The Excitement of Being Toxic

Excitotoxins have an exciting effect on brain cells (sounds exciting!) … while causing a pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed (not so fun.)

In today’s food industry, harmful amounts of excitotoxins are found in up to 80% of all processed food. MSG (one of many glutamates found in foods,) hydrolyzed proteins, and other similar substances are all too common ingredients.

When scientists want to make mice fat ASAP (for the purpose studying obesity,) they feed them MSG. Regardless, the food industry has engineered chemically created flavors such as this one that keep us coming back for more. Are we addicted? Just as tobacco companies knowingly added more nicotine to cigarettes to make them addictive, we’re now in an invisible food trap that has also imprisoned us.

With a chemical formula that makes us feel instantly fulfilled, we are actually  providing ourselves with little to no nutrients. Most of us, who may have been encouraged by our doctors to lose weight, are in truth starving to death on a cellular level.

We struggle with hunger and blame our bodies and ourselves for being weak. Meanwhile our body is doing its best to keep us healthy! It calls in search of the nutrients it needs to function correctly.
Advertisements tell us that if we eat these chemically altered foods; we will be slim and happy. However most of these foods cause weight gain and disease. Many of these chemicals both inhibit our metabolism as well as increase the production of fat (as part of the defense mechanism to isolate the chemicals).

Diet soda alone is suspected of  being a major contributor to the impairment of brain function, neurological function, vision, and increased chances of seizures (especially when regularly consumed instead of a meal.) While it advertises freedom, most independent studies show that it hooks us on even stronger sugar cravings (due to our taste buds’ reaction to the extreme sweetness.)

The FDA does not carry out independent studies to test a food before it is marketed. Instead it relies on studies funded by the same company producing the product. The heart association puts its stamp of approval on foods loaded with trans fats because the product meets the sodium requirements. Classy.

In our industrialized version of better living, we have created over 75,000 synthetic chemicals since 1940. These days over 200 chemicals can been found in some newborn’s umbilical cords. Most are either food-born, environmental, or beauty product derived (“your makeup looks killer!”)

It is time to relearn better living that is in harmony with the organic compounds of our bodies and our planet.  We need to recover. It’s no joke when our neurological system has been affected.

Spring is an excellent time for a reboot as the body is naturally designed to excel in its detoxification process. Eat dark leafy greens every day (kale, parsley and cilantro are highly recommended!) as well as gelatinous fibers (chia seeds rock!) Water and vegetables are your BFFs (consume more vegetables than fruits.)

In general, think more about what healthy stuff you can  add  to your diet rather than freaking out about what you need to eliminate. The more nutrients your body receives and assimilates, the more you’ll naturally begin to eliminate what no longer serves you.  Exercising and a clean diet need each other. Tomorrow is never better than today to do something proactive.

USDA's Replacement of Food Pyramid Makes Little To No Change

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is serving us a new plate. Throwing out the food pyramid and replacing it with the image of a plate, the USDA hopes to make nutritional guidelines easier to understand.

The plate icon is a colorful circle graph divided into four sections representing fruits, vegetables, protein and grains, plus an additional small circle on the side for dairy.

In introducing the plate icon, First Lady Michelle Obama said feeding our children should be easy, as long as their plates are “half full of fruits and vegetables, and paired with lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy.” 

The image of the plate will no doubt make it easier for both parents and kids to understand balanced nutrition. The symbol also serves as a reminder to control portion sizes and to consider various options for each category.

There are no foods pictured on the plate, just words that represent each food group. On the My Plate website, the USDA provides tools to determine more specific serving sizes and other dietary guidelines.

In a country where obesity and fatal diseases related to unhealthy eating habits are continuously on the rise, is making the guidelines even more abstract a sufficient strategy to address a nation’s nutritional health?

My Plate may offer a more understandable illustration than the previous My Pyramid, but nothing more has been improved. My Plate still keeps the lobbying for food subsidies for the sake of economic gain instead of prioritizing citizens’ health.

Dairy: Since the plate differentiates between fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains, why aren’t dairy products included with the “protein” group?  After all, dairy contains as much protein as meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, and seeds.

Keeping dairy as a separate food group has little to do with the USDA’s concern for calcium intake. Some green vegetables offer just as much calcium as milk yet they remain unmentioned in the generalized vegetable group. If the concerns were truly about calcium intake (rather than political ties with the dairy industry), it would make a “calcium-rich” group and include dairy along with kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sesame, quinoa, and other fortified dairy alternatives. Considering that over half of the American population is suspected to be lactose intolerant, is this really in our people’s best interest?

Fruits and Vegetables: The problem is not that Americans lack awareness that fruits and vegetables are healthy. It is that fruits and vegetables compete with cheaper junk food and false advertizing. Many of today’s breakfast cereals, breads, yogurts, spreads and most packaged foods are marketed as health foods despite their content of artificial flavors, preservatives, trans-fats, and copious amounts of sugar. These foods can be marketed as healthy and cheap because they are made with crop subsidies.

As an example, "Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal" is positioned as a highly nutritious cereal with the words "100% nutrition," "Blueberry" and "Pomegranate" appearing on the front of the box. While the cereal contains no actual blueberries or pomegranates, it does contain eight different sweeteners (Sugar, Corn Syrup, Barley Malt Extract, Brown Sugar Syrup, Malt Syrup, Sucralose, Molasses and Honey.)

The blueberry-like appearance of small bits in the cereal are made through the use of artificial colors like Red #40 and Blue #2, combined with various oils and sweeteners such as soybean oil and sugar.

Until blueberries are as affordable as the artificial subsidized soybean version , I suspect we won’t see much improvement in America’s health.

A South American friend told me that back home, he would feed his family fruits and vegetables because it was cheaper than McDonald’s. Now living in America, he can only afford to feed his family McDonald’s because it is cheaper than fruits and vegetables.

