Friday, November 22, 2019

What's In Your Food?

If you aren't eating packaged food that is certified organic, chances are you're getting about 2,000 unwanted chemicals in your food. These chemicals have been banned in the European Union, but in the US food supply they are perfectly legal. According to this report, many of them have been deemed harmful and some even carcinogenic by organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO).

Unfortunately, the food and chemical companies are in control of what is allowed to go into the food supply. The current policy on food additives was written in 1958 and has not been updated. Food additives that have been Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the very industries that profit from their use, are exempt from review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

The GRAS standard was meant to be applied to certain widely known safe ingredients like vinegar but the development of food science has introduced many chemicals that somehow fall under this category and are therefore not subject to any scrutiny. The industry itself is allowed to voluntarily submit information to the FDA about their additives and conduct their own scientific studies on these ingredients. The FDA accepts the findings of the food and chemical industries and conducts no review of the findings. These studies are conducted by scientists who are paid by the very industries responsible for their manufacture.

One of the most prevalent problems is the presence of pesticides in every day food. Pesticides are not only bad for the environment but also have been deemed to be carcinogenic. For instance, nearly every brand of oats present in many breakfast foods, have been found to contain glyphosate, the main ingredient in the herbicide/pesticide Roundup. This is especially troubling for pregnant women and young children. Glyphosate has been banned in many countries in the European Union due to its carcinogenicity.

Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of packaged foods sold in the US are organic. This can be due to a couple of reasons. One, most people who shop organic, are not looking for packaged goods. Another is that most people are not aware of the dangers lurking in the conventional food supply. Even if a food you're eating doesn't have a large amount of the dangerous chemicals in it, the effect is cumulative. Your body stores toxins in adipose (fat) tissue, so it remains in your body to cause trouble beyond the consumption of the food it was contained in.

If there is going to be any change made in our food supply, it will require the power of consumer spending. We need to educate ourselves about the danger of eating chemicals that are present in the foods we eat and stop eating those foods that are a danger to our health. The food companies will be forced to respond to consumer demand for cleaner and healthier foods.

Look what has happened in the fast food industry. As more and more people are looking for non-meat alternatives, many of the fast food providers are serving plant-based meat substitutes in their sandwiches. Although I do not recommend eating highly processed plant-based burgers that are artificially made to taste like the meat they're replacing, this is a clear sign that the industry listens and responds to consumer demand. Your dollars and how you spend them matter. Choose wisely and send the message that you will no longer accept unhealthy, chemical laden foods to be served to your and your family. 

Are you dreading the holidays, knowing that you won't be able to wear the same clothes on New 
Year's that you wore at the beginning of the feeding frenzy we call the holiday season? Are you worried that you might undo all the good you have done recently for your health? Do you think you might go off the rails with your food choices? Do the holidays get really stressful and cause you to make food choices that may not be very healthy? 

If any of the above scares you, I can help you get through the four weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's with my Healthy Holidays program.  And you won't even have to leave the comfort of your home.  

I am offering SPECIAL PRICING until THANKSGIVING for anyone who signs up by then. The regular price of this program is $297 but until 11/28, the price is only $247...that's a $50 savings!

If you would like to have a free consultation about the Healthy Holidays program, click here to schedule a no strings attached call. 


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