Americans spend about 90 percent of their food budget on processed foods, which contain a staggering number of artificial food additives, preservatives, colors and flavor enhancers. That your health suffers as a consequence of this assault should come as no surprise.
To review each of the mere dozen mentioned here could fill several books, and would still only be the tip of the iceberg. As you may already know, I wrote an entire book just on artificial sweeteners, called Sweet Deception. The book is currently out of print as we sold out of the last edition, but we hope to have it back in print by the fall.
However, when it comes to food additives, perhaps one of the most important aspects is the health ramifications they have on your children.
New Study Confirms What Astute Parents Have Known for Years
The issue of whether or not food additives such as artificial colors contribute to behavioral problems in children has been disputed for many years. Fortunately, this may soon change.
A carefully designed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in the journal The Lancet last year may have finally shifted the tide (for a free PDF of the full study see this link).
It concluded that a variety of common food dyes, and the preservative sodium benzoate – found in many soft drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings – do cause some children to become measurably more hyperactive and distractible.
The seven ingredients tested in the study included:
* Sodium benzoate (E211)
* Sunset yellow (E110)
* Quinoline yellow (E104)
* Carmoisine (E122)
* Tartrazine (E102)
* Ponceau 4R (E124)
* Allura red AC (E129)
The results of this study have already prompted the British Food Standards Agency (FSA) to issue an immediate advisory to parents, warning them to limit their children's intake of additives if they notice an effect on behavior.
Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the U.S. has not issued any similar warnings.
The worst behavioral responses from the additives were seen in the three-year-olds, compared to the older children in the study. But even within each age group, some children responded very strongly, and others not at all, indicating there are individual differences in how well your body can tolerate the assault of artificial additives. One theory is that the additives may trigger a release of histamines in certain sensitive kids.
Still, I believe that food additives such as preservatives, sweeteners and colorings should be avoided as much as possible, regardless of whether they have a marked effect or not as they clearly have no redeeming nutritional value, and can carry major long-term health risks.
Food Colors May be as Damaging as Lead in Gasoline on Children’s Brains
Another recent article, published in the British magazine The Independent on April 5 2008, reported that artificial food colors (but not the preservative sodium benzoate) are now set to be removed from hundreds of products in the UK because the results of the study mentioned above also indicate that the E-numbers do as much damage to children's brains as lead in gasoline, resulting in a significant reduction in IQ.
The lead author, Professor Stevenson, and his three colleagues have stated:
"The position in relation to AFCs [Artificial Food Colors] is analogous to the state of knowledge about lead and IQ that was being evaluated in the early 1980s ... Needleman [a researcher] found the difference in IQ between high and low lead groups was 5.5 IQ points ... This is very close to the sizes obtained in our study of food additives."
Officials at the British FSA are advising the food industry to voluntarily remove the six food dyes named in the study by the end of 2009, and replace them with natural alternatives if possible.
True to form, the food industry claims the additives are used in a mere “handful” of products, but the website ActionOnAdditives.com has already identified more than 1,000 food products that contain them – most of which are targeted at children.
BEWARE -- Already Banned Food Additives Still Found in Children’s Medicines
Another thing you need to be aware of, as a parent, is that when an ingredient is banned for use in food, it is not automatically banned for use in other areas such as medicine.
According to an expose’ by the British Food Commission last year, food additives that have already been banned for use in food and beverages are still used in a majority of pediatric over-the-counter medicines.
Their survey found that ALL BUT ONE medicine out of 41 contained an additive that had been banned.
The additives found in these drugs included:
* Synthetic azo dyes
* Maltitol and sorbitol
* Benzoate and sulphite preservatives
* Chloroform
The justification for using these toxic compounds is what you'd typically expect from an over-the-counter pharmaceutical trade group: Unlike foods, additives in medicines are used in small quantities and are only taken for a short time.
Does that make you feel any better?
This is just one more reason why it’s so important to question what your doctor or any other health professional may prescribe or recommend for your child, no matter what side of the counter it comes from, as many pediatric drugs can certainly be harmful, if not downright toxic to your child’s health.
Sugar and Salt
White sugar is named in the list above but I would have to disagree and identify high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as far more problematic than white cane sugar. HFCS is the number one source of calories in the U.S. and causes far more damage than white sugar.
Salt is another challenge, as it can and is a health food for many, but it needs to be the right type of salt. Nearly all commercial salt is highly processed and heated to very high temperatures and has many additives added, which are also potentially toxic. So it would be wise to avoid processed foods with conventional salt added.
