Category Archives: Healthy Eating

January 11, 2019 · 12:59 pm

EWG’S DIRTY DOZEN GUIDE TO FOOD ADDITIVES

Food should be good for you. But some isn’t. More than 10,000 additives* are allowed in food.  Some are direct additives that are deliberately formulated into processed food. Others are indirect additives that get into food during processing, storage and packaging. How do you know which ones to avoid because they raise concerns and have been linked to serious health problems, including endocrine disruption and cancer?

Food additive foods

EWG’s “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives” helps you figure it all out by highlighting some of the worst failures of the regulatory system. The guide covers ingredients associated with serious health concerns, additives banned or restricted in other countries and other substances that shouldn’t be in food.  And it underscores the need for better government oversight of our food system.

Here’s a list of 12 additives that EWG calls the “Dirty Dozen.” We’ll tell you why, which foods contain them and what you can do to avoid them. (A good place to start is by looking up your food in EWG’s Food Scores database).

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December 27, 2018 · 9:03 pm

You are not gluten intolerant, you are glyphosate intolerant

Study blames Roundup herbicide for gluten intolerance and celiac disease epidemic. Article found in “Get Holistic Health”

“Celiac disease, and, more generally, gluten intolerance, is a growing problem worldwide, but especially in North America and Europe, where an estimated 5% of the population now suffers from it,” researchers wrote in a meta-analysis of nearly 300 studies.

“Here, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup®, is the most important causal factor in this epidemic,” they add.

“Here, we propose that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Roundup®, is the most important causal factor in this epidemic,” they add.

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October 24, 2018 · 1:30 pm

What All Parents Should Know about Pesticides in Produce

The EWG (Environmental Working Group) has been working for years to gather facts and distribute the truth about toxins in our environment and the effect upon our health.  You can trust these folks and their writings!

Fresh Organic Strawberries

Fresh Organic Strawberries

Every spring EWG releases their Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™. The guide can be used by anyone trying to avoid pesticides, but it’s especially important for parents to limit their children’s exposures to these toxic chemicals.

This article on their website has a lot more good information and links to resources.  Hope you find these links useful!

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October 4, 2018 · 9:33 am

Study: Artificial Sweeteners Toxic to Digestive Gut Bacteria

Artificial sweeteners commonly used in foods and drinks have a toxic effect on digestive gut microbes.

 

According to a study published in the journal Molecules, researchers found that six ArtificialSweetnerscommon artificial sweeteners approved by the Food and Drug Administration and 10 sport supplements that contained them were found to be toxic to the digestive gut microbes of mice.

This article comes from US News and World, published Oct. 1, 2018.  HERE is a link to the full article.

More information:

The Environmental Working Group previously published their article called “Low-calorie sweeteners: Are they better or worse for you than sugar?”

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September 29, 2018 · 1:11 pm

Eating Organic on a Budget

10 Tips and Tricks to Eat Organic on a Budget

Here are 10 surefire methods to help you eat well without breaking the bank:

  • Plan your shopping; Reduce Waste; Buy in season; and more…

This article has some useful ideas.  Check it out HERE

eating organic on a budget

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Chemical concerns should steer families toward organic food

DirtyDozenEWGWhen Sally Struever was pregnant with her 9-month-old son, Jasper Eiermann, she made an effort to avoid the plastic chemical BPA and to eat food free of pesticides. An avid gardener, she tends two organic garden plots, preserves many of the vegetables for winter, and cooks the majority of her food from scratch, avoiding packaged and processed foods. Her pediatrician even shared concerns with her that peanut allergies may be tied to the large quantities of pesticides applied to the legumes.

“Babies are so tiny, even small doses of things can have a big effect,” said Struever, who lives in Portland with her husband, Peter Eiermann. “It just made sense to me to avoid pesticides as much as possible.”

A growing body of research is backing up Struever’s concerns. A study published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics looked at the connection between prenatal pesticide exposure and a child’s size at birth. By measuring pesticide residues in umbilical cord blood, the researchers found a link between prenatal pesticide exposure and babies with lower birth weights, shorter birth lengths and smaller head circumferences.” Read the rest of this article here:  http://www.pressherald.com/2011/10/05/chemical-concerns-should-steer-families-toward-organic-food_2011-10-05/

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July 16, 2014 · 7:58 am
October 5, 2011 · 4:35 pm

Why Organic is Worth the Price

Photo of people and buckets of applesAccording to the Organic Trade Association , “there is mounting evidence that if all the indirect costs of conventional food production—cleanup of polluted water, replacement of eroded soils, costs of health care for farmers and their workers—were factored into the price of food, organic foods would cost the same or, more likely, be cheaper.” We are just learning about what the harmful effects pesticides have on our bodies. It is too soon to tell what health care costs will be associated with all of the chemical exposure. Buying organic is certainly worth it.

