Would you like some azodicarbonamide with your bread?

Or perhaps some butylated hydroxytoluene with your chips. And would you prefer a little Red 3 or Red 40 with your candy?

If you think back to a time when our great-great grandmas were doing all the cooking, perhaps we didn’t really need to ask what was in our food. Things were a lot more simple back then. Now, we have to dissect all sorts of ingredients, many of which do not sound like food.  And that’s because they are not..food.

When given the choice, you’d probably prefer not to ingest chemical substances. But, if we’re not reading labels, there’s a strong probability that we’re consuming ingredients that were made in a (chemical) plant – not provided by natures abundance of plants, but rather synthetically created by man.

The choice is a personal one, but I want to make sure that it’s at least a choice that you are making, that you know what’s in your food before putting into your beautiful body. So, I’m going to share three quick Steps to get you started …

Step one: Focus on real, whole foods that don’t require a label or long ingredient list..fresh fruits and vegetables, raw nuts and seeds, true whole-grains, beans and legumes in their natural state, free-range meats with nothing added…These foods should take up the most space in your grocery cart.

avocado_picking

Step two: Unless you’re living in a cave, chances are you’re still going to buy products that have labels… If you’re trying to lose weight or if you’re working on being more health conscious you might be familiar with the nutrition facts label, which includes the amount of calories per serving size, as well as the FDA Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). But, if you want to know what’s actually in your food, it’s the ingredients list that matters.  When you pick up a product at the grocery store, whether it’s a carton of yogurt, a granola bar or a can of beans I suggest you start by reading the list of ingredients. Read the list of ingredients before looking at anything else.

Step three: Once you’ve read the ingredients label, you need to know which items support your health and which are better avoided. This can initially be a little daunting, which is why I make sure to guide and support my clients through this process. But, as a general rule of thumb, if it doesn’t sound like food, chances are it’s not. Let’s take one food additive as an example….

Have you ever heard of a fruit tree that grows Yellow 6?  Me neither!  Yet this is an ingredient commonly found in fruit-flavoured beverages, candy and baked goods.

Even if it’s not ‘food’ is it safe for us and our kids?  The Centre for Science in the Public Interest provides some good information, to help guide your decision (the information below is for our example Yellow 6 – one of many additives)

‘Industry-sponsored animal tests indicated that this dye, the third-most-widely-used, causes tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney. In addition, small amounts of several carcinogens, such as 4-aminobiphenyl and benzidine (or chemicals that the body converts to those substances), contaminate Yellow 6. However, the FDA reviewed those data and found reasons to conclude that Yellow 6 does not pose a significant cancer risk to humans. Yellow 6 may cause occasional, but sometimes-severe, hypersensitivity reactions.’ (https://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#yellow6)

Nature provides an abundance of color, far better than any chemical replacement!

Nature provides an abundance of color, far better than any chemical replacement!

The scope of this topic is vast, and I have only touched the tip of the chemical ice-berg. I hope that I’ve encouraged you to become more aware of what you put in your precious body. And if you’d like to know more, of course I’d love to hear from you (imuahealth@gmail.com)

Please take note that none of the information provided herein is ever intended to take the place of medical advice – these tips are purely of informative and educational value. Thank you for reading!

 

 

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