However, unprocessed salts, like unrefined sea salts and Himalayan salt can be an important part of a healthy diet. Personally, it is uncommon for a day to go by in which I don’t use Himalayan salt. I am a protein nutritional type and tend to do better with high quality salt.
For more information about the hazards of other food additives mentioned in the article above, please see my list of Related Articles.
www.mercola.com
Wednesday
Dr. Mercola's Comments
12 Food Additives to Avoid
1. Sodium Nitrate (also called Sodium Nitrite)
This is a preservative, coloring, and flavoring commonly added to bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked fish, and corned beef. Studies have linked eating it to various types of cancer.
2. BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydrozyttoluene are used to preserve common household foods. They are found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils. They are oxidants, which form potentially cancer-causing reactive compounds in your body.
3. Propyl Gallate
Another preservative, often used in conjunction with BHA and BHT. It is sometimes found in meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum. Animals studies have suggested that it could be linked to cancer.
4. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
MSG is an amino acid used as a flavor enhancer in soups, salad dressings, chips, frozen entrees, and restaurant food. It can cause headaches and nausea, and animal studies link it to damaged nerve cells in the brains of infant mice.
5. Trans Fats
Trans fats are proven to cause heart disease. Restaurant food, especially fast food chains, often serve foods laden with trans fats.
6. Aspartame
Aspartame, also known by the brand names Nutrasweet and Equal, is a sweetener found in so-called diet foods such as low-calorie desserts, gelatins, drink mixes, and soft drinks. It may cause cancer or neurological problems, such as dizziness or hallucinations.
7. Acesulfame-K
This is a relatively new artificial sweetener found in baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. There is a general concern that testing on this product has been scant, and some studies show the additive may cause cancer in rats.
8. Food Colorings: Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6
Five food colorings still on the market are linked with cancer in animal testing. Blue 1 and 2, found in beverages, candy, baked goods and pet food, have been linked to cancer in mice. Red 3, used to dye cherries, fruit cocktail, candy, and baked goods, has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Green 3, added to candy and beverages, has been linked to bladder cancer. The widely used yellow 6, added to beverages, sausage, gelatin, baked goods, and candy, has been linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.
9. Olestra
Olestra, a synthetic fat found in some potato chip brands, can cause severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and gas. Olestra also inhibits healthy vitamin absorption from fat-soluble carotenoids that are found in fruits and vegetables.
10. Potassium Bromate
Potassium bromate is used as an additive to increase volume in some white flour, breads, and rolls. It is known to cause cancer in animals, and even small amounts in bread can create a risk for humans.
11. White Sugar
Watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, sauces and many other processed foods. It is unsafe for your health, and promotes bad nutrition.
12. Sodium Chloride
A dash of sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt, can bring flavor to your meal. But too much salt can be dangerous for your health, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.
www.mercola.com
Monday
Sunday
Health Benefits of Asparagas
So here are the great health benefits I have compiled for the wonderful food of Asparagus…
* It is high in vitamin K and Folate
* Eat asparagus when you are pregnant or thinking about conceiving - because of it being high in folic acid it helps prevent birth defects such as spina bifida
* Great for your heart
* Helps w*Helps menstrual cramps with fertility problems
* Great for your gastrointestinal tract and your colon
* Helps menstrual cramps
* Great food to help treat depression
* Has been known to increase the success rate of chemo therapy
* Is considered a diuretic which means it is a good anti-inflammatory - best for arthritis,asthma rheumatism, and even water retention…PMS
* Help get rid of warts
* Helps detoxify your body
* Add more asparagus to your diet to lover cholesterol
* Great for nursing mothers stimulating milk production
* Has antioxidant agents - prevents the effects of aging
* Has antifungal and antiviral qualities
* Great for your kidneys - cleansing your body by stimulating urination and preventing kidney stones
* Helps prevent bladder and urinary tract infections
* Use to be used as an a aphrodisiac - increase sexual and comforting feelings
* Helps with treating HIV
* Helps prevent multiple sclerosis
* Helps prevent scurvy
* Asparagus has anti-cancer agents - especially lung cancer
* Helps fight chronic fatigue syndrome
* Helps fight off high blood pressure
* If you bruise easily - eat more asparagus
* Is considered a laxative - eat an asparagus if you have diarrhea and constipation
* Great for your capillaries - eat more asparagus to avoid varicose veins
* Great for your eyes preventing cataracts
* If you are experiencing hair loss- eat more asparagus
* Helps treat toothaches
http://www.healthmad.com/Alternative/Health-Benefits-of-Asparagus.2252
Monday
Fruits and Vegetables you should buy Organic....
