You may have heard about GMO’s in the United States, but did you know that GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) can be found in as many as 60-70% of the foods in the United States. These organisms have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology, also called genetic engineering.
This science allows DNA from one species to be injected into another species in a lab. Combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods are created. Although GMO food has been banned in Europe, politics in the United States are keeping GMO’s on the market and in our food.
I strongly believe the dangers of GMO food are not fully known; however, some dangers have been reported recently. Six of these dangers include:
- Food Allergy Symptoms Increase Dramatically
- Bodily Toxicity Increases
- Negative Reproductive Effects
- Negative Effects to the Digestive System
- Unknown Genetic Effects on Humans
- Death
Studies are continuing to be conducted on the safety of GMO’s. The outcome of meddling with nature may be worse than we can imagine.
You may have heard about GMO’s in the United States, but did you know that GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) can be found in as many as 60-70% of the foods in the United States. These organisms have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology, also called genetic engineering.
We have all heard over and over how bad sugar is for our health and how hard it can be to shed weight with sugar in the diet. I have preached this to my clients and do my best to relay the many other options to sweeten food and beverages without using sugar or dangerous artificial sweeteners. The dangers of sugar stretch far beyond simple weight gain or loss. This post will highlight specific reasons sugar can damage the body and why it is imperative to stay far away from this dangerous “food.”
The following list offers insight on how dangerous sugar really is. Nancy Appleton has done extensive research on sugar and has a highly informative website with extensive information on sugar and sugar substitutes. This list highlights only some of the reasons to just say NO to sugar.
- Sugar can suppress the immune system
- Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body
- Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
- Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides
- Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
- Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose
- Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins
- Sugar leads to chromium deficiency
- Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate, and rectum
- Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose
- Sugar causes copper deficiency
- Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium
- Sugar can weaken eyesight
- Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine
- Sugar can cause hypoglycemia
- Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract
- Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children
- Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease
- Sugar can cause premature aging
- Sugar can lead to alcoholism
- Sugar can cause tooth decay
- Sugar contributes to obesity
- High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis
- Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers
- Sugar can cause arthritis
- Sugar can cause asthma
- Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
- Sugar can cause gallstones
- Sugar can cause heart disease
- Sugar can cause appendicitis
- Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis
- Sugar can cause hemorrhoids
- Sugar can cause varicose veins
- Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users
- Sugar can lead to periodontal disease
- Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis
- Sugar contributes to saliva acidity
- Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity
- Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood
- Sugar can decrease growth hormone
- Sugar can increase cholesterol
- Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure
- Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
- High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non- enzymatically to protein)
- Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
- Sugar causes food allergies
- Sugar can contribute to diabetes
- Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy
- Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
- Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
- Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
- Sugar can change the structure of protein
- Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen
- Sugar can cause cataracts
- Sugar can cause emphysema
- Sugar can cause atherosclerosis
- Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL)
- High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body
- Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function
- Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease
- Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body
- Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide
- Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat
- Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney
- Sugar can damage the pancreas
- Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention
- Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement
- Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness)
- Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries
- Sugar can make the tendons more brittle
- Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine
- Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women
- Sugar can adversely affect school children’s grades and cause learning disorders
- Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves
- Sugar can cause depression
- Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer
- Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion)
- Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout
- Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates
- Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets
- High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity
- Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol
- Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease
- Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness
- Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive
- Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones
- Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli
- Sugar can lead to dizziness
- Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress
- High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion
- High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer
- Sugar feeds cancer
- High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant
- High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents
- Sugar slows food’s travel time through the gastrointestinal tract
- Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon
- Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men
- Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more dificult
- Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer
- Sugar is an addictive substance
- Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol
- Sugar can exacerbate PMS
- Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce
- Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability
- The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch
- The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects
- Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition
- Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function
- Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases
- I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer
- Sugar increases the risk of polio
- High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures
- Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people
- In Intensive Care Units: Limiting sugar saves lives
- Sugar may induce cell death
- Sugar may impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in living organisms
- In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior
- Sugar can cause gastric cancer
- Sugar dehydrates newborns
- Sugar can cause gum disease
- Sugar increases the estradiol in young men
- Sugar can cause low birth weight babies
Next time you reach for that candy bar or pastry at Starbucks, ask yourself, “Is it really worth it?”
If you have been suffering from brain fog, depression, anemia, allergies, eczema, mood swings, chronic fatigue, poor concentration, burning skin and anxiety, it’s a good bet that toxins have accumulated in your body.
Toxins are just one of several interferences to a normal functioning body; but because of our consistent exposure to them and their often undetectable sources, they continue to pose one of the most serious threats to our health and well-being. Toxins are created internally from the waste by-products of cell metabolism during things like exercise and digestion; and externally from pesticides, cleaning solvents and/or disinfectants, heavy metals and food additives. What the body cannot excrete through sweat, urine, and feces becomes entrapped in the cells of the body that govern your very existence—in nerve cells, fat cells, bones, teeth and organs. This creates an overload on the body, which weakens the immune system. Some interpret this as the aging process—arthritis, heart disease, degenerative disk disease, diabetes, and difficulty with weight management.
