Month: January 2020

We Aren’t Eating Real Food Anymore:

Millions of people worldwide are metabolically unwell because the bulk of the diet has centered around eating manufactured food-like products. From our morning sweetened cereal or spreads on toast to the burger with ‘plastic cheese’ and French fries we grab in place of real food.

It has been the over-consumption of these ultra-processed “convenience foods” that are high in both refined carbohydrate and seed oils which precipitated the huge deterioration of the Western diet, and which has fueled the concurrent epidemics of obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases, such as hypertension and coronary heart disease. So how do we distinguish real food from food-like products?

Ultra processed foods are defined as “not modified foods, but formulations of industrial ingredients and other substances derived from foods, plus additives. They mostly contain little if any intact food. The purpose of ultra-processing is to create products that are convenient (durable, ready-to-eat, -drink or -heat), attractive (hyper- palatable), and profitable (cheap ingredients). Their effect all over the world is to displace all other food groups. They are usually branded assertively, packaged attractively, and marketed intensively.” Ultra-processed food isn’t food. They are products made from a combination of refined carbohydrates (including sugar) and seed oils. These are convenient, hyper-palatable and cheap, and displace real food in the diet.

According to a 2015 study, some of the most addictive foods are in this category; including breakfast cereal, muffins, pizza, cheeseburgers, French fries and fried chicken — as are the desserts that often eaten with them including chocolate, ice cream, cookies and cake, and the soda we wash them down with. Even our favorite snacks like popcorn and chips are really nothing more than a combination of refined carbs and industrial seed oil eaten in place of real food.

Why are Non-Stick Pan’s Toxic?

Recent findings from the FDA showed there are toxic chemicals lurking in our food supply. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of about 5,000 synthetic compounds, are present in the blood of 98 percent of the U.S. population, and research shows our diets are the main source of exposure to these hazardous substances.“PFAS” is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Chemicals in this class of more than 5,000 substances are found in products like nonstick pans (e.g. “Teflon”), waterproof jackets, and carpets to repel water, grease, and stains. They’re also used in firefighting foam on military bases and in commercial airports. Even personal care products like waterproof mascaras and eyeliners, sunscreen, shampoo, and shaving cream can contain PFAS.

PFAS don’t easily break down, and they can persist in your body and in the environment for decades. As a result of their pervasiveness, more than 95 percent of the U.S. population has PFAS in their bodies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to one senior CDC official, the presence and concentration of PFAS in U.S. drinking water presents “one of the most seminal public health challenges for the next decades.”Studies of the best-known PFAS, called PFOA and PFOS, show links to kidney cancer and testicular cancer, as well as endocrine disruption in humans.

Watch Netflix Documentary – “The Devil We Know”

The Netflix Documentary – “The Devil We Know” is the story of how a synthetic chemical, used to make Teflon products, contaminated a West Virginia community. But new research hints at a much broader problem as there are more than 80,000 chemicals approved for use in the U.S. that have not been adequately tested for safety!

Avoid items that tout “nonstick” or “waterproof” properties, as they can contain PFAS; reduce or eliminate fast food and carry-out items; and check beauty product labels for the term “fluoro,” which indicates a fluorinated chemical.