say no to chemicals!! !

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I wrote a list somewhere about the changes I noticed in my son:
Chronic Bed-wetting - stopped
Nose Bleeds - stopped
Growing pains - decreased
Negative behaviours - decreased dramatically
Focus - improved (according to him)
Language output - improved
Appetite - increased
Cravings - decreased

Lately we are struggling with honey. He seems to react from it and he wasn't tested for sensitivity towards it. It's organic and from a local farm.

As for me:
Brain fog - stopped
Energy - improved
Language output - improved (kind of ties into brain fog though)

I have other health issues I need to take care of but after a year, not bad.

Try a grain-free diet, low carbs and high fats. See if that makes you feel better. You're trying things out anyway.

Absolutely. It's a no-brainer yet people choose to turn a blind eye. At the end of the day, someone is profitting. Cigarettes is known to cause cancer yet it's still being sold to consumers. You buy a toy that's deemed "unsafe", it gets pulled off the shelves right away. Cigarettes are not unsafe??

I hit on your point. The Docs goal is quantity not quality. They are kind of stuck because they are so outnumbered they feel like they can help more people and do more good by getting them in and out. But I've heard of Doc's getting non-monetary "kickbacks" from Pharma suppliers as well.

Ultimately the docs are just a pawns in big pharma's game... Pharmas definitely are making a killing.

Honey is high-fructose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey

Yes and no; docs get a lot of money from pharma for doing things like giving seminars to other docs about how great drug x is, but in the last decade they've been more constrained about direct kickbacks.
Pharma does make a killing by advocating off-label, untested uses for drugs (psych meds to kids, for instance), for getting new patents on reformulated combinations of drugs, for tweaking non-active parts of molecules and calling it a new drug, etc, etc, etc. and they can be downright evil in hiding negative side-effects.
But.
Some of their products really *are* very helpful to a lot of people, and help sick people live a lot longer. My grandmother would have been dead years ago from her breast cancer, were it not for the chemo drugs produced by big pharma; I work in a hospital, and I see every day the fundamental good that a lot of these drugs can do, from pain relief to panic attack relief. I've had two collegues with bipolar, and the one who took his meds was calm, responsible, and easy to get along with (and had a happy, secure family); the one who didn't would sometimes not even show up to work (and got involved with a lot of very dangerous people).

I tried a GFCF (wheat and dairy free) diet for part of 2012, and lost weight. I then relapsed. But I'm back on it now. There's an excellent book called Wheat Belly by a Dr. William Davis out there that details how bad GMO wheat is for you. The author thinks that gluten is being deliberately added into products because of its appetite stimulant properties. Appetite stimulation was totally unintentional, but it's real. My mom stayed on the GFCF diet for all 2012 and lost 70 lbs. My mom is NT, BTW. I think that the "toxins" you talk about are largely derivatives of wheat and HFCS.

Maybe. It's also feeding the candida (yeast). We were told to lay off for a little while longer. I think I will.

Just a little fact here: I am a registered, licensed organic farmer, and I have read the entire US Dept of Agriculture's manual of rules and regulations regarding "organic produce". "Organic" is a lie. There can be just as many pesticides in fruits & vegetables labeled "ORGANIC" as in any others. The only rule is that the farmer must "attempt to remediate pests and to fertilize by natural means" prior to the application of standard chemicals. Anyone who thinks otherwise, needs to to a bit of reading

Here's a link to the FDA's list of allowed chemicals in organic farming: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c= ... 2.7&idno=7

Charles

THIS ^^

Slapping an "Organic" label on a package means only that you can jack the price up and over normal foods. For instance, Trader Joe's markets will not accept GMO foods at all, and most of their stuff has that "Organic" label. Trader Joe's is also more expensive than your average barrio mercado.

I find the best compromise buying vegetables at my Chinese market. They're almost as cheap as the cheapest grocery stores but better quality usually.

