an irritant to both the skin and the respiratory tract (similar to Clorox®) is often used to bleach flour. Benzoyl peroxide is another chemical used to bleach flour. The bleaching process leaves residues of toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons and dioxins, both harmful for the body and the environment. Methionine, an essential amino acid found in flour, reacts with bleaching chemicals to form a toxic compound called methionine sufoxine, which has been found to cause nervousness and seizures in animals.
Dairy Products with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone): Bovine growth hormone (BGH) is a protein naturally produced by cattle. The gene has been cloned into bacterial cells to create a genetically engineered version called rBGH. It has been available and used by US farmers since 1994 to increase milk production in dairy cows. Cows injected with rBGH have shorter life expectancies and increased incidence of disease. These cows have also been found to secrete higher levels of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), a hormone that is tied to increased growth of cancer cells. It is reported that an excess level of IGF-1 increases the risk of developing breast and prostate cancer in humans. Furthermore, rBGH is associated with high incidences of udder infections, internal bleeding, stress-related weight loss, and severe reproductive disorders in cows. Also, bovine growth hormone can only be used on cows and not on goats, therefore all goat milk products are produced without the use of rBGH.
Hydrogenated and/or Partially-Hydrogenated Oils: Hydrogenation is a process that takes an unsaturated fat, such as vegetable oil, and makes it solid at room temperature, thus more saturated. A large percentage of the once healthy fats are converted to the trans-configuration, also known as trans-fatty acids. This process changes the molecular shape of these fatty acids, which negatively alters their biological functions. Excess trans-fatty acids can promote increased cholesterol and triglyceride counts, make blood platelets stickier, which encourages blood clotting, worsen an essential fatty acid deficiency, interfere with the body's detoxification systems and with insulin receptors, increase inflammation, and negatively impact the immune system.
Non-Organic Produce limited as much as possible: Conventional farming uses numerous synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to treat the soil and plants. There are many concerns with the use of these chemicals. First, many of the chemicals used are known to be toxic to humans. Secondly, large-scale pesticide spraying has created enormous pollution problems. A small percentage of the applied pesticide actually hits its intended target-the pests-and excess goes into groundwater, rivers, and into the air. Lastly, not only do these chemicals remain on the foods they are sprayed on, they also soak into the soil, where they may remain for years (pesticides that have been banned for years, like DDT, still linger in our soils). Organic growers manage pests through prevention-proper soil management, cleanliness, timely planting, companion planting, and beneficial insects-and foster biodiversity. By law, certified organic foods cannot be genetically engineered, irradiated, or grown with synthetic materials.
Olestra: This synthetic fat is a combination of soybean oil and sucrose. These ingredients are manipulated into molecules too large for the intestines to absorb or digest. Therefore, Olestra passes untouched through the digestive system. Preliminary studies suggest that Olestra causes tumors in laboratory animals. Olestra interferes with fat-soluble vitamin absorption, which includes vitamins A, E, D, K, Co-enzyme Q10, carotenoids, lutein, lycopene, and beta-carotene. Studies have shown that 8 grams per day (equivalent to 16 potato chips containing Olestra) caused dramatic depletion of fat-soluble vitamins within two weeks. Olestra may also cause intestinal cramping, flatulence, and loose stool.
Thanks for reading Healthy Food Bytes: Ingredients you will not find in my pantry
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