why is processed food so bad?

When I cook I use things like.....
eggs, milk, spices and herbs, along with other real food ingredients.

But when the factory cooks for me it is a different story.

If I was to create a recipe for the commercial market these are some of the changes it would go through in order to even think about putting it on the store shelves.

 

Whole food (fruit and vegetable) supplies are a big challenge first because  of spoilage. Real food is quick to spoil. The second thing is that the food can change in price and quality throughout the year.  For example, strawberries are available year round, during peak season they are reasonably priced they are really yummy, but winter strawberries are very expensive lack that "summer strawberry" experience which brings me to the next part...

Taste.  Each batch of vegetables, fruits, and other whole foods tastes slightly different because of variations in the seeds and growing conditions.  Often food companies do not want to use the real food which can be unpredictable in color and flavor. So what do they do, they substitute with colors and flavors that are very predictable in order to achieve the taste and color they desire.  It is important that they create the same product each and every time with the exact same flavor profile. Spices and fresh herbs are often lost in the process because they also change throughout the season, therefore  dried herbs may be used, but more often "natural flavors" is seen on the label instead so that you will get the same taste each and every time.  Natural flavors is a very deceptive term and is widely used to cover up the unpleasant truth about what is really in your food.  I will include some links at the bottom of the page for those of you who want more reading on that subject.

When I cook I often use milk and eggs. In the commercial food business these are foods that require refrigeration and have many rules and regulations for their use as they are considered "potentially hazardous" They are foods that are easily spoiled, plus there are allergy factors involved.  Many large companies are shying away from the use of eggs and milk and are substituting chemicals that perform the same function in recipes. These chemicals are deemed "safe", but are they really? I would suggest that they may be more hazardous to your health than the milk and eggs themselves.

Cost is also a major factor in food production. The chemicals that imitate the flavors and colors of real food are a lot less expensive than the real thing. They are often used to keep the food cost low. Cutting the cost of food is quite a concern to the leaders of  these companies (how else can they pay for the massive machines that are required for the processing of large quantities of food). Which brings me to the next point; the health cost associated with the machines and processing of foods.


As the food products are pumped through these massive machines, often times there are chemical additives that are used for the sole purpose of making the product run through the machine more smoothly. Not to mention the chemicals that end up in our food from the cleaning of the machines. I once had to throw out an entire gallon of milk, because it tasted so bad of cleaning chemicals (this at a time when money was so short that it really hurt to throw it out). There are a lot of health risks associated with these chemicals, not to mention the heat that is  produced by these machines when they run at such high speeds. The heat and chemicals destroy any goodness that is left in the food and we haven't even got to the stabilizers and preservatives used to keep the product "fresh" and shelf stable so that it can travel to the store and then get to our home and be used, not to mention the chemicals and things added during the packaging process. I am amazed at the amount of chemicals that are used in the processing that do not even end up on the label  they are just overlooked by the FDA as "part of processing".

What may start out as a "good recipe" turns into a chemical cocktail by the time it is done with the food manufacturing process, and yet people still wonder if it is really all that bad for them.
YES! processed foods are bad for your overall health. They are full of toxins that will not kill you right away, but repeated exposure to all of these things can kill.


I choose to cook from scratch and eat real foods.   It helps to keep down the toxins so that I am not in a constant state of toxic overload.  My body is thanking me, after years of overload it is finally finding some relief.

I find that the saying FOOD SHOULD COME FROM A PLANT AND NOT BE MADE IN A PLANT very helpful when I am making food choices.



Additional reading:

Wikipedia on flavorings

Beaver butts as natural flavorings

Wikipedia on pink slime

Is processed food safe?

Tuning the brain to the real food channel

As I have journeyed into better eating habits there are still some things that I really struggle with. These are things that I want to believe, but my brain has been "trained" to believe other wise. It has been a battle inside to retrain my brain, but it is working. I am changing my thoughts and my actions while improving my health. 

 

1. Probiotics.  I understand the fact that there are "good bacteria" that are essential for good health. I know that culturing milk to make yogurt and  kefir have really helped my gut, but sometimes my inner germ freak kicks in. I can't seem to help it when I have thoughts like..... "Food should not be left out on the counter growing things" or, "How do I know that it is not growing the wrong stuff?"

Being the chef and going through the courses that teach the danger of  bacteria because it can kill people, where we heard over and over again "hot foods are to be kept hot, and cold foods are to be kept cold" has made me a wee bit paranoid.  Milk (or any other food) left at room temperature for more than two hours, and/or kept in the "danger zone" sends out a red flag, it says "Danger, Danger, throw it out before it kills someone".  It has been a challenge to retrain my brain on this matter.

