Reading Food Labels

Listed below are some of the most important things to look out for when shopping.

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Hydrogenated vegetable oil, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, vegetable oil, margarine, shortening, vegetable fat.

You will find that many foods have this ingredient including things such as chips, cakes, biscuits, and breads, chocolate, pastry, pies, baked goods and the list goes on. To avoid this additive is not easy but it will make a difference to your health.

These names basically mean the same thing. The oil has been processed by heating, adding nickel, bubbling hydrogen through it and then deodorising it.

In other words, it is totally manufactured. It has a very long shelf life and is a cheap fat to use in the manufacturing of food, but in reality it is a dangerous fat to consume.

Dangers of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

If it is ‘partially hydrogenated’ it forms trans fats and if just 2 per cent of your diet contains trans-fat then you have a 23 per cent increase in your chance of developing heart disease. It also increases your chance of cancer and diabetes.

If the fat is ‘hydrogenated’ then it becomes a saturated fat, but that is not the bad news, the bad news is that it takes a healthy essential fatty acid and makes it a non-essential fatty acid plus adds some toxins in the process. Beware of these fats as they are not processed by the body and they increase your chances of gaining weight and obesity.

So I want you to think about the effect these fats will have on your kids if they are consuming them almost every day for 20 + years!!!

MSG - Monosodium Glutamate

Manufacturers don’t want you to know they are adding MSG to foods so they disguise it by calling it other names - such as; yeast extract, hydrolysed vegetable protein, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, textured protein, flavouring, hydrolysed plant protein - or they just list it as a number (621).

It is a nerve irritator and has been implicated in many discomforts of the body including headaches, asthma and dry mouth to name a few.

Artificial Sweetener (Aspartame)

Artificial Sweetener (aspartame) is another nerve irritator, but more particular it has been implicated in the obesity epidemic. Even though it was marketed as the diet sugar and healthy alternative to sugar, new research shows that it triggers something in the brain to create carbohydrate cravings.

Sugar

Don’t be fooled by the amount of sugar in food, many manufacturers will call sugar by a different name so that it doesn’t appear high up on the ingredient list.

Sugar or sweeteners can be manufactured from many sources and be called by the following names: sucrose, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, maltose, fructose, glucose and so on. If the manufacturer puts three of these sugars in the food product then the sugar won’t be listed as the first ingredient but may be listed as the 3th, 7th and 9th ingredient, even though put together the total sugar component is the highest ingredient.

Sodium Nitrates and Sodium Nitrite

Sodium Nitrates and Sodium Nitrite are additives found in cured meats, like bacon, ham, salami, hot dogs, sausage etc. to make them look red and also as a preservative. This additive has a direct link to cancer. Why would you consume it?

This Blog post is an extract from my kids care book.

For more information, or to purchase my kids care book (mention this blog a recieve a huge 50% off) 

email courtney@vitalianaturalhealth.com.au

or

call 0421125517

Soy and Ginger beef with broccolini

Ingredients

-         1 litre water

-         1 litre beef stock

-         1/3 cup soy sauce

-         2 cloves garlic, sliced

-         1 x 4cm piece fresh ginger, sliced

-         Juice of 1 lime

-         1 bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated

-         800g lean beef fillet

-         2 bunches broccolini, trimmed

-         4 spring onions, sliced on angle

Method

Bring water, stock, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, lime juice and coriander stalks to a boil in a large heavy-based saucepan.

Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add beef and cook for 20 minutes. Remove beef and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, strain stock and transfer to a clean saucepan. Return to a boil, the add broccolini and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the spring onions and allow to infuse for 1 minute. Finely slice the meat.

Strain vegetables, reserving the stock, and transfer to serving bowls. Add sliced beef and a little of the stock. To serve, scatter with coriander leaves and offer extra steamed greens.

PRODUCT REVIEW- COKE ZERO

What do you think about Coke Zero? Is it a healthy alternative to coke or other soft drinks? Read on to find out the truth behind the product!

Yet again as with nutella this was a product I was unable to find the ingredients for on the coco-cola website both in Australia and overseas.  The most I could find on the website was the following statement “Our commitment to consumers is to provide a variety of products for every lifestyle, life stage and occasion. All our products can be part of an active healthy lifestyle that includes sensible, balanced diet combined with regular physical activity”. Do they really abide by this philosophy? Read on to find out.

