Health & Wellness Issues

Ben & Jerrys: have they gone Chemical?

Ben & Jerry's was the one Ice Cream you could rely on for taste with integrity. It was seriously good Ice Cream - from Vermont. Then Unilever bought it ... you know, the company who make Persil, Domestos and Cif.

OK, so they also make Magnum - but that's not real ice cream. Well, I guess they've just brought Ben and Jerry's down to a commodity - a chemical ice cream for grown ups with more money than sense. How sad.

They have gone the way of Hagen Daaz* now made by Nestle.  So now you know ....  see their latest slick corporate ad - fine copywriting, great music, sexy voiceover, wonderful natural images.  Think you know what you are buying?   "In 2010 it was revealed that Häagen-Dazs utilized milk from dairy herds which have been treated with the artificial growth hormone rBGH."

I think I am going to be sick.

Source:

http://www.naturalnews.com/029520_natural_ice_cream.html

Sugar the Bitter Truth

If you have been following my blog for any time you will know that I report back on any information about the poisonous effect of HFCS  High Fructose Corn Syrup.  

Well, the film Food Inc. explains the politics of cheap food and especially HFCS but this video from Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, explores the damage caused by sugary foods. 

He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Well worth the watch for those of us concerned about health.

Shouldn't you know where your food comes from?

If you ever thought that putting a photo of a farm on a product stood for healthy values, watch this film. Quite disturbing but with no surprises.

Your government is colluding with big business in a way which is damaging your health.   Film clip from Food Inc. must see film.  Check out their website for more information.

Let put stuff back on the shelf

In my last post I highlighted how we are conned by packaging. This week I came across a great example.

This week I walked into my local Asda Store (Walmart) and was attracted by the great packaging in their new Organics range of Ice Cream and Sorbets.

Organic - Sorbet - good for you! Well, not actually ... but better than Ice cream and all that fat. Well let's take a look at the packaging ... the front is designed well. Sicilian Lemon Sorbet ... wow, I can hear opera arias in the background.

But when you check out the back the marketing deception is clear.

Concentrate:
To make fruit juice concentrate into a production-friendly sweetener, it has to go through a lengthy and expensive process called "stripping". As the name implies, everything is stripped out of the juice: vitamins, minerals, color, flavor, etc. Then it goes through a deionization process similar to the one that turns cornstarch into corn syrup.

What's left is essentially glucose syrup-sugar water that looks and behaves a lot like corn syrup. It is sweet, but it is colorless, flavorless, and doesn't alter the pH of whatever is being sweetened, all of which are highly desirable in the manufacturing process. Although it no longer resembles anything close to a fruit juice concentrate it is still considered a fruit juice concentrate. Marketers can still put "100% juice" or "no sugar added" on the package. Source: Are Fruit Juice Concentrates A Healthier Sweetener? Eric Thorn

Dextrose
Processed sugar: Sugar greatly impacts the healthy functioning of the nervous system, and refined sugar is a lot like crack in the way it alters (and impairs) brain function. All refined sugars should be avoided, including high-fructose corn syrup (the sweetener in sodas), dextrose, sucrose and others. While you're at it, avoid white bread and refined grains, too, because they're very similar to sugars in the way they impact the nervous system. Read more here.

Glucose Syrup
Certain harmful refined dietary sugars (which are specifically discussed below) almost always turn directly into fat! Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Galactose, Maltose, and Lactose are digested and absorbed with such speed that the body must convert them into saturated fats. Saturated Fatty Acids are "sticky" by nature, and, when introduced into the vascular system, clog arteries, increase the chance of stroke, diabetes, and definitively decrease athletic performance. see article Killer Sugar. Suicide with a Spoon

And then the disclosure that if they run out of Organic ingredients they will use non organic ingredients!! Now isn't that convenient.

Come on, isn't it time we put stuff back on the shelf.

Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and type II diabetes

Sugar and refined carbohydrates are undeniably linked to diabetes. Researchers around the world have come to the conclusion that the consumption of refined sugar is detrimental to the health of people without diabetes and disastrous for those with it. Furthermore, excess sugar in the blood can cause the onset of type 2 diabetes. First, however, what exactly is diabetes?

According to Bruce Fife ND, "Diabetes is all about sugar -- the sugar in our bodies known as blood sugar or blood glucose. Every cell in our bodies must have a constant source of glucose in order to fuel metabolism. Our cells use glucose to power processes such as growth and repair. When we eat a meal the digestive system converts much of our food into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream. The hormone insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas gland, moves glucose from the blood and funnels it into the cells so it can be used as fuel. If the cells are unable to get adequate amounts of glucose, they can literally starve to death. As they do, tissues and organs begin to degenerate. This is what happens in diabetes."

Obesity largely contributes to the inability of cells to obtain sufficient amounts of glucose, according to "Green Tea" author Nadine Taylor. Taylor writes that too many fat cells crowd the other cells in the body and make it difficult for insulin to reach its destination. According to Ralph T. Golan, 90 percent of type 2 diabetes sufferers are obese, a result directly linked to poor dietary choices and a sedentary lifestyle. Michael Castleman, author of "Blended Medicine," says, "Type 2 diabetes is strongly associated with a lack of exercise and a poor diet -- one that's low in fiber and high in sugar, fat and animal products. It develops slowly, usually over several years, and rarely produces dramatic symptoms. For this reason, many people with type 2 diabetes have no idea that they are sick. In fact, the American Diabetes Association estimates that only half of Americans with type 2 diabetes have been diagnosed."

CLICK HERE to read the full article

Killer Sugar! Suicide With A Spoon

Killer Sugar! Suicide With A Spoon by Bill Misner, Ph.D.

Sugar, an aldehyde or ketone derivative of polyhydric alcohol, mostly shows up as either disaccarhides(C12H22O11), or monosaccharides(C6H12O6) found in foods such as candy, fruit, salt, peanut butter, canned vegetables, bouillon cubes, medicines, toothpaste, vitamins, and almost all processed "fat-free" products.

The health dangers ingested sugar creates when habitually imposed upon human physiology are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, muster mental illness, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, nourish nervous disorders, hurry heart disease, deliver diabetes, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, add arthritis, and on top of all of that...It will kill you!

Certain harmful refined dietary sugars (which are specifically discussed below) almost always turn directly into fat! Glucose, Fructose, Sucrose, Galactose, Maltose, and Lactose are digested and absorbed with such speed that the body must convert them into saturated fats. Saturated Fatty Acids are "sticky" by nature, and, when introduced into the vascular system, clog arteries, increase the chance of stroke, diabetes, and definitively decrease athletic performance.

Check out Dr Mecola's views on Video on artificial sweeteners including Splenda, Nutrasweet and Aspartamine.

More Problems With Fructose click here