 

2. Fat.  Growing up in the low fat era has really had an impact on me. The more I learn about how good fats are helpful for the brain and heart, the more I have to turn down and drown out  those voices that keep telling me lies about fat. My brain and heart feel so much better when they have the proper fuel (fat). I am finally getting to where I do not feel guilty buying and using butter and other good fats.  I can use sour cream without the guilt that used to crush me.

It is still hard at times.  Because I am a large woman, I feel judged when I go to the store and buy full fat milk, butter, and cream. I often feel judged by my sisters who are plagued by the "fat monster" inside of them. They are still of the opinion that fat is the enemy. Fat itself is not the enemy, it is essential to good health, but the wrong fats can be detrimental. When I feel judged by others I have to just know deep down inside that I am getting healthier and the good fats are an essential part of it. I have to remember that they don't know about my inner struggles. They do not understand how badly my brain and body were damaged by a low fat (high sugar and starch) diet. They do not understand how the change of diet has helped my digestive system which was out of order.  One day my outside will reflect the health that I am feeling inside.  





3. Starches.  I do not have to have a starch (pasta, potato, rice, bread etc.) at each meal. As a naturally frugal person it has been hard. Meat has always been stretched out in a casserole or such. Sandwiches and cold cereal (cheap foods) have been a main part of life. We learned early on in school that starches are the staff of life and the basis for a good diet. If you look at the 1992 Food pyramid you will see that starches are at the base it is the foundation of our society. We learn it from a very young age. The first foods we are given as infants are the grains and starches.  It is a way of life for so many of us and it is hard to break free.

 

It has taken a long time for me to believe that I can have a dinner without a starch. Dinner for me would often start with which starch do I want; pasta, potato, or rice? Then I would build around it. In chef school we spent weeks learning how to prepare starches. This is how food is created, sold and marketed to us.  I have had to work really hard at changing things at our house.

I still have hard time thinking that A piece of fish and a salad or vegetable is a complete meal. I still want the starches to go with it. I am getting better. I used to crave starches so much that I would eat a full meal and then go and eat a bunch of carbohydrates a while later just to satisfy the carbohydrate/ starch cravings.  I was not full until I felt the warm comforting feeling of a carbohydrate load in my body. Things are slowly changing.

 I have enough flavors in my life, I have a full menu, but saying goodbye to a long held carb obsession is hard. I can't help but still hold onto it, my excuse;  "it is for the kids."  It is time to let that excuse be gone. I have learned that the kids can learn to love new flavors and textures too. They don't have to be raised to be a carb addict. Things can change; your health can change; It starts with changing you mind about food and it's power in your life.


What about you? What new thoughts and behaviors have you had to create to improve your health? Share in the comments below so we can all benefit.    


 Additional reading

 My first adventures into making yogurt
  My adventures with kefir

Why a high fat diet

Ex-vegetarian goes high fat/ low carb

 

 

 

Seasonal affective disorder and nutrition

There are many people I know who really struggle emotionally in the spring, and many more who struggle through the fall and winter months. Many are suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.

What is Seasonal affective disorder and what are its symptoms? Here is a definition taken from the Mayo clinic's website. Seasonal affective disorder (also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. If you're like most people with seasonal affective disorder, your symptoms start in the fall and may continue into the winter months, sapping your energy and making you feel moody. Less often, seasonal affective disorder causes depression in the spring or early summer.  Take a look at your life, think back upon the last year or two, do you notice a difference in your mood in the springtime as opposed to the fall? (Often those closest to you can help you identify if you suffer from moodiness during certain periods of the year).

                           

                               
From the Mayo clinic website here is a list of symptoms that one may experience with this disorder.

Fall and winter seasonal affective disorder (winter depression)

Winter-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include:

• Depression
• Hopelessness
• Anxiety
• Loss of energy
• Heavy, "leaden" feeling in the arms or legs
• Social withdrawal
• Oversleeping
• Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed
• Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates
• Weight gain
• Difficulty concentrating

Spring and summer seasonal affective disorder (summer depression)

Summer-onset seasonal affective disorder symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
• Irritability
• Agitation
• Weight loss
• Poor appetite
• Increased sex drive 

From the Mayo clinic's website ..... The specific cause of seasonal affective disorder remains unknown. It's likely, as with many mental health conditions, that genetics, age and, perhaps most importantly, your body's natural chemical makeup all play a role in developing the condition.  Women in particular seem to be more prone to experience this disorder as well as those who live further away from the equator, family history is also a large factor in determining if you will suffer from this disorder.

