Dr. Bob the Health Builder

 Dr Bob the Health Builder

  Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants and Animals = Healthy People
Twelve chemicals I would not eat - July 01, 2008

Dr Bob the Health Builder

 

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Twelve chemicals I would not eat

 

We live in a sea of toxic chemicals and most are in our foods. The majority have never been tested to see if they are safe for children and adults. The latest addition is Genetically Modified foods and again they have not been tested for safety.

The following list of 12 toxic chemicals just scratches the surface, but you will be well off to avoid them.

1.      The preservative sodium nitrite, used to preserve, color, and flavor meat products. Sodium nitrite is commonly added to bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked fish, and corned beef to stabilize the red color and add flavor. The preservative prevents growth of bacteria, but studies have linked eating it to various types of cancer. If you get a ham without nitrites, it will be a slight brown color, but the nitrite imparts a pink color. The taste is fine without the nitrite. Debecca is a brand of bacon and ham without nitrites.

2.      Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are additional additives to red flag. They are antioxidants used to preserve common household foods by preventing them from oxidizing. Both keep fats and oils from going rancid and are found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils, but there is concern that they may cause cancer. A good question to ask yourself is if "Grandma ate it"? If it wasn't available and in food when your grandmother (maybe great grandma for some of you) was alive you shouldn't eat it. Another good maxim is if you can't spell it or pronounce it, don't eat it. This alone means that BHA and BHT ought not to be in your diet.

3.      Propyl gallate is another preservative to avoid, used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling and is often used in conjunction with BHA and BHT. This additive is sometimes found in meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum. Propyl gallate has not been proven to cause cancer, but studies done on animals have suggested that it could be linked to cancer, so it is an additive to be concerned about.

4.      Monosodium glutamate is an amino acid used as a flavor enhancer in soups, salad dressings, chips, frozen entrees and restaurant food. It is commonly associated with Asian foods and flavorings. MSG can cause headaches and nausea in some people, and animal studies link it to damaging nerve cells in the brains of infant mice. This goes way beyond Chinese food and headaches. MSG is in 95% of all processed foods. Industrial food manufacturers take poor quality or cheap foods and add MSG to enhance their products to fool your taste buds into thinking you are eating well. MSG is also an excitotoxin, like aspartame and hydrolyzed vegetable protein and hydrolyzed soy protein. The three chemicals have been linked to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

5.       Trans fat makes it onto our dirty dozen list because eating too much of it leads to heart disease. "Trans fats are proven to cause heart disease and make conditions perfect for stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and limb loss due to vascular disease. Trans fats come primarily from vegetable oils and are not needed in any quantity in our diets. Corporations do a little slight-of- hand and declare no trans fats in their products like Girl Scout Cookies. The government allows a few grams of trans fat per serving, hence making you think there are no trans fat in what you are eating. However, one serving of cookies is like 1 or 2 cookies, and who can just eat one or two at a time.

6.      Aspartame, also known by the brand names Nutrasweet and Equal, is an additive found in so-called diet foods such as low-calorie desserts, gelatins, drink mixes and soft drinks. It also comes in individual packages used in place of sugar as a sweetener. The safety of aspartame, a combination of two amino acids and methanol, has been the focus of hundreds of scientific studies. Conclusions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, the ADA and the Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that the additive is safe. Conversely, the Center for Science in the Public Interest gave it their lowest ranking in a review of food additives, quoting animal studies in 1970 and in 2007, which suggest that there is a link between aspartame and cancer. This whole company and government manure is a rip of all the people of the world. Every study paid for by Monsanto and JD Searle (the inventor of aspartame) has been favorable, while every study performed by independent groups has been negative towards this product. The FDA turned this product down 18 times and one FDA doctor declared that it causes brain tumors. Since it was approved, the FDA has had more complaints about the side effects than any other chemical it has approved - in its history. Dr Roberts, MD has written several books on aspartame and discovered in his diabetic patients that it makes people crave carbohydrates and therefore makes diabetics gain weight and makes their disease worse. I have found that if you put aspartame on fire ant mounds that it kills them. Do you really want this stuff in your body, particularly when there are natural alternatives?

