Corn Syrup, Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), and Colored with Red #40.
CHOCOLATE SHAKE SYRUP
High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Dextrose, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Corn Syrup, Sweet Whey Powder, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Citric Acid. Contains Milk.
Did you notice how much sugar is found in the average milk shake? Sugar takes many forms, including both high fructose and regular corn syrup, as well as dextrose. And what about all these preservatives? Just what are they doing to our bodies? It has been said that our bodies are decaying at a much slower rate because of the amount of preservatives we ingest on a daily basis. There have been no long-term studies into the affects; we are the guinea pigs.
Another side effect of the fast food industry is the centralization of the meat packing industry. Most of the beef patties are formed right at the meat packing plant and these places do not have a reputation for being clean. Years ago you would go to the butcher shop, pick a nice looking piece of meat and have the butcher grind it fresh; today we can’t even find beef bones for our dogs because they never make it out of the processing plant. What do they do with these bones? The sad truth is that they grind them up and mix it back into the feed at the feedlots, claiming the feed is “protein enriched”. Funny, I never knew that cows were omnivores… I always believed them to be herbivores. I guess that shows you just how much I know.
We hear a lot of talk these days about genetically modified foods and how wonderfully easy they make the farmer’s tasks. The farmer can easily spray his field since he has planted seeds that are “RoundUp Ready!” But many people are asking what affects these genetically modified foods might have on our bodies. We would really like more studies done before they put these products on our plates, but it’s too late. It is estimated that between 60 – 80% of the foods already on the shelves contains genetically modified ingredients without our even knowing because the manufacturers do not have to put, “genetically modified”, “genetically engineered” or “transgenic” anywhere on the labels. The food industry has fought long and hard to keep these words off the labels because they know that the average person will not purchase genetically modified foods when given the choice, so they simply remove the choice. Once again, we are their guinea pigs.
Did you know that the major seed companies have so genetically modified the seeds that they can now hold patents on them? It’s true. Monsanto, for instance, has copy write protection on its canola seed. If their seed should contaminate your crop, you must destroy your crop! Soon there will be very few real seeds left. Not only are these seeds protected, they are also sterile. They cannot produce viable seeds for the next generation. A farmer can no longer harvest the seeds from his crop for the next season; he must purchase new seeds each year.
Who are they to say we can’t harvest the seeds from our own crop? God gave man all of the seed bearing plants for food and He gave them to us for a reason. These seeds contain essential vitamins and nutrients and we are supposed to be ingesting them along with the fruit. But the seeds we are seeing now, if indeed we are seeing any, are genetically dead. What seven-year old hasn’t asked, “Can we really plant this seed and grow an apple tree?” What might our answer be in the near future?
The contamination of our foods didn’t begin with the UN; they only brought it all together under one roof, so to speak. Prior to that we just had big business ignoring the scientific truth regarding the processing of our food because the profit was just too great. Who are the ones who really pay the price? The poor. They are always the first to suffer because financially their choices are limited. All-natural produce is much more expensive than genetically modified, and canned is even cheaper and easier.
The average American is pressed for time. Years ago futurists saw a society ahead with more free time on its hands than ever before. Boy, were they wrong! Today’s family sees both parents working outside of the home and running their children from this activity to that (because that’s what a good parent does, right?) yet the foods the children ingest are so highly processed that the nutritional value has been processed right out. And we wonder why we get sick. And we wonder why we stay sick.
Chronic diseases have skyrocketed in recent decades. Study after study indicates that the food additives we ingest daily have a direct correlation to these diseases, yet they continue to add them and we continue to buy their products. Polyunsaturated fats have been linked to heart disease yet “they” tell us that we need to eat more margarine (loaded with polyunsaturated fats) instead of butter. Butter, on the other hand, contains saturated fats which “they” have told us are bad and cause heart disease. Study after study indicates this simply is not the case, but these studies are suppressed in the media. The problem is, we rely on the companies advertising to tell us the truth instead of investigating their claims for ourselves. The more we eat, the sicker we get.
Recently I read the list of ingredients on a box of carrot cake mix. In the midst of a list of hard-to-pronounce additives I found this tasty ingredient: carrot flavored pieces. Yes, you read that right. I had to read it over a few times and then show it to my daughter before I could believe it myself. Carrot flavored pieces. Pieces of what?? Wood? Plastic?
Even our milk is suspect. Besides all of the wonderful vitamins and nutrients that are lost in the pasteurization and homogenization process, now we have excess hormones to deal with. The big, industrialized farms we now find dotting the landscape are much more detrimental than we ever thought possible. The animals in these corporate farms are regularly injected with antibiotics, hormones and vaccinations, which eventually make their way into our bodies. Do we really need all of those extra hormones? What affect might these be having on our children? Could this be why young girls are developing earlier than ever? Could these added hormones be causing more boys to feel like girls trapped in the wrong body?
The Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) that is given regularly to most of the cows on these farms has been banned in most other countries. Why do we use it? When this hormone is injected into cows their milk output increases by 10-15%. Some have equated rBGH with “crack for cows” for it revs up their produce, but when they “crash” they crash hard. Studies have indicated that use of rBGH causes an increase in udder infections, severe reproductive problems, digestive disorders, foot and leg ailments, and persistent sores and lacerations as well as early death. Their milk producing years are also shortened, so although they are giving more milk, the production doesn’t last as long so they soon wear out their usefulness. These old dairy cows, still full of rBGH, are then processed to make hamburger.