So if you are suffering what do you do? Medications are often prescribed to help deal with the symptoms. Psychotherapy can also be used effectively to help you deal with the changes in emotions. Light therapy also seems to help. Which is the best for you? There is no right answer as each person is different. Again from the Mayo clinic website  There is no known way to prevent the development of seasonal affective disorder. However, if you take steps early on to manage symptoms, you may be able to prevent them from getting worse over time. Some people find it helpful to begin treatment before symptoms would normally start in the fall or winter, and then continue treatment past the time symptoms would normally go away. If you can get control of your symptoms before they get worse, you may be able to head off serious changes in mood, appetite and energy levels.

For me, managing symptoms is a bad way to live. I do not agree with the traditional way of thinking in this country which is to manage symptoms. If you look at current treatments for most diseases and disorders the advice given is to manage the symptoms. Most of the symptom management  is done with drugs, many of which have terrible side effects. I know that many of my friends and family members suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. Many of them have turned to dangerous drugs and I see too many side effects from taking them. I feel that there has to be a root cause for this disorder. There has to be healing beyond the drugs and expensive therapies.


I too have suffered from this disorder. After giving birth to three babies right in a row I thought I was experiencing post partum depression. Then I noticed that it came back year after year. It seemed that two years after the last baby was born I should not be experiencing post partum depression anymore.  I was also having a lot of other health problems, in the midst of it all I found relief and healing for myself through research, and digging for a root cause of my ailments. You can read about my thoughts on how healing is more than symptom relief. It was during this time of my life that I discovered what (I believe) could be one of the root causes of  Seasonal  Affective Disorder.  My belief is that SAD may be a result of vitamin and mineral depletion; specifically vitamin D, but also the B vitamins.




http://nutrihealth.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/vitamin-d.jpg

Think for a moment, Vitamin D  also known as the sunshine vitamin. It is made in the body when we are exposed to sun. During the winter months there is a lot less sunlight and people tend to barricade themselves in their houses and then they become depressed and so on and begin to experience the so called "symptoms" of Seasonal affective disorder, could there be a connection?  One of the treatments for this disorder is light therapy. Light therapy is done by exposing patients to bright lights therefore increasing the vitamin D levels in the body. Are you beginning to see it yet?  There are some great articles examining Vitamin D and depression.  There are several other articles examining Vitamin D and anxiety levels.  Could it really be that simple? Could it really be that SAD is really a lack of vitamin D? The truth is; there is plenty of evidence to show that you can treat Seasonal Affective Disorder and its symptoms by increasing Vitamin D.

People are finding relief and healing through raising their vitamin D levels, yet you won't hear this as part of the mainstream treatments. If it is mentioned, you will quickly see or hear something like "There needs to be further studies" Or, "There is not sufficient evidence to support these findings"  Why is this so?  Sunshine is free, and Vitamin D cannot be patented. Therefore, there is no profit in treating SAD with vitamin D.  There will be plenty of people telling you that vitamin therapy is bogus and the best thing to do is to treat the symptoms with their drugs, their light therapy products.  If you increase your vitamin D levels naturally and begin to feel better you no longer need their products, then what? They no longer have a customer, it defeats their main goal which is to keep you buying their products.

What about Vitamin D; how do you know if I have a deficiency? Doctor Richard Becker often states that if you live in the upper portion of America (north of San Francisco) you are most likely deficient. (remember as stated above, one of the factors for developing SAD is your distance from the equator).  Current Vitamin D guidelines by the Institute of Medicine set a blood level of 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) as a goal for good bone health and overall health. However, some doctors say people should go higher, to about 30 ng/mL to get the full health benefits of vitamin D.  Forward thinking doctors such as Dr. Becker have said that this is way too low. 20 ng/mL may keep you from getting rickets (which is what a severe deficiency will do to you), but for superior health it should be between 60-80 ng/mL. The FDA has recently increased the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for Vitamin D from 200 to 600 iu (international units) daily. It is still way too low in my opinion.