This is the closing statement in a terrific article that I found today.  The full text is definitely worth reading.  Click HERE

The website where I found this article is called “Generations of Organic”Generations of Organic logo and seems to be a project of The Organic Center The Organic Center logo.  The site is full of great information: recipes, stories, nutritional data, etc.  Check it out www.GenerationsOfOrganic.org

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September 29, 2011 · 6:15 pm

Being Organic on a Budget

Here’s an excerpt and link to a really good article from the current issue of Organic Lifestyle Magazine.   I encourage you to take a look at their website http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com  and magazine.

IT CAN BE DONE!  by Stephanie Dickison

If you shop at a typical supermarket, the prices on organic produce might be enough to convince you that only the rich can afford an organic diet.  But you, too, can afford to eat organic.Shopper with list and cart, scratching her head

The first step is to educate yourself.  Right now, we are spending money on being sick (health insurance, co-pays, medication) instead of spending money on being healthy.  Your health begins with eating good food loaded with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Whenever possible, that means buying an organic product over a regular one. But it doesn’t always need to be labeled USDA Organic to be a better choice. Did you know the Certified Naturally Grown label also certifies food as organically grown?

Locally grown fruit and vegetables bought at a vegetable stand on the side of the road may have been grown organically. Many small farmers don’t go to the expense of certification. Ask them about pesticide use and crop rotation and do your best to support these small organic farms. Their food has more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes than the organic food farmed by the big agriculture companies (due to a lack of crop rotation).

Click HERE for the complete article.

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September 18, 2011 · 12:53 pm

‘God’s diet plan’: Health food is organic farmer’s ministry

Organic farmer Richard Kann says his hydroponic-vegetable farm helps him fulfill his Seventh-day Adventist faith

By Jeff Kunerth, Orlando Sentinel

7:16 p.m. EDT, September 8, 2011

There are those who believe in locally grown organic food because they are health-food aficionados and others who believe corporate industrialized farming is bad for your health and some who believe that food trucked halfway across the country is harmful to the planet.

Organic farmer Richard Kann believes he’s on a mission from God.

“We regard this as a health ministry,” said Kann, owner of Heart of Christmas Farms, an organic farm that produces hydroponic vegetables in east Orange County. “Everything is natural and God-given. We call it God’s diet plan.

“Kann is putting his faith as a Seventh-day Adventist — healthy body, healthy mind, healthy spirit — into practice by raising squash, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, herbs and greens without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or soil.

Follow this link: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/os-adventist-organic-farm-20110908,0,4822144.story to read the full article.

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August 30, 2011 · 4:39 pm

7 Simple Ways to Detox Your Diet and Your Home

Variety of Citrus Fruits“EatingWell” Magazine has recently become one of my favorite sources for good, healthy information.  There is so much to read on this site, and all of it is helpful in efforts to live a clean, healthy life.  Check out their newsletters, recipes, articles, and more.  I follow them on Facebook as well.

This article just caught my eye today.  It covers a wide range of toxins that we all need to know about and protect ourselves from (bad grammer, I guess).  I read every bit of it.  Here’s a sample and a link to the full article:

Find out what everyday items are the worst for your health in terms of chemicals and toxins and what you can do about it.

Nobody knows just how much of a risk toxins in our food really pose. Most of the associations between chemical exposures and disease are just that—associations. But we’re exposed to dozens, if not hundreds, of chemicals, and the effects of some multiple exposures may be more than the sum of their parts, say experts. Or, in some cases, they might cancel each other out.

What’s more, toxins get into our bodies through more than just food. We are exposed to them through our carpets, lawn chemicals—even our clothing. Check out these 7 toxins you can avoid in your diet and get simple solutions for minimizing these chemicals and toxins in your diet and life.

Here’s you link to the article:  http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/organic_natural/7_simple_ways_to_detox_your_diet_and_your_home  Enjoy.

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