Despite warnings from scientists, such as Dr. Michael Hansen from the Consumers Union and Dr. Samuel Epstein from the Cancer Prevention Coalition, that milk from rBGH injected cows contains substantially higher amounts of a potent cancer tumor promoter called IGF-1, and despite evidence that rBGH milk contains higher levels of pus, bacteria, and antibiotics, the FDA gave the hormone its seal of approval, with no real pre-market safety testing required.
Moreover, the FDA ruled, in a decision marred by rampant conflict of interest (several key FDA decision makers, including Michael Taylor, previously worked for Monsanto), that rBGH-derived products did not have to be labeled, despite polls showing that 90% of American consumers wanted labeling -- mainly so they could avoid buying rBGH-tainted products.
In a 1998 survey by Family Farm Defenders, it was found that mortality rates for cows on factory dairy farms in Wisconsin, those injecting their herds with rBGH, were running at 40% per year. In other words, after two and a half years of rBGH injections most of these drugged and supercharged cows were dead. Typically, dairy cows live for 15-20 years. [www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com]
Most people don’t realize that milk products make up about 40% of our overall caloric intake. That means that we are taking in much more rBGH than we could possibly know because the dairy industry does not have to inform us of its use. They also allow milk from these cows to be mixed with milk from rBGH-free cows, so even more milk is contaminated, even the milk used to make formula. When given the choice, we will always avoid purchasing these questionable products. That is why they don’t want to give us a choice.
The Standard American Diet is also full of high fructose corn syrup, bleached flour and excitotoxins like MSG and aspartame. Each of these ingredients are toxic, especially at the levels they are now found in our foods, and so much can be said about each one that we will discuss them at length later. I would, however, like to briefly touch on another problem with our food preparation that many may not be aware; microwaves.
Over 90% of homes in the US use the microwave in their daily meal preparation. Many don’t realize that microwaves are used as weapons and have been known to change the molecular structure of foods by breaking down and destroying cellular walls. In fact, microwaving any food will seriously deplete the nutrient content of your food, so you might as well not eat. Remember, this technology uses radiation.
The fast food industry relies heavily on microwaves, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. Remember the ingredient of that milk shake? It is well known that high fructose corn syrup causes hypertension, yet it is the main ingredient in sodas, shakes, and a host of other pre-packaged foods. In fact, since 1980, when they began using this ingredient in soda pop, obesity rates in this country have tripled. No wonder the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Recently a filmmaker challenged himself to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for one month. This man was very healthy to begin with, and had multiple doctors give him the “once over” to prove it. By the end of the month he was so sick that these same doctors warned him to stop eating fast food immediately or, and I’m not making this up, he could DIE. Go watch Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock and see for yourself.
One could easily counter with, “I don’t eat out that much, so I don’t need to worry.” To them I say, “Let me introduce you to Jordan Rubin.” He is the author of, The Maker’s Diet and he also came close to death due to the foods he was eating. Being raised by very health-conscious family, Jordan was not ready for the Standard American Diet when he went off to college. His body became sick and he developed Crohn’s disease, for which there is no known cure. Due to dietary changes, he is now a very healthy young man with no signs of his former illness. How did he become so healthy? Read his book, or visit his website (www.makersdiet.com) to find out more. I will tell you this, the Maker’s diet is found in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah.
Even sadder than SAD, are the fad diets with which so many of us seem to be addicted. We don’t seem to realize that yo-yo dieting, where a person loses the weight only to gain it back, is actually more detrimental to our health than carrying around the extra weight. We are perpetually in search of the “miracle pill” or diet secret that will allow us to lose weight without really having to do anything… like exercise. Low-fat, low-salt diets will actually cause us to become sicker, not smaller. In fact, these diets will actually cause weight gain and, eventually, diabetes.
The pattern of sickness associated with the Standard American Diet is the same worldwide. Regardless of genetics, regardless of the availability of quality healthcare, those who chose to eat “the American way” will suffer from chronic illnesses… the American way. Fad diets will not help; they will only make matters worse, so what can we do?
We can begin by educating ourselves. We can educate our family and friends and show them what “they” are putting into our foods and why it’s so very bad for us. We can take the time to read the labels on our foods before we purchase them. Each and every one of us has purchasing power and we should use that power to support the local farmers (by buying directly from them) and raw food producers (milk, honey, etc.) Write letters to your favorite restaurant and tell them that you want only quality ingredients, made fresh daily or you will take your business elsewhere. Do the same for your local markets. Remember the law of supply and demand; if we demand quality food, more folks will make the effort to supply it.
The Standard American diet does not have to continue to be SAD. We can make a difference in our lives and the lives of those we love by simply refusing to consume stuff that is not food. Junk food, vegetable oils, sodas, diet products and fast foods will only make us sicker and kill us quicker. If we continue to eat this junk, we have only ourselves to blame. Don’t shake your fist at God and say, “How could you let this happen to me?” You have been warned. We all have been warned. Highly processed foods cause cancer and diabetes and a host of other illnesses. To continue eating these things would be like slipping yourself a little bit of arsenic each day. That’s just plain stupid.