Normally I don’t like to write scare-posts, meaning – “stay away from this!!!” Instead, I like to shed light on the positive side to a healthy lifestyle. However, the other day while I was visiting the Naked Cafe in San Diego, I picked up a copy of the San Diego Healthy Times newspaper. On the front page was a story called “The Food Industry’s Most Evil Ingredients” by Mike Adams of Natural News. As I read through the list, I thought – whoa, people need to know about this!
So here I am, sharing the list with you.
Now, you may already know that it’s much better for your body to eat whole foods instead of processed foods. Why? Because whole foods are in their natural form and don’t have any scary toxic ingredients added in. Processed foods often contain substances that are extremely disease-promoting. Bottom line? The less ingredients, the better — and it’s best if you actually know what all the ingredients are. The absolute gold medal best? Foods that only contain 1 ingredient, for example – kale, avocado, lemon. Yum.
So check your ingredients labels before blindly buying something, and avoid the following ingredients:
- Acrylamides – cancer-causing, found in chips, snack foods
- Aspartame – causes neurological disorders
- Autolyzed Proteins – highly processed taste enhancer
- BPA (Bisphenol-A) – causes hormone disorders, found in plastic packaging
- Casein – highly addictive milk protein, ironically often found in soy cheese
- Corn Syrup – another name for HFCS, often found in infant formula
- Food Colors – can cause behavioral disorders in children
- Genetically Modified Ingredients – linked to infertility, release bacteria & pesticides in the gut, not currently listed on labels, but certified organic food can’t be genetically modified
- High-Fructose Corn Syrup – liquid sugar linked to diabetes, obesity & mood disorders, found in thousands of things
- Homogenized Milk – the milk is artificially modified to make it look better (so the fat doesn’t separate). promotes heart disease & contributes to milk allergies
- Hydrochloride – synthetic, chemical forms of vitamins
- Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein – highly processed taste enhancer
- Partially Hydrogenated Oils – chemically modified oil, creates trans-fatty acids and blocks arteries
- Phosphoric Acid – used in sodas to add fizziness, destroys tooth enamel
- Propylene Glycol – a liquid used in the auto industry to winterize RVs, and also to make the fake blueberries in blueberry muffins
- Sodium (white salt) – processed salt, disease promoting, used in thousands of things – a better choice is pink or grey salt (loaded w/ minerals)
- Sodium Nitrate – a poison cancer-causing red chemical added to processed meats to make them look fresh
- Soy Protein – found in protein bars, made from genetically modified soybeans, subjected to hexane, an explosive chemical
- Sucralose- artificial sweetener containing chlorine, promotes weight gain
- Sugar- white sugar is bleached, promotes diabetes, obesity, mood disorders, nutritional deficiency
- Textured Vegetable Protein- genetically modified & highly processed soy protein
- Yeast Extract- a hidden form of MSG, found in thousands of products
Learn more at Natural News.
I know this list looks long, but fortunately there are tons of things you can eat that don’t have weird crap in them! Start here. Eat stuff you recognize!!! If you can picture the food or ingredient in nature, you’re good to go. If it sounds like a weird chemical, it is! Pass on it.
Once you get the hang of it, it’ll be easy to sniff out these little culprits. :)
mary says
I was happy to read your artical, but seriously, Milk? All they do to milk (my whole family works for daries) is heat it its called htst standing for hightemp short time. Raw milk which I’m assuming is what you would promote carries so much bacteria that is 20 time worse because you don’t even know what bacterias it is, and last time I checked the only way to kill the bacteria is with heat. So I’m not trying to chew you out I’m just saying that Milk is amazing for you in everyway and there is definately nothing in it causing heart disease, and milk allergies have been present since the introduction of milk. I like that you are promoting a healthy lifestyle but next time maybe you should check into things a little more before you start bashing them. All of us dairymen would really appreciate thanks. Hope you have a wonderful day. I would also like to add sugar, isn’t causing the problems its americas serious problem with gluttony, if we didn’t put a ton of sugar in things it wouldn’t cause diabetes!
jenny sansouci says
Hey, Mary! I’m not “promoting” or “bashing” any type of milk, just sharing what I found in an article. There are many different opinions about dairy out in the world, and it’s great that people can do their own research and formulate their own opinions. Thanks for your input!
