There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of dyes in our food and cosmetics. For good reason, I believe. I'm just going to present some basic information on this in case some of you haven't ever heard about the dangers of these dyes. Some of you will be very surprised at just how many things you consume that are dyed and the impact they may have on our health.
Citrus Red 2, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 are some of the most commonly used dyes. All of these dyes are known to contain cancer-causing chemicals. Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are known to trigger reactions in people with allergies.
There are probably many, many more. Please share with us if you have more items that we should know about. If you want to avoid dyes, read the labels or shop somewhere that doesn't sell this junk. We try to avoid dyes as much as we can, but we are human and give in to our cravings sometimes. Do your best, it's all you can do.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Every little thing we do.
I have days where I wonder why I should even unload that dishwasher one more time. Why even bother to clean the floors, clean up, organize, etc. On these days I wake up in the morning, way earlier than I want to. I am woken up by little faces staring down at me, whining for something and demanding I get out of bed. I shuffle my way out of bed, carrying one of these little creatures to the living room in order to get what they want, feeling rather irritated and....TIRED! I meet the little creatures demands and finally sit down with a cup of coffee to try and gather a thought. I have a little bit of a headache. Crap, I hate that. The creatures start whining again. Then they start fighting and arguing. This persists throughout the day. I work my way through mundane chores, being interrupted constantly by the little creatures demands and outbursts. I feel like I hardly accomplish anything. I put something together for dinner and no one likes it. Everyone has a comment to make about it and then there I am, holding my tongue, trying to not to FREAK OUT! Sometimes I do. Sometimes I yell, make a snide comment or just take a really loud deep breath and hope they notice my irritation. Well, clean up time. Glad I'm cleaning up after this dinner that no one even liked. My back hurts and I just want to collapse. Somehow I manage to make it through the rest of the evening. I finally get the creatures in to bed and I'm exhausted. I'm mad. I wonder why I do it and I feel depressed at the thought of having to get up tomorrow morning and do the same thing over again.
When I get caught in these cycles, it's usually an accumulation of a few bad days and circumstances. But it is mostly due to my own attitude and self pity. When I finally stop feeling sorry for myself and remember God, I think of this verse: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.
There's no one like God to whip you back in to shape and tell you what's up. This song keeps coming on the radio about all of these little things we do and how they do matter to someone...God. Then I read a great blog post from Drops of Living Water about the same thing. I love when God just slams me in the face with something like that. Gotta love a good wake up call, especially when it leaves you feeling humble and renewed. "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord," Acts 3:19. Lord knows I need constant refreshing, especially when it comes to this subject.
Those little creatures I mentioned before...those are my two little gifts from God. I can view them as a nuisance or a blessing, it's my choice. My husband who leaves his socks laying around is also a gift, someone God chose for me. Those chores, the thankless dinners and all the other unappreciated gestures? Well, I can look at those as a burden or my job. The job that God has put me in charge of. I know that where I am is exactly where God wants me to be. Knowing that, I should also know that every task I do to keep my home, raise my family and honor my husband are pleasing to God. It doesn't matter if the task is scrubbing a toilet. I don't have to save the world to please God. God promises me this: "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11.
And you know what, most days I love my job. I have nothing to complain about. I am blessed. As far as those bad days..or well, let's be honest...weeks. Well, I'm workin' on it. Constantly. Well, along with a lot of other things actually. :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Hot Dogs
For Fourth of July, I had a little get together at my house. Just a small thing with a few family members. We had the usual foods, including hot dogs. This sparked a conversation about hot dogs and this stuff called nitrates that were found in a lot of hot dogs that was supposedly harmful. I had noticed that some of the labels on hot dogs stated that they were "nitrate free", so I had assumed that there was something about these nitrates that had sprung some debate. I don't typically buy hot dogs because I don't know where to even buy organic ones and for the most part, they gross me out. But, one can't deny that on special occasions, a regular old hot dog is pretty good. Especially with the horrible Doritos we had with them. So good though. Oh, and the Coors Light. It was a night of letting go and ingesting those chemicals like a true American would.
So. Anyways. Got off subject a little bit. So what about these nitrates? I looked in to it and found out exactly what nitrates were and why they certainly do not appear good for our health. Nitrates are actually a normally occurring compound in plants(like vegetables we eat). These nitrates turn in to nitrites when they are exposed to bacteria. These naturally occurring nitrates are a lot different when they are found in vegetables as opposed to when they are introduced artificially in to hot dogs. Nitrates from vegetables are a lot different than the artificial ways that companies are putting them in to hot dogs, using sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.
Nitrates are put in to hot dogs as a preserving agent, to give the hot dogs the pink color and to keep botulism at bay. They are also used to give the meat the flavor that people are accustomed to. Oh, you know, that unnatural flavor that we all love so much! ;)
The problem with nitrates. Well, when combined with the meat, the nitrates are combined with amines(naturally found in meat), which cause a carcinogen called N-nitroso to form. This carcinogenic compound is linked to cancer and all sorts of other not so fun health risks.
So, there you have it. Glad I know what this whole nitrate/nitrite deal is about. Now you know too, if you didn't already know before. Hopefully we all look for the nitrate and nitrite free hot dogs next time we go to the store.
So. Anyways. Got off subject a little bit. So what about these nitrates? I looked in to it and found out exactly what nitrates were and why they certainly do not appear good for our health. Nitrates are actually a normally occurring compound in plants(like vegetables we eat). These nitrates turn in to nitrites when they are exposed to bacteria. These naturally occurring nitrates are a lot different when they are found in vegetables as opposed to when they are introduced artificially in to hot dogs. Nitrates from vegetables are a lot different than the artificial ways that companies are putting them in to hot dogs, using sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite.
