For years I have gone into food stores and read labels only to not know what half the ingredients were. I got to thinking, that maybe I’m not alone when it comes to knowing what the rest of them are. So, I’ve put together what might be a one-stop shopping guide to understanding what’s in your food. A good idea would be to print this and take it with you when you go shopping.
ACESULFAME POTASSIUM:
This is also known as acesulfame K or ace K. Commercially, it is marketed as Sweet One and Sunett. It is nothing more that a calorie-free, chemical, artificial sweetener that is used in over 5,000 products worldwide. You will find it in chewing gum, diet drinks, and light fruit drinks and used as a sugar replacement in desserts and baked goods because of its heat stability. It is 200 times sweeter than sugar and despite no testing done to determine its safety for human consumption, the Fraud and Drug Administration has not required testing despite knowing that this crap can cause cancer in animals. Oh yeah, it is not metabolized or stored in the body.
ACIDS:
The basic use of food acids are to enhance flavors and act as preservatives, to increase shelf life, and antioxidants to somehow provide some sort of artificial protection. The common food acids include vinegar, citric acid from citrus fruits, tartaric acid from grapes, and malic acid from apples. These are the safe ones. But
ADIPIC ACID, used in the production of nylon, is what the food industry uses in gelatin containing products, bottled drinks, and powdered fruit concentrates. It also has a low pH making food decay to take a bit longer.
CITRIC ACID, which we find in citrus fruits, is not what we find in food manufacturing. Basically this comes from corn (hello GMO), and it brings out the flavors of the other ingredients and provides a “tanginess” to otherwise boring foods. Did I forget to say that it greatly extends shelf life? Indeed it does!
MALIC ACID, is a good one as it comes from apples and used by the food industry to provide a tart or sour flavor to foods. Malic acid in combination with magnesium can help in alleviating fibromyalgia.
ANNATTO COLOR:
This is a natural yellow/red plant extract used to dye foods, textiles, and body care products. Primarily it is used as a red food coloring in cereals, preserved meats (otherwise they would be in their natural moldy grey color), cheeses, and sweets. Annatto has an incredible distinction – it is the only natural color known to cause as many adverse effects as artificial colors and is used because Annatto sounds better that Artificial. Adverse effects? How about reactions to skin, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and central nervous systems?
ANTIOXIDANTS (food grade):
These slow the oxidation of fats, oils, colorings, and flavorings. They are better known as:
BHT and BHA, which are only used to prevent oxidation, slow rancidity and yes, extend shelf life. You can find BHT and BHA in cereals, instant potatoes, frozen dinners, baked goods, chewing gum, beer, and some fruit drinks. The bad news: they affect the central nervous system, cause behavioral problems in kids, and BHT can convert hormones and contraceptives into carcinogens.
ARTIFICIAL BUTTER FLAVOR:
Do not touch it with a ten-foot pole! This creation contains more than one hundred chemicals. You can find this in popcorn, as have the factory workers for microwave popcorn that experienced an inflammatory lung disease, or “Popcorn Worker’s Lung Disease”, from the exposure to the diacetyl contained therein. Diacetyl is also hidden in ice cream, candy and baked goods as “artificial flavor”. Included also is a chemical named acetoin, which is an aroma carrier used in flavor preparations. It is also another culprit in the Popcorn disease.
ARTIFICIAL COLOR:
These are basically from petroleum products and the Fraud and Drug Administration has “approved” the following bearing the letters FD&C (Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic):
FD&C Blue # 1 – Brilliant Blue FCF -A blue shade found in beverages, candy and baked goods. Hello cancer!
FD&C Blue # 2 – Indigotine – A dark blue shade found in pet food, beverages and candy. Yes, same as above!
FD&C Green # 3 – Fast Green FCF, E143 – A bluish green that is rarely used. Same!
FD&C Red # 3 – Erythrosine – High doses caused cancer in lab animals.
FD&C Red # 40 – Allura Red, E129 – Produces allergy-like reactions, cancer, and hyper-activity in kids.