Fruits topped the list of the most contaminated foods based on findings by both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S Food and Drug Administration.
Eating fruits and vegetables which are the highest in pesticides exposes a person to an average of up to 14 pesticides per day. Eating the least contaminated could expose a person to less than 2 pesticides per day.
Buy Organic!!
Peaches
Strawberries
Pears
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cherries
Spinach
Celery
Lettuce
Potatoes
Nectarines
Grapes (imported)
Strawberries
Pears
Lowest in Pesticides
Onions
Mango
Bananas
Avocado
Asparagus
Cabbage
Sweet Corn (frozen)
Sweet Peas (frozen)
Broccoli
Pineapples
Kiwi Fruit
Papaya
Friday
Dr. J. Budwig curing cancer
.What is shocking to most people, the scientific fact that cancer is genetically recessive, not dominant. In fact, the human body is highly resistant to cancer. In 1969, Professor Henry Harris of Oxford University shook the cancer research community to its core when he proved these previous theories wrong. Professor Harris took normal tissue cells and fused three types of cancer cells to them. Surely, he thought, the cancer cells would take over the normal cells and "convert" them into cancer. Surprisingly, they grew normally.
Contrary to popular opinion, cancer takes several decades to develop in humans. Given this long incubation period, science can show us the way to destroy any initial pre-cancerous cells and keep the cancerous ones from causing widespread damage.If you think cancer has a genetic basis, then think again. Dr Robert A. Weinberg of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's leading cancer researchers and discoverer of the so-called oncogene (cancer-causing gene), reversed his previous conclusions after discovering that "fewer than one DNA base in a million appears to have been miscopied". It's not enough of a defect! His exact words: "Something was very wrong. The notion that a cancer developed through the successive activation of a series of oncogenes had lost its link to reality." He called the genetic discoveries made thus far "sterile".6 The prime cause of cancer is therefore not genetic. This was announced in 1998. Did you hear about it? Probably not.
In 2006, the heads of the world's largest cancer research centre in Houston, Texas, announced that cancer's prime cause isn't genetic: "'If it could have happened [solving cancer with genetics], it would have already happened with genetic mutations,' said William Brinkley, a senior vice-president at Baylor who says other research should take precedence over the cancer genome projectÉ Dr John Mendelsohn [president of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center] states, 'Any claims that this [genetic research] is going to be the key to curing cancer are not appropriate.'" Thus, the prime cause of cancer is not a genetic mutation. Even if cancer "runs in your family", there is real hope. Unfortunately, the geneticists have it backwards, attempting to force the facts to fit their genetics-based theories when they don't fit the facts, because, as Professor Harris demonstrated many years ago, cancer isn't genetically dominant. Where does this leave us? Where can we look for solutions? What about the popular nutritional solutions to fighting cancer?
"...Dr Otto Warburg discovered and clearly stated that the prime, most basic, cause of cancer is too little oxygen getting into the cell. "We find by experiment about 35% inhibition of oxygen respiration already suffices to bring about such a transformation during cell growth," he stated at a 1966 conference of Nobel laureates in Lindau, Germany. more
Essential Fatty Acids and EFA-containing Oils
The body requires special fats that, among other important functions, make it possible for sufficient oxygen to reach the cells via the cellular membranes, which are the key. These special fats are highly oxygen-absorbing. Called essential fatty acids, or EFAs, these special fats must be supplied from outside the body every day, from foods and certain oils, because your body can't manufacture them on its own. (flaxseed oil and marine phytoplankton are a rich source of EFA or Essential Fatty Acids)
The miracle of EFA "oxygen magnets"
Think of these polyunsaturated EFAs as "oxygen magnets". The proof of this fact is buried in the world's leading medical textbooks and medical journals such as Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry, 26th edition,40 and Human Nutrition Clinical Nutrition, July 1984.41 EFAs are integral to the structure and function of cellular respiration. Without high respiration efficiency, cancer is soon to follow. These EFA oxygen magnets in the cell membrane attract the oxygen that's in the bloodstream and transfer it into the cell, just like little oxygen sponges. This process is supposed to be happening in each of the body's 100 trillion cells. So, no matter how much you breathe or exercise, if you don't have the proper functional EFAs at the cellular level then your cells will not absorb enough oxygen from your bloodstream and you will be that much more susceptible to cancer. Prof. Brian Peskin's article: EFA, Oxygenation and Cancer Prevention
Cancer-Prevention Mechanism of Omega-3 Fatty Acids - The Budwig Diet
Robert Willner, M.D., Ph.D.
A top European cancer research scientist, Dr Johanna Budwig, has discovered a totally natural formula that not only protects against the development of cancer but people all over the world who have been diagnosed with incurable cancer and sent home to die have actually been cured and now lead normal healthy lives. After three decades of research Dr. Budwig, six-time nominee for the Nobel Award, found that the blood of seriously ill cancer patients was always, without exception, deficient in certain important essential ingredients which included substances called phosphatides and lipoproteins. (The blood of a healthy person always contains sufficient quantities of these essential ingredients. However, without these natural ingredients cancer cells grow wild and out of control.)
Blood analysis showed a strange greenish-yellow substance in place of the healthy red oxygen carrying hemoglobin that belongs there. This explained why cancer patients weaken and become anemic This startling discovery led Dr. Budwig to test her theory. She found that when these natural ingredients where replaced over approximately a three month period, tumors gradually receded. The strange greenish elements in the blood were replaced with healthy red blood cells as the phosphatides and lipoproteins almost miraculously reappeared. Weakness and anemia disappeared and life energy was restored. Symptoms of cancer, liver dysfunction and diabetes were completely alleviated.
Dr. Budwig then discovered an all natural way for people to replace those essential ingredients their bodies so desperately needed in their daily diet. By simply eating a combination of just two natural and delicious foods not only can cancer be prevented but in case after case it was actually cured. (These two natural foods, organic flax seed oil & cottage cheese) must be eaten together to be effective since one triggers the properties of the other to be released.) After more than 10 years of solid clinical application, Dr. Budwig's natural formula has proven successful where many orthodox remedies have failed. Dr. Budwig's formula has been used therapeutically in Europe for prevention of: Cancer! Arteriosclerosis, Strokes, Cardiac Infarction, Heartbeat (irregular), Liver (fatty degeneration), Lungs (reduces bronchial spasms), Intestines (regulates activity). Stomach Ulcers (normalizes gastric juices), Prostate (hypertopic), Arthritis (exerts a favorable influence), Eczema (assists all skin diseases), Old age (improves many common afflictions), Brain (strenghthens activity), Immune Deficiency Syndromes (multiple sclerosis, auto-immune illnesses)
Researchers have figured out how the nutrients known as omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in fish oils, protect against colon cancer. (The J. of Cell Biology, 10-Jun-2002) more
THE BUDWIG FLAXSEED OIL DIET and RECIPE
The Flaxseed (Linseed) oil diet was originally proposed by Dr. Johanna Budwig, a german biochemist and expert on fats and oils, in 1951 and recently re-examined by Dr. Dan C. Roehm M.D. FACP (Oncologist and former cardiologist) in 1990. Dr. Roehm claims: "this diet is far and away the most successful anti-cancer diet in the world". Budwig claims that the diet is both a preventative and a curative. She says the absence of linol-acids [in the average western diet] is responsible for the production of oxydase, which induces cancer growth and is the cause of many other chronic disorders.
Flax Oil As a True Aid Against Arthritis Heart Infarction Cancer and Other Diseases Dr. Johanna Budwig has researched the healing benefits of fats for well over 50 years. Nominated not less than seven times for the Nobel Prize, she is currently in her early nineties and resides in her native Germany. Six time nobel award nominated doctor says this essential nutrient combination actually prevents and cures cancer!
"In January 1991 I was diagnosed with Advanced Prostate Cancer. Bone scans and other tests indicated no spread so it was decided to operate. During the operation it was discovered that the cancer had spread to the Lymph glands making it stage four. The operation was not completed as that would not be the answer." Learn how Cliff Beckwith cured his prostate cancer with flaxoil and remains cancer free to this day.
Flax Oil and Cancer A Tape Transcription by Clifford Beckwith
"...the only real defense against cancer is the immune system. Everyone gets cancer every day but if the immune system is where it should be those cancer cells are eliminated and we never know it. He says that once a person has developed cancer, even though treatments get it into remission, it will recur again unless the body conditions that allowed it to develop in the first place are corrected. One of the properties of Flax oil seems to be a strengthening of the immune system. It seems important to use enough oil at first to get the immune system deficiencies repaired..."
