yellow | Completely Nourished

(This article written by J.D. Heyes was published on NaturalNews.com on 6/1/12.)
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036063_GMOs_foods_infographics.html#ixzz240HwuT48 )

“We here at NaturalNews.com pride ourselves in providing our readers with the most valuable, up-to-date news and information on a wide range of health-related issues, but we especially like to discuss nutrition because so much of our health depends on what we put in our bodies – and what we don’t put in them.
See the NaturalNews infographic at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Top-10-GMO-Foods-to-Avoid-Eating.html

Be aware and beware

With that latter thought in mind, we’ve developed an infographic to highlight the top 10 GMO (genetically modified organism) foods to avoid, in no particular order:

1. Zucchini: It goes without saying that many biotech companies say genetically modified foods are safe for you, but as GMO science expands, reseachers are finding more evidence that such foods can harm your health. One of those is zucchini. While not as potentially harmful as other GM foods, zucchini is nonetheless “engineered” to resist some strains of virus.

2. Cotton: Considered a food item because its oil can be consumed, cotton – in particular, genetically modified Bt cotton, common to India and China – has damaging consequences. According to recent Chinese research, while Bt cotton is capable of killing bollworms without the use of insecticides, its decreased use has increased the presence of other crop-harming pests. Also, Bt cotton production has been linked to drastic depletion of soil nutrients and lower crop yields, as well as much higher water requirements.

3. Canola: This is probably one of the most misunderstood, misguided “healthy” food choices out there right now, but there is little about canola – and similar oils – that is good for you. Extracted from rapeseed, canola oil and others must be chemically removed from the seeds, then deodorized and altered, in order to be utilized in foods. They are among the most chemically altered foods in our diets.

4. Aspartame: An artificial sweetener found in a number of products, aspartame – discovered by accident in 1965 by a chemist testing an anti-ulcer drug – accounts for as many as 75 percent of adverse reactions to food additives reported to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to some reports. Some seizures and even some deaths have been blamed on aspartame.

5. Dairy: A disturbingly high number – as many as one-fifth – of dairy cows in the U.S. today are given growth hormones to increase milk production, a figure that has been rising since the FDA approved a genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone known as rbGH or rbST for use in dairy cows in 1993. While said to boost production by 5-15 percent, scientists have expressed concern that the increased levels of IGF-1 (insulin growth factors-1) from hormone-treated cows may boost the risks of colon and breast cancer. Since 2008, Hiland Dairy has stopped using milk from dairy farmers who inject their cows with growth hormone.

6. Corn: Modified now to create its own insecticide, as many as half of all U.S. farms growing corn for Monsanto are using genetically modified corn, with tons of it now being introduced for human consumption, according to the FDA. Doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec recently found Bt toxin from modified corn in the blood of pregnant women and their babies, as well as in non-pregnant women.

7. Papayas: Genetically modified papayas have been grown in Hawaii commercially since 1999, designed to combat the Papaya Ringspot Virus. Approved for sale and consumption in the U.S. and Canada, GM papayas cannot be imported or sold in the European Union.

8. Sugar: Sugar from genetically modified sugar beets hit the market in the U.S. in 2009. They were modified by the Monsanto Corporation to be resistant to the company’s Roundup herbicide. In 2010 a group of Oregon farmers sued to stop planting that year of Monsanto’s genetically altered sugar beets over fears the crops could cross-contaminate other nearby fields.

9. Soy: Like other foods, soy, too, has been genetically modified to resist herbicides. Soy is included in soy flour, tofu, soy beverages, soybean oil and scores of other products, especially baked goods and pastries. According to one report, “[a]fter feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.”

10. Yellow squash Like zucchini, yellow squash is also a fast-rising GMO crop in the U.S., and as such, should cause you concern. If you like squash – and scores of Americans do – check out a farmer’s market that doesn’t sell GMO squash or grow your own using non-modified seed.”

Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/Infographic-Top-10-GMO-Foods-to-Avoid-Eating.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/035734_GMOs_foods_dangers.html
http://www.deccanherald.com
http://www.hilanddairy.com/green/no-artificial-growth-hormones
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036063_GMOs_foods_infographics.html#ixzz240HZgvcK

As you may or may not be aware, most table salts contain quite a few ingredients. Some of these are “anti-caking agents” which function to keep the salt granules from clumping together so your salt will fall freely through the holes of your salt shaker. There are anti-caking agents in table salt, sea salt, and both iodized and non-iodized versions of both. If you wish to avoid such ingredients, just inspect the containers in the salt aisle until you find one whose ingredients list contains solely: “salt.” And don’t assume, as I did, that just because a salt is coarse and comes in a fancy grinder that it is free of additives. Not true – check the label every time!

Several years ago at my aunt’s house, I was introduced to the ingredient, “yellow prussiate of soda.” I was enjoying some baked cabbage with my aunt that we made ourselves with just cabbage, olive oil and sea salt. By the time I finished eating, I had the worst hot flash!! My face was beet red, and I was literally running for the fan in the next room!! (And I never have hot flashes!) I couldn’t believe that this could’ve been caused by anything I’d just eaten, but I also couldn’t deny the timing of the reaction! Cabbage, olive oil and sea salt seemed like pretty “pure” ingredients to me, but I double-checked the ingredients just in case – and there it was on the back of the Morton sea salt: “yellow prussiate of soda (anti-caking agent).”

Can I prove that my hot flash was from this additive? I suppose not, since I’m not willing to eat that salt again. However, I can tell you that I had never seen that ingredient on a food label before (and I pretty much read labels for a living!); the salt I use everyday at home does not contain it; I eat baked cabbage using this same recipe at home all the time with no effects…and I never, ever have hot flashes otherwise. So you be the judge!

For 40 more pages of my best additive-free grocery shopping tips plus 160 of my favorite natural recipes, check out my book (and e-book) “Eating Additive-Free“!!

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