Organic Candy.....What's the point?

Someone would SeRiOuSlY search out a "healthy" version of candy? Isn't ALL CANDY UnHeAlThY for you?

IMHO, Candy doesn't HAVE to be "unhealthy"...it could just be "not healthy"! YES, there is a difference. Let me explain....

When you look at the ingredients on a 'typical' package of candy you might see as an ingredient any of the following: hydrogenated oil, artificial dyes/coloring, artificial flavoring, artificial sweetener, preservatives.

All of these ingredients can be considered 'unhealthy' or ANTI-NUTRIENTS (substances that, when consumed increase the body's need for more nutrients) These substances take so much extra energy for the digestive tract to process and eliminate, that the body is left with more nutrients burned up than are taken in. They also increase the appetite because the body is not getting the nutrients it needs. My advice is to steer clear of most anti nutrients if you want to maintain optimum health. Some commonly considered ANTI-NUTRIENTS : hydrogenated oils, white flour products, low-fat milk products (skim and 2%), processed meats (hot dogs, lunch meat), pastries, or anything that contains added sugar, fast food anything, chemical anything in foods.

• HYDROGENATED OILS "are naturally healthy oils such as palm, kernel, soybean, corn oil or coconut oil and they heat it anywhere from 500-1,000 degrees under several atmospheres of pressure. They then inject a catalyst into the oil for several hours (nickel, platinum or even aluminum). The molecules in this new product are now closer to...plastic than to oil. In fact, hydrogenated oil is only one molecule away from being plastic. When you eat anything containing this material, just as the oil is now thicker...so too does your blood become thicker...right along with it. If un-hydrogenated oils are put into foods they would go bad very fast. This would increase the cost to the manufacturer. In fact the faster a food goes bad, the healthier they usually are. That's because the enzymatic activity which causes the foods to rot at room temperature also means that the enzymatic activity within your own body will be greater as well. Food is basically meant to digest itself so eating foods high in natural enzymes such as fresh vegetables, fruits and other raw foods means less stress on your own digestive system." Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/024694_food_hydrogenated_oils_health.html

• ARTIFICIAL DYES are used in candy because they are CHEAP, plain and simple. Cheap isn't necessarily bad....until you examine closely the side effects of artificial dyes in children. Colorings in candy and foods used to be made out from natural resources: cherries-RED, blueberries-BLUE, tumeric-YELLOW and so on. "By the time the early 1900's hit, there were more than 80 types of dyes, none of them having been tested for short/long term affects. The dyes created were, and still are, derived from PETROLEUM ANILINE, and were first named coal-tar colors because the starting product was taken from bituminous coal. Laws were eventually made to attempt to control the extent and identify the colors, but nevertheless, very little research done on the safety of putting them in the human body." (http://www.fennogold.org/)

Check out my BLOG posting on chemical colorings and side effects.

• ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS: SPLENDA is a chlorinated sugar that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar. http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/ (taken from my BLOG posting) "When the temperature of ASPARTAME exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME coverts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. (Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants). The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis. ASPARTAME changes the brain's chemistry (by) changing the dopamine level in the brain. Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, said, 'The ingredients stimulates the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.'" http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/aspartame.html

Candy containing naturally-based sugar and natural food coloring are not healthy by any means, but at least they are not as "unhealthy" as candy containing the "anti-nutrients" listed above! If there are occasionally times when you will want to celebrate something, and you don't want your child to take a hit on their immune system, I have found a couple of sites that we will occasionally be visiting for rare holiday treats. They use natural, food-derived colorings & flavors. The sugar sources in these treats/candies are not as processed as most candy (the more naturally-derived the ingredient; the easier it is on the immune system & digestive system!), contain no chemical dyes or preservatives and are made with natural flavorings. My daughters have chemical and processed food allergies, so I was absolutely ecstatic to find less "unhealthy" candy/treats!

This Christmas season we'll enjoy a healthy (quick mix) chocolate pudding made from REAL cocoa and natural sweeteners, this summer my daughters will enjoy roasting fruit juice based marshmallows over a fire, and we'll be bringing organic jello made from cherry juice and organic gelatin to potlucks through the year instead of just fresh fruit. (Organic Gelatin consists of up to 84% high-quality protein and is great for lubricating joints from the inside!) The natural candy store link actually has a candy breakdown list for children on special diets (no-soy, non-dairy, gluten-free, vegan, organic, or Feingold) more on Feingold for children with special needs: http://www.fennogold.org/

NATURAL CANDY/TREAT WEBSITES:

http://www.gobiofood.com/store.php?osCsid=7947f6e03189c839f17656dd40b7a417

http://www.naturalcandystore.com/category/organic-candy

Thanks for reading!

In Christ, Ms. Salubrious

******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******

Have You Had Your Daily Dose of Formaldehyde?

The above title may sound like one from a thriller movie, but it's actually taken from the reputable "Health Keepers" magazine, Volume 7, Issue 3. This article brings light to a toxic substance that fasely advertises itself as being a "health" and "weight loss" drink. Many adults, teens and even children drink it, as they have bought into this lie as a weight loss method--only to discover an addiction that is difficult to break free from. In the book "He's not autistic, But..." author Tenna Merchent describes her withdrawal from this particular toxic drink in depth, saying that she experienced noticeable and undesirable symptoms for 2 solid months!

So how is drinking diet soda related to drinking formaldehyde? Author Gen Whitt of Health Keepers Magazine describes how the process begins with Aspartame, a sugar substitute found in diet soda. " Aspartame has a complex chemical structure, one part of that being methanol, commonly known as wood alcohol. When consumed as part of the aspartame chemical, the methanol is broken down by the intestine into FORMALDEHYDE .... which is further converted into formic acid, the same poison conveyed by ant stings. One common practical use of formic acid is as an activator to strip epoxy and urethane coatings."

"Since it's 1981 approval, the FDA has published a list of close to 100 symptoms of aspartame poisoning. The FDA admits approximately 80% of their consumer complaints it receives each year are aspartame-related.....physical side effects are abdominal pain,asthma, burning eyes/throat, diarrhea, fatigue, heart palpation's, memory loss, mental confusion, irritability and even death." Yes, death. Now, as with any toxic substance your body may show less and less "surface" side effects from being pelted continuously with such a toxic substance. So even though they may think they are free of symptoms, the truth is that the body is pushing the toxins into the deep tissues, like bones, cells, blood, and even the fatty tissues of the brain.

Sure, one diet soda here and there may not effect someone enough to rush them to the hospital, but over the course of a few years/few decades, the symptoms of aspartame may show up as possibly:

• cancer (anything toxic in the body that can't be detoxed naturally)
• liver failure (the liver is responsible for ridding the body of chemicals)
• kidney disease (blood is filtered & stores here the liquids to be excreted through the urine)
• osteoporosis (when sugars are combined with caffeine, it doubles the amount of calcium excreted from the bones of the body)

No, I'm not just going to pick on the widely enjoyed diet soft drinks, because aspartame is also hidden very strategically in cakes, cookies, gum, and virtually any weight loss food. Author Tienna Merchant tells how her diet program (Weight Watchers) allows aspartame as a part of a healthy, well-balanced diet. My obvious question is, "Why would a HEALTH program allow as part of their program, a substance that turns into formaldehyde in the human body, thus destroying HEALTH"? Oh, yeah, because it's labeled "diet" and has been sold as a "diet" product for so many years. So, who's going to argue with them--certainly not the customers who are hoping to keep this as part of their diet plan!

I find it quite amusing that on the Diet Coke website, it says: "The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences has found that all beverages, including those with caffeine, CONTRIBUTE to total daily hydration. If you're not in the mood for water, it's OK to reach for something else you enjoy like a sports drink, tea or a soft drink."

Quite the contrary, on the website http://tinyurl.com/cllbde, (Diets in Review.com), it reads: "Soda, tea, and coffee are a few examples of diuretics, which dehydrate the body".

So, one may ask, which one is correct? I did a quick search for to see what I could come up with on urine and diet soda, only to discover several question/answer forums asking about why diet sodas make them urinate so much? I believe, then, that the answer to this debate is in the hands of the diet soda consumers! After all, Diet Soda processing companies have more to lose if the"truth" gets out about diet soda stripping our bodies of the 60-85% water content needed to sustain itself! I do not believe that Diets in Review.com has as much at stake as the diet soda companies do!