Rachel Johnson says
I totally agree with all of these Jenny. I read The China Study and from all my research, it is scary how brainwashed we are by the dairy industry. The proteins in milk are like tinker toys. Once heated, the body does recognize them and this produces an auto-immune response.
Very helpful article!!
jenny sansouci says
Thanks, Rachel! Appreciate the extra info! I’ve always thought about picking up the China Study but it’s just so big and daunting. :)
Erin says
Thanks for the great blog posts! With all the “health” information out there it can be overwhelming to know what to believe.
I agree with that list as well! There is something in milk that made me very sick, and it took years to figure it out. Once I stopped drinking it my allergies all but disappeared. I think it has something to do with the hormones they give the cows. Crazy! After a few months of not drinking milk I tried it again and my symptoms came back. Could be a coincidence, but I don’t think so.
Amanda says
Erin- That’s awesome you learned that milk gave your troubles. I love milk, but I don’t have issues/allergies with it. I know 3 people who are lactose intolerant and its not pretty.
I’m thankful I have no troubles because I do love me some milk! hehehe.
Amanda says
Great list, Jenny.
Especially trans fats and aspartame . Serious bad news… :)
Ms. Black says
Great article – reinforces a lot of info I’ve already researched. Your descriptions of each of the toxic ingredients was well done.
Thanks for helping to get the word out there. People are blind to the poisons that are in commercialized food. Glad that you and I and others are here to help people become informed on what the food industry is doing to keep us hooked on food that is making us sick and fat!
Way to go!
joe says
Too many calories and not enough exercise are what makes us fat. That is the fact. Everyone has individual tolerances, but just because several people cannot tolerate a food does not make it bad for everyone. We need to be careful to understand and cite the studies and scientific evidence we are basing our opinion. Otherwise we are doing no more good than chicken little.
Aly says
Mary- I apologize but I think you should do a little more research on what you just said. I didn’t believe it until I did. Most milk isn’t made the same way and causes inflammation within the entire body which leads to things like heart disease. Also, sugar itself is the problem. Stevia is the only alkalizing/safe form of sugar out there.
Joe- That is in no way true. Exercise is wonderful in combination with HEALTHY EATING which none of those things are qualified as being. You should also do a bit more research.
I apologize but you both sound ignorant to the truth, and government statement brainwashed.
I have has numerous Doctors explain to me that a Vegan, Gluten-Free diet is how people used to and still should eat. But you also have to take out all of the preservatives, sugars, nitrates, etc that didn’t exist in the old days.
I am a 115lb former Cheerleader and Ballet dancer. I didn’t scarf down sugary foods or eat excessive meat. Even then what I was in taking was doused with enough chemicals and additives to trigger Celiac Disease, Lactose Intolerance, and Leaky Gut. All of which I am in the process of curing on a Vegan, Gluten-Free and mainly Raw diet. 2 months ago I thought I was dying. This month I feel amazing and am prepping for a 5k.
Thanks for this Jenny!
sarah says
Hello to you All interested in health wellness. There is a movie called
“Food inc” you ALL should watch! You can rent it on netflix or buy it on the internet. It is exposing the dangers of food and the food industry just like this article! The ONLY dairy milk good for you is Organic dairy milk. The only cow mea
. And dairy that is good for you is the organic brand “Stonyfield” or other organic brands. Why? Because the non organic brands are from cows or chickens that do not eat grass or walk around. The non organic meats and dairy products come from cows and chickens that are side by side squished up in a pen with no room
to even walk 3 steps, they stand in their own manure for 3 days at a time, the meat is not cleaned with water, but with dangerous chemicals, and they eat fattening corn instead of grass, and are injected with hormones. Buy or rent this movie and you will see for yourself the FDA allows this and DOES NOTprotect us. How can we stop it? By more of us buying only organic dairy and meat as much and as often as we can afford to! Show the food companies it matters to us where our food is coming from!
Malcolm Wright says
Hey – great article thanks.
Just wanted to share a must-see movie with you folks.
I’ve been very food conscious for the past 5-6 years after developing a number of allergies. Also, for health and ethical reasons I’ve been avoiding most meat products as much as possible.
Watching Cowspiracy was still a game changer for me: check it out!