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1 Diet Soda

People often drink diet soda because they think it is going to help them lose weight. Since the product has almost zero calories, the belief is that it won’t affect body weight. Unfortunately, this just isn’t the case. Not only does research show that diet soda makes us gain weight, it also illustrates that it may cause many other health problems as well.

Let’s take a closer look at what diet soda is really made of to see if it looks good naked.

2 What is ?

Diet Soda Actually Makes You Aspartame is made from by-products. They then add methanol which is a very toxic alcohol. Gain Weight!! Examples of other uses for methanol included paint thinner and fondu fuel. It’s probably no surprise that methanol is not something we want in our body. When it goes through our body, our liver changes it into . YIKES! Formaldehyde is ultra-toxic to the human body. Some studies have shown that it can affect our brain cells, vision, etc. Another use for formaldehyde is for embalming bodies. You might be asking yourself, why would a product that seems so harmful to our health be allowed in our /beverage products? The reason is that there isn’t enough evidence to prove that consuming this product in the recommended doses causes significant enough harm to the human body in the short term. Meaning that our bodies are amazing and have the ability to handle this I hate to be the bearer of bad news but is on the in small amounts. However, there also are no studies rise! According to the Centers for Disease Control and that show the cumulative effect of a lifetime of Prevention, 69.2% of Americans are overweight or exposure. This is a scary thought since many people obese (2010 statistic). This is shocking!!! One of the big are consuming this product daily or even multiple culprits for this weight gain is an overconsumption of times per day. and high-fructose corn syrup. One might think then that the invention of diet soda is an answer to our Aspartame and weight gain prayers. After all, it contains almost no calories. In addition to the potential health problems associated Let’s strip down the ingredients of a popular diet soda with aspartame consumption, it may not even be that to see if it looks good naked. helpful at helping us lose weight!

Ingredients of : A study conducted at the University of Texas Health Carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, Science Center in San Antonia found that people who phosphoric acid, potassium benzonate, natural , drank both sugar-sweetened and diet sodas gained citric acid, caffeine. weight. However, they also found that diet soda drinkers were more likely to become obese. In As far as beverage manufacturers are concerned, the addition, the more diet sodas the participants drank, real star of diet soda is the artificial the greater their weight gain. Consuming 2 or more sweetener (in this case aspartame). It is the big differentiator between this product and it’s sugar filled sibling. It allows these companies to market their beverage as calorie- free and create a product to market to the large population of people interested in losing weight.

The artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke, Coke Zero, and many other diet soda’s is aspartame. Let’s first take a look at what aspartame is.

3 cans per day increased waistlines by 500%. Although human studies of this nature are observational, animal studies have found the same effect.

Since diet soda contains almost no calories, experts believe that the sweet taste of the beverage tricks the body’s ability to properly regulate calorie intake. Therefore, the body senses that it is eating something sweet (something that contains calories) and prepares itself to manage it. When those calories never actually arrive the result is often increased cravings and overeating later on.

In addition, soda leads to weak teeth and bones

Soda is EXTREMELY acidic. When we consume highly acidic foods in our diet our body needs to use buffering to neutralize the body so it stays balanced. One of these buffering minerals is calcium. If need be, the body will pull calcium from the bones and teeth to ensure it maintains its pH balance. This can lead to tooth decay and osteoporosis.

Some experts suggest that caffeine in soda interferes with calcium absorption and can also lead to tooth and bone density problems. Other potential health concerns

Other research illustrates that diet cola consumption Yikes!! This product is not looking too hot! If wight leads to increased concentrations of parathyroid gain and bone loss isn’t enough, there are many other hormone (PTH) which can lead to bone breakdown and potential health concerns that could dissuade you calcium excretion. It is thought that this is because the from grabbing for a can of diet soda. Experts suggest cola contains phosphoric acid as an ingredient which that it could increase your risk of heart disease, type 2 when consumed in excess can lead to PTH production diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. It is also suggested and the loss of calcium from bones. that it could cause kidney function decline.

In conclusion, diet soda doesn’t provide us with any necessary health benefits. In fact, it only offers real and suggested health problems.

If your health is of any concern to you I would recommend staying far away from this harmful beverage. Plus, if weight is of concern to you, don’t be tricked into thinking this will help. The companies are very sneaky at making us think that it’s cool to drink their beverages, that’s why they use celebrities like Taylor Swift in their commercials. They are selling you an image and an emotion, in addition to a product that kills the human body. Not really my idea of ‘cool’.

4 GRANOLA BARS Granola bars are a very common snack food. Often thought of as being a healthy snack. While there are some bars on the market that are made with healthy ingredients, it’s essential that you read the label to understand what’s really inside the wrapper. In many cases, the bar is so unhealthy and loaded with sugar and other unwanted ingredients, it is comparable to eating a chocolate bar.

Let’s undress a common granola bar on the market, the All-Bran bar, to see if it looks good naked. The commercials definitely make us believe that they are going to be a healthy choice. One that is going to help boost our fiber content and help with regularity.

5 Reason Number 5 – Processed Wheat 5 Reasons I Avoid All-Bran Bars The first ingredient is “Wheat ”. This is not whole-wheat flour, the type that actually contains Like The Plague fiber. This is the processed wheat flour that has the fiber removed.

This may lead to the question, “if they removed the fiber from the wheat, how do these bars contain fiber?” Great question! What they have done is they have processed the wheat and removed the bran (which is the fiber) and the germ (which contains a lot of nutrients). Then they went and added back in some of the bran so that the bar would have fiber and they could advertise it as such.

The problem is that the wheat is not in its whole form and is not as nutritious. I would prefer to stick to the as nature intended.

