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The Truth about Agave Syrup: Not as Healthy as You May Think

10 Jul POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

Lisa Says: We’ve already had so many hits about the agave post, I decided to do more research. After scrolling past the info from the agave manufacturers, I found this compelling article by John Kohler of www.living-foods.com. More to think about. Just this morning, Rex grabbed a leaf off our stevia bush on our way [...]

Lisa Says: We’ve already had so many hits about the agave post, I decided to do more research. After scrolling past the info from the agave manufacturers, I found this compelling article by John Kohler of www.living-foods.com. More to think about. Just this morning, Rex grabbed a leaf off our stevia bush on our way to walk with our “girls” (2 delightful border collies), and commented again on how wonderfully sweet it was. PLUS, you get all the antioxidant value, enzymes, etc. in the ‘raw’ leaf. Next, I’ll review stevia.

The Truth about Agave Syrup:
Not as Healthy as You May Think

by John Kohler

A relatively recent trend in raw food preparation is the use of agave syrup (also called agave nectar) as sweetener is called for in raw recipes. I am often asked about my views on this sweetener.

When I first switched to a raw food diet in 1995, agave syrup was unknown and was NOT USED IN RAW FOODS! I first learned about agave syrup back in 1999 or 2000 at a trade show for the health food industry, which I attend regularly to keep up with the latest in the health and nutrition field. I asked several questions, got some samples, and inquired on how the company processed the agave syrup. At that time, I learned that it was processed at roughly 140 to 160 degrees Fahrenheit11, so I certainly didn’t consider it a raw food by any means. Just like agave, some people consider maple syrup a raw food, but all maple syrup is heat-treated and is therefore not raw at all.

Unfortunately, there are no “raw labeling laws.” Anyone, anywhere, at any time can put “RAW” on their label and to them it can be supposedly raw since it is made from a “raw” material or simply not roasted. Just because it says “RAW” doesn’t necessarily mean that it was processed at a temperature under 118 degrees and still has all its enzymes, nutrients, and “life force” intact. For example, when you notice the difference between raw carob powder and roasted carob powder in the store, it is my understanding that the “raw” carob powder has been heated to about 250 degrees, whereas the “roasted” carob powder has been heated to about 450 degrees. The additional heat applied to the “roasted” carob powder causes the carob to “carmelize,” thus making it darker in appearance and different in taste as compared to the “raw” carob powder. Some stores sell “truly raw” carob powder, it has a more chalkier texture than supposedly “raw” carob powder. Jaffe Bros in Valley Center, California is a source of the “truly raw” carob powder. There are several raw food snack bars that say “RAW” but have ingredients such as cooked cocoa powder (that can’t be raw) and cashew nuts (most of which are not truly raw).

An except on how Agave is processed

…Agave plants are crushed, and the sap collected into tanks. The sap is then heated to about 140°F for about 36 hours not only to concentrate the liquid into a syrup, but to develop the sweetness. The main carbohydrates in the agave sap are complex forms of fructose called fructosans, one of which is inulin, a straight-chain fructose polymer about ten eight to 10 fructose sugar units long. In this state, the sap is not very sweet.

When the agave sap is heated, the complex fructosans are hydrolyzed, or broken into their constituent fructose units. The fructose-rich solution is then filtered to obtain the desired products that range from dark syrup with a characteristic vanilla aroma, to a light amber liquid with more neutral characteristics. Excerpt from: FoodProcessing.com

So agave needs to be hydrolyzed so that the complex fructosans are “broken down” into fructose units or it won’t be sweet!! Great now im eating hydrolyzed raw agave syrup!

Let’s suppose for arguments sake, and to give agave the benefit of the doubt, that even with “new” technology companies are somehow able to process agave syrup below 118 degrees so it could be considered actually “raw”. We still need to ask the question, is it good for us? Some foods, even if they truthfully are raw, may not actually be HEALTHY. Based on what I have learned about agave syrup, I believe it to be one of these foods.

My answer to the question, “Is agave nectar good for us?” would be “NO” based on my research. Here is a sample of my findings:

Agave Syrup is not a “whole” food. It is a fractionated and processed food. Manufacturers take the liquid portion of the agave plant and “boil” it down, thus concentrating the sugar to make it sweet. This is similar to how maple “sap” that comes directly from a tree is heated and concentrated to make maple “syrup.” Agave Syrup is missing many of the nutrients that the original plant had to begin with.
Agave Syrup was originally used to make tequila. When Agave Syrup ferments, it literally turns into tequila. The enzymatic activity therefore MUST be stopped so that the syrup will not turn into tequila in your cupboard. Raw or not, if there is no enzymatic activity, it is certainly not a “live” food. As Raw Foodists, we want the enzymes intact.
According to my research, there are three major producers of agave syrup. Some of these companies also have other divisions that make Tequila. For the most part, agave syrup is produced in the Guadalajara region in Mexico. There are those within the industry who I have spoken to at various trade shows who say that some of the agave syrup is “watered down” with corn syrup in Mexico before it is exported to the USA. Why is this done? Most likely because Agave Syrup is expensive, and corn syrup is cheap.
Agave Syrup is advertised as “low glycemic” and marketed towards diabetics. It is true, that agave itself is low glycemic. We have to consider why agave syrup is “low glycemic.” It is due to the unusually high concentration of fructose (90%) compared to the small amount of glucose (10%). Nowhere in nature does this ratio of fructose to glucose occur naturally. One of the next closest foods that contain almost this concentration of glucose to fructose is high fructose corn syrup used in making soda(HFCS 55), which only contains 55% fructose. Even though fructose is low on the glycemic index, there are numerous problems associated with the consumption of fructose in such high concentrations as found in concentrated sweeteners:
A. Fructose appears to interfere with copper metabolism. This causes collagen and elastin being unable to form. Collagen and elastin are connective tissue which essentially hold the body together.1 A deficiency in copper can also lead to bone fragility, anemia, defects of the arteries and bone, infertility, high cholesterol levels, heart attacks and ironically enough an inability to control blood sugar levels.2

B. Research suggests that fructose actually promotes disease more readily than glucose. This is because glucose is metabolized by every cell in the body, and fructose must be metabolized by the liver. 3 Tests on animals show that the livers of animals fed large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrohosis of the liver. This is similar to the livers of alcoholics.

C. “Pure” isolated fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and may rob the body of these nutrients in order to assimilate itself for physiological use.4

D. Fructose may contribute to diabetic conditions. It reduces the sensitivity of insulin receptors. Insulin receptors are the way glucose enters a cell to be metabolized. As a result, the body needs to make more insulin to handle the same amount of glucose.5

E. Consumption of fructose has been shown to cause a significant increase in uric acid. An increase in uric acid can be an indicator of heart diease.6

F. Fructose consumption has been shown to increase blood lactic acid, especially for people with conditions such as diabetes. Extreme elevations may cause metabolic acidosis.7

G. Consumption of fructose leads to mineral losses, especially excretions of iron, magnesium, calcium and zinc compared to subjects fed sucrose.8

H. Fructose may cause accelerated aging through oxidative damage. Scientists found that rats given fructose had more cross-linking changes in the collagen of their skin than other groups fed glucose. These changes are thought to be markers for aging.9

I. Fructose can make you fat! It is metabolized by the liver and converts to fat more easily than any other sugar. Fructose also raises serum triglycerides (blood fats) significantly.10

Agave Syrup and other concentrated sweeteners are addictive, so you end up trading a cooked addiction (eating candy bars or cookies) for a “raw” addiction which is not much better. Eating concentrated sweeteners makes it harder to enjoy the sweet foods we should be eating – whole fresh fruit since they don’t seem as sweet by comparison.
Long-time raw foodist and Medical Doctor, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D. says that agave nectar raises blood sugar just like any other sugar. Dr. Cousens wrote a book, “There Is a Cure for Diabetes”.
Whole fruits generally contain a much smaller amount of fructose compared to sucrose and glucose. In addition, fruits contain vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, and other nutrients. Our bodies are designed to digest a complete “package” of nutrition that appears in whole, fresh, ripe fruits. Could nature be wrong? For example, it’s always better to eat fruits whole or blend them rather than juice them. When you juice fruits you remove the fiber which helps to slow down the absorption of the sugars. Concentrated sweeteners also contain no fiber and have much greater concentrations of simple sugars than are found in fresh fruit or even juices.

Now that you have a better understanding about Agave Syrup, hopefully the companies selling “raw” agave won’t dupe you. They are out to make a buck, which in this case is unfortunately at the expense of your health. If you are making a “raw” recipe and it does require a concentrated sweetener, I have some recommendations for some better options to use instead of agave: (Listed in order of preference.)

