The Chemical Maze.. going healthy& organi
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Topic: The Chemical Maze.. going healthy& organi
Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Subject: The Chemical Maze.. going healthy& organi
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 4:25pm
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So a girlfriend of mine has read this book called the chemical maze and has talked to me about it a little bit, so I have managed to find a PDF online of the shopping guide. Its all about the chemicals in our foods and what issues they can cause.
So out of curiosity I am looking at the ingredients of the mother earth baked fruit sticks which I've given DD before and found that they have antioxidant 320... checked the guide and it says this 320 E320 Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA; banned in some countries) Antioxidant Potential effects: Headache; asthma; insomnia; wheezing; fatigue; depression; DNA damage; animal carcinogen Possible Uses: Food: edible oils (may not be listed) Other: perfumery, cosmetics Edited because DD pushed enter lol Oh and Iphone and Itouch uses you can get an app through itunes to have with you when you go shopping ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Replies:
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 5:28pm
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Do you have a link to the PDF? I would be interested to have a read ------------- 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 7:34pm
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http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/additivesall.htm - Food Additives This is the full list
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/additives.htm - Shopping List Condensed list. Go through your cupboards with it...quite shocking when you do it for the first time. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 7:43pm
I haven't read the book but my first thoughts (not directed at anyone in particular) are can we go a little overboard sometimes on things like this? I am not necessarily saying that food additives don't have side effects but everything seems to be bad for you these days. Either that or you get mixed messages about things e.g. red wine is good for the heart but bad for the liver, cut down on oil but Italians with high oil diets tend to live better etc etc etc. Sometimes I wonder if we get info overload 
Interesting though that something that you would perseve (sp??) to be healthy (mother earth baked fruit sticks) has something it in that has such potential side effects! ------------- Lindsey 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 8:03pm
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You know, I wouldn't really give two tosses what things have in them if my kids could eat them without being UTTER monsters...so it might be going over board for some but for others not so much...
Although in saying that, food tastes completely different without additives & also I feel better without having them, although I am known to fall off the wagon at times, BUT food additives affect us, so yes I notice the difference. I think your example isn't very well rounded, yes Italians might use a lot of oil but what is the rest of their diet like, I think you'll find that it's not full of processed crap like the american way of eating. Same as - Yes I use a lot of salt in my cooking but we don't receive salt in any packet form so I'm probably having less than most people are in the grand scheme of things. It's amazing how many foods that are portrayed being healthy are not in reality. There are lots of good food choices out there that have less additives in them, it's just a matter of looking else where other than the eye level shelves at the supermarket. Additives both ok and not ok are everywhere because we've got such a wide range of food that is accessible at times of the year when it's not normally accessible. They're in all those packet items that have been developed cause people just don't have the time to cook from scratch any more. Also one way to reduce your chemical intake is to wash chicken before you use it. It's put through a bleaching agent to help stop campylobacter(sp). ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Lucky apple
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 8:12pm
| I find the food thing a hard one when I think about it too much. I think that there's heaps I don't know - I put a lot of trust in the Food Safety Standards folk - and for the most part, I think they do a good job. But, when I think about it too much....bought bread, for instance, should not stay "fresh & mould free" for as long as it does...Always makes me wonder about preservatives... |
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 9:08pm
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Ah I have seen that list before, tho I havent been through the pantry yet.
I would love to have a diet full of whole foods but I have no idea how to go about it or what to buy. I kinda need someone there telling/showing me what is possible. Thanks for the tip on the chicken, I shall do that from now on  -------------
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 9:37pm
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Just make everything from scratch or make sure you check the ingredient list on the back of items you buy. Take note of the "good" ones & stick to them.
Helps by having a meal plan as well & also start with the simplest meal of the day...breakfast make your own jams for spreads, it's super easy if you open your mind to it.------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 20 June 2011 at 10:39pm
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Im not the best cook, but I do try to make new stuff. I have been meaning to do a mean plan for a while now, should get a folder to put some recipies in. Most of our food is not to processed, I would say that bread, crackers, rice and pasta were the worst ones.
I love making jam, I made a ton last year, but I dont eat it! Far too sweet for me! -------------
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Posted By: Plushie
Date Posted: 21 June 2011 at 1:51am
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Bread and pasta is very easy to make too! I am another that is creeped out by the 'fresh' bread from the supermarket that stays mould free a scary amount of time.