FD&C Yellow # 5 – Tartrazine – A yellow shade found in soft drinks, energy drinks, cotton candy, flavored chips, cereals, cake mixes, pastries, sports drinks, and other convenience foods. Skin rash, skin allergies, asthma, runny nose, and hyperactivity in kids.
FD&C Yellow # 6 – Sunset yellow, E 110 – An orange shade found in DayQuill capsules, Extra strength Tylenol, fortune cookies, red sauces, chips, and yellow, orange, and red food products. It is linked to allergies, nausea, nasal congestion, and hyperactivity in kids.
ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR:
This is a cheap way for a food pimp to make a flavorless, bland food taste yummy. Guess what? The Fraud and Drug Administration does not require labeling as long as the product has the “Generally Recognized As Safe” label for the ingredients. Bear in mind that lots can be hidden under the word “flavor”. Just to let you know, the flavor “Vanillin”, which is the synthetic version of Vanilla, is made from petroleum and benzene, a known carcinogen.
ASPARTAME:
An artificial sweetener composed of 50 percent phenylalanine, 40 percent aspartic acid, and 10 percent methanol and converts to formaldehyde at 84 degrees (the body’s temperature is 98.6). If you wish to become brain dead or experience headaches, dizziness, behavioral changes, convulsions, diarrhea, memory loss, itching, hives, and weight gain (yes, you read that right), knock yourself out.
BARLEY MALT:
Safe
BENZOATES:
Antimicrobial preservatives used in food and drink to maintain flavor and extend shelf life. Linked to allergic reactions and cancer.
BETA-CAROTENE:
Safe
BROWN RICE SYRUP:
Safe
CALCIUM STEARATE:
It’s a salt and used as an anti-caking agent, binder, emulsifier, filler, and foaming agent. It’s used in supplements and store bought MSM pills or powders, making it worthless. No food testing has been done.
CALCIUM SULFATE:
Basically, this is chalk and is used as a coagulant.
CARMINE:
A red color that comes from crushed up red beetles. In other words, bug juice.
CARNAUBA WAX:
A vegetable wax that comes from a tree in Brazil used to coat candy, frosting, gum, and as a coating for floors and cars.
CASEIN:
AKA caseinate, calcium caseinate, ammonia caseinate, magnesium caseinate, potassium caseinate, and sodium caseinate. It is the principal protein in milk.
COCOA (alkalized)
Crapola! This “stuff” uses hydroxide to neutralize the acids in the cocoa, giving it a smoother and less bitter taste but causing the cocoa to lose up tom 90 percent of its antioxidants.
COCONUT OIL:
In food manufacturing, this is refined, bleached, deodorized, and useless. Do not confuse it with organic virgin cold-pressed coconut oil, which is highly beneficial to health.
CONFECTIONER’S GLAZE:
AKA shellac. It’s the waste product of the Lac beetle in India, Myanmar, and Thailand used as a clear coating to protect candy quality. If you like eating beetle doo-doo, go for it.
CORN SYRUP:
AKA high-fructose-corn-syrup. It is a GMO, has no nutritional value, and allows you to gain weight easily.
DEXTROSE:
Comes for sugar and GMO corn. Having the same formula as glucose, the word dextrose is used because the pimps believe that people will choose dextrose over glucose. It is nothing more than refined sugar that you do not need.
EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid)
A chelating agent that is toxic to cells, potentially carcinogenic, an organic pollutant, collects in ground water and can carry heavy metals back into the drinking water. It is added to canned foods to trap metal impurities. Yum!
EMULSIFIERS:
These enable foods with fat and water to stay mixed together to give a more “appealing” look and consistent texture. The most commonly used is lecithin.
FUNCTIONAL FIBERS:
We all know the importance of fiber for a healthy bowel function. There are, however, fibers that are so heavily processed that you need to avoid them like the plague.
ALGINATE has chelating properties, comes from algae and seaweed, and moves toxins out of the body. It is used in processed foods to present a “creamy” texture. Also in cereal bars, ice cream, salad dressings, cheese spreads, and frozen dinners. Propylene glycol alginate, chemically modified, thickens soda and salad dressings and stabilizes the foam in beer.
CELLULOSE comes from the indigestible part of plants and is used to thicken, prevent caking, emulsify, and gel foods.
METHYLCELLULOSE is chemically produced with the same stuff used to make Drano. If you see this on a label, run away.
GELATIN:
Comes from animal’s hooves and connective tissue of animals and fish. Gumdrops are pure gelatin. Ugh!
GUMS:
Mostly from natural sources like seeds, tree sap, and seaweed. Some good; some bad.
CARRAGEENAN is carcinogenic when used as food grade (in foods).
LOCUST BEAN GUM comes from carob beans. A good one.
GUM ARABIC/ GUM ACACIA is good in foods and good in paints, glues, and textiles.
GUAR GUM is another one that okay.
XANTHAN GUM basically comes from corn and is likely a GMO.
INULIN:
Comes from chicory root and acts as a probiotic in the gut. While it binds, it removes cholesterol, fat and dangerous hormones.
LACTOSE:
Comes from milk. Caucasians, except for Scandinavians, are 75, percent lactose intolerant, Asians are 85 percent lactose intolerant, and blacks are 95 percent lactose intolerant. If you experience cramping, bloating, gas, diarrhea or a runny nose and congestion after consuming milk products, you are lactose intolerant or allergic to all the antibiotics and growth hormones contained within the usual cooked to death and. devoid of all nutrients, dairy products.
MALTODEXTRIN:
For the most part it comes from corn and is likely a GMO. In Europe, where Monsanto has been kicked out of, it comes mostly from barley and wheat
MSG:
Anything modified, hydrolyzed, textured, autolyzed, protein isolates, yeast extract, and torula yeast are the most commonly used. Go to your search engine and put in MSG euphemisms and you will get a list that will blow your mind.
NITRATES and NITRITES:
Found in cured, processed, and fast food meats. They cause cancer.
OLESTRA: (Olean)
An additive to make low-fat or fat free foods. Causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps, gas and interferes with the absorption of health-protective, fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants.
PALM OIL:
Choose palm fruit oil over palm oil. Palm oil is loaded with saturated fat. If it says “modified” palm oil, take a hike. It is the highest in saturated fat and not any better than the partially hydrogenated trans fats they are used to replace, which in of itself promotes heart disease by increasing the amount of “bad” LDL cholesterol and decreasing the amount of “good” HDL cholesterol. It is by far the worst of the worst.
PECTIN:
A good guy coming from fruits, vegetables and legumes to thicken products.
POLYDEXTROSE:
Considering it comes from combining corn sugar, a GMO, with sorbitol, the GMO part is enough to turn me off. It is usually added to products containing unhealthy products and can result in diarrhea.
PGPR (polyglycerol polyricinolate):
An emulsifier and “el Cheepo” replacement for cocoa butter in chocolate bars made from castor oil. Allegedly, it is safe. Not for me it isn’t!
POLYSORBATE 60:
Comes from GMO corn oil, crappy palm oil, and petroleum and leads to harmful reproductive health, organ toxicity, and cancer.
POLYSORBATE 80:
An emulsifier used in creams and lotions and is linked, as well, to cancer as well as nervous system and reproductive toxicity and can cause anaphylactic reactions.
POTASSIUM BROMATE:
This “goodie” has the distinction of being banned in just about every country in the world except the U.S. It makes you wonder if Monsanto has something to do with it. It’s used in breads and has shown to cause renal cancer in rats.
PRESERVATIVES (propionates, propyl gallate, propylene glycol. Propylene glycol monosteatate):
Feet don’t fail me know! The only thing good about them is you can avoid them. If you don’t – hello migraines, gastrointestinal problems, toxicity to the central nervous system, kidneys, blood system, heart, yeast infections, and vaginal infections.
SOY LECITHIN AND OIL:
If it don’t say organic, “give ‘er a miss, mate!” Non-organic means GMO.
STEVIA:
A great herb as an alternative to sugar. I like the drops.
SUCANET:
Dehydrated sugarcane juice.
SUCRALOSE (Splenda)
An artificial sweetener made from chlorine and just as toxic as aspartame. Why couldn’t they just leave in the swimming pool?