Nitrates are put in to hot dogs as a preserving agent, to give the hot dogs the pink color and to keep botulism at bay. They are also used to give the meat the flavor that people are accustomed to. Oh, you know, that unnatural flavor that we all love so much! ;)
The problem with nitrates. Well, when combined with the meat, the nitrates are combined with amines(naturally found in meat), which cause a carcinogen called N-nitroso to form. This carcinogenic compound is linked to cancer and all sorts of other not so fun health risks.
So, there you have it. Glad I know what this whole nitrate/nitrite deal is about. Now you know too, if you didn't already know before. Hopefully we all look for the nitrate and nitrite free hot dogs next time we go to the store.
Monday, July 4, 2011
"Natural"
We see this word used on so many of our food labels these days. The good news is that there are a lot more people trying to eat healthy and there is a much higher demand for healthy food. The bad news is that there is not a lot of truth left in the food industry these days. The companies who produce our foods are aware that there is a market for healthy, organic and "natural" foods and they are using it to their advantage. Typically speaking, this is to our disadvantage.
Consumers, for the most part are very gullible. I mean, after all, don't we want to believe that we are being told the truth? It's in our nature, and it's really sweet and Godly. However, wake up! We are being sold a bunch of crap and being manipulated into believing that it's good for us. I am not saying that every food company in the world is evil...just most of them ;).
So, the point? Well, I wanted to find out what this term "natural" really meant...so I did. Natural most certainly does not mean organic. You see, even the FDA has fairly stringent guidelines for a company to be able to claim that they are organic. Probably not strict enough, but it's about as good as we are going to get at this point and time, ok. The FDA doesn't really do much to monitor what the companies are doing who claim to sell these "all natural" products. They may claim to be, but they are not. Don't believe me....look in to it and come to your own conclusion. There are companies out there who are claiming that their products are natural after they are processing them with chemicals and unnatural products, stating that they came from a "natural" source to begin with....I guess. It's totally bogus.
Let's take deep fried foods for example. Heating foods to extremely high temperatures in oil and dousing them in processed salt. Is that natural to anyone? Or what about the hyrodgenated oils you see on a lot of "natural" products? There is nothing natural about these oils that are heated to extreme temperatures, which cause trans fats to be introduced. How about hiding the term MSG in products by using the names like yeast extract and autolyzed or hydrolyzed proteins? Well, just think about it this way. You know how organic items have to have the seal on them that says "USDA Certified Organic"? There isn't even a seal for the term "natural" because it's a suggestion, not a requirement. Listen. I could bore you all day with this stuff, but this post is getting a little long.
My point is that the term "natural" doesn't mean squat and in almost all cases, it is not going to guarantee you that you are buying a healthy product. This doesn't mean that there are not some reputable companies out there that actually do sell healthy, natural products. There are some good places out there, but you have to be smart. You have to read the labels of the products that you are buying and know who you can trust. That takes time, I know. If it's important to you, you'll do it. Maybe reading this will at least get you thinking about those "natural" products you buy and perhaps you will look into them a little further.
Also, there are a few places that I have bought food items from that I know are a good source, but they don't have the USDA organic seal on them. Some places really do sell awesome, organic products but can't afford to jump through all of the hoops to get their products certified. Just use your judgment and ask questions.
Consumers, for the most part are very gullible. I mean, after all, don't we want to believe that we are being told the truth? It's in our nature, and it's really sweet and Godly. However, wake up! We are being sold a bunch of crap and being manipulated into believing that it's good for us. I am not saying that every food company in the world is evil...just most of them ;).
So, the point? Well, I wanted to find out what this term "natural" really meant...so I did. Natural most certainly does not mean organic. You see, even the FDA has fairly stringent guidelines for a company to be able to claim that they are organic. Probably not strict enough, but it's about as good as we are going to get at this point and time, ok. The FDA doesn't really do much to monitor what the companies are doing who claim to sell these "all natural" products. They may claim to be, but they are not. Don't believe me....look in to it and come to your own conclusion. There are companies out there who are claiming that their products are natural after they are processing them with chemicals and unnatural products, stating that they came from a "natural" source to begin with....I guess. It's totally bogus.
Let's take deep fried foods for example. Heating foods to extremely high temperatures in oil and dousing them in processed salt. Is that natural to anyone? Or what about the hyrodgenated oils you see on a lot of "natural" products? There is nothing natural about these oils that are heated to extreme temperatures, which cause trans fats to be introduced. How about hiding the term MSG in products by using the names like yeast extract and autolyzed or hydrolyzed proteins? Well, just think about it this way. You know how organic items have to have the seal on them that says "USDA Certified Organic"? There isn't even a seal for the term "natural" because it's a suggestion, not a requirement. Listen. I could bore you all day with this stuff, but this post is getting a little long.
My point is that the term "natural" doesn't mean squat and in almost all cases, it is not going to guarantee you that you are buying a healthy product. This doesn't mean that there are not some reputable companies out there that actually do sell healthy, natural products. There are some good places out there, but you have to be smart. You have to read the labels of the products that you are buying and know who you can trust. That takes time, I know. If it's important to you, you'll do it. Maybe reading this will at least get you thinking about those "natural" products you buy and perhaps you will look into them a little further.
Also, there are a few places that I have bought food items from that I know are a good source, but they don't have the USDA organic seal on them. Some places really do sell awesome, organic products but can't afford to jump through all of the hoops to get their products certified. Just use your judgment and ask questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)