Now here is where it gets a bit tricky....There are vitamins D1, D2, and D3 which all are lumped under the vitamin D umbrella. All are closely related but have different effects in the body. Vitamin D2 is what we talk about in preventing rickets, and is the one that is usually added to milk to help in bone formation. Vitamin D3 also acts in the same capacity for the building of bones. The interesting thing about vitamin D3 is that it acts as a hormone in the body and really affects the brain. (remember as stated above from the mayo clinic, your body's natural chemical makeup is one of the major factors) Hormones are a major part of our chemical make-up. As a hormone, vitamin D3 is vital for health, it is key for healthy brain function and it definitely affects mood.



How does one get more vitamin D3? Vitamin D3 It is found in some foods like egg yolks, liver, mushrooms, and fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and sardines, but mostly we get it from sun exposure. Many of us are not getting the recommended 30 minutes of sun exposure 3 times a week (without sunscreen).  Sunscreen can effect the way our body absorbs sunshine and limits the amount of vitamin D we create. 10-15 minutes of midday sun without sunscreen can create well over 10,000 units of vitamin D3 in our body but with a spf 15 sunscreen applied, we would have to expose ourselves to 3-4 hours of sun to get that same effect, and people really worry about skin cancer and other things. For many people supplementation is the answer, especially if you are found to be very low in vitamin D3.

It is important to have your levels checked and find out the number. Many doctors will tell you that you are Ok when you are in the "normal" range of 20-30 ng/mL (Nano grams per Milliliter) , but research has shown that to be healthy, levels should be in the 60-80 range. So this leads to the question, how much should I supplement?  Dr. Becker and others recommend that you could supplement with 10,000 units or more of vitamin D3 on a daily basis for several months to get the blood levels up to a better place. At this point have your levels checked again. He then suggests 2,000-3,000 units a day for maintenance.

That seems like a lot, so you may ask; Can you overdose on vitamin D? Yes, there is always a risk, but the risk is very minimal. The Mayo clinic's web site says that you would have to take 50,000 units of vitamin D daily over the course of several months to reach a toxic level. At a toxic level you may experience nausea, weakness, and vomiting, and possibly kidney problems due to increased calcium in your blood. But this list is a lot shorter and not near as scary sounding as the list of side effects of taking a regular and properly prescribed dose of some of the  drugs for anxiety and depression, not to mention the drugs for insomnia.

There is another concern, the drugs commonly used to treat depression, anxiety, and insomnia often have a side effect of depleting the B vitamins. A body depleted of some of the B vitamins can look like depression, insomnia, anxiety and moodiness. In essence, the drugs used to help relieve the symptoms can lead to more problems and to a dependence upon them, (but they won't tell you that, they just increase the dose). It is a really bad cycle that people are stuck in. Start with depression, soon you have insomnia, anxiety and irritability which usually leads to more medications and or higher doses. If you have been on some of these drugs to control symptoms of SAD please have your vitamin B levels checked to see if they are low as well. Many people suffering from SAD have low levels of Vitamin D3 and the B vitamins.    

I have presented a lot of information here. Take it as you may. Do your own research and feel out what may be right for you.  For me, the benefits and risks of high level Vitamin D supplementation and a B vitamin complex are miniscule in comparison to the risk of being hooked by the large pharmaceutical companies. I want to be in control of my own health. I choose to be different, and think differently than most. I do not give into the demands of big business. I am the keeper of my own body and soul.


Helpful links
healing is more than symptom relief

Vitamin D and depression

Vitamin D and anxiety levels.

Mayo clinic web site

Dr Becker's Nutritional supplements

Vitamin D as a hormone

Is it safe to eat?

Millions of dollars are thrown into the trash each year due to expired food items, but does this have to be? Can you eat expired food items safely?

 

 

How do you react when you discover that a food item has expired?

A. Eat it anyways knowing that it has enough preservatives to last a lifetime.
B. Throw it out right away; with no hesitation and no questions asked.
C. Check the calendar to see how far expired it is.
D. Smell it, take a tiny taste and then if it seems alright proceed with caution
E. Call your Mother or best friend and ask for advice.

It is something that most people will experience at some point in life, finding a food item that has been forgotten until expired But how do you know, if it is safe to eat? Some foods are pretty easy to tell, milk for example; when it is gone bad you can tell by the disgusted look coming from the fridge. Fresh foods are easy to tell when they have expired and the life has gone out of them. Lettuce gets all dried up and can even get crispy to the touch. Celery gets all limp and lifeless. These things are pretty easy to tell. Bread gets moldy and cheese grows colorful. There are clues that these fresh foods have gone bad and should end up in the trash, but what about the array of  processed, packaged food items that line the shelves of our supermarkets, how do you tell about them? Many people use the dates on packages and cans to decipher the freshness and safety of a product.