Thanks for the link. I personally think "Organic" is "better" but I'm not naive to believe is fool-proof. I know there's a lot of red-tape involved, particularly when the label can be bought. It'll be an interesting read, I bet.

Electronic Code of Federal Regulations


As of October 9, 2012, the e-CFR resides at a new URL. Please reset your bookmarks, favorites, links and desktop shortcuts to: www.ecfr.gov.

I would agree, with the caveat that it's not "black or white". Not as if the choice is to buy an apple saturated with malathion, vs. one that came directly from a virgin land 1000 miles from the nearest pollutant. That's what I feel is the lie about "organic" produce. The way the naturalist and ultra-healthful grocers hype the organic produce is very deceiving, and I would say that 95% of the people I tell about the actual laws of organic farming, are appalled and shocked. The thing is, we've been farming well within the "organic" parameters for years, and we're registered to market organic avocados, but we don't in fact market as organic because it's too much paperwork, and too much inspection. But the bottom line is that if you sell crappy goods, nobody will buy from you, and that principle keeps most farmers working hard to raise excellent quality crops.

Charles

Ya, "organic" is another fad people are buying into and although it is said to be safer, I can see how it would be used as a marketing ploy.

Here s a list:

1-methylcyclopropene
This gas is pumped into crates of apples to stop them from producing ethylene, the natural hormone that ripens fruit. Commonly known as SmartFresh, this chemical preserves apples for up to a year and bananas up to a month. Sulphur dioxide serves the same purpose when sprayed on grapes.

Artificial Colors
Researchers in the early 1900s developed many artificial colors from coal-tar dyes and petrochemicals. Over the years, the FDA banned many of these chemicals as proven carcinogens (cancer-exacerbating agents). Today, the FDA only allows 10 colors in foods, four of which are restricted to specific uses. This restriction suggests some risks remain. Check out the the color additives section of the FDA Web site for more information.

Artificial Flavoring
This blanket term refers to hundreds of laboratory chemicals designed to mimic natural flavors. For example, some imitation vanilla flavorings are made from petroleum or paper-mill waste. In fact, a single artificial flavoring can be created from hundreds of individual chemicals. New studies suggest artificial-flavoring additives can cause changes in behavior.

Aspartame
This sugar substitute is sold commercially as Equal and NutraSweet and was hailed as a savior for dieters unhappy with saccharine's unpleasant after-taste. Unfortunately, one out of 20,000 babies is born without the ability to metabolize phenylalanine, one of the two amino acids in Aspartame. As a result, it's not recommended for pregnant women or infants.

Astaxanthin
Almost 90-percent of salmon sold in supermarkets today come from farms. The diet of farmed salmon doesn't include crustaceans, which contains a natural astaxanthin that causes pink flesh in wild salmon. As a result, producers add astaxanthin to farm-salmon diets for that fresh-from-the-water appearance. Asthaxanthin is manufactured from coal tar.

Benzoic Acid/Sodium Benzoate
Often added to milk and meat products, these preservatives are used in many foods, including drinks, low-sugar products, cereals and meats. Both temporarily inhibit the proper functioning of digestive enzymes and cause headaches, stomach upset, asthma attacks and hyperactivity in children.

BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)
These antioxidents are similar but non-identical petroleum-derived chemicals added to oil-containing foods as a preservative and to delay rancidity. They are most commonly found in crackers, cereals, sausages, dried meats and other foods with added fats. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer considers BHA a possible human carcinogen.

Canthaxanthin
Egg yolks don't always come out golden yellow, so producers use this pigment to make them more palatable. Although the amounts used are very small, tests have shown greater quantities of canthaxanthin can cause retinal damage.

Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers, made from vegetable fats, glycerol and organic acids, extend the shelf life of bread products and allow liquids that wouldn't normally mix, such as oil and water, to combine smoothly. Many reduced-fat or low-calorie products use emulsifiers. Commercial emulsifiers also are used in low-calorie butter, margarine, salad dressings, mayonnaise and ice cream. Emulsifying agents used in foods include agar, albumin, alginates, casein, egg yolk, glycerol monostearate, xanthan gums, Irish moss, lecithin and soaps.