SUGAR ALCOHOLS (erythritol, lacitol, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol):
All okay except that lacitol comes from milk products, in case you are lactose intolerant. Xylitol is poisonous to dogs, so be careful where you keep it.
SULFITES:
Sulfites destroy vitamin B1 and folic acid. They also contribute to headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, behavioral problems, skin rashes, and asthma. AVOID!
TBHQ (tertiary butylhydoquinone):
A petroleum based, synthetic, food-grade antioxidant used to preserve unsaturated vegetable oils, animal fats, frozen fish, and some chocolate. It is also used in perfume, varnish, lacquer, and resins. It is associated with nausea, vomiting, and ringing in the ears.
TITANIUM DIOXIDE (E171)
Used as an artificial color to make foods white, especially dairy products, skin-care products, toothpaste, sunscreen, paper, paint, and more. Symptoms can be skin rash, muscle pain, and fatigue.
Well, there you go. Maybe I didn’t get everything but I sure got enough for you to make an informed choice.
And if by chance, it’s already in your system how do you get rid of it? The oxygen released by the organic sulfur crystals works miracles.
Aloha!
About Hesh:
I have been doing a radio show in Honolulu since 1981 called “Health Talk”. To listen to the show please tune into 1080 or 108 am or go to www.kwai1080am.com on your computer at 8am Hawaii time. FYI, 8 am Hawaii time is 10 am on the West coast and 2 pm on the East coast. To call in, the number is (808) 524-1080.
Now, American Voice Radio will be picking up my streamed show and playing it all week until the next one takes place. To listen, go to americanvoiceradio.com and click on my link at AVR 2. Starting in December I will be doing another radio show on AVR at 9:00 am Hawaii time on Thursday mornings. Just go to the website, click on AVR 1, and listen live or tune in later and listen via the archive to Health Talk with Hesh.
See you on the radio!
In 2007, I was “forced” to get a masters degree in Nutrition to stop all the doctors from calling in asking what my credentials were. Besides that, they never liked it when I asked them what their credentials were that would enable them to treat an illness without drugs or surgery.
If you go to www.healthtalkhawaii.com and click on Podcasts and Articles, there are years of shows there as well as hundreds of health related articles that are completely free to listen to and read.
I am an activist. I am vehemently opposed to GMOs, vaccines, processed foods, MSG, aspartame, fluoridation, and everything else that the “pimps” (big pHarma, Monsanto, and the large food companies), and the “hookers” (the doctors, the government agencies, the Public Health officials, and the mainstream media) thrust upon us, the “tricks”.
At 76, I am in 3 softball leagues, racewalk, do stand-up paddling, hike, swim, do weights and cardio, and teach women’s self-defense classes based upon 20 years of Wing Chun training. I have been a vegetarian since 1975 and a vegan since 1990, have no illnesses and take no meds.
After being vaccinated with the DTP vaccine as a child, I developed asthma, which plagued me until 2008 when I learned about and started taking the organic sulfur crystals. My asthma was reversed in 3 days and has not come back.
So far, 29 cases of autism that we know about have been reversed, as has cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, asthma, osteoarthritis, joint pain, gingivitis, and erectile dysfunction. The sulfur has increased sexual activity, eliminated toxins, heavy metals, radiation, and parasites. It speeds up athletic recovery time, increases blood circulation, reduces inflammation, increases resistance to the “flu”, reduces wrinkles, allergies, PMS, monthly period pain, migraines, nausea, lowering high blood pressure, raising low blood pressure and way more, because the oxygen that the sulfur releases floods and heals the cells in the body.
The sulfur, as proven by the University of Southampton in England, enables the body to produce vitamin B12 and the essential amino acids.
You can find out more about this on my website under Products.
My book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”, which has been published, can be viewed and purchased at www.asanediet.com. The book clearly explains why what you eat, for the most part, is designed to keep you in a state of declining health.
