What Are You Eating, Do You Know, Really?

I am constantly giving you info about what to eat. The best super food, the best herbs and spices to make your food and meals healthier so you can have a life full of vitality. Today we are going in the opposite direction.

Lets’ talk about what you should NOT eat.

Every time you eat something the body can’t recognize as food, the immune system is triggered to detoxify it so it isn’t harmful by destroying it, neutralize it, expelling it or as a last resort quarantine it in fat. This happens when you do not have a good enough detoxing system to destroy, neutralize or expel the toxic compounds. These actions use up a lot of nutritional stores in your body. Our American food system is full of processed and refined foods that contain harmful and even toxic chemicals. In this way, processed and refined foods become nutrient robbers eventually setting you up for potential illness and disease.
Did you realize that more than 2/3rds of your favorite grocery store is made up of refined and processed packaged foods! That’s why you must be able to decipher an ingredient label. Many of the ingredients can be harmful!
Real foods do not need an ingredient label. A tomato is a tomato and broccoli is broccoli. However most of what America eats is not real food. It is food that has been dismantled, then altered, and then added to other non-food ingredients to make a food like product. This food like product has very little natural nutrition and always has ingredients that are not native to the real food it was designed and intended to mimic. Many of these ingredients are preservatives, flavor enhancers, artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, conditioners and antiseptics (kills bacteria), which can be harmful to our health and should be avoided or certainly limited. There are over 3,000 food chemicals used in the American food supply. Many of which are not allowed in the food industry and system of other countries because those countries consider them unsafe. The fact that America allows potentially harmful chemicals in your foods should be shocking and make you angry! Additionally, these foods also have ingredients that also may contain pesticides and other harmful petrochemicals.
All processed foods are acidic and cause our bodies to lose calcium. This in turn leads to the unhealthy bone conditions conditions like osteoporosis. Additional, this acidic condition also sets up our body to develop other adverse conditions and diseases. Our body needs to be slightly alkaline to support a healthy state of being. We make our bodies more alkaline by eating real foods particularly green foods such as leafy greens.
Typically the shorter an ingredient list the healthier the food.
Reading a Food Label
Reading a food label is your first line of defense in keeping your body healthy. If you don’t know what you are ingesting you are gambling with your health. The food labels is divided into two major sections; the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredients list.

Food manufacturers are sneaky. They can take a high calorie food and divide the servings up into smaller amounts so the calories look less. Knowing how many servings are in a package are very important. Calories from fat are very important to know on the label. You want good fats but not unhealthy fats. This is where the ingredient list is paramount to your health! If the fats are from vegetable oils (other than olive oil, coconut oil or sesame seed oil), or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils put the food product back! These oils are highly inflammatory and harmful.

The ingredients list is by far the most important. It identifies as much as is legally possible what is in your food. I say legally possible because our Federal Laws in some instances will allow food manufacturers to hide some ingredients from you. Why would they do this?
The ingredient list is usually under or beside the Nutrition Facts Panel.

Other countries will not allow certain food ingredients to be used because they are deemed not safe for consumption. The ingredient list below for Pizza Hut Garlic Cheese Bread gives a good example of what other countries don’t allow in their foods.

I have always held Chick-fil-A in higher regard that most other fast food chains because they seem to offer less processed foods. However a review of one of their ingredient list has changed my opinion. A restaurant we normally think has healthy food might not be as healthy as we think. Some of their foods may be healthy but the one below is not. Wow, look at some of these ingredients! Shocking! How can chicken breast have 25 ingredients. It is suppose to be the breast cut from a chicken with maybe some spices, not petrochemicals.
Processed food are loaded with harmful ingredients that can cause many major health issues. Here is a typical example. In this Chick Fillet Classic Sandwich the chicken has 25 ingredients! That’s right I said chicken! The bun has 33 ingredients! Of course we all know that MSG is very bad for us but who wants polysorbate 80? Pubmed.gov cited the study on Polysorbate 80, which concluded that “polysorbate 80 is a solubilizing agent that can cause severe nonimmunologic anaphylactoid reactions” (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16400901). In other words, this agent can suppress your immune system and cause a severe allergic reaction. TBHQ (a preservative made from butane) can cause a variety of health issues and is used in varnishes, lacquers, pesticide products, cosmetics, and perfumes to reduce the evaporation rate and improve stability. How about a little Dimethyl polysiloxane a type of silicone with anti-foaming properties used in cosmetics and a variety of other goods like Silly Putty. This stuff does not sound like food to me, does it to you

Food Additives to Avoid

While FDA generally recognizes most additives on this list as ‘safe,’ there are growing concerns about the safety of many common food additives, if consumed in large quantities. Many countries have banned the ingredients on this list from consumption through foods. Those in bold are the worst and should be avoided.

Sodium nitrate: Added to processed meats to stop bacterial growth. Linked to cancer in humans. (Worst Offender)
Sulfites: Used to keep prepared foods fresh. Can cause breathing difficulties in those sensitive to the ingredient.
Azodicarbonamide: Used in bagels and buns. Can cause asthma.
Potassium bromate: Added to breads to increase volume. Linked to cancer in humans.
Propyl gallate: Added to fat-containing products. Linked to cancer in humans
BHA/BHT: A fat preservative, used in foods to extend shelf life. Linked to cancerous tumor growth.
Propylene glycol: Better known as antifreeze. Thickens dairy products and salad dressing. Deemed ‘generally’ safe by FDA.
Butane: Put in chicken nuggets to keep them tasting fresh. A known carcinogen.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Flavor enhancer that can cause headaches. Linked in animal studies to nerve damage, heart problems and seizures.
Disodium inosinate: In snack foods. Contains MSG.
Disodium guanylate: Also used in snack foods, and contains MSG.
Enriched flour: Used in many snack foods. A refined starch that is made from toxic ingredients.
Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH): Geneticially-engineered version of natural growth hormone in cows. Boosts milk production in cows. Contains high levels of IGF-1, which is thought cause various types of cancer.
Refined vegetable oil: Includes soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, and peanut oil. High in omega-6 fats, which are thought to cause heart disease and cancer.
Sodium benzoate: Used as a preservative in salad dressing and carbonated beverages. A known carcinogen and may cause damage our DNA.
Brominated vegetable oil: Keeps flavor oils in soft drinks suspended. Bromate is a poison and can cause organ damage and birth defects. Not required to be listed on food labels.
Propyl gallate: Found in meats, popcorn, soup mixes and frozen dinners. Shown to cause cancer in rats. Banned in some countries. Deemed safe by FDA.
Olestra: Fat-like substance that is unabsorbed by the body. Used in place of natural fats in some snack foods. Can cause digestive problems, and also not healthy for the heart.
Carrageenan: Stabilizer and thickening agent used in many prepared foods. Can cause ulcers and cancer.
Polysorbate 60: A thickener that is used in baked goods. Can cause cancer in laboratory animals.
Camauba wax: Used in chewing gums and to glaze certain foods. Can cause cancer and tumors.
Magnesium sulphate: Used in tofu, and can cause cancer in laboratory animals.
Chlorine dioxide: Used in bleaching flour. Can cause tumors and hyperactivity in children.
Paraben: Used to stop mold and yeast forming in foods. Can disrupt hormones in the body, and could be linked to breast cancer.
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose: Used as a thickener in salad dressings. Could cause cancer in high quantities.
Aluminum: A preservative in some packaged foods that can cause cancer

Artificial Sweeteners to Avoid

I would not eat any foods with these ingredients period.
Artificial sweeteners are regulated by FDA, just as food additives are, but this does not apply to products ‘generally recognized as safe.

Saccharin: Carcinogen found to cause bladder cancer in rats. (Worst Offender)
Aspartame: An excitotoxin and thought to be a carcinogen. Can cause dizziness, headaches, blurred vision and stomach problems.
High fructose corn syrup: Sweetener made from corn starch. Made from genetically-modified corn. Causes obesity, diabetes, heart problems, arthritis and insulin resistance.
Acesulfame potassium: Used with other artificial sweeteners in diet sodas and ice cream. Linked to lung and breast tumors in rats.
Sucralose: Splenda. Can cause swelling of liver and kidneys and a shrinkage of the thymus gland.
Agave nectar: Sweetener derived from a cactus. Contains high levels of fructose, which causes insulin resistance, liver disease and inflammation of body tissues.
Bleached starch: Can be used in many dairy products. Thought to be related to asthma and skin irritations.
Tert butylhydroquinone: Used to preserve fish products. Could cause stomach tumors at high doses.

Artificial Food Colorings to Avoid

Food colorings are used to give foods a more attractive appearance, but some experts believe they cause serious health problems, including asthma and hyperactivity in children. If a food has food coloring, it isn’t healthy anyway, avoid it like the plague!!

Red #40: Found in many foods to alter color. All modern food dyes are derived from petroleum. A carcinogen that is linked to cancer in some studies. Also can cause hyperactivity in children. Banned in some European countries. (Worst Offender)
Blue #1: Used in bakery products, candy and soft drinks. Can damage chromosomes and lead to cancer.
Blue #2: Used in candy and pet food beverages. Can cause brain tumors
Citrus red #1: Sprayed on oranges to make them look ripe. Can damage chromosomes and lead to cancer.
Citrus red #2: Used to color oranges. Can cause cancer if you eat the peel.
Green #3: Used in candy and beverages. May cause bladder tumors.
Yellow #5: Used in desserts, candy and baked goods.Thought to cause kidney tumors, according to some studies.
Yellow #6: A carcinogen used in sausage, beverages and baked goods. Thought to cause kidney tumors, according to some studies.
Red #2: A food coloring that may cause both asthma and cancer.
Red #3: A carcinogen. that is added to cherry pie filling, ice cream and baked goods. May cause nerve damage and thyroid cancer.
Caramel coloring: In soft drinks, sauces, pastries and breads. When made with ammonia, it can cause cancer in mice. Food companies not required to disclose if this ingredient is made with ammonia.
Brown HT: Used in many packaged foods. Can cause hyperactivity in children, asthma and cancer.
Orange B: A food dye that is used in hot dog and sausage casings. High doses are bad for the liver and bile duct.
Bixin: Food coloring that can cause hyperactivity in children and asthma.
Norbixin: Food coloring that can cause hyperactivity in children and asthma.
Annatto: Food coloring that can cause hyperactivity in children and asthma.
Table salt (sodium chloride)
Added sugars, table sugar, powered sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, etc…

Thank you references:

This list is provided by http://mphprogramslist.com/50-jawdroppingly-toxic-food-additives-to-avoid/
If you eat real food that has not been processed or refined, then it doesn’t need an ingredient list. Just buy organic if possible. Make sure you thoroughly wash your foods very well. For animal foods make sure they are organic, free range, grass-fed, free range, and wild caught fish. Then enjoy a great meal!!
Healthy wishes
Wally Bishop C.N.C.
Vive Shake
@WallyBishopCNC
The contents of this blog are not and should not be considered medical advice. This blog is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes. Never quit taking prescription medications unless advised to do so by your doctor.

What Are You Eating, Do You Know, Really?