Grains: The simplicity of the plate icon in comparison to the previous pyramid is much to be admired as well as appreciated for the elimination of the processed flour products that were pictured as examples for healthy grains. However with no images on the plate, there may well be even more confusion over what a healthy grain would be. Some of us might know the difference between whole grain flour and white flour but most of us still mistake servings of cereals such as Total as a healthy whole grain. These cereals may have started as whole grains but have been processed to a point that they no longer offer the body the same nutritional benefits. While cereals and breads might have a place in our diet, they cannot be the only type of whole grain that we eat. We must also incorporate unprocessed grains such as oats, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, and the many other grains available.

Fats: Much like the old pyramid, this plate does absolutely nothing towards differentiating between healthier and unhealthier fats.  In fact, on the new plate there seems to be no room for fat despite its vital importance to our health.

When presenting ‘My Plate,’ First Lady Michelle Obama mentioned the importance of increasing access and availability of fruits and vegetables. No specific actions or policies to achieve this goal were mentioned. The USDA says that vegetables and fruits should make up half of our diets but only 1 percent of its food subsidies go to farmers who grow produce. Until unprocessed foods are made largely available, our new colorfully illustrated guideline serve little to no purpose.

The Food Pyramid... What Should I eat?

The Food Pyramid, a model created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has become an iconic illustration of what the USDA says is the element of a healthy diet. The Pyramid model has been taught in schools, appeared in the media and has been plastered on cereal boxes and food labels.

Tragically, the information conveyed in this pyramid hasn’t pointed the way to healthy eating. This symbol doesn't give enough information to help us make informed choices about our diet and long-term health. It continues to recommend foods that aren't essential to good health, and may even be detrimental in the quantities recommended. 

Every five years, the US Departments of Agriculture and of Health and Human Services update their nutrition recommendations for citizens.  The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans continues to reflect the tense interplay of science and the powerful food industry. The panel that writes the guidelines must include nutrition experts who are leaders in pediatrics, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and public health. Unfortunately the selection of the panelists is always subject to intense lobbying from organizations such as the National Dairy Council, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, Soft Drink Association, American Meat Institute, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and Wheat Foods Council. With panelists representing diverse industries, creating the guidelines has become more of a negotiation process to appease all sides, rather than keeping the focus on the public’s best interest. 

Several of the new recommendations represent important steps in the right direction while others remain mired in the past. 

Positive changes include the continuing development in the recognition of individual caloric needs and recommendations for overall smaller portions. There is a shift to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Furthermore the guidelines emphasize the importance of significantly reducing the consumption of foods with added sugars, solid fats, sodium and refined grains.

Vital changes that have yet to be made include the following: 

* Grains: The guidelines lack instruction showing the difference between unrefined whole grains and

their refined versions. This is a shame since refined starches (found in cereals, breads, pastas etc.‘) behave like sugar, having adverse metabolic effects and increasing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Pictures on the food pyramid of highly refined products such as white bread and pasta continue to represent examples of grains. Simply put, Special K is not a whole grain just as ketchup is not a tomato. 

Recommendation: Keep experimenting with unrefined whole grains. While you may have been eating wheat products your whole life, have you ever tried wheat berries from which the flour is derived?  View recipes for ideas. 

* Protein: The guidelines continue to lump together red meat, poultry, fish, and beans (including soy products) with little differentiation between each type. We are asked to judge these protein sources by their total fat content, making choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free. Due to the meat and dairy industries’ involvement in the guidelines, suggestions to lower the recommended amounts have not been approved.   

Recommendation: Because of our bio-individuality, protein requirements vary dramatically from person to person. Many people feel lighter and clearer when they reduce animal products. If you notice that you feel better when eating animal protein, enjoy it in smaller portions together with an abundance of vegetables. Click Here to learn more about plant-based and animal protein.

* Fat: Since the 2005 guidelines there has been more differentiation between detrimental fats like trans fats and health-promoting fats. While this has been an improvement to our past fat phobic education, most of us still have no idea what oils we should be using. 

Recommendation: Let ‘unrefined’ be your guideline. The unrefined label can easily be found on oils such as olive or sesame. Some brands of sunflower or canola can be found unrefined in health food stores. Saturated oils such as butter, ghee or coconut are always unrefined but should be used with care for cardiovascular health. 

* Dairy: The recommendation to drink three glasses of low-fat milk or eat three servings of other dairy products per day to prevent osteoporosis is another step in the wrong direction. Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and even small amounts of milk or dairy products give them stomach aches, gas, or other problems. This recommendation ignores the lack of evidence for a link between consumption of dairy products and prevention of osteoporosis as well as ignoring the suspected association of dairy with the causes of more serious diseases. 

Recommendation: Minimize your intake of milk and choose other dairy sources instead. Enjoy fermented products like yogurt and kefir and experiment with goat dairy products for better digestion. Choose raw dairy when available. Milk sensitivities often appear as digestive, respiratory or skin disorders. Try eliminating dairy from your diet and enjoy leafy greens, sesame, soy, flax, and seaweeds for their high calcium values.  Due to the antibiotics and hormones used in the US dairy industry, choosing organic is highly recommended. 

For more information Click Here

* Water: The USDA makes no mention of the importance of water. 

Recommendation: With the body made up of 75% water, it is essential that we continuously replenish this source. Drinking more water helps all of the body’s systems to run smoothly, enabling our organs to comfortably perform their functions. When the body is too dry it contracts. Drinking water helps relieve symptoms such as body tension, headaches, or any other stress related disorder. Hydration also keeps the skin smooth and clear.

Always keep a bottle of water on hand. 


Related Article: 
USDA's Replacement of Food Pyramid