Do you like marmalade, Wriggles? You can make a nice tart lime marmalde...yummers. This is all very interesting. I learnt a bit about this a culinary school, but when DS was first born i was really anal about what i ate, it was home grown or home made or nothing! Not so much now, but i should make more effort ETA: Linzy i would normally agree with you - i have a friend who won't eat anything red, not even natural reds and i thought she was a bit of a nutbar but lately something has been affecting me really badly (bloating, stomach pain etc) and its not gluten or dairy so am starting to examine what exactly it is thats messing with me. |
Posted By: Hopes
Date Posted: 21 June 2011 at 8:35am
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As a general rule, I'm a firm believer that fresh whole produce is best, and I try and use that whenever I can.
On the other hand, I think some people take concerns about additives overboard without proper research. Not that I'm entirely innocent myself since I haven't done a lot, but I'm always so reluctant to just believe it when someone I don't even know anything about says something's unsafe and has this long list of side effects but no actual proof listed. For example, if you wanted to be a scaremonger, you could talk about water like that - if consumed in excess, it causes headaches, personality changes, changes in behavior, confusion, irritability, drowsiness, and in some extreme cases, death. And that's 100% true, but not an actual reason to avoid water. The cynic in me pipes up saying that it's possible you'd have to consume equally stupid amounts of E320 to get the effects they list there... -------------   
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Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 22 June 2011 at 7:54pm
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I get what you guys mean about going overboard and I guess you have to trust that the food safety standards means that theres not alot of the chemicals in products to be harmful, but I am going to be mindful of it from now on as I get chronic migraines and if I am eating things that could bring them on and cutting them out can help then I think it could be worth it.
I do think that for a company that talks about being natural that mother earth is deceptful. ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker">
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 22 June 2011 at 10:14pm
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Hopes, some people react to small amounts, others don't react at all. It's really hard to pick some times. It's all basically down to tolerance levels. So have really high tolerance so never go above that & therefore never react. Others like my son have extremely low tolerance levels and react to lots of things.
I agree, you need to be informed & do your research, otherwise you are actually just making things difficult for yourself. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: myfullhouse
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 1:45pm
No it probably wasn't, my sleep deprived preggy brain doesn't work too well by evening! All I was trying to say is that I think we sometimes get bombarded with so much information and so many do's and don'ts (not just about food) that it just gets a bit too confusing and if you followed it all then you would probably end up with a very limited diet. I just think that some of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt (no pun intended) and obviously 'everything in moderation' In saying that I try to reduce the amount of processed foods that we eat, have started a vege garden etc so I do take note of some of what is said ------------- Lindsey
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AandCsmum wrote:Posted By: millemama
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 9:23pm
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Linzy, I get your point, if you think about it all at once it does make it a mammouth task. I have just read 'Take Control of your Health and escape the Sickness Industry' and some was what I already knew and the rest was eyeopening but believable for me. Buuuttt, if I did everything the book said, yes it would be a hugely radical transition, and our household is pretty good as it is. So long story short, pick out a few things to change in your diet etc and concentrate on them until not having that product, additive is the norm then carry on doing that as and when it works for you. I carry limited amounts of processed food in our pantry compared to the average, but I still got a ways to go, but happy with what I do. Have just started in the last months to make my own DW powder, laundry detergent and conditioner, which are working really well. ------------- http://daisypath.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 10:52pm
Sorry, didn't mean to sound grumpy up there but it was quite hard to write it. I have been on that limited diet (pears, rice, oats, & about 10 vege's), it was my choice, but it was what I had to do cause I was b/fing, soon as I stopped b/fing I fell off that wagon, you need to have utter self control to be able to do it or something that made you think twice ever time food went near you mouth to make you stick to it. I don't think that many people would go that strict on their diets from all the do's & don'ts, well I hope they wouldn't do it without medical or a dietitian helping them.
Yep absolutely agree and there are definitely choices that you can make out there to cut down the amount of additives in your diet ie plain ready salted slim bluebird chips are preservative free, the wrinkle cut are not...Pams oven fries are preservative free, other brands contain preservatives, if they are not listed then they are contained within the 5% labelling loop hole (I know this as we regularly talk to companies about their ingredients) Take the option of avoiding all MSG, there are fish n chip shops now that pride themselves in not adding it so you can still have your take aways. One thing I find really interesting with changing our diets to avoid things is the volume of vege's that we eat has gone up, basically cause we're cooking at home & thinking about what we eat. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 23 June 2011 at 10:54pm
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AND OMG....don't anyone jump in and change things full hog...you get withdrawal symptoms about 3 days in and all you want to do is eat sweet stuff.....easy does it is definitely the best step. ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |