It is no secret that the average American diet is in completely in the slumps. Consuming packaged foods, fast food, artificially enhanced products, and especially low quality cheap food is the norm, but is it any wonder that being overweight while also falling victim to a host of illnesses is also the norm. Being raised in this era of poor health makes it difficult to know what is truly healthy and unhealthy. Food has drastically changed since decades ago, and so parents often aren’t aware of the severe decline in food quality. Fast food in particular is one of the primary reasons for the drastic health decline seen today.

Why You Should Avoid Fast Food at All Costs

If you haven’t already, take a couple of hours to watch the films Super Size Me or Fast Food Nation. After watching these films, you can see first hand how fast food causes severe damage to your body – even if you don’t consume it for every meal of every day like in one of the films. Fast food is nothing but a concoction of harmful and health-damaging chemicals which can easily be understood if you were to think for a moment how any restaurant could offer a double cheeseburger for only $1.

Most recently it was uncovered that these $1 cheeseburgers, along with the rest of McDonald’s’ beef and chicken, were actually harnessing ‘pink slime’ scrap meat covered with ammonium hydroxide. Not only does this fake meat provide no nutritional value at all, but it is chemically contaminated from ammonia, the toxic cleaning agent found under the sink. The meat is actually fat trimmings and connective tissue that are separated from the bone – scrap meat that is not fit for human consumption. The ammonia treatment is in response to the danger of contamination from salmonella or E. coli, but the scrap meats themselves are more likely to contain pathogens. Despite the chemical treatment, the meat is still in the line of fire for contamination.

Additionally, McDonald’s McNuggets contain 7 different ingredients making up the ‘meat’, many of which contain sub-ingredients. Instead of using real meat, the ingredient list utilizes sodium phosphate, safflower oil, wheat starch, dextrose, and autolyzed yeast extract – a particularly dangerous substance very similar to the toxic MSG. Along side with these ingredients comes the use of dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicon substance used as an anti-foaming agent and often found in breast implants and silly putty.

Of course the use of these ingredients is not limited only to McDonald’s. In fact, all of the fast food restaurants are guilty of using them. The worst part? They are aware of the destructive nature behind these ingredients, but truly couldn’t care any less. The truth behind such a statement can be exemplified by Taco Bell’s attempt to create a drive-thru diet where individuals would supposed to lose weight by eating fast food. It was only a few years ago when Taco Bell announced the “Drive-Thru Diet”, where they showcased their foods low in fat. But what they don’t tell you is that even if their food has 9 grams of fat, it is still made up of numerous ingredients contributing to the global health decline.

While the reasons for the influx of fast food consumption are many, one primary one is the usage of psychological advertising. Being one of the most powerful tools to reach both the conscious and subconscious, advertising plays a huge role in how society is ran today, and that includes which foods we eat. What’s more, children are much more influenced by what they see and hear, and research proves it. A study conduced late in 2011 showed that 71 percent of children will choose junk food like french fries over apple slices when given coupons for each of them. The number dropped only to 55 percent when parents encouraged children to choose the apple slices. But the desired reach does not stop at direct advertising and influence.

A new children’s educational book (see previous blog) has recently been launched by the Council for Biotechnology Information, educating young children on the ‘numerous benefits’ of genetically modified food. Of course genetically modified food has time and time again been shown to cause human and environmental harm, but still the attempt to brainwash young children is carelessly made. The advertising for such food is also heavily tied in with fast food, as virtually all fast food is constructed with genetically modified food and ingredients.

Sugar by Suicide - Reasons to Avoid Sugar - 126 of Them!

