The Truth is out there! Monday, May 28, 2007

RE: The top 10 things food companies don't want you to know

The giant food corporations have one mission: selling more food and beverage products to consumers. Succeeding with that mission depends on keeping consumers in the dark on certain issues such as the presence cancer-causing chemicals found in popular food products.

Here are ten things the food corporations, whose products dominate grocery store shelves across the United States and other countries, absolutely do not want you to know.

1. The ingredients listed on the label aren't the only things in the food. Cancer-causing chemicals such as acrylamides may be formed in the food during high-heat processing, yet there's no requirement to list them on the label. Residues of solvents, pesticides and other chemicals may also be present, but also do not have to be listed. The National Uniformity for Food Act, currently being debated in the U.S. Congress, would make it illegal (yes, illegal) for states to require cancer warnings on foods that contain cancer-causing chemicals (such as California's Proposition 65.) See articles on the Food Uniformity Act.

2. Monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is added to thousands of food and grocery products through a dozen different innocent-sounding ingredients, imbalances endocrine system function, disabling normal appetite regulation and causing consumers to keep eating more food. This chemical not only contributes to nationwide obesity, it also helps food companies boost repeat business. See articles on MSG.

3. MSG is routinely hidden in foods in these ingredients: yeast extract, torula yeast, hydrolyzed vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast. Thousands of common grocery products contain one or more of these chemical taste enhancers, including nearly all "vegetarian" foods such as veggie burgers (read labels to check). See Food manufacturers hide dangerous ingredients in everyday foods by using confusing terms on the label.

4. ADHD in children is caused almost entirely by the consumption of processed food ingredients such as artificial colors and refined carbohydrates. Eighty percent of so-called ADHD children who are taken off processed foods are cured of ADHD in two weeks. See articles on ADHD.

5. The chemical sweetener aspartame, when exposed to warm temperatures for only a few hours, begins to break down into chemicals like formaldehyde and formic acid. Formaldehyde is a potent nerve toxin and causes damage to the eyes, brain and entire nervous system. Aspartame has been strongly linked to migraines, seizures, blurred vision and many other nervous system problems. See articles on aspartame.

6. Most food dips (like guacamole dip) are made with hydrogenated oils, artificial colors and monosodium glutamate. Many guacamole dips don't even contain avocados.

7. Plastic food packaging is a potent health hazard. Scientists now know that plastics routinely seep the chemical bisphenol A into the food, where it is eaten by consumers. Cooking in plastic containers multiplies the level of exposure. Bisphenol is a hormone disruptor and can cause breast formation in men and severe hormonal imbalances in women. It may also encourage hormone-related cancers such as prostate cancer and breast cancer. See Plastics chemical bisphenol A found to promote prostate cancer in animal studies.

8. Milk produced in the United States comes from cows injected with synthetic hormones that have been banned in every other advanced nation in the world. These hormones help explain why unusually young teenage girls develop breasts at such a young age, or why hormone-related cancers like prostate cancer are being discovered in unprecedented numbers. In order to protect Monsanto, the manufacturer of hormones used in the industry, the USDA currently bans organic milk producers from claiming their milk comes from cows that were not treated with synthetic hormones. Even organic milk is now under fire as the Organic Consumers Association says Horizon milk products are falsely labeled as organic. See Horizon milk, Wild Oats named in consumer boycott of "false" organic products. (The solution to all this? Drink raw almond milk instead. Make it yourself with a Vitamix, water and a nut milk bag.)

9. Most grocery products that make loud health claims on their packaging are, in reality, nutritionally worthless (like meal replacement shakes, instant chocolate milk, etc.). The most nutritious foods are actually those the FDA does not allow to make any health claims whatsoever: fresh produce. See articles on food labeling.

10. Food manufacturers actually "buy" shelf space and position at grocery stores. That's why the most profitable foods (and hence, the ones with the lowest quality ingredients) are the most visible on aisle end caps, checkout lanes and eye-level shelves throughout the store. The effect of all this is to provide in-store marketing and visibility to the very foods and beverages that promote obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other degenerative conditions now ravaging consumers around the world. See articles on food marketing.

http://behindtheveiloflies.blogspot...anies-dont.html

I'm new to this website, in fact, this is my first post. But my low carb lifestyle over the past several years has led me to investigate the food AND drug industry. These top ten are truly only the tip of the ice berg! I stopped buying anything that has MSG, aspartame, or HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP in it for my family. These ingredients are dangerous. MSG is addictive, and both MSG and aspartame damage your nervous system (ie your BRAIN), especially important in children, and high fructose corn syrup is a cheap substitute for sugar that makes you fat! A great book to read on all of this is The Crazy Makers, by Carol Simontacchi. She talks a lot about how food affects children and infants. If you want more shockers, start investigating the drug industry!

Several of the items mentioned are known urban legends and patently false. While I agree that eating processed food is bad, misinformation is still misinformation.

Specifically, MSG and Aspartame concerns raised here are bogus and have been knocked down over and over again. While Aspartame can cause headaches in some people, there is not the least bit of evidence that it causes all these other things.

Many studies have shown that people with "MSG allergies" couldn't accurately tell if there was MSG in the food or not. If they think there was, they had a reaction, even though there was no MSG in the food given. Often, MSG reactions are simply the reaction you get when you over eat a bunch of high carb, high grease Chinese food.