To find the true ingredients you have to look at the genuine product. The ingredients are as follows:

Carbonated water, Colour (150d), food acid (331), Sweetener (951), Sweetener (950), Flavoring, Caffeine, preservative (211).

So what do all these numbers mean? Here is what I have uncovered about coke zero:

Colour (150d): also called sulphate ammonia caramel, what happens when we heat sugar? It will undergo a reaction called caramelization. This imparts a brown colour and a unique taste to every food preparation. Most people believe that there is only one kind of caramel. Hmm… most people might be surprised that there are actually four classifications depending on how the caramels are made. The simplest is the plain 150a. The second, caustic sulphite caramel or 150b is manufactured in the presence of sulphite compounds. The third, ammonia caramel, 150c is manufactured in the presence of ammonium compounds. The fourth and the last, sulphite ammonia caramel or 150d is manufactured in the presence of both sulphite and ammonia.

The plain caramel sounds safe but the second to the last are scary. They are manufactured with the presence of sulphite, ammonia and both. Hazardous substances may rise during manufacturing.

Sulphite ammonia caramel is acid proof and widely used for soft drinks such as coke zero. Another by-product in question is 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), present in E150c and 150d. It has been shown to have carcinogenic effects in some animal studies as well as cause gastrointestinal problems and hypersentivity in some individuals.

Food acid (338): also called Phosphoric acid, may be used as a "rust converter", by direct application to rusted iron, steel tools, or surfaces. Food-grade phosphoric acid is used to acidify foods and beverages but not without controversy regarding its health effects. It provides a tangy or sour taste and, being a mass-produced chemical, is available cheaply and in large quantities. The low cost and bulk availability is unlike more expensive seasonings that give comparable flavors. Phosphoric acid has also been linked to lower bone density in epidemiological studies which can lead to osteoporosis. Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca -Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium. Soft drink consumption in children poses a significant risk factor for impaired calcification of growing bones.

Food acid (331): also called sodium citrate, has been used as an anticoagulant of blood stored for transfusion. Common side effects include Diarrhea, loose stools, nausea, upset stomach, and vomiting as well as Severe allergic reactions (rash, hives, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); black, tarry stools, confusion, severe stomach pain, tingling of hands or feet, vomit that looks like coffee grounds and weakness.

Sweetener (951): also called aspartame, is a chemical combination of two amino acids and methanol, was initially thought to be the perfect artificial sweetener, but might cause cancer or neurological problems such as dizziness and hallucinations. In2007, Italian researchers published a follow-up study that began exposing rats to aspartame in utero. This study found that aspartame caused leukaemias/lymphomas and breast cancer. The test remains controversial, with the industry contending that they were flawed in several ways and with the FDA stating its scientists couldn’t evaluate the studies because the researchers refused to provide original data.

In a 2006 study, U.S. National Cancer Institute researchers studied a large number of adults 50 to 69 years of age over a five-year period. There was no evidence that aspartame posed any risk. However, the study was limited in three major regards: It did not involve truly elderly people (the rat studies monitored the rats until they died a natural death), the subjects had not consumed aspartame as children, and it was not a controlled study (the subjects provided only a rough estimate of their aspartame consumption, and people who consumed aspartame might have had other dietary or lifestyle differences that obscured the chemical's effects).

The bottom line is that lifelong consumption of aspartame probably increases the risk of cancer. People – especially young children- should not consume foods and beverages sweetened with aspartame.

Sweetener (950): also called axesulfame potassium, this artificial sweetener, manufactured by Hoechst, a giant German chemical company, is widely used around the world. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. In the United States, for several years acesulfame-K (the K is the chemical symbol for potassium) was permitted only in such foods as sugar-free baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. In July 1998, the FDA allowed this chemical to be used in soft drinks, thereby greatly increasing consumer exposure

Preservative (211): also called sodium benzoate, is a preservative. It is bacteriostatic (limits the growth of bacteria) and fungistatic (limits the growth of fungi) under acidic conditions. It is most widely used in acidic foods such as salad dressings (vinegar), carbonated drinks (carbonic acid), jams and fruit juices (citric acid), pickles (vinegar), and condiments. It is also used as a preservative in medicines and cosmetics. As a food additive, sodium benzoate has the E number E211.