I have recently discovered two amazing super foods – Zeal and Shakeology – Zeal contains 30 amazing probiotics, anti-oxidents and more, all designed to build and strengthen the immune system and Shakeology contains 42. What’s great about Shakeology is that it is filling, replaces one meal and keeps you full for hours and helps with weight control and loss. For more info about Shakeology please email me or go to www.beachbodycoach.com/heshgoldstein. The good news about Shakeology is if you are not satisfied after 30 days the company will refund you.
And now I have come across an amazing bee pollen that is so soft it melts in your mouth and has so many benefits. It is rich in vitamin B12 and all B vitamins, proteins, minerals, beneficial fatty acids, carotenoids, bioflavenoids, antioxidants, antihistamines, enzymes, antibiotics, and natural phenylalanine, which acts as an appetite suppressant, and more.
My daily regimen consists of one teaspoon of the crystals twice a day, one scoop of the Zeal in cold water, one packet of Shakeology either in 8 to 12 ounces of water or added to my smoothie and a heaping tablespoon of bee pollen. For more about Shakeology please go to www.beachbodycoach.com/heshgoldstein.
Hesh Goldstein, MSNutri
“Health Talk” Moderator, K-108 Radio
POB 240783, Honolulu, Hi 96824
(808) 258-1177
www.healthtalkhawaii.com
www.asanediet.com
[email protected]
Just to put things in perspective, after I graduated from Weequahic High School and before going to Seton Hall University, I had a part-time job working for a butcher. I was the delivery guy and occasionally had to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up products for the store. Needless to say, I had no consciousness nor awareness, as change never came then despite the horrors I witnessed on an almost daily basis.
After graduating with a degree in accounting from Seton Hall, I eventually got married and moved to a town called Livingston. Livingston was basically a yuppie community where everyone was judged by the neighborhood they lived in and their income. To say it was a "plastic" community would be an understatement.
Livingston and the shallowness finally got to me. I told my wife I was fed up and wanted to move. She made it clear she had to be near her friends and New York City. I finally got my act together and split for Colorado.
I was living with a lady in Aspen at the end of 1974, when one day she said, " let's become vegetarians". I have no idea what possessed me to say it, but I said, "okay"! At that point I went to the freezer and took out about $100 worth of frozen, dead body parts and gave them to a welfare mother who lived behind us. Well, everything was great for about a week or so, and then the chick split with another guy.
So here I was, a vegetarian for a couple weeks, not really knowing what to do, how to cook, or basically how to prepare anything. For about a month, I was getting by on carrot sticks, celery sticks, and yogurt. Fortunately, when I went vegan in 1990, it was a simple and natural progression. Anyway, as I walked around Aspen town, I noticed a little vegetarian restaurant called, "The Little Kitchen".
Let me back up just a little bit. It was April of 1975, the snow was melting and the runoff of Ajax Mountain filled the streets full of knee-deep mud. Now, Aspen was great to ski in, but was a bummer to walk in when the snow was melting.
I was ready to call it quits and I needed a warmer place. I'll elaborate on that in a minute.
But right now, back to "The Little Kitchen". Knowing that I was going to leave Aspen and basically a new vegetarian, I needed help. So, I cruised into the restaurant and told them my plight and asked them if they would teach me how to cook. I told them in return I would wash dishes and empty their trash. They then asked me what I did for a living and I told them I was an accountant.
The owner said to me, "Let's make a deal. You do our tax return and we'll feed you as well". So for the next couple of weeks I was doing their tax return, washing their dishes, emptying the trash, and learning as much as I could.
But, like I said, the mud was getting to me. So I picked up a travel book written by a guy named Foder. The name of the book was, "Hawaii". Looking through the book I noticed that in Lahaina, on Maui, there was a little vegetarian restaurant called," Mr. Natural's". I decided right then and there that I would go to Lahaina and work at "Mr. Natural's." To make a long story short, that's exactly what happened.
So, I'm working at "Mr. Natural's" and learning everything I can about my new dietary lifestyle - it was great. Every afternoon we would close for lunch at about 1 PM and go to the Sheraton Hotel in Ka'anapali and play volleyball, while somebody stayed behind to prepare dinner.