1. Use ripe fresh fruits. Ripe fruits contain nutrients, fiber and water, a complete package, as nature intended. I find that ripe and organic fruits are usually sweetest.

2. Use fresh whole stevia leaves. Stevia is an herb that actually tastes sweet but contains no sugar. This herb can be very hard to find fresh, so I personally grow my own. If fresh leaves are not available, get the whole dried leaves or the whole leaf powder. Avoid the white stevia powder and the stevia liquid drops as they have been highly processed.

3. Use dried fruits. If you need a “syrup” consistency, just soak the dried fruits in some water and blend them up with the same soak water. Dates, figs, and prunes are some of the sweetest dried fruits that tend to work well in recipes. Try wet Barhi dates blended with a little water for an amazing maple syrup substitute. Please note: Since there are no raw labeling standards, some dried fruit may be dried at higher than 118 degrees, and thus, not really raw. If you want to ensure you are eating really raw dried fruit, it is best do dehydrate it yourself.

4. Raw Honey is a concentrated sweetener, and although not recommended, in my opinion it is better than agave syrup because it is a whole food and occurs naturally in nature. Of course, honey is not vegan and that may be a concern for some. I recommend purchasing local honey from a beekeeper.

Other “concentrated sweeteners” that are often seen in raw food recipes include:

1) Maple Syrup which is not raw and heat processed. If it is not organic, it may also contain formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.

2) Sucanat or evaporated cane juice is pure dried sugar cane juice. Unfortunetly this is processed at a temperature above 118 degrees and therefore can’t be considered raw.

3) Yacon Syrup is a syrup from the root of the yacon plant in South America. It is once again, a concentrated sweetener processed at a temperature of up to 140 degrees farenheight.

The moral of this article: Eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables, they are always best. Always question processed and concentrated foods that are not found in nature, even if “raw”.

References:

1. Fields, M, Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 1984, 175:530-537.

2. Klevay, Leslie, Acting Director of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, N.D.

3. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2002 Vol. 76, No. 5, 911-922.

4. Appleton, Nancy Ph.D., Fructose is No Answer For a Sweetener, http://www.mercola.com/2002/jan/5/fructose.htm.

5. H. Hallfrisch, et al.,The Effects of Fructose on Blood Lipid Levels, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 37: 5, 1983, 740-748.

6. J. MacDonald, Anne Keyser, and Deborah Pacy, Some Effects, in Man, of Varying the Load of Glucose, Sucrose, Fructose, or Sorbitol on Various Metabolites in Blood, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 31 (August 1978)): 1305-1311.

7. Hallfrisch, Judith, Metabolic Effects of Dietary Fructose, FASEB Journal 4 (June 1990): 2652-2660.

8. A. E. Bergstra, A. G. Lemmens, and A. C. Beynens, Dietary Fructose vs. Glucose Stimulates Nephrocalcinogenesis in Female Rats, Journal of Nutrition 123, no. 7 (July 1993): 1320-1327.

9. Roger B. Mc Donald, Influence of Dietary Sucrose on Biological Aging, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62 (suppl), (1995): 284s-293s.

10. H. Hallfrisch, et al.,The Effects of Fructose on Blood Lipid Levels, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 37: 5, 1983, 740-748.

11. Method of producing fructose syrup from agave plants.

About the author, John Kohler has been on the living and raw foods diet for nearly a decade; he turned to living foods for healing from a life threatening-illness (spinal meningitis) and has enjoyed dynamic health ever since. One of Johns goals is to educate the world about the power of living and raw foods. He is the founder and webmaster of the largest living and raw food website on the internet, www.living-foods.com, and www.rawfoodsupport.com. John is also the number one expert on raw foods appliances and gadgets in the world. He is widely sought out and regularly speaks and instructs at many raw food festivals and events. His area of expertise include recipe demos with 5-7 ingredients or less, young coconut recipes, traveling while raw, raw food appliances, successful transition to the raw foods diet, and the importance of a fresh organic whole foods diet. He believes that by using fresh, organic, and whole ingredients, that simple, healthy, and delicious recipes can be made with few ingredients and without the use of salt, oil, spices, refined sweeteners or chemical additives. He is known for his pragmatic approach to raw foods and has coached and helped thousands of people to incorporate more fresh raw fruits and vegetables into their diet. John is also available to individual raw food coaching.

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High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Diabetes: What the Experts Say

19 Jun POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

Lisa Says: With the rapidly declining health in the US, I still find it difficult to believe that anyone holds to the notion that these chemicals in our food supply aren’t harming our health. They are NOT natural, but processed, and are devastating all generations. Our children are now predicted to be the [...]

Lisa Says: With the rapidly declining health in the US, I still find it difficult to believe that anyone holds to the notion that these chemicals in our food supply aren’t harming our health. They are NOT natural, but processed, and are devastating all generations. Our children are now predicted to be the first generation to have a shorter life span than their parents. Can we at least agree that it’s not nutritional? That these substances do not provide the vital nutrients essential for good health? Just try two weeks of no High Fructose Corn Syrup or Fructose, or any overly processed sweeteners. Find some good Stevia or Agave nectar (available in most grocery stores now) and give that a try instead. I was amazed at the difference I felt. DO NOT use artificial or chemical sweeteners….see our posts on THAT. LOL. We have the power to reclaim our health. Just reach out and take it. In Health, Lisa

High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Diabetes: What the Experts Say
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor

(NaturalNews) According to the Corn Refiners Association, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is no worse for you than any other dietary carbohydrate. Many health experts, however, disagree, warning consumers that HFCS is strongly correlated with diabetes and obesity.

Today, we bring you selected quotes about HFCS and obesity from noted natural health authors. Feel free to quote these in your own work provided you give proper credit to both the original author quoted here and this NaturalNews page.

Here are the quotes:

Roughly $40 billion in federal subsidies are going to pay corn growers, so that corn syrup is able to replace cane sugar. corn syrup has been singled out by many health experts as one of the chief culprits of rising obesity, because corn syrup does not turn off appetite. Since the advent of corn syrup, consumption of all sweeteners has soared, as have people’s weights. According to a 2004 study reported in the American journal of Clinical Nutrition, the rise of Type-2 diabetes since 1980 has closely paralleled the increased use of sweeteners, particularly corn syrup.
- There Is a Cure for Diabetes: The Tree of Life 21-Day+ Program by Gabriel Cousens
- Available on Amazon.com

Since the fructose in corn syrup does neither stimulate insulin secretion nor reduce the hunger hormone ghrelin, you will continue to feel hungry while the body converts the fructose into fat. The resulting obesity increases the risk of diabetes and other diseases. Since you obviously cannot expect to receive much help from those who only know how to treat the effects of illness and not its causes, you may need to take your health into you own hands.
- Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation: Unleash The Natural Healing Power That Lies Dormant Within You by Andreas Moritz
- Available on Amazon.com

More than half of the carbohydrates being consumed are in the form of sugars (sucrose, corn syrup, etc.) being added to foods as sweetening agents. High consumption of refined sugars is linked to many chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Generally, the term “dietary fiber” refers to the components of plant cell wall and non-nutritive residues. Originally, the definition was restricted to substances that are not digestible by the endogenous secretions of the human digestive tract.
- Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 1 by Michael T. Murray, ND
- Available on Amazon.com

The growing prevalence of overweight and obesity correlates with the increase in consumption of high-fructose corn syrup. Fructose also increases blood levels of triglycerides, the “bad” low-density lipoprotein form of cholesterol, and the “very bad” very-low-density lipoprotein form of cholesterol. Furthermore, it raises blood pressure, which is associated with overweight and diabetes.
- Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes by Jack Challem
- Available on Amazon.com

Processed foods commonly include refined sweets such as sugar, honey, corn syrup, molasses, and corn sweeteners that contain no fiber and only insignificant amounts of nutrients per calorie. Numerous studies offer evidence that the consumption of white-flour products and sweets such as these can be a significant cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Each time you eat processed foods, you miss out not only on important known nutrients and phytonutrients, but also on all of the yet undiscovered phytonutrients.
- Cholesterol Protection for Life, New Expanded Edition by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
- Available on Amazon.com

During the 1980s, food companies began to use high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten soft drinks, ice cream, and other foods. high-fructose corn syrup appears to be worse than plain old sugar in terms of its health effects. Food companies also started to use large amounts of trans fats (in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils), which contribute to diabetes, overweight, and heart disease.
- Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes by Jack Challem
- Available on Amazon.com

