During the weekly trip to the grocery store, how many of us pick up each product, turn it over and really read what ingredients that item contains? As consumers, the assumption might be if a product is available for sale, it is safe for human consumption. That may not be the case. We are not suggesting that food distributors have a nefarious intent to make the public ill. We are simply pointing out that large food manufacturers are in the business to make a profit. They have done extensive market research on the trends of our culture, and have simply capitalized on a viable market; a market that demands quick meals at a cheap price.

The problem with this demand is that many manufacturers are forced to produce convenience foods which require excessive processing. It is impossible to expect a product contained in a box to maintain its shelf life, sell for a low price and taste "good" without including a wide range of additives. Shoppers are accustomed to purchasing esthetically appealing convenience foods, meats, and produce that may have been on the shelves for many weeks, or even months. These products are tainted with extensive amounts of additives and preservatives to maintain their commercial appeal, much to the detriment of the consumer.

At Heavenly Fodder, LLC, we have set out to offer something different. . .

Meals without gluten, or any of the Top Ten additives we consider most harmful to the digestive tract and won't consume ourselves! Due to the feedback we have received, we feel there is a market for like- minded people who are "fed-up" with eating foods polluted with additives and lack nutritional value.

Below, we have listed the most common additives found in many commercially prepared food products so consumers may recognize them and better understand their potentially negative effects.

BELOW IS
OUR "NONFODDER" LIST
(Not Allowed In!)

In general terms, gluten is a protein molecule found in wheat, barley, and rye. Scientists refer to it as a storage protein, or prolamine, whereas bakers know it as the "stuff" that keeps the bread dough together. Due to its high protein content, gluten is added to some foods and touted as a healthy additive.

For someone with celiac disease, or the person who is gluten intolerant, it is anything but healthy. Even in people with healthy digestive tracts, gluten's sticky component impedes digestion and can lead to gas, bloating, stomach upset, and a myriad of other problems. Most people are aware that gluten is found in breads and white and wheat pastas but don't realize that it is an integral part of many processed foods such as cereals, canned soups, salad dressings and even beer. There are however, many flours and such as brown rice, sourghum, quinoa and amaranth to name a few, which can be used with wonderful results for baking and pasta dishes.

Foods containing hydrogenated fat do not go stale as quickly as foods containing unsaturated fats, therefore can stay on supermarket shelves longer. It gives commercially prepared foods a taste and texture similar to regular fat but it is less expensive than butter and more stable than unsaturated fat.

The cloudy hydrogenated soybean oil on the left contains unhealthy trans-fatty acids while the clear 1% linolenic soybean oil on the right contains no trans-fatty acids.

If the ingredients list includes partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, then the food contains Trans fat. Ingredients are listed on all food packages, however Trans fats are not listed on the Nutrition Facts Panel. Since there are no standard methods for measuring trans fats, it's difficult to estimate the trans fatty acid content of food items. Trans fats raise LDL cholesterol levels( bad carrier for cholesterol) and also lower HDL cholesterol (good carrier for cholesterol) while raising total blood cholesterol levels. The best thing is to reduce the intake of all solid fats in order to reduce the risk of heart disease and, perhaps, cancer. For these reasons, and ensuing regulatory pressure, the food industry is moving away from adding hydrogenated oils into food. Although fully hydrogenated oils do not contain trans fat, they are by no means a health food. Saturated fats have the same adverse effects as trans fats, and are potentially worse for blood sugar control.


Where you find hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils?

* 40% of all foods in a grocery store

* 95% of all cookies

* 75% of chips and crackers

* 70% of all cold cereals and cake mixes

* 80% of all frozen breakfast foods

* in most microwave popcorn

* in many salted peanuts and other nuts

* in most candies

* most restaurants that fry foods including donut shops

*shortenings

* and the list goes on and on

Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of HHS, said at a news conference on the Guidelines on January 12, 2005 that the FDA may recommend that daily intake of trans fat be less than 2 grams, perhaps less than 1 gram. HOW MUCH ARE YOU CONSUMING?