There are two types of dates that are printed on our processed food items. One is a "use by" date and one is a "sell by" date. A "use by" date is the one to pay a bit more attention to. This means that the food is at it's freshest before that date. After a period of time the food begins to lose some of its nutrition and sometimes the texture or color can begin to change. Much of the food is still safe to eat after this date. In fact, there have been cans of food that are many years old that when opened and tested by scientists the contents were fine for consumption. A "sell by date" on the other hand, is really just a way for the large food companies to  ensure that their products are being rotated and that their products are moving and being sold. These foods often have plenty of preservatives and really do not go bad. Some of these foods really could last a lifetime. 

So what do you do when you find a food item that has expired? You do not have to get in a hurry about throwing it out. Much of the food is good well beyond the date printed on the label. The most important thing is to check the original packaging. I am a bit concerned to eat food from a dented, rusted over can that looks like it has been rolling around in the back of a farmers truck for the last two months. On the other hand I am not so worried about something in the original package that is several years expired that looks like it might have been forgotten in the deep, dark, depths of the pantry. If the original packaging is in tact it is likely still good to eat.

Much of the freshness of a product is built into the packaging. Most processed foods will keep well in the sealed package, but once the original packaging is opened or damaged then the food tends to go rancid and loose its appeal. An unopened box of crackers will remain fresh for several months, or even a year after the expiration date, but those same crackers when opened, can go stale sitting on the shelf long before that date ever arrives. Once food is opened then it is best to use it up within a reasonable amount of time. 

Use your senses. If it is in an original package and is in tact and not opened, I would say that is a good indication that it is Ok to consume. If you open a can, bottle or package and the contents seems strange or the smell seems really off; be careful, and if your inner voice says "stay away" I would listen to that. Avoid any can that is dented. Dented cans may have small air leaks allowing air and bacteria to get into the food, so dented cans are a cause for concern, but no so much as a bulging can. Do NOT consume any food from a bulging can, it absolutely is not safe.  Bulging cans are a huge indication that the food has gone bad.

Once you discover that  a product is past "the date" and expired, the next thing to do is to check the packaging. If it is all in tact and looks good then I would suggest that you would be fine to go ahead and use it rather than tossing it.  If for some reason you just can't use expired food, consider sharing with someone such as a single mother or a widow who may be having a tough time making ends meet. They would probably be grateful for the blessing. 

   

Choleserol myths and lies

Cholesterol is not the monster that it is made out to be.

Our bodies need cholesterol to survive, our bodies make cholesterol. Cholesterol is essential to life, it is essential to brain function. so, why is it that we all live in fear of  cholesterol treating it like a nasty monster that is going to somehow kill us?  We have been taught this fear by those who would benefit from selling you cholesterol lowering drugs and other products.  It is plain and simple. They cause fear so that they can sell you on the benefits of their products. These people are the monsters, not cholesterol.

 

                                                                                    Cartoon Frankenstein Monster" by Grant Cochrane

It all begins with a study or two. One that has really been in the fire because it essentially opened the door, is the study by Ancel Keys. Keys did a study on rabbits. It showed how cholesterol derived from animal products affected the rabbits health. There were some real troubles with this research. Rabbits are not made the same as humans. To start, they are not carnivores and their bodies are not designed to need cholesterol like humans. He also fed them pure refined cholesterol in super high mega doses. It really showed nothing useful, it was essentially bad research. It was crazy. But, he was a scientist and people didn't really question his research until later. But in the meantime, he really made a case for cholesterol being bad for human health and opened a "Pandora's box."

In another part of his research, Keys tried to make dietary correlations between countries that ate high amounts of animal products and heart disease levels. The results were really all over the board and there was no real clear correlation between heart disease, and consumption of animal products.  He was able to "Cherry pick" some of the data and show a correlation between heart disease, and animal products. Through these carefully crafted studies and lies Keys, (and some others involved) were able to get the American public to believe that eating animal products especially animal fats would raise cholesterol and damage your health.


These lies were in part due to Procter and Gamble (inventers of Crisco). They hired Ancel Key's to do this research. With Key's help they could sell this stuff as a "healthy alternative" to butter.  They were able to get the heart association on board and WOW! What a journey it has been for the American people. This was just the beginning. The American people used to fight against margarine, now they embrace it as healthy. An article that really does a great job explaining the history of margarine and its effects is;  Our heritage of health, Why have we stopped the war on margarine.  With the heart association on board it opened the way for a whole new generation of people trying to make money. Billions upon billions have been made and fortunes continue to grow, all from this simple set of lies.  