Despite the efforts by various watchdog and regulatory groups toward increased awareness for our safety, we inevitably become exposed to environmental pollutants on a daily basis. Today, there are approximately 80,000 chemicals in commercial use; however, studies show that our bodies cannot metabolize over 20,000 of these chemicals and that we have between 400 and 800 chemical residues regularly stored in the fat cells of the body. Chemicals such as pyrethoids, the main ingredient in many pesticides, can alter hormone function in low doses and are toxic to the nervous system in high doses. Other chemicals are found in 80% of supermarket foods when they become processed or made for shelf life. Processed foods force the body to “burn the metabolic candle at both ends,” since it must use additional energy, vitamins, minerals, co-factors and co-enzymes stored in the body to break down the unnatural food elements.
Perhaps the largest contributors of environment toxins are heavy metals. They are found in the three core elements we depend on daily to stay alive—air, water and soil (food). According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, “Since metals build up in your body over time, symptoms are often attributed to other causes and people often don’t realize that they have been affected by metals until it’s too late…[causing] irreversible damage.” Mercury, Lead, Aluminum, Arsenic and Cadmium are the most common toxic metals.
Mercury is one of the most damaging neurotoxins known. Its toxicity is generated by vapors from mercury-based fillings in the teeth, by injection into the bloodstream as part of a vaccine, and by ingesting it from contaminated fish. Dental amalgams are in 78% of all Americans and are recognized as “safe, affordable and durable” by the ADA, yet studies show that 95% of all people with nervous system disorders such as MS, epilepsy, paralysis and migraines also have dental fillings with mercury in them. Furthermore, people with amalgams are exposed to vapors 10X greater than those without them and is worsened when brushing teeth, drinking hot liquids and chewing gum.
Most vaccines contain a mercury preservative known as Thimerosal. The EPA has determined that the amount of mercury in a vaccine is 50 times more than the recommended limit for human safety to an adult individual. Imagine the exposure to a developing infant with 59 vaccines currently being “required” prior to the age of 18. Many experts agree that neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism and ADD/ADHD, are directly linked to toxic levels of mercury in vaccines and the infant’s inability to eliminate the mercury from the brain. Non-mercury based vaccines are available, but are in limited supply since they are cost prohibitive to the manufacturer. When in doubt, ask to see the packaging. For a more in depth review, go online to www.909shot.com. or to the book, Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby.
Unfortunately, industrial pollutants are also contaminating fish, whose Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids are found to be one of the healthiest fats on the planet for optimal function in the brain, blood, cells, muscles, skin and numerous other tissues. Larger fish in the food chain will have the most toxins in them. Despite the recognized pollutants in the ocean, avoid fish that is farm-raised, and go for the wild fish instead when buying it from the store. Furthermore, “fresh” fish doesn’t always mean it is wild. I recommend the Tilapia or Salmon. If you’re purchasing Omega-3 EFA Supplements, be sure to look for a description on the label about the oil being purified through a molecular distillation process. Otherwise, I would avoid it altogether.
Lead exposure mainly occurs through lead-based paints and gasolines, lead batteries, rubber products, as well as lead-contaminated water and glass. Lead-based paints pose the biggest threats here since they still exist on an estimated 64 million homes and commercial properties. Lead exposure is known to affect children more than adults, and can cause hypertension, kidney dysfunction and poor brain development.
Aluminum is absorbed into the body through drinking contaminated water, anti-perspirants, aluminum foil, aluminum cookware, over-the-counter drugs, some baking powders as well as refined foods, flours and processed cheeses. High Aluminum exposure has been implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Arsenic is absorbed into the body through drinking contaminated water, sawdust from freshly cut wood treated with arsenic, and/or from an occupational hazard of pesticide use. Liver, kidney, bladder, prostate and skin cancer can be caused by long-term exposure to Arsenic.
Cadmium is absorbed through drinking contaminated water, food, cigarette smoke and occupational hazards from battery manufacturing, welding and metal soldering. Although it is a naturally occurring metal, it is extremely carcinogenic and can harm DNA and the DNA repair process. Exposure to high levels of Cadmium can lead to liver disease, hypertension and neurological damage.
Removing Toxins
Nutrition: Chlorella and Chlorophyll are two of the most powerful green foods since they act like magnets for heavy metals as they pass through your body. Buy organic fruits and vegetables and eat them raw when possible. If food is cooked beyond 116-118˚, it will destroy most or all of the active enzymes in food. Various purifications programs are also available that range from 2 to 60 days for cleansing the blood, organs and other tissues.
Massage: Lymphatic Drainage Massage can be very effective in stimulating the lymphatic system to mobilize the toxins in the body and release them through appropriate channels (skin, colon, urine and respirations).
Foot Bath: The foot bath utilizes Himalayan mineral salts and special electronic equipment in a medically approved process known as Peritoneal Dialysis (Osmosis). After just 35 minutes, you will feel more balanced, cleansed, relaxed and refreshed.
Infrared Sauna: The infrared sauna utilizes far infrared light, a natural band of light invisible to the human eye but felt as heat. According to High Tech Health, “Unlike the heat produced in traditional saunas, far infrared heat is able to penetrate the body to a depth of 1 ½ to 2 inches…and [encourages] a slight rise in body temperature that boosts natural detoxification systems.”
It’s important to remember that the time taken for most toxins to evoke a symptom or dysfunction in the body is usually months or years, and it may take an equal amount of time for the toxins to be removed. Over the next few weeks, think about all the things discussed in this article that may be contributing to a toxic burden on your body so you can take action now and prevent problems from developing later in life.
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