Archive for March, 2011

Adapted from Paul Chek’s Under the Veil of Deception:

The National Organic Standards (NOS) is a text containing over 500 pages of Organic Regulations. A few points regarding guidelines for product labeling:

• Products sold, labeled, or represented as “100 percent organic” must contain 100% organically produced ingredients.
• Products sold, labeled, or represented as “organic” must contain not less than 95% organically produced raw or unprocessed agricultural products.
• Products sold, labeled, or represented as “made with organic (specified ingredients or food group(s))” must contain at least 70% organically produced ingredients.

You’ll find many of the products we buy are labeled “organic” – not “100% organic”. So we know that there are at least 95% organic products in there, right? How bad can 5% of crap be? Consider eating a 10-ounce slice of ”organic” pie. This one slice can have up to 14 grams of non-organic ingredients including food colorings, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, solvents and radiated ingredients. Fourteen grams is almost the equivalent of one tablespoon!! Next time you consider eating an “organic” product out of a box, bag, can, or package, consider that you’re dumping a tablespoon of preservatives, food colorings, and solvents in your mouth. How many grams of carcinogenic substances do you want in your body? How about your children’s?

And that’s from a supposedly “organic” product. Now think about how many poisons you’re getting in non-organic food.

CrossFit Adventure will be hosting a free seminar on Thursday, April 14 at 6:30pm. Please let anyone know that you feel could benefit. You can download the flyer here. It’s time we took back control of our lives from the pharmaceutical companies and health care system!!

Mounting evidence shows that our unrelenting desire to lower cholesterol levels has only served to line the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies. It’s possible, in fact, that this campaign has been detrimental to our health by actually increasing the risks of coronary heart disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality. This is the story of cholesterol and saturated fat that they don’t want you to hear. Nathan will follow this information with a natural, cost-effective approach to reach your optimum health.

At CrossFit Adventure, Nathan combines the best of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and Metabolic Typing^® with a proven exercise and recovery protocol. He works with the individual to identify and correct imbalances that lead to injury and disease. The end result of this individualized approach is a fulfilling, energetic, and balanced life full of vitality.

By now, many of you are familiar with the Sugar Stacks website. They take a product and show just how much sugar is in that product by lining up sugar cubes next to it. For reference, there are about 4 grams of sugar in one cube. The “Wow factor” comes when they line up huge piles of sugar cubes next to products we thought were healthy such as Snapple ice tea, Vitamin water, Sobe, etc. One of my favorites is the O.N.E. brand (distributed by Pepsi) Amazon Acai drink. The Acai berry has seen way too much hype over the past couple of years. It’s not the cure all that MovaVie would have you believing. It’s a fruit. Sure, it has a bunch of antioxidants. But the processing and amount of sugar in those drinks negates any health benefits. A better alternative? Eating vegetables. Crazy, I know, but I am known for my “out of the box” thinking (sarcasm anyone?). This particular “health” drink has 29 grams of sugar in 11 ounces.

So if you haven’t yet, check out the Sugar Stacks website. There have been a few additions. Namely, an Acai section as well as a Thanksgiving meal so you can see how much sugar you’re eating on turkey day. That is, if you stick to the recommended serving sizes . . .

See those guys to the right (the male is on the right, female on the left)? You’ve eaten them. I promise. These scaled insects are used to pigment your processed food so that you can feel all warm and fuzzy because your food looks good. The food additive is Carmine, and you won’t see it on many labels – only as an artificial color. I wouldn’t be surprised if it can be labelled as a natural coloring because, after all, bugs are natural. Although principally a red dye, it is found in many foods that are shades of red, pink, and purple.

Carmine is produced by boiling these dried insects in water to extract carminic acid and then treating the clear solution with alum, cream of tartar, stannous chloride, or potassium hydrogen oxalate. The coloring and animal matters present in the liquid are thus precipitated. Fun, right?

Carmine is used in many different food and cosmetic products: juice, ice cream, yogurt, candy, eyeshadow, and lipstick. Ladies – come on in for a kiss!! But my favorite – carmine is used to dye medications. Why in the world do we need our medications colored?!

As if creating our own episode of Fear Factor wasn’t enough, carmine has been observed to cause numerous allergic reactions including asthma, hives, and even anaphylactic shock. So the next time you’re thinking about having that strawberry milkshake . . . you may want to make it chocolate or vanilla.

We do our best to avoid diseases and disorders. Antibacterial wipes and soaps (although all this antibacterial stuff is leading to more resistant strains), hand sanitizers, toilet seat covers – the list is endless. We don’t expect to have to worry about the sanitization of our food. But that’s pretty much where we’re at in this day and age. USDA Inspected doesn’t really mean a whole hell of a lot.

From The Ecologist. October, 2000:

“The USDA (reported in October, 2000) is imposing new rules that classify as ‘safe for human consumption’ animal carcasses with certain diseases and open sores. The illnesses it has decided do not present a health danger are cancer diseases, illness caused by intestinal worms, infectious arthritis, glandular swelling and poultry pneumonia (airsacculitis).”

Honestly, folks. We’re on our own!! Be sure to vote with your dollars every day and choose healthy animals free from diseases. Grass Fed/Pasture Raised. I choose my meat from US Wellness Meats and Broken Arrow Ranch.