High-fructose corn syrup is sweeter, is easier to handle during processing, has a longer shelf life, and keeps baked goods soft while giving them a warm, toasty color. Interestingly, as the use of high-fructose corn syrup has soared, America’s obesity problem has also spiraled out of control. In fact, journalist Greg Critser, author of the intriguing Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World, observes that the lower-priced high-fructose corn syrup has allowed food producers to increase portion sizes without sacrificing profits.
- Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How YouCan Get Back on Track by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

Other sugar derivatives, including fructose and corn syrup, contribute to the excessive sugar load. Sugar provides empty calories and is a cheap way to get a boost of energy, since it is metabolized by the body into glucose. But too much sugar swamps the body, which is incapable of processing the sugar effectively. With continued overuse of sugar, the pancreas eventually wears out and is no longer able to clear sugar from the blood efficiently. The blood sugar level rises and diabetes may result.
- Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition by Larry Trivieri, Jr.
- Available on Amazon.com

As high-fructose corn syrup takes off, obesity soars in the 1970s and 1980s, most major American food manufacturers began replacing sugar (sucrose, made from sugarcane or beets) with such corn-based sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). high-fructose corn syrup now is found in an astonishing array of processed goods, including soft drinks and fruit juices, as well as condiments, breads, cookies, breakfast cereals, pasta sauces, frozen foods, jams, and jellies.
- Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life– and How YouCan Get Back on Track by Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

The whole of the industrial food supply was reformulated to reflect the new nutritional wisdom, giving us low-fat pork, low-fat Snackwell’s, and all the low-fat pasta and high-fructose (yet low-fat!) corn syrup we could consume. Which turned out to be quite a lot. Oddly, Americans got really fat on their new low-fat diet-indeed, many date the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes to the late 1970s, when Americans began bingeing on carbohydrates, ostensibly as a way to avoid the evils of fat.
- In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
- Available on Amazon.com

The people who make those awful bottled “natural” fruit drinks and teas aren’t going to like this, but it’s possible that the steep rise in our consumption of high fructose corn syrup has contributed to the rise in diabetes by depleting chromium. (As our consumption of high fructose corn syrup has risen 250 percent in the past 15 years, our rate of diabetes has increased approximately 45 percent in about the same time period.
- Bottom Line’s Prescription Alternatives by Earl L. Mindell, RPh, PhD with Virginia Hopkins, MA
- Available on Amazon.com

Although sugar is frequently disguised in labels under another name, whether as fructose, sucrose, corn syrup, dextrose, lactose, or maltodextrose, it’s still sugar. High-sugar diets contribute to the development of Syndrome X, yeast infections of all types, obesity, diabetes, hypoglycemia, gallbladder disease, and some types of psychological problems, especially depression and premenstrual syndrome. Processed foods and junk food, these foods are synonymous with “fast food.” They are devoid of sound nutrition and high in sugar, fat, salt, and chemical preservatives.
- Intelligent Medicine: A Guide to Optimizing Health and Preventing Illness for the Baby-Boomer Generation by Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

The average American now consumes over 100 pounds of sucrose and 40 pounds of corn syrup each year. This sugar addiction probably plays a major role in the high prevalence of poor health and chronic disease in the United States. Research in the past three decades has provided an ever-increasing amount of new information on the role that both refined carbohydrates (sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and low-fiber starchy foods) and faulty blood sugar control play in many disease processes.
- Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control by Michael T. Murray and Michael R. Lyon
- Available on Amazon.com

Some suggest that high-fructose corn syrup, which is widely used as an inexpensive sweetener in juice, soft drinks, and processed foods, might predispose people to diabetes. In animal research this sugar leads to insulin resistance and poor glucose tolerance. Until this controversy is sorted out, we discourage the consumption of foods and beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup.
- Best Choices From the People’s Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

These types of sweeteners are among the main causes of obesity in the United States today. Corn syrup is a cheap sweetener which helps hold the product price down. This corn sweetener is six times sweeter than cane sugar and started replacing other sugars as its popularity and low price caught on in the market place. It is now used in 40% of all products that have sweeteners added. The average American consumes high amounts of corn syrup every day.
- Defeat Cancer by Gregory, A. Gore
- Available on Amazon.com

Some evidence indicates that fructose and high-fructose corn syrup have a more pronounced effect than do glucose and sucrose on taste receptors, imprinting both the tongue and the brain with a stronger desire for sweet foods throughout life. There is also evidence that fructose and high-fructose corn syrup modify the brain’s appetite-regulating centers. Fructose decreases levels of leptin, a hunger-suppressing hormone, and it boosts levels of ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating hormone creating a double-whammy that fosters more eating and weight gain.
- Stop Prediabetes Now: The Ultimate Plan to Lose Weight and Prevent Diabetes by Jack Challem
- Available on Amazon.com

Diabetics must be careful about their use of natural sweeteners, including honey, maple syrup, and molasses. Artificial sweeteners should also be avoided. Aspartame is especially bad for insulin-dependent diabetics because it affects blood sugar levels and thus makes controlling them more difficult.
- The Enzyme Cure: How Plant Enzymes Can Help You Relieve 36 Health Problems by Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
- Available on Amazon.com

Some of these sweeteners may be honey, invert sugar, corn sweeteners, molasses, maltose, corn syrup, galactose, glucose, dextrose, fruit juice concentrate, and maltodextrin. If necessary, food can be sweetened with stevia. Stevia is a potent sweetener that is naturally occurring but does not cause a rise in blood sugar levels. A very small amount (approximately one-sixteenth of a teaspoon) is equivalent to one teaspoon of table sugar. Using too much stevia makes foods taste bitter. If you purchase stevia, make certain that it is a pure product.
- Getting Rid of Ritalin: How Neurofeedback Can Successfully Treat Attention Deficit Disorder Without Drugs by Robert W. Hill, Ph.D. and Eduardo Castro, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

In the carbohydrate category, relatively low-glycemic carbohydrates include things like yams or sweet potatoes; whole grains, like whole grain brown rice and whole grain barley; and sugars like Agave nectar rather than fructose, processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Stevia is, of course, an excellent sweetener to use. It has virtually no blood sugar effect whatsoever. If you want a tasty sweetener that is extremely low on the glycemic index, get Agave nectar. Ideally, get Agave nectar grown and harvested from Blue Weber agave plants.
- Natural Health Solutions by Mike Adams
- Available on Amazon.com

How excessive tax subsidies of corn production result in the ubiquitous sweetener high fructose corn syrup (which some experts say contributes to weight gain) is an excellent illustration. But I am especially outraged by the examples in this chapter because they are blatant and deliberate strategies to place corporate profits above public interest. It’s as if government officials aren’t even trying to hide how deeply inside industry’s pockets they have buried themselves.
- Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back by Michele Simon
- Available on Amazon.com

Consumption of sugar (or its equivalents, like corn syrup) in soft drinks has been linked to obesity in children and adolescents. But a recent study of almost all fifty-year-old men and women in Framingham, Massachusetts, found that having more than one soft drink, whether sugared or diet, increased the risk of metabolic syndrome by 44 percent over a four-year period. The risk was increased similarly whether the drink was sugared or diet.
- You: Staying Young: The Owner’s Manual for Extending Your Warranty by Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

At one end of the spectrum would be white refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup, probably the two that cause the most harm to the body. On the other end of the spectrum is Stevia, which is actually beneficial to the body and has little to no effect on the blood sugar. Concentrated sweeteners of any kind, natural or otherwise, are best kept to a minimum. Consider foods made with them as special treats rather than daily events. When you do indulge, the natural sweeteners that follow are your best choice. On a regular basis, keep them to a minimum in accordance with your tolerance level.
- If It’s Not Food, Don’t Eat It! The No-nonsense Guide to an Eating-for-Health Lifestyle by Kelly Harford, M.C., C.N.C.
- Available on Amazon.com

Whether you take your sweetness in the form of table sugar, brown sugar, turbinado, raw sugar, honey, glucose, dextrose, or corn syrup, it puts an enormous strain on your system and acts as a cross-linking free radical to damage your cells. One of the most common results of over consumption of sugar is hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Some 35 percent of all Americans suffer from some form of this condition, in which a craving for sugar is followed by a swift high and then a painful crash as sweet foods are consumed.
- Stopping the Clock: Longevity for the New Millenium by Ronald Klatz and Robert Goldman
- Available on Amazon.com