It is also used in fireworks as a fuel in whistle mix, a powder that emits a whistling noise when compressed into a tube and ignited. The fuel is also one of the fastest burning rocket fuels and provides a lot of thrust and smoke. It does have its downsides: there is a high danger of explosion when the fuel is sharply compressed because of the fuel's sensitivity to impact.

In foods when in combination with vitamin C - which naturally occurs in many soft drinks, or is added as another preservative sodium benzoate can react to form the carcinogenic chemical benzene. Other studies have found that sodium benzoate can cause damage to human DNA, switching off certain sections of the genetic code and increasing the risk of Parkinson's disease and cirrhosis of the liver. Sodium benzoate also made the news recently as one of the chemicals implicated in increasing children's risk of hyperactivity in a study by researchers from Southampton University. The other six implicated chemicals were all food colourings. In response to the study, the British Food Standards Agency called for the six colours to be banned, but did not ask the same for sodium benzoate. Coca-Cola has now begun to phase out the use of sodium benzoate in soft drinks in the UK but know where else!!!

Would you drink Coke Zero now? The only natural ingredient it contains is carbonated water the rest is wholly and souly chemicals!

If you have a particular product you would like me to review email courtney@vitalianaturalhealth.com.au

NOTE: Australia is very far behind when it comes to the withdrawal of additives and preservatives that have been shown to cause negative health effects and therefore banned in other countries. For example the colour used in smarties were banned in the UK in 2006 and production stopped until safe more natural colour were introduced. It was not until 2010 that this also happened in Australia (4 years after the fact)

 

Gwyneth Paltrow Shares Her Vitamin D Deficiency Diagnosis by food matters

by Mike Adams, NaturalNews


Gwyneth Paltrow has revealed to her online fans that she has a severe vitamin D deficiency. "My doctors tested my vitamin D levels which turned out to be the lowest thing they had never seen -- not a good thing," she said earlier this month. She then went on to reveal she is suffering from osteopenia, a thinning of the bones.


These two things are, of course, strongly related. Because vitamin D is necessary for your body to absorb and integrate calcium into your bone structure, being deficient in vitamin D is a sure way to end up diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia.

To reverse this condition, Gwyneth Paltrow was prescribed high dose vitamin D and told to spend more time in the sun. (Good advice!)

It's about time a celebrity started getting some sound health advice from health practitioners. Sunlight and vitamin D is exactly what Gwyneth needs. And I'm glad to see she had the courage to go public with this private information and set a good example by boosting her vitamin D intake.


This advice seemed to initially confuse Gwyneth who said, "I was curious if this was safe, having been told for years to stay away from [the sun's] dangerous rays, not to mention a tad confused!"


And here we discover the harm that has been caused by all the medical charlatans who have urged people to stay out of the sun: Oncologists, dermatologists, general practitioners and even non-profits like the American Cancer Society. In making people afraid of sunlight, they have strongly contributed to a global vitamin D deficiency that actually causes cancer, diabetes, kidney and liver disorders, bone disorders and even influenza. These health "authorities" who tell people to avoid the sun and coat their bodies with toxic sunscreen chemicals are killing people!


Fortunately, Gwyneth Paltrow found this out before any cancer appeared. Had she stayed on this course of vitamin D deficiency for longer, cancer would have been a very likely result.

Most of the industrialized world is vitamin D deficient

What's really shocking about the vitamin D story is not that Gwyneth Paltrow was deficient in it, but that as much as 90 percent of the first-world populations are chronically deficient.

In the UK, deficiency is at epidemic levels. The same is true in Canada and the northern states of the USA. Even in the southern states like Florida and California, most people live their lives indoors, hiding from the sun while becoming more vitamin D deficient with each passing day.


Vitamin D deficiency is the underlying nutritional deficiency that keeps modern medicine in business. When you don't have enough vitamin D, things start to go wrong with virtually every organ in your body. There are vitamin D receptors on every major organ and organ system in your body, and vitamin D activates hundreds of different genes in your body that prevent chronic disease.


The simple act of testing for vitamin D and boosting vitamin D levels across the entire population would do more to increase health and reduce health care costs than all the health care reforms Congress has ever debated.


You cannot control health care costs without addressing the issue of widespread vitamin D deficiency.