Since I was the new guy, and didn't really know how to cook, I never thought that I would be asked to stay behind to cook dinner. Well, one afternoon, that's exactly what happened; it was my turn. That posed a problem for me because I was at the point where I finally knew how to boil water.
I was desperate, clueless and basically up the creek without a paddle. Fortunately, there was a friend of mine sitting in the gazebo at the restaurant and I asked him if he knew how to cook. He said the only thing he knew how to cook was enchiladas. He said that his enchiladas were bean-less and dairy-less. I told him that I had no idea what an enchilada was or what he was talking about, but I needed him to show me because it was my turn to do the evening meal.
Well, the guys came back from playing volleyball and I'm asked what was for dinner. I told them enchiladas; the owner wasn't thrilled. I told him that mine were bean-less and dairy-less. When he tried the enchilada he said it was incredible. Being the humble guy that I was, I smiled and said, "You expected anything less"? It apparently was so good that it was the only item on the menu that we served twice a week. In fact, after about a week, we were selling five dozen every night we had them on the menu and people would walk around Lahaina broadcasting, 'enchilada's at "Natural's" tonight'. I never had to cook anything else.
A year later the restaurant closed, and somehow I gravitated to a little health food store in Wailuku. I never told anyone I was an accountant and basically relegated myself to being the truck driver. The guys who were running the health food store had friends in similar businesses and farms on many of the islands. I told them that if they could organize and form one company they could probably lock in the State. That's when they found out I was an accountant and "Down to Earth" was born. "Down to Earth" became the largest natural food store chain in the islands, and I was their Chief Financial Officer and co-manager of their biggest store for 13 years.
In 1981, I started to do a weekly radio show to try and expose people to a vegetarian diet and get them away from killing innocent creatures. I still do that show today. I pay for my own airtime and have no sponsors to not compromise my honesty. One bit of a hassle was the fact that I was forced to get a Masters Degree in Nutrition to shut up all the MD's that would call in asking for my credentials.
My doing this radio show enabled me, through endless research, to see the corruption that existed within the big food industries, the big pharmaceutical companies, the biotech industries and the government agencies. This information, unconscionable as it is, enabled me to realize how broken our health system is. This will be covered more in depth in the Introduction and throughout the book and when you finish the book you will see this clearly and it will hopefully inspire you to make changes.
I left Down to Earth in 1989, got nationally certified as a sports injury massage therapist and started traveling the world with a bunch of guys that were making a martial arts movie. After doing that for about four years I finally made it back to Honolulu and got a job as a massage therapist at the Honolulu Club, one of Hawaii's premier fitness clubs. It was there I met the love of my life who I have been with since 1998. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She said," If you want to be with me you've got to stop working on naked women". So, I went back into accounting and was the Chief Financial Officer of a large construction company for many years.
Going back to my Newark days when I was an infant, I had no idea what a "chicken" or "egg" or "fish" or "pig" or "cow" was. My dietary blueprint was thrust upon me by my parents as theirs was thrust upon them by their parents. It was by the grace of God that I was able to put things in their proper perspective and improve my health and elevate my consciousness.
The road that I started walking down in 1975 has finally led me to the point of writing my book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Hopefully, the information contained herein will be enlightening, motivating, and inspiring to encourage you to make different choices. Doing what we do out of conditioning is not always the best course to follow. I am hoping that by the grace of the many friends and personalities I have encountered along my path, you will have a better perspective of what road is the best road for you to travel on, not only for your health but your consciousness as well.
Last but not least: after being vaccinated as a kid I developed asthma, which plagued me all of my life. In 2007 I got exposed to the organic sulfur crystals, which got rid of my asthma in 3 days and has not come back in over 10 years. That, being the tip of the iceberg, has helped people reverse stage 4 cancers, autism, joint pain, blood pressure problems, migraine headaches, erectile dysfunction, gingivitis, and more. Also, because of the detoxification effects by the release of oxygen that permeates and heals all the cells in the body, it removes parasites, radiation, fluoride, free radicals, and all the other crap that is thrust upon us in the environment by Big Business.
For more, please view www.healthtalkhawaii.com and www.asanediet.com.
Namaste!
