azodicarbonamide?!

Cutting out processed foods from your diet can seem like an overwhelming task.  As I'm learning more and more about what should and shouldn't go in my body, I've found that there are definitely a few key rules that seem to be common throughout a lot of what I read.  One of those rules, as written by Michael Pollan from In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, is:

Avoid food prodcuts containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or that include d) high-fructose corn syrup... [These foods] have crossed over from foods to food products.
 

This one can definitely be tough!  It really only takes flour, yeast, water, and salt to make bread...but check the ingredient list the next time you buy bread from the supermarket...the list is so long!  We have made our own bread a few times, but now we mostly buy Ezekial sprouted bread from the freezer section of the supermarket, or we buy the whole wheat bread from a nearby bakery. 
Just looking at the ingredient list and becoming aware of what you are putting in your body is a great start in my opinion!

What are some of your tips for avoiding processed foods??

http://www.lilithnews.com/2012/01/why-is-bread-so-fattening-delicious.html

Scary Seven Ingredient #1

Naturally Savvy shared this picture (below) on their facebook wall a little while back and I wanted to share it with all of you.  High-fructose corn syrup is the most common added sweetener in processed foods and beverages because it's so cheap.  The make-up of high-fructose corn syrup and and regular sugar are very similar, but studies suggest that they are absorbed by the body differently. 

The American Heart Association recommends that most women should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar and men no more than 9. Usually nutrition labels list the amount of sugar in grams, so that's 30 grams for women and 45 for men. 

Let's say we start off our day with a bowl of Kellogg's Smart Start Strong Heart cereal (17grams), then have Dole diced peaches (18grams) with Yoplait Original 99% fat free, Lemon for lunch (31grams), and have pasta for dinner with 1/2 cup of Newman's Own Tomato & Basil sauce (12grams).....that's already 78 grams of sugar!!  That's not even including any sweets, sodas, or junk food! It's so important to look at the ingredients list for added sugars, and then the nutrition label to see how many grams of sugar/serving.  And I know when I used to eat those sugary cereals, I barely ever only ate 1 serving.

It's easy to find a ton of research online about this scary ingredient, but I just want to point out a few points:

•  if you find hfcs in the ingredients section of your food, that means you are about to eat something that is highly processed (contains preservatives and fake food substitutes) and should avoid it regardless of the hfcs.
• a few tips to avoid added sugar--drink water, eat fruits/vegetables that are not already packaged, eat 'whole/real' foods, check the ingredients label.
• try to commit to eating desserts that you make from scratch at home rather than buying premade mixes whenever you can so you can be in charge of how much sugar goes in them--added bonus, you won't be including preservatives in yours!

Heart Disease is the #1 killer of Americans.  Diets high in sugar are linked to heart disease. What's scary to me is that you may think you are eating somewhat healthy, but still consume over 100 pounds of sugar a year as the average American does according to the USDA.

Two sugar related articles in the news:

• Just today in NYC, "the New York Board of Health passed a rule banning sugary drinks like soda in sizes 16 oz. or larger at restaurants, concession stands and other eateries in an effort to combat obesity today. The ban is expected to take effect in March"  and people are not happy! Read the article here.
• A couple of years ago, the Corn Refiners Association petitioned to the FDA to allow them to switch their name from HFCS to 'corn sugar'--but they were denied! Read the article here.

For further reading on sugar and the effect it has on the brain, check out these links:

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm293330.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/09/04/high-blood-sugar-levels-linked-to-brain-shrinkage/

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-ucla-233992.aspx 

3 ingredient laundry detergent

Let me start by saying that I never thought I would make my own laundry detergent.  I've seen people, and by people I mean the Duggars, make theirs on the stove and that has always seemed crazy to me. Intimidating and extreme. But as I have been learning more and more about toxins in the home, I started reading about how laundry detergents can contain harmful chemicals.  Then I came across a study from Air Quality, Atmosphere, Health that found:

 In a controlled study of washing and drying laundry, we sampled emissions from two residential dryer vents during the use of no products, fragranced detergent, and fragranced detergent plus fragranced dryer sheet. Our analyses found more than 25 VOCs emitted from dryer vents, with the highest concentrations of acetaldehyde, acetone, and ethanol. Seven of these VOCs are classified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and two as carcinogenic HAPs (acetaldehyde and benzene) with no safe exposure level, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/a520ttu523333552/

Carcinogen=something known to cause cancer.  Yikes! So I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to look into making my own detergent, and found out that it is easy and saves us money.