In other words, if the population remains vitamin D deficient, health care costs will always spiral out of control because it's more expensive to treat sickness than to keep people healthy with low-cost vitamin D supplements.


Let's hope that more people will pay attention to the experience of Gwyneth Paltrow and find the personal courage to treat their vitamin D deficiencies by boosting their intake of vitamin D (and getting more sunlight when possible).


It's nice to see a health-conscious celebrity setting a good example, much like Drew Carey did by beating diabetes. Celebrities have tremendous power to influence the public, and sadly, most celebrities abuse that power. But a few stand out as positive influences who have the personal integrity to lead by example so that their fans might improve their health, too.


Sources:
www.naturalnews.com
www.telegraph.co.uk

I would like to add to this that in Australia the ranges for vitamin D deficiency have now been decreased as too many people where said to be vitamin D deficient, therefore your test may come back stating that you are not deficient but 12 months ago you would have been!!! Does this mean we don't supplement these people?? I certainly still would.

If you would like more information on vitamin D or where to find good quality supplements please don't hesitate to email me. I am here to answer your questions.

courtney@vitalianaturalhealth.com.au

Do you really want to give your kids Chicken McNuggets?

Written by Charlotte Gerson as featured in Food Matters


McDonalds chicken nuggets are a favourite with children in many families. Parents buy the ‘chicken nuggets' believing they are indeed made from just chicken. McDonalds even provides flyers titled "A Full Serving of Nutrition Facts: Choose the Best Meal for You." However as you can see from the ingredient list below, there is a lot more than just chicken.


Chicken, water, salt, modified cornstarch, sodium phosphates, chicken broth powder (chicken broth, salt, and natural flavoring (chicken source)), seasoning (vegetable oil, extracts of rosemary, mono, di- and triglycerides, lecithin). Battered and breaded with water, enriched bleached wheat flour (niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, modified corn starch, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dried whey, corn starch. Batter set in vegetable shortening. Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil). TBHQ and citric acid added to help preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent.



There are 38 ingredients in a McNugget; many of them made from corn. Further down the list there are the mono, diandtriglycerides, and the emulsifiers that keep the fats and the water from separating. More corn flour is used to make the batter, and the hydrogenated oil in which the nuggets are fried can come from soybeans, canola or cottonseed, depending on the market price.


It gets worse: a number of the ingredients come from petroleum products, to keep the items from spoiling or ‘looking strange' after months in the freezer or on the road. If you are truly worried, look up these ingredients: sodium aluminum phosphate; mono-calcium phosphate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and calcium lactate. These are used to keep the animal and vegetable fats from turning rancid. Then there are "anti foaming" agents like dimethylpolysiloxene. According to the Handbook of Food Additives, this material is a suspected carcinogen and an established mutagen, tumorigenic, and reproductive effector. It is also flammable.


The most alarming ingredient in Chicken McNuggets is "tertiary butyl hydroquinone," or TBHQ, derived from petroleum. This is sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to "help preserve freshness." Again, according to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food. It can comprise no more than 0.02 percent of the oil in a nugget. Which is probably just as well, considering that ingesting a single gram of TBHQ can cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse." Ingesting five grams can be fatal.


Do you really want to give your kids Chicken McNuggets?



Source: the Gerson Healing Newsletter - www.gerson.org

Food Matters

Has anyone seen the documentry Food Matters? It is an amazing documentry that explores the notion that will nutritionally-depleted foods, chemical additives and our tendency to rely upon pharmaceutical drugs to treat what's wrong with our malnourished bodies, it's no wonder that modern society is getting sicker. Food Matters sets about uncovering the trillion dollar worldwideindustry that is the pharmaceutical industry ('sickness industry') and gives people some scientifically verifiable solutions for overcoming illness naturally.
Over the weekend the makers of food matters released some amazing articles so i thought i would share a few of them with you this week take a look!!!

Health & Happiness,

Courtney

Its National Diabetes Weeks

As it is national diabetes week maybe its time to check yourself and loved ones for risk of type 2 diabetes! Here is a link to an online risk assessment!!

Department of Health and Ageing - Diabetes Risk Assessment Tool

Are you suprised by the results??

If your at risk make an appointment at Vitalia Natural Health TODAY and get your health back on track!!!

Call Courtney on 0421125517 or/ courtney@vitalianaturalhealth.com.au