Reason Number 4 – High-fructose Corn Syrup I just finished enjoying my morning fiber-rich snack that I made myself with buckwheat, chia, hemp seeds, goji berries and cinnamon. As I was sitting here feeling my The second ingredient is sugar/glucose-fructose. In bowels thank me, I got to thinking, “what is it that many Canada glucose-fructose is another name for high- other people eat for a snack if they want to increase the fructose corn syrup. Eating a lot of processed fiber in their diet?” I asked around the office and a that are nutrient-depleted can lead to problems like common response was All-Bran bars or Fiber1 bars. The high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, heart disease, names themselves scream, “You need to eat me! I’m diabetes, obesity, etc. These should be avoided at all healthy and full of fiber!” Being the skeptic that I am cost. when it comes to product packaging and marketing, I decided to look into what these products contain to see I do want to mention here that just because processed if they lived up to all their claims. Let’s have a look at and refined sweeteners (the ones that mess up our what I found out about the All-Bran bars when I started sexy bodies) should be avoided, doesn’t mean that we to undress their dirty little secrets. can’t have some sweetness in our lives. Honey and maple syrup when used in moderation are great Ingredient list for All-Bran Bars (Chocolate Chip) additions to a . They not only provide us with important nutritional benefits, they taste great Wheat flour, sugar/glucose-fructose, cereal (wheat too! bran, sugar/glucose-fructose, malt [corn flour, malted barley], salt, [thiamine hydrochloride, Reason Number 3 – Chemical Made pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, d-calcium From Petroleum pantothenate], iron), vegetable shortening (contains palm and palm kernel oils, TBHQ), chocolate chips These bars contain something called TBHQ (Tertiary (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, Butylhydroquinone). This is a chemical , a vanilla extract), oat hull fibre, dried whole egg, milk form of butane, and is used to extend the shelf life of ingredients, natural and artificial flavours, salt, baking the bar and delay rancidness. The American and powder, soy lecithin. Canadian governments have allowed companies to put this preservative in foods but have strict restrictions Now that we’ve seen what is in this product, I’m going to on how much they are allowed to add. share with you the 5 main reasons why they wouldn’t find their way into my grocery cart. I find it ironic that something could be deemed safe for human consumption and then so strictly regulated to 6 make sure we don’t The other issue with the term “artificial flavors”, is consume too much. that we actually don’t know what this means and what What would happen if chemicals are involved. They lump a whole bunch of we did eat too much? chemicals into that one term and don’t have to list them separately. The problem as I see it is that when these limits An example of a chemical that hides under this name are determined, they are is by a company called Senomyx. They work with determined for a ‘standard’ adult. What if you are a Kraft, Nestle, Coca Cola, and Campbell Soup. When baby and are consuming these preservatives? What if this chemical is put in the food it helps to mask the you are consuming a large number of products that bitter of the food. It does this by turning off the contain this preservative and are getting more than the bitter flavor receptor on our tongue. This allows the amount found in one All-Bran bar? Or what if you are companies to reduce the amount of sugar and sodium already full of in your body and consuming this in the product without actually affecting the flavor. It puts your body toxicity levels over the top? The truth is seems like these companies then grab their we don’t actually know the answers to these questions. megaphones and proudly tell the world that they have low-sodium and low-sugar products. This all sounds Everyone is different. We are different sizes, we eat fine and dandy, but is this new chemical that is being differently, and we have different tolerability levels for added to my food safe? Apparently there was a 3- toxins. What might be an okay level for one person is month safety study done on rats that resulted in this different for the next. Therefore, I have a hard time being safe for long-term human consumption trusting the safety limits that are set for a ‘standard’ (including children). Seems odd to me. adult, especially when it comes to feeding these Personally, I would rather stick to the true natural products to children or people who are ill/toxic (which flavors of foods instead of having my taste buds unfortunately is a large portion of the population). tricked by chemists in a white lab coat.

Personally, I try to stick to foods that are fresh and don’t Reason Number 1 – There isn’t even that much contain chemical preservatives, especially those that are fiber!! derived from petroleum. The amount of Reason Number 2 – Artificial Flavors fiber you get in one of these bars When we heavily process foods, they lose their flavor. is 4 grams. This is This is why processed foods contain added flavoring. If the same amount they didn’t, the food wouldn’t taste very good. These of fiber you would flavors are made in chemistry labs and often contain a get in 1 medium whole host of various apple. chemicals. For the most part they are considered safe until Conclusion there is some concrete evidence that they are harmful. The next time you reach for an All-Bran cereal bar, Personally, I think this method keep in mind that you are actually getting processed, is flawed. I think they should be refined, and nutrient-poor wheat, high-fructose corn deemed unsafe until proven syrup, petroleum preservatives, artificial chemical safe. (Note: Some studies may flavoring agents, and the equivalent amount of fiber to have been done on a number of a medium sized apple. these added ingredients but not enough to determine that they are safe when used What will you have for your next snack? cumulatively, long term and on various individuals)

7 SMOOTHIE

You may be surprised to see smoothies on this list! The important thing to be clear about is that not all smoothies are created equal. Smoothies that you make at home can be extremely nutritious and beneficial for our health. The smoothies I’m talking about here are many of the store-bought or take-out smoothies. It’s important to find out what’s in your smoothie to see if it looks good naked. Often times smoothies have added ingredients like sugar, high fructose corn syrup, flavors, thickeners, preservatives, fruit concentrates or purees instead of real fruit, etc. These types of unhealthy smoothies should be avoided. The best smoothies are the ones that contain only whole food, natural and unprocessed ingredients.

Let’s undress the McDonald’s Real Fruit smoothie to see if it looks good naked. I think you will be surprised with how deceiving the marketing for this product really is.

8 There are also many high quality vegan on the market for those looking for a vegan or vegetarian Undressing McDonald’s Real source. Be sure that there is a complete spectrum of essential amino acids to keep your body healthy, Fruit Smoothie happy and strong. Healthy like flax or chia seeds for brain function and to reduce inflammation

Fats are an important part of our diet. Eating fat is not only good for us it is essential for our health. The key is getting the right kinds and in the right amounts. Check out The Naked Label blog for more info on fats.

So, when we take a look at the smoothie’s offered at McDonalds, here’s what’s wrong with them in my opinion.

Article Contributed By: Dr. Seth Yates, ND The Lowdown on McDee’s Smoothies The word ‘smoothie’ sounds healthy doesn’t it? Keep Cornstarch: reading to get the scoop on McDonald’s real fruit smoothies. Be prepared to take a big ‘gulp’ when you see it undressed. They add cornstarch to thicken the smoothie, this is an ingredient that is certainly not needed if you are using When I make a nutrient dense smoothie for breakfast I real frozen fruit. make sure to throw in high quality ingredients to start my day off right. Dimethyl what?!

The best ingredients for smoothies: In the smoothie there is an ingredient listed called ‘dimethylpolysiloxane’. This is an ingredient commonly Things like frozen fruit for antioxidants and fiber used in silicones, adhesives, and caulking. Not an ingredient that I would ever recommend ingesting. Frozen blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes and acai are just some of the many kinds of fruits that Sugar content: are loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help to fight free radicals in our body and help prevent disease. They The large blueberry pomegranate smoothie contains a are extremely beneficial for our health. whopping 70g of sugar! That much sugar will disrupt your blood glucose levels. Fruits are also a great source of fiber! Fruits provide so many great things, and they add a luscious flavor to your Very little protein: day. Last but not least, these “real fruit smoothies” only High quality whey protein to feed muscles contain on average 4g of protein, which is just not enough to counter the excessive sugar. Adding a high quality protein to your smoothie helps to slow down the absorption of the natural sugars from the Although the word ‘real fruit smoothie’ sounds fruit so that insulin levels don’t spike out of control, healthy, it’s important to take a look at all the leaving you in a slump later in the day. ingredients when undressing any kind of product. In this case, make your own smoothie using the Having a full spectrum of amino acids is great food for guidelines above to create the best healthy smoothie muscles and brain function. for your body. They’re super easy to make and your body will love you for it. 9 Low-Calorie Diet Foods

I see a lot of products marketed as low-calorie. Since weight- loss is the number 1 health goal, these types of products tend to attract the diet shopper. Often times these diet foods contain harmful ingredients (like the artificial sweetener aspartame) which are calorie-free but extremely unhealthy. Or they put the product into smaller packages so they can market it as a low-calorie diet food. The important thing to remember is that calories are essential for our health. If we are eating low-calorie diet foods we may be doing more harm than good.