A fight between picturesque villagers who want to drink water where they’ve lived all their lives and a multinational that wants to buy it on the cheap, whip some corn syrup into it, and sell it back to them at irrationally exuberant prices is one into which even Tom Friedman might find it hard to fly. America’s right to consume as much oil as it can lay its hands on may be god-given and defensible by thermonuclear warfare. But obesity from sugary water still sounds like a dubious privilege in a constitutional republic. That, briefly, is the quandary of the new globalized world.
- Mobs, Messiahs, and Markets: Surviving the Public Spectacle in Finance and Politics (Agora Series) by William Bonner, Lila Rajiva
- Available on Amazon.com

Instead of containing fat, they were loaded with sugars like corn syrup, sucrose and other refined sugars. As a result, when people consumed these products, their bodies converted those sugars into body fat. Thus, the very products that claimed to be fat-free were promoting the creation and storage of body fat in the bodies of people who ate them. That’s classic misdirection. Today, we see a lot of products that claim to be sugar-free foods.
- Spam Filters for Your Brain by Mike Adams
- Available on Amazon.com

All sugar-intolerant people, especially those suffering from seizures, should avoid all refined sugars (white sugar, corn syrup, fructose, commercial honey) and all synthetic sugars, especially NutraSweet. Even organic whole sugars such as sucanat (whole sugar cane) and raw honey can be problematic. The source of dietary sugar should be organic whole fruits and fruit juices. Blood Sugar can be maintained at night by eating a salty snack, drinking fruit juice, or eating a light protein snack just before bed.
- The Enzyme Cure: How Plant Enzymes Can Help You Relieve 36 Health Problems by Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
- Available on Amazon.com

Eliminate refined sugar and processed food that contains refined sugar such as table sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup and dextrose. Use natural sweeteners such as maple syrup, raw honey, black strap molasses, date sugar and others. Eliminate trans-fatty acids, fat is a much-maligned macronutrient. We have been brainwashed by dieticians and the diet industry into believing that eating fat is bad for our health and that dietary fat is responsible for obesity.
- Overcoming Thyroid Disorders by David Brownstein
- Available on Amazon.com

A 1989 study by the National Research Council (“Diet and Health Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk”; Washington, DC, National Academy Press) concluded that the typical individual consumes more than 100 pounds of sucrose and 35 pounds of corn syrup every year. Clinical nutritionists also concur that low blood sugar causes foggy brain functioning. Think of it this way: The brain is dependent on glucose just as the lungs are dependent on oxygen. When the ratio of either is askew, your body will feel off-balance.
- Food Swings: Make the Life-Changing Connection Between the Foods You Eat and Your Emotional Health and Well-Being by Barnet Meltzer, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

Soft drinks are for the most part sweetened with corn syrup, a mixture of glucose (a monosaccharide sugar), fructose (a monosaccharide sugar), maltose (a disaccharide sugar), and other small saccharides in other words, sugars. From a biochemical and physiological standpoint, these sugars are similar to sucrose, as all are convertible to glucose (blood sugar) in the body. To argue that soft drinks “do not contain sugar” because they are not sweetened with sucrose is misleading and not in the interest of public education about diet and health.
- Food Fight by Kelly Brownell and Katherine Battle Horgen
- Available on Amazon.com

Certain types of sugar also have less impact on blood sugar than others. Those that least affect blood sugar contain a higher proportion of fructose relative to glucose or sucrose. The newest “star” in the sugar world is agave nectar or syrup, which comes from a cactus-like plant. It has a very low glycemic index, as it is 90 percent fructose.
- Defeating Diabetes by Brenda Davis and Tom Barnard
- Available on Amazon.com

Any label that says sucrose, glucose, maltose, lactose, fructose, sugar, corn syrup, or white grape juice concentrate is a source of added dietary sugar. With all this talk of lowering cholesterol and improving the cholesterol ratios, it is easy to forget how important it is to balance the blood pressure and how foods may have a positive or a negative effect on this. For example, a diet low in potassium and high in sodium is associated with high blood pressure. By contrast, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium can protect against elevation of blood pressure.
- Women’s Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness by Tori Hudson, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com

High fructose corn syrup came into widespread use as a sugar substitute in the 1970’s because of its lower price. By 1990 the quantity of fructose consumed had gone up ten fold. This is now present in candy, soda, cereal, crackers, bread and hundreds of other foods. Fructose was believed to be a safe sugar substitute because it has no adverse effects on either blood sugar values or insulin output. However, there are two serious problems from fructose usage. When ingested, fructose is immediately shuttled directly to the liver.
- A Physician’s Guide To Natural Health Products That Work by James A. Howenstine, MD
- Available on Amazon.com

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Protect Yourself from MSG and Aspartame Excitotoxicity

7 May POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

Lisa Says: there are those who still don’t agree with clinical evidence that chemicals such as MSG and Aspartame are harmful to humans, but I feel like we can at least agree they are not NUTRITION. Why would you take the chance of putting harmful chemicals in your body?
Protect Yourself from MSG and Aspartame [...]

Lisa Says: there are those who still don’t agree with clinical evidence that chemicals such as MSG and Aspartame are harmful to humans, but I feel like we can at least agree they are not NUTRITION. Why would you take the chance of putting harmful chemicals in your body?

Protect Yourself from MSG and Aspartame Excitotoxicity
by Paul Fassa, citizen journalist

(NaturalNews) The first line of defense against the two most commonly used and pernicious food additives, MSG and aspartame, is avoidance. However, complete avoidance is not possible for everyone all the time. MSG, monosodium glutamate, has been disguised with several different names. Aspartame or its primary constituent, aspartic acid, along with disguised variations of MSG, have even shown up in food products or supplements sold in health food stores!

Eating out, you’re sure to be taking in some MSG. Even if the restaurant doesn’t add MSG to the food it prepares, MSG or disguised variations are sure to be within the foods purchased by the restaurant. Soups, gravies, and all liquids with MSG or aspartame will ensure a more rapid overload of excitotoxins than other forms of tainted foods.

Even worse maybe, now it has been disclosed that many crops are being sprayed, some for several years, with the essential ingredient of MSG, processed free glutamate. So a second line of defense is certainly in order.

See MSG Now Used to Spray Crops: http://www.naturalnews.com/026157.html

What Are Excitoxins

Excitotoxins are amino acids that also serve as neurotransmitters in the brain. The nervous system needs amino acid neurotransmitters to operate. But when the dose is too high or builds from excessive daily intake, these amino acids cross the blood brain barrier and excite the neurons of brain cells to a point of absolute exhaustion. Then those brain neurons eventually die.

As one consumes MSG or aspartame over time, there is a formaldehyde byproduct from metabolizing these toxic ingredients. The formaldehyde binds with cellular DNA and causes DNA damage. It tends to stick to the DNA and over time the formaldehyde accumulation causes massive cell damage, which breeds diseases of all sorts, even cancer.

Within the brain and throughout the nervous system, heart, and intestinal tract there are glutamate receptors or channels. So it is not only the brain that is affected by excitotoxins over time. If one is lacking in glutamate or other excitoxin protection naturally, drinking or eating a large quantity of MSG or aspartame laced liquid at one time can result in an immediate negative physical reaction.

Natural Protection From Excititoxic Reactions

Magnesium has been discovered to help impede glutamates from overloading glutamate receptors. People with low magnesium content are the most prone to acute excitotoxicity that can cause a sudden severe digestive distress, headache, or even heart attack. Magnesium is vital to 300 biochemical functions within the body. So it is important for overall health in addition to blocking glutamate sensors or channels from excitotoxin overload.

Magnesium comes in all sorts of supplemental forms. It is wise to get one that dissolves in water for easier absorption into the blood. Magnesium content is high in green, leafy vegetables. It is also available in whole grains and many beans and nuts. Try purchasing organic fresh vegetables and organic bulk grains or beans if possible.

Research seems to indicate that Ginko Baloba also protects against excitoxicity. It has been known to help protect against Alzheimer’s as well as reduce brain fog for some time now.

Omega 3 fatty acids also block excitoxins while repairing cellular damage. Fish oils seem to be the best source of Omega 3 for this specific purpose, according to Dr. Russel Blaylock, author of Excitoxins: The Taste That Kills, and Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life.

Selenium is another protector of glutamate receptors from excitotoxin invasion. It is available as a supplement. Small doses are recommended. Brazil nuts are considered a high source of selenium. Two or three Brazil nuts a day is considered sufficient for optimum selenium intake.