******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******

Sugar Sources

In my previous BLOG posting, I went over the effects of sugar on the human body, analyzing just what sugar does once it enters the mouth. Now that we know the effects, let's take a closer look at the sources of sugar. Because sugar helps to sell a product, you can find it in many things that don't really NEED sweetening: ketchup, dry roasted nuts, salad dressings, sandwich meats, pickles, hot dogs, bread, juice, granola, .... the list could go on!!! Many of these foods were made in the past without sugar, but have had it added as a selling booster to increase sales and acquire repeat customer business. In order to maintain optimum health, you will want to AVOID foods that contain the processed and artificial ingredients listed below. If our body has to regularly deal with these intrusive substances, it cannot fight off viruses and bacteria as well, and will slowy lose nutrients, leading to degenerative diseases earlier than expected in life. Processed sugars can also inhibit the healing process of any problem that someone already has.

Sugar has also had it's name transformed and resources altered in order to protect it. It can now be found labeled in food products as: sucrose, glucose, dextrose, brown sugar, turbinado sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. We will just go ahead and call all of these PROCESSED SUGARS:

• Sugar/sucrose: requires minor digestion (actually breaking down valuable stomach enzymes,by not working them to their full potential), brings little (if any) nutrients, causes a huge energy boost followed by plummeting blood sugar levels, and especially stresses the pancreas and adrenal glands.
• Glucose/Dextrose: causes same surge in blood sugar as does sucrose
• Brown Sugar: refined white sugar, with some of the molasses added back in to look less refined
• Turbinado Sugar: One step away from being white sugar; 95% sucrose
• Corn Syrup/High Fructose Corn Syrup: absorbed quickly into the blood stream, without the accompanying nutrients to maintain normal blood sugar levels (Health Quarters Monthly, 2001, Volume 37)

On top of that, people have even CREATED alternate artificial versions of sugar, not knowing that a they can be twice as harmful as a natural, processed product. Here is a list of artificial sweeteners approved for use by the FDA: aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, Acesulfame potassium , and neotame. These will be labeled ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS:

• Aspartame--(owned by corporate giant Monsanto, the seed company rumored to want full control of the world's food sources) some researchers have suggested that a rise in brain tumor rates in the United States may be at least partially related to the increasing availability and consumption of aspartame. A recent research showed a clear link between this substance and cancer; a link that may be sufficient evidence for the FDA to pull aspartame from the market.
• Saccharin--was the first artificial sweetener and can be found in found in Sweet' N Low, Tab, Diet Coke from fountains. It is 300 to 500 times as sweet as sugar (sucrose) and is often used to improve the taste of toothpastes, dietary foods, and dietary beverages. In 1977, Canada banned saccharin due to the animal research, and in the United States, the FDA considered banning saccharin in 1977, but Congress stepped in and placed a moratorium on such a ban.
• Sucralose--a.k.a. Splenda, is found in Coke C2, Diet Coke with Splenda, Pepsi EDGE, Pepsi One, Diet 7Up. It is a chlorinated sugar that is about 600 times as sweet as sugar. for more on Splenda, please visit this site: http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/
• Acesulfame potassium--produced lung tumors, breast tumors, rare types of tumors of other organs (such as the thymus gland), several forms of leukemia and chronic respiratory disease in several rodent studies.
• Neotame--is attractive to food manufacturers as its use greatly lowers the cost of production compared to using sugar or high fructose corn syrup--since it is between 8,000 and 13,000 times sweeter than table sugar. It is chemically similar to the artificial sweetener Aspartame.

The artificial sweetener information above was taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_sweeteners

Whether the added sweetener in our food products are taken from a PROCESSED source or an ARTIFICIAL source, if it is not from a NATURAL source, it can wreak havoc in our bodily systems. Not only does it burden our digestive systems, but it also aggravates the body everywhere our blood flows ....brain, organs, tissues, bones, and muscles. Anything that goes in our body that is unnatural can become a part of our body: being added on as fat cells, skin markings/festerings or even multiplying cells that are not "uniform" to our own (ie, cancer). It can also take away from our health, robbing our body of nutrients in order to "deal with" the sugar.

Because God designed our bodies to operate best with His food resources, if we choose to deviate from this course in order to follow the crowd or save on money by buying cheaper foods containing these sweeteners, then we may run into health problems earlier in life than we expect. In my next BLOG posting, I will give you a list of natural sweeteners that you can bake, cook and use with in various foods.

******None of the above statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All of the information in this BLOG is strictly for educational purposes. This BLOG should not be used to treat, diagnose, or prescribe for a condition you feel you may have. If you have any health concerns, you should see a competent practitioner. ******