A Greener You

Have you ever thought about how the American diet and our eating habits got so bad? Remember the sayings “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” Or “You can’t fool Mother Nature” Or listening to mom who told us “Eat your vegetables!” Have these saying just gone by the wayside?

Could it be have something to do with the era of television? I’m a Baby Boomer and television has influenced a major part of my life. A large portion of what has happened to not only our generation but subsequent generations stems from the era of television. By the end of the 1950’s and into the 60’s boomers were watching shows like Romper Room, Howdy Dowdy, Superman and Saturday morning cartoons where we were strongly influenced by T.V. commercials that sold us on sugary cereals and candy, T.V. dinners and instant foods. Remember Tang, if it was good enough for the astronauts it was good for us. As the years progressed more and more junk food was introduced to us through mainstream media. It became the advent of major advertising from fast food restaurants to instant breakfast drinks and bars, soft drinks and diet soda, snack foods and quick put- together lunches. We saw recipes from Kraft with the main ingredients being marshmallows and mayonnaise. As the years went by we slowly stopped seeing commercials from the Jolly Green Giant, were vegetables not exciting any more. As a result many Americans started to put on more and more weight.

It has been proven that consuming unhealthy food contributes too many of the known diseases and conditions of our time such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Recent studies have implicated a poor diet may be linked to autoimmune diseases, autism and Alzheimer’s. Why is this?

In 2009 going green is the all the buzz. We all talk about going green by improving our environment, living greener, driving fuel efficient cars but few of us get involved in what it takes to have a greener body.

Here are a few simple tips to A Greener You.

Start cleaning out your refrigerators, freezers and cupboards. Throw away all processed and refined foods, canned foods and soups, soft drinks, frozen foods. Keep foods like whole grains, legumes like peas, beans, lentils and fresh fruits and vegetables. If you can’t pronounce the ingredients on the box most likely it not something you want to eat. The first ingredients listed on the container are the main ingredients. When you change your eating habits you will find that your refrigerators and cupboards will be mostly empty. Fresh foods need to be purchased more frequently so you won’t have so much of a stock pile in your kitchen.

In 1980’s we were introduced to high fructose corn syrup. HFCS started to appear in many foods we ate. It is found in soft drinks, fruit juices, most jarred spaghetti sauces, salad dressings, marinades and non dairy coffee creamers, even over-the-counter cough and cold medications and countless other food preparations. It replaced sugar because it was so cheap to manufacture. HFCS is chemically modified corn. It has addictive tendencies making us want more sodas and sweets. A team of investigators at the USDA led by Dr. Meira Field discovered when high fructose corn syrup was given to rats the rats started to develop multiple health problems. The male rates did not reach adulthood they had anemia, high cholesterol, and heart hypertrophy – this means that their hearts enlarged until they exploded. It also delayed testicular development. In combination with copper deficiency in the growing animal it interfered with collagen production. The female rats were unable to produce young. Fructose is worse than glucose because every cell in the body can metabolize glucose but fructose is only metabolized in the liver. It is bad enough for an adult to consume but even worse for our children remember the worst results from the tests that were preformed were on growing organisms. HFCS is a precursor to obesity which is a kickoff to diabetes. Dr Linus Pauling said fructose is infinitely worse for the metabolism than sucrose; basically fructose is more fattening.

Does the front of the package correspond with what you are reading in the ingredient profile on the back of the box? The whole grain cereal or bread that you think is healthy sometimes isn’t. If white flour is the first ingredient you’re in trouble. White flour is refined (processed) instead purchase whole grains that contain ingredients like oatmeal, whole wheat, spelt, quinoa, millet, Kamet, amaranth and buckwheat. Add chia seeds, flax seeds or flax oil and walnuts to your diet, both have high amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids. All of these are an essential part of a healthy diet. Learn to read the amounts of calories, fat, carbohydrates and especially sodium that are in the products that you buy. A high amount of sodium makes us retain fluid, raises blood pressure and causes heart disease.

Aspartame, found many other diet products, is a very potent neuro-toxin. Aspartame plays havoc with our brains and our health. Dr. Russell Blaylock, a renowned neuroscientist, has said that this could be the cause of so many young people having dementia, and mental problems like never seen before and Alzheimer’s has become an epidemic. Studies on Aspartame have shown an increase of cancer in rats from doses equal to drinking diet sodas. It breaks down into formaldehyde and formic acid. Formaldehyde is a toxin that is very difficult to get rid of in the body. The formaldehyde attaches to the DNA and causes multiple breaks in the DNA which causes cancer. Over time Aspartame exposure has shown dramatic increases in leukemia and lymphoma, breast and brain cancer. It is only now becoming known that aspartame is very addictive, it makes the brain always longing for more.

Remember just because you shop at health food stores doesn’t mean you have a healthy diet. The exterior section of the grocery store is where you want to shop; the produce, fresh fish meat and dairy departments. Most stores today have the bakery and deli in the exterior of the store. These can be a few of the most detrimental parts of the grocery store. You have no idea what ingredients have been put into that bagel, doughnut or cookies that they sell. Many bakers still bake with lard to save money. The deli contains processed meats cold cuts like pastrami, bologna, and salami, pepperoni including pepperoni pizza, corned beef, bacon, hotdogs and cured ham. These foods are typically pink in color and they are loaded with nitrates which are used as a preservative. Nitrates in the body are converted into carcinogens or cancer causing agents. Be careful purchasing oven ready prepared foods because many meats are tenderized with MSG which is a nerve toxin. Ask questions and read labels carefully.

The liver is responsible for removing these toxins from the body, toxins that can cause cancer and other inflammatory diseases. The liver is one of the most important organs of the body, without it we could not live. A diet of organic fruits and vegetables, along with supplementing with gentle detoxifiers like blue-green algae (Spirulena) and green algae (Chlorella) on a daily basis can is vital for a healthy liver. Isn’t it bad enough that toxins are everywhere in our environment? They exist in our homes, offices and in the air we breathe and the water we drink. As hard as we try we may never live in an environment that is devoid of toxins. The most we can do is try to control our exposure to them. By changing your lifestyle and diet we can create an internal environment predominantly made up of healthy cells. The foods we consume daily affects our energy levels, our moods, our happiness, can prevent autoimmune diseases, GI and heart problems and even cancer. The key lies in eating real foods, and even then, we need proper supplement. Nature’s Virtue was formulated to give your body everything it needs in one convenient scope from detoxifiers, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, amino acids and even probiotics. By improving your diet and taking Nature’s Virtue Designer Superfood daily we can all achieve optimal health for A Greener You.