Red Clover was recommended by Barbara L. Minton in her September 22, 2008 Natural News article Red Clover Blocks Neurological Damage From MSG. It is basically an herb that is inexpensive and available as leaves for tea, in tinctures, liquid extracts, and capsules. According to Barbara Minton’s article, lab tests demonstrated a significant decline in brain cell neuron damage when red clover’s essential protective ingredient was added.

Zinc also helps obstruct the glutamate receptor channels from excessive excitotoxin absorption. Many in our society today are zinc deficient. A zinc taste test can be done to determine if one has sufficient zinc stored in his or her body. A solution of zinc sulfate is tasted for the test. If an immediate bad taste ensues, that usually indicates a sufficient zinc level in the body.

Excitotoxin Detox

Again, the first step in any detoxification effort is eliminating the toxin. Aspartame is obvious and easy to recognize. It’s in all artificial sweeteners, diet sodas, and sugar free sports drinks as well as in many sugar free processed foods. Don’t confuse this with Stevia, which is a natural and safe sugar substitute.

However, MSG is disguised with several favorable terms, some of which are actually accurate descriptions of separating glutamate from its protein bound and making free glutamate, which is toxic!
Some of the glutamate or glutamic acid disguises are hydrolyzed vegetable or soy protein, natural flavor, artificial flavor, spice, casseinate digest, yeast extract, and more.

For a more detailed list of hidden MSG names, Google “Hidden Names for MSG”.

Keep this in mind: Hydrolyzed proteins, soy, vegetables, and grains are where the protein bound glutamates are separated and become the toxic free glutamates. Hydrolyzing is the process itself. Once you have been practicing aspartame and MSG abstinence to the best of your ability, your body will start detoxing from excitotoxins.

To enhance and ensure detoxification, Dr. Blaylock recommends Milk Thistle to help the liver eliminate all toxins. Curcumin is the essential ingredient of turmeric. It enhances bile flow as well as DNA repair enzymes. He also recommends Taurine, an amino acid that contains sulfur to aid the liver, as well as vitamins B1 and B6 and vitamins C and E.

It has to be accepted that big business food processing industries hold their profit over public health. So caveat emptor or buyer beware applies. Making cheap foods taste better cheaply regardless of the toxicity is their goal. This article is by no means a comprehensive and detailed guide for protecting yourself from excitotoxins. It is a lay person summary or introduction of the topic and a beginner’s guide, if you will.

The sources listed below and any links or URL’s provided will take you further into the subject if you wish.

Sources:
Dr. Blaylock’s website, http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/
Article: Excitotoxins, Death by Profit Margin, by Robert L. Myers. CNC
Detox Information, www.DORway.com
Article: Red Clover Blocks Neurological Damage From MSG by Barbara L. Minton, Natural News
Article: www.excitotoxins.com/1004_MSG_aspar… Interview of Dr. Russel Blaylock by Mike Adams, editor of Natural News, September 26, 2006

http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_p…

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SUGAR: YOU JUST LOVE YOUR CHILDREN TO DEATH

20 Apr POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

Lisa Says: There are so many natural sweeteners such as stevia, and agave nectar that there’s no reason we should use any chemical sweetener, artifical or otherwise processed, which are clearly harming our health. REMEMBER, our kids today are the first generation predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents – due to [...]

Lisa Says: There are so many natural sweeteners such as stevia, and agave nectar that there’s no reason we should use any chemical sweetener, artifical or otherwise processed, which are clearly harming our health. REMEMBER, our kids today are the first generation predicted to have a shorter lifespan than their parents – due to lifestyle. WE CAN CHANGE THAT.

SUGAR: YOU JUST LOVE YOUR CHILDREN TO DEATH From www.StopCancer.com

Gregory Grosbard of Miami, Florida received a U.S. patent on a process to improve the strength of plastic by using sugar. Each time plastic goes through a heat cycle, it loses strength because oxygen in the atmosphere goes into the material and creates oxygen “holes.” Mr. Grosbard found that, by mixing a small amount of sugar into the plastic material during the heat cycle, the sugar grabbed the oxygen first, preventing the oxygen holes and making the plastic stronger.
Research has shown that:
• Processed sugar blocks the absorption of calcium.
• Processed sugar produces a low oxygen environment.
• Processed sugar is extremely acidic.
• Too much processed sugar is the death of the immune system. It interrupts the Kreb’s energy cycle which in turn suppresses your immune system’s manufacture of killer cells and antibodies.
• Processed sugar depletes B vitamins which is needed by the liver to detoxify it. The liver is the most important organ when it comes to healing the body.
• Sugar does stop hiccups. The New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study that used sugar successfully to stop hiccups in 19 out of 20 people; some of whom had been hiccupping for as long as 6 weeks.
Cancer has become the number one “killer disease in children” in the past few years. Sugar consumption is robbing the oxygen out of their little bodies and making their cells extremely acidic while shutting off their immune systems. Sugar averages for children are around 36 teaspoons a day.
The next time you feel like having a soda, just think about this: Colas are extremely acidic with a pH of approximately 2.5. It takes 32 glasses of water with a pH of 10 to neutralize that one cola. And, keep in mind that most water is relatively neutral with a pH of 7.2; water with a pH of ten is approximately one thousand times more alkaline than your run of the mill glass of water.
The other night the news showed a small boy who had just had chemotherapy. His face and eyes showed the horrors he had been through and he appeared to be lifeless and unwilling to live due to being physically destroyed by the poisons (mustard gas). His doctor and loved ones stood over him with a vanilla milk shake in an effort to make him feel better. They were giving him more acid elements (milk shake – sugar) causing his cellular pH to drop more into the pH range that cancer needs to survive within. God forbid.
Alas, I cannot recommend the use of sugar substitutes such as Nutrasweet, which is made from aspartame. Aspartame is 10% wood alcohol — which your body metabolizes into various carcinogens! (One of them is DKP–which may cause brain tumors.) Fully three-quarters of all non-drug complaints to the FDA involve aspartame. Complaints include headaches, dizziness, mood changes, numbness, vomiting, nausea, muscle cramps and spasms, abdominal pain, vision problems, skin lesions, memory loss and seizures. All artificial sweeteners & products are detrimental to the body.
You are the only one who change the circumstances that are slowly destroying you and your children. Although we can give you information, ultimately you are responsible for your health. Use sugar and allow it to steal the oxygen and calcium which depletes life and, bit by bit, weaken you and strengthen the environment that cancer needs to grow.

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Aspartame — History of Fraud and Deception

11 Jul POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

Lisa Says: this is probably one of the worst things you can put into your body.  REALLY.  Luckily there are so many other natural sweeteners such as stevia that when you switch, the only this you’ll miss is poor health !  Don’t use artificial sweeteners at all.  Use organic turbinado sugar if you want – [...]

Lisa Says: this is probably one of the worst things you can put into your body.  REALLY.  Luckily there are so many other natural sweeteners such as stevia that when you switch, the only this you’ll miss is poor health !  Don’t use artificial sweeteners at all.  Use organic turbinado sugar if you want – milled sugar cane. TAKE THE 30 CHALLENGE  – use no artificial sweeteners for 30 days, and see how your body changes for the better.  You’ll be amazed !

article from www.mercola.com

 

Today we have “Nutra-Sweet”, which is widely used in a plethora of consumables, despite a demonstrated neurological reaction in some people. In February 1996, it was decided to also use the product name “Benevia”. It is estimated that as many as 20,000,000 people cannot metabolize phenylalimine, and this inability is genetically inherited by children. The inability to metabolize phenylalinine can lead to mental retardation in children. This means a risk of retardation for millions of children. A multi-billion dollar enterprise, this substance is said to be “refined” from “natural” substances. Like other “refined” substances, it represents a health threat to the general public. No long term studies have been performed to evaluate the physiological effects of this substance, yet the public is lead to believe it is absolutely safe. Technically, the chemical is called aspartame, and it was once on a Pentagon list of biowarfare chemicals submitted to Congress. [1] Aspartame is in over 4,000 products worldwide and is consumed by over 200 million people in the United States alone. What follows is a skeletal examination of the chronology related to aspartame. A more detailed chronology is given later in this chapter based on information provided to us by the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.

Aspartame is produced by G.D. Searle Company, founded in 1888 and located in Skokie, Illinois. Searle is now owned by others. It is about 200 times sweeter than the refined sugar that it is meant to replace, and it is known to erode intelligence and affect short-term memory. It is essentially a chemical weapon designed to impact populations en masse. It is an rDNA derivative made from two amino acids, L-phenylalanine, L-aspartic acid and methanol. Originally discovered during a search for an ulcer drug in 1966, it was “approved” by the FDA in 1974 as a “food additive”.

Approval was followed by a retraction based on demonstrated public concern over the fact that the substance produced brain tumors in rats. According to the 1974 FDA task force set up to examine aspartame and G.D.Searle, “we have uncovered serious deficiencies in Searles operations and practices, which undermine the basis for reliance on Searle’s integrity in conducting high quality animal research to accurately determine the toxic potential of its products.” The task force report concluded with the recommendation that G.D. Searle should face a Grand Jury “to identify more particularly the nature of the violations, and to identify all those responsible.” [2]

In 1976, an FDA “task force” brought into question all of G.D. Searle’s aspartame testing procedures conducted between 1967 and 1975. The final FDA report noted faulty and fraudulent product testing, knowingly misrepresented product testing, knowingly misrepresented findings, and instances of irrelevant animal research. In other word, illegal criminal activity. Understandably scared, Searle officials sought to suppress the FDA findings and obstruct justice. They turned to Nixon and Ford administration operative Donald Rumsfeld and elected him “chairman of the Searle organization.” In 1977, the Wall Street Journal detailed the fact that Rumsfeld made efforts to “mend fences” by asking “what Searle could do” in the face of the changes. Also in 1977, Dr. Adrian Gross, a pathologist working for the FDA, uncovered evidence that G.D.Searle might have committed criminal fraud in withholding adverse data on aspartame. [3]

The FDA requested that U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner be hired to investigate Searle’s aspartame testing procedures in January 1977. Samuel Skinner was the federal prosecutor responsible for convincing the Grand Jury to investigate whether Searle willfully and criminally withheld data that cast doubt on the safety of aspartame. In February 1977, Skinner met with Searle attorneys at the Chicago law firm of Sidney & Austin. Suddenly, newly elected President Carter announced that Skinner would not remain in office, and Skinner thereafter announced that he would be hired by Sidney & Austin. Obviously, Skinner then had to recuse himself from the Searle prosecution. The case was taken over by US Attorney William Conlon, who essentially sat on the case, despite complaints from the Justice Department, which was urging that a grand jury be convened to prosecute Searle Company for falsifying Nutra-Sweet test data. Failing to perform his duty, Conlon also joined Searle’s law firm in January 1979.

Skinner’s defection from the FDA might have been prompted by the results of the review of the Searle studies. David Hattan, deputy director of the FDA Division of Toxicological Review and Evaluation, concedes that anyone reading the original FDA investigation reports is likely to be “shocked” by what they reveal. He says that the ensuing review of the Searle studies, in which he was involved from the time of his arrival in 1978, was one of the most thorough in the agency’s history. It included an unprecedented hearing before a public board of inquiry composed of experts from outside the agency. Arthur Hayes, Jr., then Commissioner of the FDA appointed by Reagan, agreed with Searle and the FDA’s Bureau of Foods (now the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) that “an appropriate analysis of the data showed no significant increases in tumor incidence in rats exposed to aspartame or DKP, one of the breakdown products of aspartame. The board of inquiry rejected concerns that aspartame’s components could cause neurological damage.[4]

In 1981, under pressure from the soft drink lobby, FDA Commissioner Hayes approved the initial use of aspartame in dry foods and as a tabletop sweetener, discounting public complaints as anecdotal and ignoring three FDA scientists.[5] who voiced the fact that there were serious questions concerning brain tumor tests after having done an in-house study. Hayes was widely profiled as a man who believed that approval for new drugs and additives was “too slow” because “the FDA demanded too much information.” Hayes also ignored the fact that the biased scientific studies paid for by Searle were faulty.[6] After leaving the FDA, Hayes took the post of senior medical consultant for the public relations firm retained by Searle..[7] A subsequent inquiry “found no impropriety”.

In July 1983 it was approved for use in soft drinks in the United States, followed three months later by approval in Britain by the Ministry of Agriculture. All this was done despite the fact that the Department of Defense knew that aspartame was neurotoxic and harmful to human health. These facts were deliberately suppressed by the government. It is also interesting that in 1981 FDA scientist Dr. Robert Condon, in an internal government document, said “I do not concur that aspartame has been shown to be safe with respect to the induction of brain tumors.” All safety was thrown aside because of pressure from Searle. Considering the connections the drug companies have to the medical and intelligence community, it would not be surprising that there were other factors involved in the pressure to adopt aspartame into the diet of the population.

In 1984, the Arizona Department of Health began testing soft drinks to ascertain the level of toxic deterioration by-products in soft drinks. It was determined that soft drinks stored in elevated temperatures promoted more rapid deterioration of aspartame into poisonous methyl alcohol (methanol). The FDA decided to ignore these results. Public complaints about the effects of aspartame began to come in. People complained of headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, blurred vision, seizures, convulsions and a host of other reactions to aspartame.

Also in 1984, the Centers for Disease Control made the fraudulent announcement that “no serious, widespread” side effects of aspartame had been found. It was an outright lie, and this announcement was quickly followed by another from PepsiCo that it was dropping saccharin and adopting aspartame as the sweetener it all its diet drinks. Others followed suit, despite the January 1984 broadcast on CBS Nightly News where the chief scientist for the FDA task force investigating Searle publicly stated that Searle company officials made “deliberate decisions” to cloak aspartame’s toxic effects.

When a human consumes “Nutra-Sweet”, it breaks down above 85° not only into its constituent amino acids, but into methanol, which further breaks down into formaldehyde, which is carcinogenic[8] and very toxic, as well as formic acid and a brain tumor agent called diketopiperazine (DKP). In a meek attempt to ward off further public inquiry, the FDA in 1984 announced that “no evidence has been found to establish that aspartame’s methanol by-product reaches toxic levels”. This was a direct lie, since Medical World News reported in 1978, six years earlier, than the methanol content of aspartame is 1,000 times greater than most foods under FDA control. Furthermore, the methanol in aspartame is “free methanol”, which is never found in nature. Methanol in nature is always accompanied by ethanol and other compounds which mitigate the methanol when introduced into the body.

In 1985, Searle Company was bought by Monsanto, the maker of other insidious substances that manage to find their way into human food, including Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). Senator Metzenbaum, commenting on the FDA relative to the aspartame issue in 1985 said, “the FDA is content to have Searle conduct all safety tests on aspartame. That’s absurd.”

Supreme Court Collusion in Aspartame Coverup Clarence Thomas Former Monsanto Lawyer

In 1986, the Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court refused to consider arguments that the FDA had not followed proper procedures in approving aspartame, despite arguments that the product “may cause brain damage.” (Supreme Court obstructing Justice). Since Bush-nominated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
is a former attorney for Monsanto [9],it is unlikely that hundreds of millions of people will find redress. There are also indications of ties between Monsanto and elements in the CIA.

University of Illinois Fraudulent Study on Aspartame

In August of 1987, the University of Illinois, a recipient of funding from Monsanto, issued a study “exonerating aspartame of causing seizures in laboratory animals.” The fact that they were paid by Monsanto automatically invalidates the results. US Senate hearings in 1987 showed that G.D.Searle used “psychological strategy” to get regulators at the FDA “into a yes-saying habit” to “bring them into a subconscious spirit of participation.” .[10] More than half of 69 medical researchers polled by the FDA in 1987 said they were concerned about aspartame’s safety.[11]

FDA Ignores Complaints of Neurological Symptoms

In 1989, the FDA received over 4,000 complaints from people who described adverse reactions. Because the FDA conveniently lists aspartame as a “food additive”, it removes the legal requirement for adverse effect reporting to any Federal agency and the necessity for safety monitoring processes. Research also indicates that aspartame, when combined with glutamine products (such as MSG, widely used in foods) increase the likelihood of brain damage occurring in children.[12]

Aspartame Affecting Airline Pilots

Some of the more interesting developments in 1989 surfaced in the Palm Beach Post on October 14th, where an article by Dr. H.J. Robert described several recent aircraft accidents involving confusion and aberrant pilot behavior caused by ingestion of products containing aspartame.[13] Soft drink makers were notified of this problem in 1991. It is interesting to note that after Samuel Skinner left Sidney & Austin, Searle’s law firm, he was appointed Secretary of Transportation. Hence, he was in charge of the FAA, just in time to head off complaints from pilots affected by aspartame. His wife was employed by Sidney & Austin. Later as George Bush’s Chief of Staff in 1991, during the Gulf War, he was in a position to head off all inquiries relative to aspartame, no matter where they were directed – to the FDA, FAA or Department of Defense. This constitutes criminal negligence and racketeering. George Bush, of course, was an ex-director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

British News: “Nutrasweet Tests Faked”

On July 20, 1990, an article in the national British newspaper The Guardian, entitled “NutraSweet test results ‘faked’”, revealed that the British government had finally been persuaded to review the safety of aspartame after “receiving a dossier of evidence highlighting its potential dangers.” According to The Guardian, the dossier alleged that laboratory tests were falsified, tumors were removed from laboratory animals and animals were ‘restored to life’ in laboratory records.[14] The dossier against NutraSweet was compiled by Erik Millstone, a lecturer at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University and author of two books on food additives. It was based on thousands of pages of evidence, much of which was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The COT, Committee on Toxicity, was at the time looking into consumption of artificial sweeteners and did not possess the key documents covering alleged mishandling of the safety tests which Millstone was asked to provide.

