Food Safety: What You Need to Know
Wouldn't it be great if the foods we eat were safe, healthy, and free from pesticides?
There is a lot of confusion about what is safe to eat for our own health and longevity, as well as for our planet. There are no easy answers, but here are some basic guidelines for finding foods that will nurture you and the planet.
Say No to GMOs
Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) foods - including plants and animals - have been genetically manipulated to make the plant more productive, more resistant to pests, or contain higher amounts of a certain nutrient. When these foods are made to be more productive, it is no different than using growth hormones to make a chicken lay more eggs or a cow fatten up more rapidly.
In fact, it is similar to an athlete taking steroids. They promote extremely rapid growth but have side effects down the road. It is still too early to know what the effects of GMOs; it will take several generations to see if they have harmful effects on the human body. In the meantime, request your local supermarket carry natural and organic foods. Demand that their growers and distributors label foods that have been genetically modified.
Subtract Packaged Food's Additives
Avoid highly processed and refined foods - they're stripped of critical nutrients and then the nutrients are added back into the food after processing. Sulfites, nitrates, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are the three most common additives used in packaged foods to preserve color, prevent spoilage, and enhance flavor.
Sulfites can give rise to severe allergic reactions like asthma. Nitrates combine with amines in foods to form nitrosamines, which can lead to neurological damage or cancer. Headaches are often associated with MSG.
Other additives, including artificial colors and flavors, have been found to cause cancer in animals and cause hyperactivity in children. Shopping the perimeters of your local supermarket is your best bet to avoid packaged foods and ensure a selection of healthy, simple whole foods.
Produce Pointers
Years of shopping in over-stocked supermarkets has disconnected us from our food and its origins. Much of the produce at your supermarket has been picked weeks - or even months - before it makes its way onto the shelf.
These items are preserved by nitrogen or other artificial means that make them appear fresh; however, these foods have a low nutritional value. Farm-fresh produce comes directly from the source to your table, leaving little time in between for nutrients to be lost.
So shop at local farms stands, buying fresh, in-season organic produce. By eating locally produced foods you are lessening global warming by not buying foods that have been transported hundreds or thousands of miles to get to your dinner table.
When produce isn't organic, soak it in a large pot of cold water for five minutes, add a tablespoon of sea salt and one tablespoon of vinegar, then rinse thoroughly. You can also peel the pesticides off the outer layer of fruits and vegetables; however, keep in mind that you will lose some of the valuable nutrients in the skin.
Produce with the highest amounts of pesticide residue levels include cucumbers, peaches, and zucchini - all of which can be peeled. Some produce is best eaten only when it is organic, such as celery, cherries, grapes, strawberries, and tomatoes.
Meat Management
Conventional meat, poultry, and dairy products contain sizable amounts of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotic drugs that are harmful to your health.
In addition, commercial feed for animals is full of growth-stimulating hormones, drugs, coloring agents, and pesticides. And consider this: nearly 140,000 tons of poultry are condemned annually as unfit to eat, usually due to cancer, and yet a substantial amount is processed into animal feed.
More than 40 percent of antibiotics produced in the United States are used as animal-feed additives. The ecological result, after the animals and humans urinate and defecate the antibiotics, is the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains that are very dangerous to our health. For your health and well-being, only buy organic and free-range animals whenever possible.
There is a lot of confusion about what is safe to eat for our own health and longevity, as well as for our planet. There are no easy answers, but here are some basic guidelines for finding foods that will nurture you and the planet.
Say No to GMOs
Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) foods - including plants and animals - have been genetically manipulated to make the plant more productive, more resistant to pests, or contain higher amounts of a certain nutrient. When these foods are made to be more productive, it is no different than using growth hormones to make a chicken lay more eggs or a cow fatten up more rapidly.
In fact, it is similar to an athlete taking steroids. They promote extremely rapid growth but have side effects down the road. It is still too early to know what the effects of GMOs; it will take several generations to see if they have harmful effects on the human body. In the meantime, request your local supermarket carry natural and organic foods. Demand that their growers and distributors label foods that have been genetically modified.
Subtract Packaged Food's Additives
Avoid highly processed and refined foods - they're stripped of critical nutrients and then the nutrients are added back into the food after processing. Sulfites, nitrates, and MSG (monosodium glutamate) are the three most common additives used in packaged foods to preserve color, prevent spoilage, and enhance flavor.
Sulfites can give rise to severe allergic reactions like asthma. Nitrates combine with amines in foods to form nitrosamines, which can lead to neurological damage or cancer. Headaches are often associated with MSG.
Other additives, including artificial colors and flavors, have been found to cause cancer in animals and cause hyperactivity in children. Shopping the perimeters of your local supermarket is your best bet to avoid packaged foods and ensure a selection of healthy, simple whole foods.
Produce Pointers
Years of shopping in over-stocked supermarkets has disconnected us from our food and its origins. Much of the produce at your supermarket has been picked weeks - or even months - before it makes its way onto the shelf.
These items are preserved by nitrogen or other artificial means that make them appear fresh; however, these foods have a low nutritional value. Farm-fresh produce comes directly from the source to your table, leaving little time in between for nutrients to be lost.
So shop at local farms stands, buying fresh, in-season organic produce. By eating locally produced foods you are lessening global warming by not buying foods that have been transported hundreds or thousands of miles to get to your dinner table.
When produce isn't organic, soak it in a large pot of cold water for five minutes, add a tablespoon of sea salt and one tablespoon of vinegar, then rinse thoroughly. You can also peel the pesticides off the outer layer of fruits and vegetables; however, keep in mind that you will lose some of the valuable nutrients in the skin.
Produce with the highest amounts of pesticide residue levels include cucumbers, peaches, and zucchini - all of which can be peeled. Some produce is best eaten only when it is organic, such as celery, cherries, grapes, strawberries, and tomatoes.
Meat Management
Conventional meat, poultry, and dairy products contain sizable amounts of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotic drugs that are harmful to your health.
In addition, commercial feed for animals is full of growth-stimulating hormones, drugs, coloring agents, and pesticides. And consider this: nearly 140,000 tons of poultry are condemned annually as unfit to eat, usually due to cancer, and yet a substantial amount is processed into animal feed.
More than 40 percent of antibiotics produced in the United States are used as animal-feed additives. The ecological result, after the animals and humans urinate and defecate the antibiotics, is the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains that are very dangerous to our health. For your health and well-being, only buy organic and free-range animals whenever possible.
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