I would say the term "ADHD" is used very loosely in this article because it is very easy to confuse TRUE ADHD with exitability in children caused by sugar and refined carbohydrates turning into sugar in their system. If 85% of children didn't really have ADHD, then there would be way too many kids on speed today, and, there aren't.

I have heard of the aspartame thing, which is why they tell you not to cook with it.. part of the reason Splenda came around. High heat turns it into really nasty stuff.

If cooking in plastic containers released chemical compounds, wouldn't the container itself, over much time, be completely gone? I live with elderly people, we don't throw ANYTHING away, including the plastic chinese food containers. They're still the same shape and size they were 5 years ago.

....."nut milk bag"...... Sorry.

I really don't buy the whole "manufacturers buy shelf space". Its a load of crap. When I worked at a store, we moved stuff around all the time to make space for in-season things or new items. We put tons of things on end-caps so we would have room on bigger shelves or if we were just trying to get rid of it faster. Personally, I don't see how this works. When was the last time you saw someone shopping on an end-cap? I never even look at them.

You are dead wrong about MSG, because I ate some almonds one time that had MSG in the seasoning, and I couldn't stop eating them.

When I used to eat (I only eat meat now) whole natural almonds they had exactly the opposite effect. I was satiated and full after a couple handfuls.

I ate some chicken once from a chinese place and literally couldn't stop eating it. It was like I was injecting heroin or something, and come to find out their food had MSG in it. I had no prior knowledge that either the almonds or food from the chinese place had MSG in them. Oh, and the chinese meal as just fried chicken..I didn't eat the sweat and sour sauce or the rice. So the carb aspect doesn't explain it either.

Placebo can happen, but it doesn't explain MSG. MSG is extremely addictive.

Interesting.. Its just a matter of time before the young people of today find out how to smoke/snort/inject it and we have another problem on our hands!

hahaha...no kidding. It's bad stuff. lol

I was a manager for CVS for about 5 years, and it's kind of down the middle as far as I could tell.

End caps are the company's discretion, and some of them are up to the management to decide.

I know for a fact cigarette companies pay for certain spots and advertising because we had a rep come in for marlboro one time and chew us out because we didn't have the correct pricing and they weren't in the right spot.

Some companies do pay for shelving spots, but not all of them do.

Our company reset plan-o-grams generally about once a year for each aisle. Not sure which companies paid for what, but it is interesting that for instance the higher sugar/kids cereals are closer to the eye levels of kids, while the "healthy" (I don't think any of them are healthy) versions are on top.

Do not ever ever mention plan-o-grams ever.. EVER.. again.

My worst was doing one for batteries. You know how hard it is to tell which batteries apart without actually reading AA, AAA, 16 pack, 20 pack...Took me 2 days and my manager was furious. Kind of hard to do when you have to man the front by yourself AND do batteries. Give me shampoo and I would have been done in 30-45 mins. I hated, no, I loathed that job.

Yeah, I was pretty miserable there too. CVS, well actually retail in general is pretty horrible.

I did our battery planogram once, and told the manager to keep those away from me from now on. I suck at planograms.

Thank god I'm not in retail anymore.

Easiest planogram I did was a diaper one. Very simple. Everything was easy to see on the papers that have tiny pictures of everything and we didn't have that many. LOL. I worked at Rite-Aid...

Was in the Pharmacy EVERY FREAKIN NIGHT...

totally OT, but I LOVE CVS!! EZ care bucks rock : )

and yes, mfg do pay for shelf space. retail is weird but interesting

Please. MSG is a flavor enhancer, just like salt and sugar. It makes the stuff taste better, which can make you eat more. That does not make it addictive. If it was addictive, you would need to eat more then next day or suffer extreme physical suffering. I have made my own roasted nuts with salt and then eat many more of them then when I eat natural almonds. NO MSG.. could it be the salty ones taste better and make me thirsty..

MSG is not addictive. It is simply sodium and glutamate. You know what glutamate is right? A natural compound found in meat, tomatoes, etc.

Since MSG is apparently in everything, how do you distinguish that chicken you ate and the nuts from everything else? How come you don't eat all food like heroin? Maybe you just like salty taste? Did you know that a lot of meat is seasoned and brined in MSG?

I am sorry, but I don't take people's anecdotal beliefs as evidence, and neither should you. That is the same kind of junk science that is used to bash low carb.

Oh, and for the record, MSG has never been shown to cause obesity in humans as is claimed on many anti-MSG sites. The study showed that massive amounts of it can cause mice to gain weight, but the very study stated that the mechanism doesn't work in humans. That has not stopped sites from making the claim.

I don't believe everything I read on the internet. I can guarantee you that you can find a site that makes wild conspiratorial claims about just about anything.

Here is my favorite. http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

Watch that stuff, it can kill you!

Is there an online petition I can sign to help get DHMO banned? I'm really worried about the toxic effects of that one!

Not all meat is, that's not true. The meat I eat is just meat. It's not seasoned.

And the need to keep eating more and an inability to stop even though you're technically full is addiction. Interesting that I kept eating from that chinese place every single day for about 6 months. You can ask any one of my co-workers from back then, I ate it every single day.

Glutamate may be found in everything, but it's found in NATURAL normal amounts. Not in the un-natural, processed, over used amounts it is in supplements and processed foods.

The inability to stop eating is really the problem. Why add it to the foods if it's already there? If it's so innocent why not actually put its real name on the ingredient list? Because they don't want you to know its in the product, that's why.

Why would they try to conceal the fact that it's in your food if it's not an issue? Explain that.