Suicide by Sugar

Suicide by Sugar is a book by Dr. Nancy Appleton. The book describes the dangers of sugar in detail and cites 200+ medical studies. The book also includes a list of reasons why sugar ruins health, which is similar to this list on the author’s blog: Whenever the book talks about sugar, it is also referring to these other sweeteners: 


(Note: so a sugar by any other name is still SUGAR), agave syrup, agave nectar, barley malt, beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, cane syrup, confections sugar, crystalline fructose, date sugar, evaporated sugarcane, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, galactose, glucose, granulated sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, liquid cane sugar, liquid cane syrup, maltose, maple syrup, molasses, powdered sugar, raw sugar, rice syrup, sugarcane syrup, table sugar, turbinado sugar, unrefined sugar, white sugar

 

Some of the negative health effects of sugar mentioned in the book include:• Sugar is addictive. Rats who quit sugar cold turkey experience withdrawal symptoms.• In one study, 94 percent of rats preferred sugar over cocaine.• Sugar suppresses the immune system by depleting levels of phagocytes, which in turn reduces the body’s ability to fight infection and disease.• A policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics cited research that showed for each additional serving of soda consumed by a child, the body mass index and risk of obesity both increase.• Cooking with sugar food with sugar leads to the formation of advanced glycation end products, which are linked to many age-related diseases.• Fructose significantly raises triglyceride levels in the bloodstream.• Fructose can aggravate symptoms of IBS and diarrhea.• Fructose and sucrose contribute to the oxidative damage that leads to wrinkles.• Fructose intake leads to an increased excretion of several important minerals that are needed for health• Fructose consumption leads to the release of the hormone ghrelin, which induces hunger and leads people to overeat.• Sugar leads to the development of metabolic syndrome and heart disease. One study showed that participants who consumed one or more sodas per day were 48 percent more likely to already have metabolic syndrome.• High sugar intake leads to type 2 diabetes, which is also associated with dementia and depression• Women with high glycemic load diets or high fructose intake were over 50 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer.• Tumors may use sugar to fuel their growth.• Sugar can facilitate the emergence of seizures.

Refined sugar is the number one cause of health problems in the world. The following list is taken from the Article126 Reasons Sugar Is Ruining Your Health by Nancy Appleton, Ph.D. If you have a thing for sugar, you might want to copy this list and put it on your refrigerator or underneath your sugar bowl.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the minerals in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection.
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high-density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostrate and rectum.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive track.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity.
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's Disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar can cause Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
39. Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. Sugar can cause migraine headaches.
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low-density proteins (LDL).
58. Sugar can cause free radical in the blood stream.
59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
60. Sugar can cause loss of tissue elasticity and function.
61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make the make the tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches.
72. Sugar can over-stress the pancreas.
73. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades.
74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha and theta brain waves.
75. Sugar can cause depression.
76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
79. The ingestion of sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
81 Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
82. 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.
83. There is a greater risk for Crohn's disease with people who have a high intake of sugar.
84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
89. High sucrose diet significantly increases serum insulin.
90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
92. High sugar diets tend to be lower in antioxidant micronutrients.
93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold-increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents with high sugar diets.
95. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
97. Diets high in sugar can increase fasting blood glucose.
98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
100. Sugar is an addictive substance.
101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
103. Sugar suppresses lymphocytes.
104. Decrease in sugar can increase emotional stability.
105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
106. The rapid absorption of glucose promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
111. Adolescents consuming high sugar diets are at increased risk for delivering small-for-gestational-age infants.
112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung carcinogenesis.
113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
115. Sugar is an addictive substance.
116. Intensive Care Units: Sugar limit saves lives
117. Sugar feeds cancer.
118. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
119. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
120. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
121. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E in the blood.
122. Sugar can cause free radicals in the blood stream.
123. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer's disease.
124. Sugar feeds cancer cells.
125. Sugar given to premature babies often produces high blood sugar, causing them to lose precious sugar, water and salts through the urine, putting them at risk for dehydration and electrolyte imbalances.
126. Sugar given to premature babies can also affect the amount of carbon dioxide premature infants produce, exacerbating problems for those with lung disorders.

High sugar diets are linked to violence in prisoners.