There are so many resources online for just about anything these days, and of course there are a ton of homemade laundry detergent recipes.  These are the ingedrients and the amounts that I found work for us. 

Just a few things (because who doesn't love bulleted lists?!):

• Ben sweats a lot at work in his uniform, but his clothes always come out smelling fresh.  This detergent does not have a strong scent to it, but everything still smells fresh.
• I have also stopped using fabric softener sheets, and use 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle and 4 safety pins attached to an old rag in the dryer and I have yet to fold anything that is stiff or static-y.  The vinegar does have a strong smell when pouring it in, but our clothes have never come out of the washer smelling anything like vinegar.  Plus, vinegar is a natural odor absorber and since we keep our kitty litter in the laundry room, it is perfect for us.
• I found all of these ingredients at Publix, the local grocery store.
• This recipe does include Borax--a naturally occuring mineral that has received a bad reputation when rats ingest large amounts (almost equalling their body weight).  After reading all that I could find on it, I have decided that we will include it in our detergent, and will be sure not to eat pounds and pounds of it (what it would take for a harmful side effect),  just as I wouldn't do with salt. If you are interested in learning more about Borax, I found this post that includes a lot of resources and does a great job of explaining the research out there on it.

This is too easy not to try!! And your spouse/roommate/momdad/cats are bound to be impressed when they see this jar of homemade laundry detergent sitting on top of the dryer.  You can pretend you worked all day making it, just to save $$, when really it takes about 5 minutes.

I made the first batch small to see if I would like it--a week later I made a double batch and it filled the rest of this container!

 Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent

Ingredients

1 gallon jar

1 bar natural soap (I used Dr. Bronners)

2 cups Borax

2 cups Washing Soda

Directions

1. Grate bar of soap--either by hand or in food processor.
2. Mix grated soap with Borax and Washing Soda.

 

I put the whole bar of soap directly into the food processor.

I then poured the grated bar of soap into a large bowl and mixed in the Borax and Washing Soda.

Once mixed, I added all of the ingredients to my blender just to be sure everything was blended well.    When I made another batch, I skipped mixing the ingredients in a bowl and put them all straight into the blender.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup detergent over clothes.  Makes 1/3 amount of a 1 gallon jar (good tester batch).



Are you baking with petroleum gas, propane and/or butane?

If you are using Pam cooking spray, you are not only adding petroleum gas, propane, and butane to whatever it is you are baking, but you are also inhaling those harmful gases.  And that is exactly why the same lawyers who sued Big Tobacco are now going after certain food companies.  Check out the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/business/lawyers-of-big-tobacco-lawsuits-take-aim-at-food-industry.html

Do you see the connection?? People used to smoke cigarettes without ever knowing they were doing their bodies harm.  That is exactly what happens every single day when people choose fake foods because of the health claims made on their labels.
 Let's take a look at just 1 unhealthy ingredient found in thousands of food products.
Coal tar...does that sound healthy? What about the same petroleum that fuels your car?  You would never guess it by the name, but "articial colors" or "artificial dyes" fit both those descriptions.  But just because these 'artificial colors' (known carcinogens) make foods more appealing, they continue to be added to foods without adding any benefit to food other than aesthetics. Some foods that include this toxin are Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Lunchables, Fruit Roll Ups, Cheetos, the list goes on and on and people are just not aware.
If you want to learn more about food dyes, the Center for Science in the Public Interest published this article summarizing the risks associated with consuming such a dangerous toxin.

Since I am the one who does the grocery shopping, I am going to make sure that Ben and I aren't knowingly putting petroleium gas or coal tar into our bodies.  Will you do the same for your family?