7.    Acesulfame-K is a relatively new artificial sweetener approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1998 for use in soft drinks. It is also found in baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. Acesulfame-K--the "K" is the chemistry symbol for potassium--is considered 200 times sweeter than sugar. Some studies showed the additive may cause cancer in rats, but the substance makes the top 12 list of additives to avoid because further study is needed to conclude whether or not acesulfame-K is harmful. This is just another chemical we don't need. I suggest you read a book by Dr Mercola called "Sweet Deception" for the low down on all sweeteners.

8.    Food Colorings: Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6 You may think that all dangerous artificial food colorings were banned by the FDA long ago, but there are five still on the market that are linked with cancer in animal testing. The problem is that many of these dyes cause hyperactivity and tumors when in the right combination with each other and other chemicals. There are some natural dyes, but normal people like you and I can't tell the difference, so it is best to avoid dyes as much as possible.

9.    Olestra, a synthetic fat known as the brand name Olean and found in some potato chip brands, prevents fat from getting absorbed in your digestive system. This often leads to severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps and gas. This stuff is terrible because it blocks absorption of nutrients and the original information when it was approved said that it caused leakage - hence stuff in your underwear that you don't want in your underwear. You do not need Olestra in your body.

10.                      Potassium bromate is rare, but still legal in the U.S., and used as an additive to increase volume in white flour, breads and rolls. Most bromate rapidly breaks down to an innocuous form, but it is known to cause cancer in animals--and even small amounts in bread can create a risk for humans. California requires a cancer warning on the product label if Potassium bromate is an ingredient. Bromides are used as fumigants and they are very toxic. Bromide is also on the chemistry periodic table along with iodine, fluoride and chlorine. Other than iodine, these are very toxic chemicals. If we do not get enough iodine, and most people do not, into our bodies, the thyroid will accept these other chemicals, particularly fluoride, and it will shut down its important function. It is best to avoid bromides, fluoride and chlorine and to make sure we get enough iodine to prevent disease.

11.                      Some foods, such as fruits and carrots, naturally contain sugar, but watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, even sauces and many other processed foods. One hundred years ago the average person ate 6 pounds of sugar per year and we had no type II diabetes. Today, the average person eats 175 pounds of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. It does not take a brain surgeon or rocket scientist to figure out what causes sugar diabetes. We need to stop sugar and particularly high fructose corn syrup (corn anything also contains large amount of herbicides and pesticides).

12.                      A dash of sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt, can certainly bring flavor to your meal. But salt is another hidden food additive that can lead to health issues. Excessive amounts of salt can become dangerous for your health, affecting cardiovascular function, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and kidney failure according to the diet dictocrats. Actually, the high blood pressure thing is a hoax, but too much bad salt is not good for anyone. Notice I said "bad salt". Salt normally comes with some trace minerals, but in processing they remove all trace minerals and all you get in processed foods or table salt is sodium chloride (some comes with a little iodine but the amount is so small it does not prevent thyroid disease). Some people get warm and fuzzy and tell me that they use sea salt, and that is all well and good, but they have no idea if the trace minerals have been removed or what dirty ocean it came from. There are some fine sea salts, but for the most part, the trace minerals have been removed. I recommend Real Salt from Redmond Minerals in Redmond Utah because they never remove any trace minerals from their salt and their salt comes from ancient ocean beds that have been covered for thousands of years, so there is no pollution in their products. Incidentally, Redmond has tons of testimonials about high blood pressure going away. The reason for this is because of the magnesium in their salt. Check out the book "The High Blood Pressure Hoax" by Sherry Rogers, MD. She explains that high blood pressure is caused by the lack of magnesium in our food supply.

 

There is no doubt that we do not need most of the above chemicals, and the only solution is to avoid processed food as much as possible, or totally, if we want to be healthy. To eat healthy, buy local foods, take trace minerals, beneficial fatty acids and detox with humates. Most health problems will go away with this regimen.

 

To Your Good Health

Dr Bob the Health Builder

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