High-fructose Corn Syrup
This ubiquitous sweetener helps maintain moisture while preserving freshness. A little fructose isn't a problem but the sheer quantity of "hidden" fructose in processed foods is startling. The consumption of large quantities has been fingered as a causative factor in heart disease. It raises blood levels of cholesterol and triglyceride fats, while making blood cells more prone to clotting and accelerating the aging process.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
There was much hue and cry years ago when the public learned Chinese restaurants commonly added MSG to Chinese foods as a flavor enhancer. We then learned MSG could be found in many other processed products, such as salad dressings, condiments, seasonings, bouillons and snack chips. Some reports indicate MSG causes tightening in the chest, headaches and a burning sensation in the neck and forearms. While MSG is made of components found in our bodies -- water, sodium and glutamate (a common amino acid) -- ingesting it is an entirely different matter.

Olestra
The FDA approved this fake fat for use in snack foods several years ago, over objections from dozens of researchers. Their concern was that Olestra inhibits our ability to absorb the healthy vitamins in fruits and vegetables thought to reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease. Even at low doses, Olestra is commonly known to cause "anal leakage" and other gastrointestinal problems. Perhaps this is why the FDA requires foods containing Olestra carry a warning label.

Partially-hydrogenated Oils
Hydrogenation is the process of heating an oil and passing hydrogen bubbles through it. The fatty acids in the oil then acquire some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. If you fully hydrogenate, you create a solid (a fat) out of the oil. But if you stop part way, you create a semi-solid, partially hydrogenated oil with the consistency of butter. Because this process is so much cheaper than using butter, partially-hydrogenated oils are found in many, many foods. Their addictive properties have linked partially-hydrogenated oils to weight problems caused by a slowed metabolism and the development of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

Potassium Bromate
Potassium bromate increases volume in white flour, breads and rolls. Most bromate rapidly breaks down to an innocuous form, but it's known to cause cancer in animals—and even small amounts in bread can create a risk for humans. California requires a cancer warning on the product label if potassium bromate is an ingredient.

Sodium Nitrite and Nitrate
These closely related chemicals have been used for centuries to preserve meat. While nitrate itself is harmless, it easily converts to nitrite which, when combined with secondary-amines compounds form nitrosamines, a powerful cancer-exacerbating chemical. This chemical reaction occurs easily during the frying process.

Shellac:
It's often used to give furniture, guitars and even AK-47's that special shine. It is also commonly used as a food additive (jelly beans anyone?) It is derived from the excretions of the Kerria lacca insect, most commonly found in the forests of Thailand.

Bone Char:
The largest sugar producer in America, uses bone char to filter impurities from its sugar. Bone char is produced using the bones of cows from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan that have died from "natural causes,". The bones are bleached in the sun and sold to marketers who then sell them to the US sugar industry after they've been used by the gelatin industry. The bones are then heated to the point that they become a perfect means of filtering sugar.

Carmine:
Carmine can also be identified on food labels as Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120.
Carmine is made from ground-up cochineal insects -like mashed red beetles. The insects are killed by exposure to heat or immersion in hot water and then dried. Because the abdomen region that houses the fertilized eggs contains the most carmine, it is separated from the rest of the body, ground into a powder and cooked at high temperatures to extract the maximum amount of color.

Food manufacturers are well aware that word has gotten out about exactly what carmine is and so manufacturers have resorted to labeling it as "natural color".

Bacteriophages:Six viruses often found in deli meats. "Typical phages have hollow heads that store their viral DNA and tunnel tails with tips that bind to specific molecules on the surface of their target bacteria. The viral DNA is injected through the tail into the host cell, where it directs the production of progeny phages."