Below is an article that undresses the 100 Calorie Diet Foods to help you understand what a calorie is, why is’s so important, and why low-calorie diet foods are tricking you into believing they are something they are not.

10 I wanted to bust through these myths to show you just 100 Calorie Snacks Have Attacked! how bogus this way of thinking really is. So, what is a calorie? In simple terms a calorie is a unit Find out why they are harming us. of measurement that indicates the amount of energy that food will produce in the human body.

Therefore, the more calories a food item has, the more energy it produces in the body.

Based on this explanation of a calorie you can see that calories are good! Not only are they good, they are essential for the human body. If we don’t consume calories, we won’t have any energy, and we won’t survive.

So if calories are so important for us then why does the ‘diet’ industry demonize calories and tell us to reduce them? When it comes to promoting low calorie snacks it appears that the magic number is 100. I have noticed Great question! The important thing about calories is that calorie counting has become a very popular trend in that we only need a certain amount of them. If we get the diet industry. This has opened up a great too few calories from our food then our body can’t opportunity for food processors to profit from this by function properly. However, if we consume more creating low-calorie snack options. Unfortunately, many calories than our body needs it has to do something of these snacks are doing more harm than good. Let’s with the excess calories. What it does, is it stores undress this low-calorie trend to see what’s happening them as fat. behind the scenes. So as you can see, calories are First things first. What VERY important, however, we the heck is a calorie? want to make sure that we are consuming the right amount. Before we dive into Since the majority of people in u n d r e s s i n g t h e s e North America consume more products, it’s important to calories than they are using m a ke s u re w e f u l l y (or put another way, consume understand what a calorie more energy than they are actually is and what it burning), we end up storing does in the body. I often excess fat in the body. This is hear people say that they why the diet industry focuses are on a low-calorie diet, so much on calorie-cutting. or that they are avoiding When we stop consuming too certain healthy foods (e.g. many calories we can start to nuts, avocado, oil, etc) burn the fat stores in the body because they are high in and lose weight. calories. I’ve also heard people ask how many calories are in a specific food because they are Just determined to avoid high-calorie foods since they equate them with weight-gain and poor health. Kidding ;-)

11 How do I know how many calories I should be They are , proteins, and fat. When it consuming? comes to calories:

A quick way to figure this out is to calculate your Basal • Every gram of ALWAYS contains Metabolic Rate (BMR). You can find calculators online 4 calories for free that allow you to calculate your BMR. • Every gram of protein ALWAYS contains 4 calories The BMR is a calculation of how many calories your • Every gram of fat ALWAYS contains 9 calories body will burn if you stayed in bed all day. It’s important to make sure you consume that many calories because This is an essential part of the puzzle because it shows that is what your body needs to function. The more that when we see how many calories are in a specific physical activity you do the more calories you should food it is not an indication of how healthy that food is, consume during the day. it is just an indication of how many grams of these macronutrients are in the food, multiplied by the Consuming the right number of calories is only half the number of calories per gram. picture! The most important lesson here I get frustrated when I hear people assessing the health of a food item solely based on the number of calories it The key takeaway I want you to get from this is that contains. For example, you may have heard someone say the number of calories a food item contains is not that a specific food is ‘bad’ because it is high in calories. enough on it’s own to determine the health of that Or heard someone compare two foods and say one is food. The most important thing to look at is the better than the other specifically because it is lower in nutrient density of the food. calories. We want to make sure we are eating foods that There is one more VERY important piece of the puzzle I contain a high amount of micronutrition (vitamins, need to explain so you can understand why this type of minerals, phytonutrients, and ) per gram. thinking frustrates me so much. For example, if you take 100 calories worth of Doritos There are only 3 macronutrients when it comes to food. chips (which is only a few chips) and compare that to

12 now have the cake, cookies, chips, etc you want but in a portion size that leads to you weighing your dream weight. Often times people feel better about themselves just by buying this product!

The problem is that these are the same manufacturers who spend millions of dollars trying to make their products so irresistible that you CAN’T just have 1 bite, 1 cookie, or 1 snack pack. These products are specifically designed to convince you to eat more, more, more. After finishing the last bite you will likely find yourself 100 calories worth of apple (2 apples) you can see that licking your fingers and reaching for although they are both 100 calories, you are going to get another. If you are able to hold yourself back, you may far more from the apples. The apples are going feel emotions of deprivation. One part of you will be to be nutrient dense (meaning they contain high feeling like you really want more and the other side is amounts of micronutrition per gram), where as the telling you that you can’t have it because you need to Doritos would be considered a processed food that is lose weight. This is not a very enjoyable experience. nutrient depleted. These products don’t satisfy us and as a result can lead to weight gain, poor health, and emotional eating. The key is that if you only have a certain number of calories to consume in a day, it is important to make In addition these products may contain only 100 sure that you are getting as many micronutrients into calories per package, but they are also nutrient- your body without going over your calorie limit. depleted, bad for the environment (because of all the excess packaging), and on top of that the companies Often times people are only focused on as a charge a premium so you actually pay way more per goal. When they eat these low-calorie unhealthy foods gram of food. and they start to see weight loss, they get excited. However, even if weight loss is important to you, your My recommendation is that you ignore the marketing health should always be number 1. Being skinny but sick hype. Turn the package over and read the ingredients. is no fun. If it contains food that is processed, refined, nutrient- depleted, synthetic, or artificial, leave it on the shelf. The choice is yours. If your health, how you feel, your Instead, aim to fill up your calorie tank with foods that are going to actually fuel your body, not just feed it. energy levels, skin, etc are not important to you and all that matters is the weight on the scale then only focusing on calories could do the trick. However, if you do care about your health and how you feel, then focusing on eating foods that are nutrient dense is going to rock your world in a good way!

Why I hate these 100 calorie snacks

Food manufacturers wanted to profit off of the diet industry and it seems that 100 calorie snack packs was one of their tactics. The marketing that goes along with these products makes you believe that these snack packs are the solution you have been looking for. You can

13 MUFFINS

Muffins are commonly thought of as a healthier breakfast or snack option. Often times people view them as healthier alternatives to donuts and cake. Unfortunately, most muffins we see on the market today are no better. They are loaded with refined flour, sugar, genetically-modified oil, artificial flavor, and chemical preservatives. Not only should they be considered a dessert, they fall into the category of unhealthy desserts I avoid.

To give you an example, let’s undress the Tim Horton’s Blueberry Muffin to see if it looks good naked.

14 Enriched wheat flour (niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, reduced iron) Tim Horton’s Blueberry Sugar Blueberries Water Muffin Undressed Soybean oil and/or canola oil High fructose corn syrup Dried liquid eggs Levening (sodium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate) Modified corn starch Monodiglycerides Corn syrup solids Natural and artificial flavors

Article Contributed By: Amy Height, Holistic Health Coach Soy lecithin Tim Horton’s: they’re everywhere in Canada and have now started to expand in the US. An easy morning grab- Let’s break this down and-go option (or a convenient mid-afternoon snack attack remedy), this chain of coffee shops has become A look at the Enriched Flour ubiquitous in Canadian culture. As any devoted reader of The Naked Label knows, The ‘always fresh’ giant has a wide array of goodies, refined, enriched aren’t real food. Synthetic some obviously not great for us (donuts, cookies, vitamins and minerals aren’t the same as the real timbits), and some whose health factor is a little harder thing, and the body doesn’t absorb them in the to figure out. In fact, the menu features a “healthier same way. Plus, refined, milled grain delivers an options” section, made up of yogurt + berries, bagels, instant shock of sugar to the bloodstream and can and muffins. create blood sugar irregularities if consumed in excess. This type of sugar in the bloodstream But how healthy are these, really? often converts to fat and stores as such, usually in those places we don’t want it. Today, we tackle one of Tim’s biggest sellers – and one of the more deceptively unhealthy items on the menu – Holy moly that’s a lot of sugar! the blueberry muffin. Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are Tim Horton’s Blueberry Muffins Undressed – Do they the second and sixth ingredients on the list (no look good naked? wonder that sugar count is so high!). Corn syrup solids also appear towards the end of the list. So what’s in it? Sugar has been linked to all kinds of health According to the nutrition calculator on the company’s problems, from diabetes to cancer to immune website, one blueberry muffin contains: suppression. Swapping refined white sugar – including HFCS – out for natural sweeteners like 330 calories honey, maple syrup, dates, or molasses can lessen 460g of sodium the stress placed on the body, as these natural 25g of sugar (which is the equivalent of 5 teaspoons) alternatives also break down more slowly in the system, preventing that spike-and-crash we Although Tim Horton’s doesn’t list their ingredients on experience with the white stuff. their website, they have a customer service line where a cheerful representative will read you a list of exactly What about Modified Corn Starch? what’s in your favorite products. I called to inquire about the blueberry muffins, and here’s what I found they Modified corn starch is likely genetically modified, contain: and as a simple sugar, doesn’t provide a ton of

15 nutrition to the body. The ‘modification’ comes from a Sodium Benzoate undressed chemical or enzymatic process that changes the nature of the starch: it’s not the same as eating a kernel of Sodium Benzoate is a chemical preservative corn, as the starch produced is tougher to break down. commonly found in processed foods and drinks, This is not a real food. especially those with high acid content. In these conditions, sodium benzoate inhibits growth of What’s the deal with Soybean and Canola oil? bacteria, mold and yeast, extending a product’s shelf life. While is found naturally in Soybean oil and canola oil are highly refined derivatives low levels in some whole foods like cranberries, the of plants, often used in commercial baking to extend sodium benzoate listed on a product’s nutrition shelf life and provide an unusually moist texture to label is typically synthesized in a lab. Introducing goodies. While the representative was unable to tell me any ingredient whose purpose is to starve bacteria if the oil used in these muffins was hydrogenated or not, and create an inhospitable environment isn’t going the nutrition calculator on the website indicates there’s to be ideal when introduced to the human body. I 0.2g of trans fat per muffin (and it likely comes from like to use a simple rule when it comes to these these ingredients). While some trans fats occur in kinds of ingredients: if it wouldn’t help a single- animal products, most found in commercial products celled organism to survive, it probably won’t be come from a man-made process: oil is infused with great for my cells. hydrogen, rendering it solid at room temperature. The resulting substance is difficult for the body to break Soy lecithin down or use and it can hang out in the body for years, causing arterial blockage and toxic overload. A better Soy lecithin is the final ingredient on the list. Like option – in cooking and baking in general – would be monodiglycerides, it’s an emulsifier, and acts to non-hydrogenated unsaturated oils: olive oil, create even product texture. Lecithin is extracted pumpkinseed oil, or sunflower oil. Or a saturated oil from soy using a chemical solvent (usually hexane), that is made of medium-chain fatty acids (which which allows the lecithin to separate from the rest converts easily to energy in the body) such as coconut of the oil when it’s mixed with water. The dried oil. product we might see in the bulk food section, protein powders, or in baking, is the end product What are monodiglycerides? following drying and bleaching. Because lecithin is not a substance the body naturally encounters in Monodiglycerides is an artificially created substance isolation, it can cause confusion and imbalance that improves the crumb texture of baked goods. It’s within the system. Our bodies are unable to identify essentially a fatty acid that acts as an emulsifier for the strange substance and can create relative other ingredients (usually to hold oil and water deficiencies in other nutrients as it searches for the together). Monodiglycerides can come from cows, pigs, pieces it’s missing. This can mean an increase in or plants, or can be synthetically created from non- cravings, too. Also, since there is no regulation on foods. Most companies, like Tim Horton’s, won’t the amount of hexane that can be present in a food disclose where theirs come from; best to avoid if you’re product, we run the risk of ingesting residual following a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, and best to noxious compounds leftover from the extraction avoid in general if you’re trying to eat real food and not process. chemicals. So what can we do instead? How about the natural and artificial flavor? Baking at home – and knowing just what’s going into Natural and Artificial Flavor – this could include your muffins – is always a better option than anything from mink oil (extracted from the animal), purchasing something pre-made. Avoid soaked charred sawdust, to extracts of crude oil or tar preservatives, synthetic emulsifiers, artificial that – to our senses – taste or smell the same as a flavors, and trans fats by selecting ingredients you ‘natural substance’. While anything labeled ‘natural can purchase individually: real eggs instead of dried flavorant’ must be derived from something commonly liquid ones, non-hydrogenated oils, and organic considered edible, artificial ingredients don’t have to produce and natural sweeteners where possible. come from a food source. 16 Fat-Free Foods

Back in the 1980’s food manufacturers started taking the fat out of food because people believed that the fat they were eating was making them fatter! Over the years we have proven this theory to be false, however, producing these foods is still a massive industry today. The problem is that when we take the fat out we need to replace it with something else. Ironically, the ‘something else’ they replace it with leads to more weight gain than the fat did when it was in the product.

Check out the article below that undresses this fat-free food phenomenon to see why these foods do not look good naked and why they should be left on the grocery store shelf.

17 First, let’s look at some of the benefits of fats so Fat-free foods actually you can see why they are friend, not foe: • Brain: Essential for brain function. make us fatter! • Cells: Fat helps cells stay moveable and flexible. • Heart: 60% of heart’s energy comes from burning fats. Healthy fats help keep the heart beating in a regular rhythm. • Nerves: Helps insulate and protect the nerves. • Digestion: Fat slows down the digestion process so the body has more time to absorb nutrients. It also helps provide a constant level of energy and keeps the body satiated for longer periods of time. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are absorbed with the presence of fat. • Organs: Cushion and protect internal organs. • Immune System: Some fats ease inflammation, Back in the 1980’s the government started telling helping our metabolism and immune system everyone that we should be avoiding fat in our diet. The stay healthy and functioning. general thought was that fat is bad and is making us fat. Unfortunately, this was not the whole story. We were Fat is definitely important, I think we have confirmed grossly mislead and as a result got fatter than ever! Let’s that. So what is the deal with these fat-free foods. It’s undress the fat-free product craze and see what went starting to look like they aren’t that healthy for us! down. Do these fat-free products that line our grocery store shelves look good naked? Do they actually make Undressing Fat-Free Foods us fatter!? Let’s find out!! Food processors absolutely love when there is a new Let’s start by getting one thing clear about fat dietary trend that they can capitalize on. This is exactly what they did when fat-free became a health The general statement or opinion that “eating fat makes trend. People thought they should be reducing fat in us fat” is completely wrong. It’s not like the fat in the their diet and food processors were right there with an avocado goes straight to our butts and bellies. There are answer to their problem. Suddenly you could buy your only 3 macronutrients: fats, carbohydrates, and favorite cookies, cheese, salad dressing, buttery proteins. All of them are essential for our survival. If we spread, etc all in fat free! People started buying these cut any of them out of our diet our health will suffer. products thinking they were opting for healthier People tend to gain weight because they are eating more options. calories (from fat, proteins, and carbohydrates combined) than they are burning in a day. In addition, the foods they are eating that make up their daily caloric total often lead to increased fat gain. For example, processed high-glycemic foods like sugar, white flour, high-fructose corn syrup, pasta, bread, etc spike our blood sugar and promote fat creation in the body.

YIKES!!! High-glycemic foods are actually more of a culprit for packing on the pounds than fat is. Later in this article you will find out why this insight is completely ironic and shocking, especially when looking at fat-free foods. 18 Unfortunately, these products are not healthier. In fact, these new fat-free products often lead to weight gain and more health problems than their original sibling.

Let’s look at why that is.

As I mentioned before, there are only 3 macronutrients: fat, carbohydrates, and protein. If you take out the fat, you need to replace it with something. The problem is that fat provides a specific type of texture and flavor to the product. So if you want the product to still taste good and have a similar consistency you need to add things like sugar, flour, thickeners, gums, emulsifiers, salt, etc.

Typically what you end up with is a product that is more heavily processed and higher in carbohydrates (the refined high-glycemic variety). These products don’t contain fat but the end result is a product that contains virtually the same number of calories (they replace the fat calories with carbohydrate calories). This increase in refined carbohydrates used to replace the fat can have a negative impact on blood sugar which can lead to fat development in the body.

WHAT!! People usually buy these products to lose weight but the product is actually causing us to pack on the pounds. We need to vote with our fork and stop buying these products. Companies won’t stop making them until we stop buying them.

19 Gluten-Free Foods

It seems like everywhere you look these days there are gluten-free options. More and more people are developing allergies and sensitivities to gluten. As a result companies are coming out with many gluten-free alternatives to our favorite foods. The problem is that many of these alternatives are actually worse for you than gluten! It’s important to understand the whole story before deciding if gluten is right for you.

Gluten is a protein found naturally in many whole foods. So why is it considered bad for us? Let’s take a closer look at what gluten is, why it get’s such a bad rap, and who should be avoiding it.

20 osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases, etc. It also has a negative impact on our Is gluten bad? Is it really the devil brain and new studies are starting to link gluten to schizophrenia. it’s made out to be? Years ago we didn’t hear that much about gluten. It seems like it’s a new fad. However, part of the reason we are hearing so much more about it is because more and more people are being negatively affected by this protein. Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are on the rise! It is believed that this increase in sensitivity is due to the increased consumption of highly processed gluten foods and the tinkering with the genetics of gluten grains (like wheat), using sophisticated hybridization techniques. Wheat for example, is often consumed in the Standard American Diet at every and in a processed form. For example, cereal for breakfast, a granola bar for snack, bread at lunch, The other day I was walking through the grocery store in crackers for a snack, and a burger (with bun), pizza, my neighborhood and I was pleasantly surprised to see pasta, etc for dinner. Plus don’t forget the cake, so many gluten-free food options. For people who need cookies, and pastries for dessert! has to be gluten-free, these food products appeared to be an tinkered with these foods and food marketers have incredible alternative. From bread and cereals to pushed their consumption on us for years. It seems cookies, waffles, and wraps, the options were many. like our bodies may be retaliating. With so many new gluten-free products coming to market it makes you wonder, are more people requiring So… should everyone avoid gluten or just people with gluten-free foods, is this just a health fad, are these Celiac disease? gluten-free foods healthier or are they healthy at all? Let’s strip away the confusion and undress this issue. This is a tricky question. One that sparks much debate in the holistic community. Based on everything that What the heck is gluten anyways? I’ve read and learned on the subject, my opinion is as follows. First we need to understand what the heck gluten actually is. Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, Gluten for people with Celiac disease rye, barley, kamut, spelt, and triticale. You can think of it like a glue. In fact, the word glūten is actually a Latin For people who have Celiac disease, it is 100% word, meaning glue. It is the gluten that allows your necessary to avoid all forms of gluten. Celiac disease favorite bagel to have that chewy texture, for your loaf is a medical condition where gluten actually damages of bread to rise and hold together, and for your waffles the surface of the small intestine. This impairs the to be delicate and fluffy. person’s ability to absorb the nutrients from their food. This is a very serious condition and therefore, no So what’s the deal with this gluten stuff? Is it good or amount of gluten should be consumed by these bad? individuals.

There are a number of reasons that gluten gets a bad Gluten for people with gluten sensitivity rap. For one, it’s very hard to digest. Also, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, it may For people who have gluten sensitivity / gluten increase your risk of heart disease and cancer. intolerance, they experience unwanted symptoms Furthermore, a review paper in The New England when consuming gluten and feel better on a gluten- Journal of Medicine listed 55 symptoms/diseases that free diet. The severity is not as pronounced as people could be caused by the consumption of gluten. Yikes!! with Celiac disease but it is still advisable to avoid all Some of these include, irritable bowel disease, fatigue, sources of gluten in this case as well. 21 Gluten for people who are not well but don’t have So if we were to minimize or eliminate gluten products diagnosed Celiac disease/gluten sensitivity as well as the heavily processed gluten-free alternatives, what’s left? The good news is, lots!! If you are dealing with unwanted health conditions Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, animal outside of Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, you may products, and many grains (e.g. rice, quinoa, millet, want to try avoiding gluten. As I discussed above, gluten buckwheat, corn, amaranth, and teff) are all gluten- can cause or irritate many other health conditions. free!!! Removing it from the diet may help the body heal faster and help you feel better too. Therefore, if you stick to a whole foods diet made of the foods I just listed in the above paragraph, you will Gluten for people who are healthy find that eating gluten-free is not that difficult. Speaking from experience, I find it actually pretty easy If you are feeling like you are in tip top shape, and you to consume a gluten-free diet at home. The biggest don’t notice any difference in how you feel after you eat hurdles are when we go out to eat. Sometimes it’s easy gluten, you may be able to consume gluten in to avoid the obvious sources of gluten like bread and moderation. However, keep in mind, gluten is not an pasta, but the problem is that gluten is often used as essential nutrient for the body, like water is for example. an additive in many sauces, gravies, breadings, etc. If Therefore, if you don’t consume gluten, your health will you are a Celiac this can be especially dangerous. not be negatively impacted, and in fact it may actually be positively impacted. If you are going to consume Luckily, restaurants are starting to take notice and some gluten, I would recommended that you stay away make some awesome changes to be able to offer true from processed grains like white flour and instead stick gluten-free options. to whole foods. I would also recommend that where possible, you opt for eliminating wheat and instead The burning question I always get is whether I eat choose other grains like rye. This is because rye has not gluten. So I figured in the name of transparency I been as heavily altered through hybridization. would tell you what I do. At home I maintain a 95% or higher gluten-free kitchen. The 5% is made up of the How is it possible to go gluten free? What would I eat? occasional homemade spelt pizza, Dimpflmeier 100% rye bread with flax seed, or sprouted Essene bread. Since the Standard American Diet is so heavily focused When I go out I often eat gluten-free but I’ll be honest, on gluten grains like wheat, you may be puzzled at first I’m not perfect and I try not to stress myself out about as to what you would actually eat if you went gluten it too much. free. The biggest mistake I see people make is going to the store and simply swapping out the same foods they Therefore, in conclusion, if you are a Celiac or gluten ate before, with gluten-free alternatives. For example, sensitive, avoid it completely. If you are not feeling instead of buying the wheat waffles, they opt for the your best, try eliminating it to see if you feel better. If gluten-free variety. While it may be gluten-free it you want to eat some gluten foods and you are a doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy. You still have to health machine who is feeling fabulous, then having keep your label reading hat on and assess if the product some gluten from whole food sources should be fine. is healthy or not. This is a personal decision everyone makes for themselves. Since so many people are in need of gluten-free foods, processors have started creating gluten-free options. Unfortunately, many of these products contain items (e.g. potato starch and tapioca starch) that can have a significant impact on blood sugar levels and are heavily processed. They may be a good option when used in moderation (especially if you have Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity) but going overboard on them is not advised.

22 Vitamin Water & Sports Drinks

Vitamin Water and Sports Drinks are marketed as healthy beverages. Companies want us to believe that drinking vitamin enhanced water is a great-tasting way to get added vitamins into our diet. They want us to think that this is better than just drinking water because of the added vitamins. When it comes to sports drinks, companies would love us to believe that these are the drinks of athletes and since athletes drink them they must be healthy for us. At first glance this may make sense, but when we look a little closer at the ingredients used in these products we discover that they are full of processed sweeteners like high- fructose corn syrup and artificial . Even the vitamin don’t contain that many vitamins to warrant the fancy marketing hype.

VITAMINWATER does not look good naked. Let’s undress it to see what it’s really made of and why it’s so bad for us. 23 VITAMINWATER Shame on you!

Let’s face it, most of us like to reward ourselves with a treat once in a while. This may be a homemade chocolate chip cookie, a piece of pie, a few potato chips, soda, or maybe a handful of french fries. I don’t have a problem with the occasional (key word being occasional) treat of something that really brings a smile to my face. The trick however, is in understanding what goes in the treat pile and what belongs in the “good for me” pile.

Unfortunately, companies work very diligently to blur the line between what is and isn’t healthy and they try to convince us that their product belongs in the “good for me” pile. VITAMINWATER is a classic example of this line blurring. The company claims it is healthy. They would like us to think it should be part of our daily routine to improve health because it contains vitamins. The facts show otherwise. Let’s undress this colorful product to see what it looks like naked.

Below I have compared VITAMINWATER, Coca-cola, and Water.

24 Undressing the claim:

There is a lot of debate a b o u t h o w m a n y vitamins we need to consume and whether or not we get enough from the food we eat. I won’t open up this can of worms today, but assuming we do need to take daily vitamins, let’s look at how many VITAMINWATER claims that we should drink their you really get in a bottle of VITAMINWATER. For this product every day to help ensure we get our daily comparison I used the VITAMINWATER sold in vitamins. Here is what they say on their website about Canada because it lists actual amounts instead of the one of their products: percentages found on the USA bottles. Here is what I found when I compared some of the vitamins in “In today’s multi-tasking world, it’s not easy getting all of VITAMINWATER (which aren’t many) to the amounts the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. That’s why offered in the daily serving of a high quality we created this product. VITAMINWATER 10 multi-v is supplement. packed with vitamins a to … and it’s naturally sweetened … and it’s great tasting. We like to think of it as the jack-of-all nutrients. And the best part is that it’s only 10 calories per serving…”

As I read this, the two things that jumped out at me as marketing mumbo- To put things in perspective. If you wanted to get the jumbo were“naturally sweetened” and “jack-of-all same amount of B6 that is offered in the daily amount nutrients”. I decided to look further into what the of the Douglas Laboratories supplement, you would company had to say about these claims. Here is what I need to drink 200 bottles of VITAMINWATER per found. day. This would equate to 6,500 grams of sugar!!! I think I’ll stick to the supplements. COMPANY CLAIM about being the “jack-of-all nutrients”: COMPANY CLAIM about their main “natural sweetener”, crystalline fructose: “It’s also packed with the vitamins and nutrients you need throughout “Crystalline fructose is a pure, the day. It is specially formulated natural sweetener. It is the same with 11 essential vitamins and as the sugar that’s found in many minerals, from to zinc, to fruits, vegetables and honey, only provide the body with nutrients in a crystallized form.” needed to remain healthy and active.” 25 Undressing the claim:

In the USA, VITAMINWATER is sweetened with crystalline fructose (as mentioned in the claim above). Although they make it sound healthy in their claim, the truth is that it is actually an “unnatural” and highly processed product made from fructose-enriched corn syrup, not fruit. In Canada, VITAMINWATER is sweetened with cane sugar. Both are considered sugar and consuming too much of either overloads our system and our body turns the excess into fat. Yes folks, this eventually leads to weight gain, but more importantly it can also put you at risk for a number of serious diseases.