Now, enter cholesterol lowering drugs. Billions are spent to come up with a test to be able to asses the levels of cholesterol in peoples bodies. What is normal, what is high? In the beginning as the numbers were coming in, they really did not know. It became common that numbers over 300 may be considered high.  Now numbers over 200 are high and some are pushing that normal numbers should be well below 180. It is pure craziness. The more people on these drugs, the more money in their pockets. It is getting to the point that nearly everyone falls into the so called "high" category and only a small amount of people fall into the "normal" range. Think about it for a while, if only a small number of people are in the normal range, is that really normal? There are many doctors suggesting that people should take a cholesterol lowering drug, "just to be safe" and they have approved such drugs for our young people starting at age ten. Are our ten year olds really at risk for a  major heart attack?  Is it really helpful to put our children on these drugs for life?


As a society we have lowered and continue to lower cholesterol levels in hopes that it will lower the risk of heart disease, and yet heart disease has increased to staggering levels. Why? We have the wrong information! We are still are led to believe that lowering cholesterol is the best thing that we can do to lower our risk of heart disease. The companies that make the drugs would have you believe that cholesterol is the one and only risk factor for heart disease. Cholesterol levels are only the smallest piece of the puzzle. There are about thirty other things that can be factored into heart disease risk, yet we have come to believe that cholesterol is the one and only risk factor.  These companies have done a great job at brainwashing us to believe that our cholesterol numbers are key, and we need their products. Many Americans have come to believe that these drugs are a lifesaver and are essential to life itself. The truth is that the cholesterol itself is essential to life as I stated in the beginning.


This is insanity.  It is pure craziness. Our young doctors have been trained to believe that nearly everyone is at risk for heart disease because of high cholesterol levels. Many of them do not even know what the other twenty plus risk factors for heart disease are. They are handing out pills by the handful thinking that they are helping keep the American people healthy and free from heart disease.  It is not working.  I have heard people say, "My cholesterol is low, I am good, I am not at risk for a heart attack." Yet they are the ones that suffer heart attacks. Still others take these drugs and endure the side effects of these nasty drugs "to be on the safe side." These people end up suffering all kinds of side effects and end up with very ill health. Their health can become really bad from the side effects of these drugs and they feel terrible; but, they endure it because "I don't want a heart attack."  It is pure insanity.

What the drug companies don't tell you is that there is really only a small percentage of the male population that the drug is really useful and helpful for. These drugs provide a good advantage for older men who have had a previous heart attack. In these cases, the cholesterol lowering drugs are helpful and probably life saving, but for the rest of us it is not so. These drugs do very, little to prevent first heart attacks in men, and women especially do not have any real advantage by taking these drugs, and yet we are convinced that these drugs are essential to good heart health. There are so many other good things you can do that will lower your risk of heart attack ten times more than these drugs without the nasty side effects, but the drug companies want you to think otherwise. They are scaring us into their drugs.

Those that would make money from these lies make sure that it is right out there in front of your face, day in and day out. Can you go a day without hearing someone talking about their cholesterol levels? How often are we hearing ads on TV, radio, or seeing it on the internet? It is everywhere. They are keeping it in the minds and hearts of the people. The know your numbers campaign is working well. My 8 year old son asked me the other day. "what's your numbers?" Then he asked, "what's my numbers?" School age children should not have to endure this. It may at some point be checked in the schools and become routine like eyesight and hearing tests. Our young people have this number constantly on their minds and we think this is somehow normal? Is our health really measured in these types of numbers that really mean nothing? 

I would urge you to think differently. I would urge you to find your own path to good health. Put this thought in your heart and mind.......

 

 

I am in charge of my body and my own health. I will through my own wisdom and understanding come to a place where I am healthy and strong. I will not be influenced by those who have only their own financial interest in mind. I will seek out and listen to those who have my best interest at heart.

 

If this means seeing a different doctor who does not sound like an ad for these companies be it so. Your health is worth the investment of an understanding doctor who knows his stuff. You may have to have a talk with your current doctor and ask him "Is this pill really helpful for me, or is there another alternative?" If he sounds like the ads you see on TV, it may be time to let him go for your own good health.   
Want more? Check out some of the great books on this subject you don't have to take my word for it.

 

 



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