The British Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Health have never revealed the evidence upon which approval was given in England for the distribution of aspartame, maintaining that “these are matters of commercial confidence.” The British government does not testing of its own but relies on safety tests provided by the manufacturer, which of course constitutes a conflict of interest. The 1990 article quoted the British Department of Health as saying “NutraSweet is not a health hazard on the available evidence, but people do suffer ‘ideosyncratic reactions’ to food additives.” Interestingly, it was pointed out that three out of 14 members of the Committee on Toxicity have direct or indirect links with the artificial sweetener industry, according to David Clark, the Labour Party Agriculture spokeman, who requested a Parliamentary Answer to address questions of conflict of interest. Aspartame is also sold in England under the product name “Canderel.” In 1990, the market for aspartame in England was estimated at £800 million.

Aspartame

Dosing of the Military in the Gulf War

During the 1991 Gulf War, all military personnel were provided free supplies of aspartame-laced soft drinks together with experimental vaccines, nerve gas antidotes and personal insecticides. They were also treated to direct biochemical warfare compounds. The result is Gulf War Syndrome, which is communicable and deadly, and 50,000 military personnel and their dependents are wasting away before our eyes. Criminal negligence? Of course. Criminal conspiracy? Yes. Genocide? Probably – we’re waiting to see.

Aspartame Alters Brain Chemicals That Affect Behavior

Independent tests on animals have shown that aspartame alters brain chemicals that also affect behavior. The chemical nature of aspartame was also shown to defeat its own alleged “purpose” as a “diet aid”, since high doses instill a craving for calorie-laden carbohydrates. Then, the aspartame-carbohydrate combination further increases the effect of aspartame on the brain.[15]

Fraudulent Claims of Aspartame as a “Diet Aid”

Interestingly, even the American Cancer Society confirmed that users of artificial sweeteners gained more weight than those who didn’t use the products, further undermining the supposed “purpose” for the existence of aspartame in the food.[16] Haven’t we heard this kind of criminal fraud before?

The major selling point of aspartame is as a diet aid, and it has been demonstrated that the use of this product actually causes people to consume more food. Normally, when a significant quantity of carbohydrate are consumed, serotonin levels rise in the brain. This is manifested as a relaxed feeling after a meal. When aspartame is ingested with carbohydrates, such as having a sandwich with a diet drink, aspartame causes the brain to cease production of serotonin, meaning that the feeling of having had enough never materializes. You then eat more foods, many containing aspartame, and the cycle continues. Monsanto’s profit from its NutraSweet Division was $993 million in 1990.

Governments Continue Suppression and Coverup on Aspartame

In 1991, the National Institutes of Health.[17] listed 167 symptoms and reasons to avoid the use of aspartame , but today it is a multi-million dollar business that contributes to the degeneration of the human population, as well as the deliberate suppression of overall intelligence, short-term memory[18] and the added contribution as a carcinogenic environmental co-factor. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control continue to receive a stream of complaints from the population about aspartame It is the only chemical warfare weapon available in mass quantities (should keep the cone-heads happy) on the grocery shelf and promoted in the media. It has also been indicated that women with an intolerance for phenylalinine, one of the components of aspartame, may give birth to infants with as much as a 15% drop in intelligence level if they habitually consume products containing this dangerous substance.[19]

FAA Collusion in Suppression of Facts on Aspartame

The March 1995 issue of The Pacific Flyer published a pro-aspartame article in which it stated, “the Federal Aviation Administration conducted its own cognitive research and, according to experts, found no contraindications that would prevent pilots, or anyone, from ingesting aspartame.” This flies in the face of consistent reports from pilots who maintain they have suffered severe and dangerous repercussions in the air after drinking soft drinks containing aspartame. Virtually every time, symptoms disappeared when aspartame-laced drinks were discontinued.[20] Over 600 pilots have reported this problem.

FDA “Findings” on Aspartame Remain Based on Faked Tests

So, the faked Searle tests remain. The FDA bases its findings on the faked Searle tests, and the Journal of the American Medical Association, examining the FDA findings, based on the faked Searle tests, announced “the consumption of aspartame poses no health risk for most people.” Searle officials argue that the use of aspartame as an artificial sweetener “has been officially approved not only by the FDA, but by foreign regulatory agencies and the World Health Organization” – based on Searle-sponsored aspartame research, not independently conducted tests.

Symptoms of Aspartame Intoxication: Minimal to Severe

The symptoms of aspartame intoxication include severe headaches, nausea, vertigo, insomina, loss of control of limbs, blurred vision, blindness, memory loss, slurred speech, mild to severe depression often reaching suicidal levels, hyperactivity, gastrointestinal disorders, seizures, skin lesions, rashes, anxiety attacks, muscle and joint pain, numbness, mood changes, loss of energy, menstrual cramps out of cycle, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, loss or change of taste, and symptoms similar to those in a heart attack. In addition, aspartic acid chelates (combines) with chromium – which is a necessary element for proper operation of the thyroid gland. People who consume large quantities of aspartame may end up with a false diagnosis of Graves disease and suffer allopathic irradiation of their thyroid gland for no reason. Complaints about aspartame represent 80-85% of all food complaints registered with the FDA. More than 6,000 complaints have been made concerning the effects of aspartame. Thirty independent doctors and scientists have conducted research on the adverse effects of aspartame or have compiled supporting data against its use.The use of NutraSweet® or Equal® should be seriously curtailed or stopped.

Aspartame Use Part of Planetary Biomedical Genocide

The fact that tons of aspartame is pumped into the world population each year, knowingly and deliberately, especially with the historical and documented record of fraud and misrepresentation, constitutes a conspiracy of the highest order, as well as criminal negligence. The rewards of continued use are increased profits for the medical and pharmaceutical industries and chemical companies who produce aspartame and treat people suffering from the effect of it. Aspartame is the only biochemical warfare product on grocery shelves. And, the band plays on ….

 

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U.S. Obesity Rates Are Alarmingly High

28 May POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/27/u-s-obesity-rates-are-alarmingly-high.aspx?source=nl
New research shows “alarming levels” of obesity in most ethnic groups in the United States. The study also confirms the deadly toll obesity exacts on the heart and blood vessels.
Among almost 7,000 middle-age or older adults participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, or “MESA” study, researchers found that more than two-thirds of white, African [...]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/05/27/u-s-obesity-rates-are-alarmingly-high.aspx?source=nl

New research shows “alarming levels” of obesity in most ethnic groups in the United States. The study also confirms the deadly toll obesity exacts on the heart and blood vessels.

Among almost 7,000 middle-age or older adults participating in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, or “MESA” study, researchers found that more than two-thirds of white, African American and Hispanic participants were overweight, and one-third to one-half were obese.

Obesity rates were lower in Chinese Americans, with 33 percent overweight and just 5 percent obese.

The investigators also found that obese adults had higher rates of high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, and diabetes, despite a “huge number” being on costly medications to treat those very problems.

Even after adjusting for “traditional” risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, obese adults also faced increased risks of:

  • Silent vascular disease (blood vessel disease that causes no symptoms)
  • Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
  • Thicker heart walls
Sources:
  • Dr. Mercola’s Comments: That obesity is a growing problem in the United States (pun intended) is certainly not news. Still, the entire issue of weight, and how to lose it, is an ongoing debate that strikes a nerve with many people. Just take a look through the Community Comments below and you get a feel for the strong opinions that arise when people talk about weight.

    I think it’s safe to say that most of you would not choose to be overweight. Yet, more than two-thirds of Americans are. Something is going on here, and for the sake of your health — and the health of future generations — it needs to be addressed.