Here’s a quick sugar overview showing a key difference between crystalline fructose (used in the USA product) and cane sugar (used in Canada). It’s a bit ‘sciency’ but try to bear with me. Cane sugar contains 50% fructose and 50% glucose (same as the sugar found in your baking cupboard). Crystalline fructose on the other hand contains almost 100% fructose. Now I know I am throwing a lot of percentages at you and you are probably wondering what this all means? Well, glucose and fructose are processed differently by the body. Glucose goes into the blood stream, insulin jumps in to lend a helping hand and the glucose is turned into energy for the body. Fructose on the other hand can only be fructose and we know that we need both to live a processed by the liver and requires the body to work healthy lifestyle. The trick is quantity, quantity, much harder before turning it into energy. Although quantity. Consuming too much of either glucose and having too much of either glucose or fructose leads to especially fructose, is hard on our system and leads to the body creating fat, studies show that consuming too poor health. Drinking VITAMINWATER too often will much fructose is harder on our systems than consuming result in the consumption of too much sugar (aka excess glucose. This is one of the main reasons fructose and/or glucose). crystalline fructose is considered worse for us than traditional sugar. Conclusion

With the above being said, it is important to note that In conclusion, VITAMINWATER should be placed in this information does not mean fructose should be the treat category along with soda, cookies and french blacklisted. After all, many fruits and vegetables contain fries. It is a sugar filled drink with very small quantities of very few vitamins. It should not be part of a daily routine to boost health because in fact, it does just the opposite.

The good news is that water is cheap and VITAMINWATER is expensive. Not only will drinking water be healthier for us, it will also put money back in our pocket. Cheers to being healthy and saving money!

26 Beverages

While there are some healthy meal replacement beverages on the market, sold by well respected supplement companies, many of the meal replacement beverage products you see at the grocery store are garbage. Two popular brands that should be avoided are Ensure (which claims to be complete and balanced nutrition) and Carnation Breakfast Essentials (which claims to be a delicious and nutritious way to start the day right). Both of these products are LOADED with processed sweeteners, preservatives, and other unhealthy additives and flavors.

Let’s undress Carnation Breakfast Essentials to take a closer look at exactly why this popular meal replacement beverage does not look good naked.

27 Is Nonfat Milk really so great?

Undressing Carnation Nonfat milk is the transport device for all of the “nutrients” in Carnation Breakfast Essentials. Nonfat Breakfast Essentials milk is a whitened, skimmed version of whole milk: when the full fat is removed, so are many nutrients. The nutrients have to be added back in artificially (read on for some examples of how Carnation does it). Manufacturers also add sugar to replace the flavor of fat. Also, the removal of full fat means we’re less likely to feel full from consuming something, and the addition of sugar means we’re likely to need more of it to feel satisfied.

Sugar content

Sugar is listed as the second, third, and fifth ingredients: not promising for a product that claims to deliver “balanced nutrition so [kids] can be at their Article Contributed By: Amy Height, Holistic Health Coach Nestle recently launched an aggressive, celebrity-laden best”. Sugar is linked to attention deficit disorders and campaign to promote its Carnation Breakfast Essentials, hyperactivity disorders, poor nutrient absorption, and a pre-made drink intended to make breakfast more well- not surprisingly, . rounded and convenient for adults and kids. Their marketing is particularly aimed at parents of young ones, and suggests that the drink has Dicalcium everything a child needs to thrive. phosphate 101

There are definitely some key things to consider Dicalcium phosphate, the when preparing kids for the day with food: eating purported calcium supplement in this drink, is a breakfast has been linked to higher performance at compound formed when calcium and phosphoric acid school, better social interactions, fewer instances of are combined. The result is a substance virtually attention issues, and better weight maintenance. That insoluble in water (meaning it doesn’t dissolve or is, of course, unless breakfast is a highly processed absorb into the body’s tissues easily). Interesting to sugary cereal, toaster pastry… or the liquid equivalent. note, too, that this particular substance is Carnation Breakfast Essentials is fortified with a number recommended for use under doctor supervision only. of synthetic ingredients suspended in not-so-nutritious f o o d - e s q u e Flavors… ingredients, which makes them pretty Natural and Artificial much like liquefied Flavor – this could Count Chocula. Let’s include anything from look at how these mink oil (extracted convenient cans and from the animal), powders break down; s o a k e d c h a r r e d then we’ll explore sawdust, to extracts of some other ways to crude oil or tar that – w o r k t h e s a m e to our senses – taste nutrition into your or smell the same as a child’s day without ‘natural substance’. q u i t e s o m a n y W h i l e a n y t h i n g preservatives and labeled ‘natural artificial additives. 28 flavorant’ must be derived from something commonly Carrageenan considered edible, artificial ingredients don’t have to come from a food source. Carrageenan, which has seen much media attention lately due to studies that suggest it’s an unsafe food Vitamin sources product, is a highly processed derivative of red seaweed. It has no nutritional value and is used as an emulsifier. It CBE also includes isolated synthetic supplemental has been linked to inflammatory conditions and to sources of vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin A, glucose desensitization (a precursor for diabetes) in B1, B6, B12, D, K, and folic acid. animal trials.

There are several ways to work these essential nutrients and lasting energy into your child’s morning without resorting to pre-packaged drinks like Carnation Breakfast Essentials. It’s important to know that your child doesn’t require ALL of the vitamins on the nutrition spectrum in each meal; rather, aim for representation of each across a 24-hour period. You have two more (and snacks) throughout the day to cover their nutritional bases, so don’t worry too much about working in everything in one meal.

Where to get your essential nutrients

When it comes to providing ample energy to get through until lunch, aim for healthy fats and lasting protein. Unspoiled on the shelf for months! Avocado, almond butter, and flax meal provide a good dose of filling fat; nuts, seeds, whole grains, and yogurt To remain unspoiled on a shelf for many months, as alternatives provide protein. Breakfast Essentials must, the manufacturer adds emulsifiers and stabilizers: these keep the product’s Calcium can be found in leafy greens, almonds, and consistency for upwards yogurt made from soy or almond milk. of a year. (What does that mean they’re doing inside our bodies?) Soy Lecithin is a yellow- brown fatty substance extracted from plant tissue. It’s often highly processed. It’s used here as an emulsifier, to hold all of the other compound ingredients together.