 

DID YOU KNOW: MSG IS DISGUISED UNDER AT LEAST 16 INNOCUOUS SOUNDING NAMES? INCLUDING: *Autolyzed yeast; *Calcium caseinate Hydrolyzed Oat flour * Hydrolyzed Plant protein *Hydrolyzed protein *Hydrolyzed vegetable protein *Hydrolyzed yeast *Modified food starch *Monosodium Glutamate *Plant protein extract *Sodium caseinate *Textured protein *Torula yeast *Natural flavoring *Yeast extract *Yeast food (These ingredients ALWAYS contain MSG)

BEWARE *See below a list of ingredients that Frequently contain MSG & some that MAY contain MSG.

"A team of scientists working at the University of Madrid found that when given to rats, MSG produces a 40% increase in appetite. "
(Which will translate into weight gain.)

This flavor enhancer, used for almost a century, is made by fermenting starch, corn, sugar beets, molasses, or sugar cane to free naturally occurring glutamate; sodium salts of glutamate are then created that can be used to make certain foods more intensely flavorful. Glutamate itself is a naturally occurring amino acid found in many protein-rich foods, including cheese, milk, meat, walnuts, and mushrooms. This amino acid is also produced by the body and used in metabolism. MSG first came under criticism and study in the late 1960s, after people reported experiencing a variety of physical symptoms collectively known as the MSG symptom complex that includes severe headaches, a sensation of flushed burning skin in the neck and chest areas, nausea, rapid heartbeat, and difficulty breathing. MSG is the most exhaustively studied of all food additives and large food manufacturers now disguise it under other "more natural" sounding titles such as hydrolyzed protein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, autolyzed yeast, and yeast extract. Also, "natural flavoring" on ingredients labels could be a camouflage for MSG.

Food additives that FREQUENTLY contain MSG
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavors/Flavoring
Natural Beef Or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices

Food additives that MAYcontain MSG
Carrageenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate

(If you are at all sensitive to MSG, please read your labels CAREFULLY!)

"HFCS leads to excessive insulin resistance, which leads to many health complications including (but not limited to) diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and atherosclerosis "

High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) refers to a group of corn syrups which have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup. HFCS was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and sodas in the United States in the 1970's, and 80's. During the late 1990's, use of sugar actually declined as it was replaced by HFCS. The attractiveness of HFCS to the mega food processors is that HFCS has the same sweetness as sucrose from cane or beet sugar but it is actually cheaper than sugar. It is also very easy to transport--it's just piped into tanker trucks.

This translates into lower costs and higher profits for food producers. However, because it is metabolized by the liver, fructose does not allow the pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does wreaking havoc with blood sugar levels. Also, fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar which may be one of the reasons Americans continue to get fatter. But that just scratches the surface of the HFCS story. Fructose raises serum triglycerides significantly, slows digestion, and robs ATP energy stores from the liver. In fact, the livers of the rats on a high fructose diet looked like the livers of alcoholics, plugged with fat and cirrhotic.

The artificial sweetener aspartame has been the subject of safety studies for many years given much controversy surrounding the product . Studies have recommended further investigation into the connection between aspartame and diseases such as brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma but the widespread usage of aspartame is still rampant in items from colas to cough drops. In 1995, FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief Thomas Wilcox, reported that aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995. With a total of 92 different symptoms and health conditions reported by physicians and consumers, there is no shortage as to reasons for further investigation. A long-term study linking aspartame ingestion to lymphomas and leukemias in animals can be read at: http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf.
Both of these malignancies have increased significantly in this country since the widespread use of aspartame so readily seen in many grocery items.

The ingestion of aspartame in large doses is exceptionally harmful, as stated by several scientists claiming that the damage to cells and DNA is cumulative. This means that drinking even a daily diet cola sweetened with aspartame could increase one's risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia. These scientists also found an increased incidence of malignant brain tumors, even though it was not statistically significant. Since children and pregnant women are the demographics drinking the largest amount of diet colas, this puts their children at the greatest risk of developing one of these horrible diseases. Their study found that even low doses of aspartame could cause these malignancies; yet, again, the higher the dose, the more cancers were seen.

Aside from the convincing arguments of abstaining from aspartame due to cancer risk, a study conducted at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center reported a "41% increase for weight issues induced by every can of diet soda a person consumes each day. It really is an anomaly that the consumption of such products will lead to weight loss yet consumers believe this is the case.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy

Saccharin is the oldest artificial sweetener which was produced in 1878 and still proving to be market strong today. Blends of saccharin with other sweeteners are often used together so that each sweetener masks the other's off-taste. Saccharin is usually used with aspartame in diet soda, so that some sweetness remains should the fountain syrup be stored beyond aspartame's relatively short shelf life. Starting in 1907, however, the USDA began investigating saccharin and issues surrounding the sweetener which have not been definitively resolved since then.