    So let’s take a look at some of the issues, and try to get to the bottom of how to REALLY help you reach a healthy weight.

    Is Obesity in Your Genes?

    Children born to overweight mothers are more likely to be obese — 15 times as likely — than children born to lean mothers — and all by the age of 6.

    Meanwhile, it’s even been said that people with certain variants of the “fat mass and obesity associated” gene, or FTO gene, are more likely to become overweight.

    So when I’m asked whether genes contribute to obesity, I don’t rule it out completely. They may play a role. A small one. But I also add, adamantly, that there is no way  “bad genes”  are for the reason you are unable to lose weight,

    Your genes are merely dumb storage facilities that do very little to influence your health. This is GREAT news as otherwise you’d be helpless to do anything about your health, which, of course, isn’t true at all.

    What is much more important than the information your genes hold is the expression of those genes. Let’s say you do have the FTO gene. That doesn’t mean you’re going to be fat. Something either sets this gene off or keeps it dormant.

    But what?

    Through the new biology of epigenetics, we get the answer to that question, and it may be shocking to some of you. It is your Mind that sets it off. Your mind controls your genetic expression.

    Is Your Mind Making You Fat?

    Quite possibly, yes. On a biochemical level as the field of epigenetics suggests, and also on a more obvious one. I doubt anyone will debate the emotional connection many of us have with food. Often this starts in childhood with your parents giving you sweets as a reward. This then translates into adulthood where we “treat” ourselves by indulging in “comforting” junk foods.

    What makes a bowl of ice cream or a piece of pizza so comforting, anyway? Nothing, other than the fact that your mind believes it to be so.

    So it is very easy to get caught up in using food as a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, a way to cope with stress; it can do just about anything that you want it to.

    Of course, so can other, healthier outlets like exercising or journaling. It just takes a shift in your thinking process to get to that point, yet this shift is often not realized because the emotional component to weight loss is so often overlooked.

    Is the Food System Making You Fat?

    Emotions are important, but even they do not make up the whole picture when it comes to obesity. Enter the modern-day food system, complete with its reliance on high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), refined grains, processed foods and artificial sweeteners, and you have a recipe for big-time weight gain.

    Michael Pollan wrote a book, Omnivore’s Dilemma, about why HFCS is detrimental to your waistline, but let’s just sum it up by saying that fructose converts to fat more than any other sugar. And the fact that most fructose is consumed in a liquid form — the soda that makes up the number-one source of calories in the U.S. diet — significantly magnifies its negative metabolic effects.

    Then you have processed foods; upon which most Americans spend 90 percent of their food money. Processed foods are a great source of HFCS, along with very few nutrients. Eating a diet based on processed foods is a well-known way to do two things that are nearly guaranteed to make you pack on the pounds:

    1. Interfere with your body’s ability to regulate insulin
    2. Interfere with your body’s ability to regulate leptin

    On top of this, many of you have been deceived into thinking that all fat is a bad thing in your diet but, contrary to making you thin, low-fat diets actually cause weight gain in the majority of people.

    What Else Could be Adding Inches to Your Waistline?

    There are numerous other theories out there, some of which are very plausible. A common virus, the human adenovirus-36 (Ad-36) — a cause of respiratory infections and pinkeye — may be a contributing factor to obesity, as may the makeup of good and bad bacteria in your gut.

    Even microwaves have been implicated.

    Some people feel that income also plays a role, and that only the rich can afford the healthy foods and leisure time to exercise that it takes to be thin. Meanwhile, The International Journal of Obesity listed even more obesity triggers, such as:

  • Taking certain medications, including antipsychotics, high blood pressure drugs, protease inhibitors to treat HIV and diabetes medications, including insulin. Even over-the-counter antihistamines have been linked to weight gain.
  • Exposure to environmental pollutants from pesticides, dyes, flavorings, perfumes, plastics, resins, and solvents. Exposure to even low levels may make you put on weight.

Now that’s a mouthful.

Let’s Not Overlook the Basics

Weight gain is obviously influenced by many factors, but the two that everyone keeps coming back to — diet and exercise — are still the biggies in my mind. Combine a healthy diet with exercise — and be sure you are addressing the emotional component of food, eating and weight gain — and most people WILL lose weight.

But it’s not always as simple as just eating a salad and going out for a walk. Here are the three tips that everyone who is trying to lose weight should focus on.

1. Your diet should be tailored to your nutritional type. These are the foods that are right for your biochemistry, and these are the foods that will push your body toward its ideal weight. (By the way, these foods may be high in fat, high in carbs, heavy on protein or heavy on veggies, it all depends on YOU).

2. You need to view exercise as a drug. When you’re trying to lose weight, a casual walk here and there is not going to cut it. There are a number of routes you can go here. 30-60 minutes, and sometimes even 90 minutes, of aerobic exercise each and every day, and I’ve gone into the details of how to use exercise for weight loss in this past article. However, there is also strong compelling evidence that strength training and high-intensity anaerobic interval training may be more effective and appropriate for many.

3. You need to let go of your emotional blocks. Tools like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are your friend and ally when it comes to losing weight. For some, emotional eating is more complex, and an experienced EFT practitioner may be able to help unravel some of your deeper emotional issues.

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Diet Soda Now Linked to Heart Disease

13 Mar POSTED BY: HungerForHealth     FILED UNDER: Uncategorized

http://articles.mercola.com
Eating two or more servings a day of red meat increases your risk of metabolic syndrome by 25 percent, compared to those who have two servings of red meat each week, a new study found.
Drinking diet soda also increased the risk of metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat [...]

http://articles.mercola.com

Eating two or more servings a day of red meat increases your risk of metabolic syndrome by 25 percent, compared to those who have two servings of red meat each week, a new study found.

Drinking diet soda also increased the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around your waist, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and high blood pressure, all of which can raise your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The researchers examined the diets of over 9,500 people between the ages of 45 and 64. They were categorized into two groups: a “western-pattern diet” that included processed meat, fried foods and red meat, or a “prudent-pattern diet” that included more fruits and vegetables, poultry and fish.

They concluded that lots of meat, fried foods and diet soda increase your risk of heart disease.

Sources:
  • Circulation February 2008;117:754-761
    Dr. Mercola’s Comments:
    There is a major misconception, even among people who try to eat healthy, that diet soda is a wise choice over regular soda. In reality, there’s no reason to be drinking either one of these atrocities.

    What’s wrong with diet soda you ask?

    At the top of the list is the fact that the sugar is replaced with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. For an in-depth look at just how dangerous these fake sweeteners really are, I suggest you read my book Sweet Deception, but in the meantime you may be interested to know that they can:

    • Stimulate your appetite
    • Increase carbohydrate cravings
    • Stimulate fat storage and weight gain

    Perhaps even worse, aspartame acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. But too much aspartame in your brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into your cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill your cells.

    The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartame is why they are referred to as “excitotoxins.” They “excite,” or stimulate, your neural cells to death.

    And don’t be fooled into thinking that diet sodas sweetened with sucralose are any better. Animal studies have revealed that sucralose can cause:

    • Decreased red blood cells — sign of anemia — at levels above 1,500 mg/kg/day
    • Increased male infertility by interfering with sperm production and vitality, as well as brain lesions at higher doses
    • Enlarged and calcified kidneys (McNeil stated this is often seen with poorly absorbed substances and was of no toxicological significance. The FDA Final Rule agreed that these are findings that are common in aged female rats and are not significant.)
    • Spontaneous abortions in nearly half the rabbit population given sucralose, compared to zero aborted pregnancies in the control group
    • A 23 percent death rate in rabbits, compared to a 6 percent death rate in the control group

    The researchers in the study above were surprised by their finding that diet soda may cause heart disease. But if you consider the well-known fact that diet soda, and diet foods of all kinds, contribute to obesity it makes perfect sense that they would also increase your risk of heart disease.

    And as for the researchers finding that red meat contributes to this disease, well, that all depends on the type of red meat (processed, grass-fed or grain-fed), and this was not specified.

    Quite simply, once you find out your nutritional type, you’ll be able to determine if you thrive on grass-fed red meat, or whether you do better with free-range poultry instead. This is a highly individualized process, and simply stating that “red meat causes heart disease” is not taking any of these factors into account.

    How to Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

    You have at your fingertips everything you need to keep heart disease at bay (and this does not include drinking diet soda). What can you do to lower your risk?

    Related Articles:

      Important News You Need to Know About Heart Disease

     Diet Sodas May Double Your Risk of Obesity

     Cholesterol is NOT the Cause of Heart Disease

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