Similarly, Alpha- Tocopheryl Acetate is stabilized . This form is more commonly used in cosmetics and is not generally effective as a source of nutrition. 29 Vitamin A is what gives orange veggies their bright color: think sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and even apricots. Vitamin B can be tricky on a plant-based diet, but incorporating nuts, seeds, spinach, banana, avocado, and nutritional yeast in addition to a B12 supplement can round out this nutrient in the diet. is widely available in fish as well as in mushrooms, and our best source of Vitamin K1 is leafy greens. (Seeing a pattern?).

Folate naturally occurs in staple plant foods like beans and greens (think: foliage), and in this form is more absorbable than when it comes from synthetic folic acid.

And if you need to add some real natural flavor, try vanilla bean, cinnamon, or nutmeg.

Considering all of these, some easy breakfast options include:

Smoothie with coconut Quinoa with water, almond greens, milk, nuts or banana, seeds, almond berries, and butter, and apricot flax meal

Brown rice or quinoa flour pancakes made with berries and cinnamon

An egg or scramble with greens, mushrooms, and sprinkle of nutritional yeast

In my opinion, the biggest benefit to avoiding premixed drinks like this one is the opportunity to limit sugar intake. Especially first thing in the morning, staying away from added sugars can promote better food choices throughout the day, fewer cravings, and better focus and attention at school.

Whole foods help kids develop a great relationship with real food and how it fuels them. It might take an extra minute to toss ingredients in the blender rather than pop open a can of Carnation Breakfast Essentials, but the long term benefits are worth it! Set your little ones up for a great day, and a healthy upbringing, by incorporating real foods as often as you can.

30 WHEAT

Wheat is a fairly controversial topic. There are many differing opinions, even within the natural health community. Some people say that it’s okay to eat wheat in moderation and some say we should eliminate it all-together. At the end the answer to this question depends on two factors: number one is how your individual body handles wheat, and the second is the type of wheat you are buying. Unfortunately most wheat on the market today has been chemically altered and is not as healthy as it used to be. Due to this alteration and the overconsumption of wheat in the last century many people are sensitive to wheat and to the protein inside wheat, gluten.

Let’s take a closer look at the history of wheat to understand why it used to look better naked than it does today.

31 One day emmer got a bit horny (frisky little devil) and To Eat Wheat Or Not To Eat naturally mated with another grass called Triticum tauschii which now resulted in a 42 chromosome offspring called Triticum aestivum – a grain that Wheat? That is the question! genetically is closest to what we now call wheat. People liked Triticum aestivum because it resulted in higher yield and was better for baking. This version of wheat changed very little over the next many centuries.

The year everything went to hell in a handbasket – or should I say ‘breadbasket’!

Everything was going great until 1943. At this time, in a town east of Mexico City, scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, in collaboration with the Mexican Government and Rockefeller To eat wheat or not to eat wheat…. That is the question! I Foundation, started messing around with wheat. The find that the two most controversial foods today are goal was to generate greater yield and wheat that was dairy and wheat. This is interesting because they also resistant to heat, drought, and disease. have two of the most well funded lobby groups focused on convincing us that no matter what, we need to The attempts were successful however, we have consume them to be healthy. Have you taken a look at manipulated wheat so much that it can’t even survive on the Canadian Food guide lately? It’s overloaded with it’s own in the wild anymore without human support these two food products. I find this interesting since (nitrate fertilization, pest control, etc). In addition, some of the healthiest people I know don’t eat either! because the yield was increased, the plant was too top heavy. It was at this time that wheat was further So What’s The Big Deal With Wheat Anyways? manipulated by a geneticist named Norman Borlaug. His efforts yielded a shorter plant that wouldn’t topple over You may be sitting there thinking, “I get it Briana, eating (referred to as “dwarf” and “semi-dwarf” varieties). For processed white wheat isn’t good because the this discovery he won many awards including a Nobel processors have stripped away the fiber and nutrients, Peace Price in 1970. but what about whole wheat, it’s a whole food, it must be good!” That’s exactly what I thought too!!! Imagine my Today, Allan Fritz, PhD, professor of wheat breeding in surprise when I found out that the whole wheat isn’t Kansas State University, estimates that more than 99 really so ‘whole’ after all and that scientists have been percent of the wheat grown worldwide is of the dwarf and semi-dwarf variety. using wheat as a clever science project to benefit the wallets of big agribusiness. So why is it bad for our health? Let’s undress this issue to see what’s been going on. The question I often get from people at this point in the A Quick History Lesson That Will Blow Your Mind! story is: “So what’s the big deal? Aside from the fact that wheat can’t grow without our assistance, most of these The very first wild wheat was called einkorn, it dates changes seem like a good thing.” back to 3300 BC and contained only 14 chromosomes. Shortly thereafter einkorn and goatgrass more or less According to Dr. William Davis, when we create a ‘mated’ and created a wheat plant called emmer that hybridized version of the plant, approximately 95% of contained 28 chromosomes (when humans mate, our the proteins in the new plant are the same, however, babies end up with the same number of chromosomes roughly 5% of the proteins are completely unique. When that we have, however, when wheat mates their you continue to hybridize the plant over and over again, chromosomes actually get added together resulting in the resulting product can actually be entirely different twice as many as before!) These two varieties (einkorn from it’s original parents. This is important because the and emmer) remained popular for thousands of years. new forms of wheat actually contain higher amount of gluten, which is a protein that has been causing a 32 number of health concerns recently. Most likely because we are consuming WAY more of it than we ever have before. This is due to the increased amount in our wheat, in addition to the increased consumption of wheat.

Hybridization vs Genetic Modification

One interesting thing to mention here is that all these manipulations to wheat were not done using the current techniques of genetic modification. These changes took place before that science existed and were created using hybridization methods. The difference is that with hybridization you manually cross breed two plants together and cross your fingers that their offspring will have the characteristics that you are hoping for. Imagine two parents who continuously had children until they birthed a child who met the specific characteristics they wanted. In this method there is a lot more “crossing the fingers” and hoping for the best.

With genetic modification scientists actually have the ability to insert a very specific gene into a chosen place. This is a more precise method, however, a large number of studies are indicating that modifying foods in this way may result in a food product that is harmful to humans.

Unfortunately, with hybridization the assumption has been that since you are taking two plants and forcing them to mate (without the use of the more abrupt genetic modification techniques) it is healthy for humans. Since this was the assumption, studies were not conducted to determine if these new wheat varieties had a negative impact on human health.

For me, I find this topic fascinating. At The Naked Label we focus a lot on undressing the food people eat. Often times this involves stripping off the fancy marketing messages on product labels to show people how bogus they are. It is generally assumed that if we are eating whole foods we are healthy. When we hear stories like this we realize that we need to open our eyes up even further to really undress what is going on in our food system.

33