Throughout the 1960s, various studies suggested that saccharin might be an animal carcinogen. Concerns peaked in 1977, after the publication of a study indicating an increased rate of bladder cancer in rats fed large doses of saccharin. In that year, Canada banned saccharin while the United States Food and Drug Administration also proposed a ban. At the time, saccharin was the only artificial sweetener available in the U.S., and the proposed ban met with strong public opposition, especially among diabetics. Eventually, the U.S. Congress placed a moratorium on the ban, requiring instead that all saccharin-containing foods display a warning label indicating that saccharin may be a carcinogen.

Many studies have since been performed on saccharin, some showing a correlation between saccharin consumption and increased frequency of cancer, especially bladder cancer. Although proponents of aspartame argue its safety, in 1977 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that any food containing saccharin be labeled with warnings about potential hazards to consumers' health. The labels said: "Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin, which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."

The warnings were the result of studies conducted by the FDA that showed long-term use of saccharin was indeed related to bladder cancer. In 1978 and 1979, the National Cancer Institute conducted a study that concluded that heavy use of saccharin was related to cancer of the bladder, heavy use defined as consuming two or more 8-ounce servings of a diet drink per day or six or more servings of sugar substitute per day (you know, the little pink packets).

Artificial flavors are manufactured products, the result of combining various chemical compounds that are legally considered safe for consumption. Nearly all of the dyes found in modern foods, medicine, toothpaste, beverages, vitamins, cosmetics, are also synthetic. They were originally manufactured from coal tar oil, but today they are made from petroleum. A single artificial flavoring can be made up of hundreds of separate chemicals, many of which are

derived from petroleum. Prior to the 1950's, the coloring of the nation's food supply was a simple process derived from natural plant and vegetable based compounds. However, after WWII, the chemical industry grew rapidly and saw the food industry as an excellent potential client. The chemical industry approached the food industry and quickly touted the benefits of artificial petroleum based ingredients in the nation's food supply. Manufacturing benefits of chemical based colors over natural colors included - convenience, lower cost and an almost unlimited shelve life. Unfortunately, at that time there was no consideration given regarding what is now known as "behavioral toxicology," which includes the potential of a chemical compound to affect behavior, personality and learning ability. Even today, the FDA and EPA do not require detailed testing of chemicals for subtle effects on these neurological processes even though they are indeed harmful to our health. For example, FD & C Red No. 2 dye was previously shown to produce cancerous changes in experimental animals and subsequently removed from general use. While there has been considerable energy expended in searching for carcinogenic potential from artificial colors and flavors, there have been only a few published studies examining the potential effects of these agents on behavior issues. Ingestion of food dyes, preservatives, and artificial flavors has been linked to subsequent learning and behavioral problems in children.

Sodium nitrite is used to fix colors and deter bacterial growth in preserved fish and meats such as lunch meats, hams, sausages, hot dogs and bacon. The problem is that sodium nitrite can react with proteins in the stomach or during cooking in higher heat to form carcinogenic N-nitrosamines. This harmless sounding ingredient is actually highly carcinogenic once it enters the human digestive system with recent studies determining a link between highly processed meat consumption and colon and pancreatic cancers.

Other studies also recognize frequent ingestion of meats cured with nitrites and certain forms of lung disease. Once the nitrosamine compounds are formed, they can enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc with a number of internal organs including but not limited to, the liver and pancreas.

Contrary to what consumers may think, sodium nitrite is widely regarded as a toxic ingredient, which the USDA actually tried to ban in the 1970's but the act was vetoed by food manufacturers who complained they had no alternative for preserving packaged meat products. And why do the food manufacturers feel so strongly about sodium nitrite? Simply put: It sells their products. It's actually a color fixer, camouflaging old, dead meats by making them appear fresh and vibrant. Consumers are strongly influenced by the visual appearance of grocery products and when meat products look a fresh red or pink hue, people will buy them even if the true color of the aged meat is putrid gray. On a good note, some manufacturers are now adding ascorbic acid to the cured meat in an effort to curtail the damage done by the sodium nitite.

The Golden Rule of Diet;

"When in doubt, leave it out!"