9 out of 10 Parents fail to truly read nutrition labels

Just because a label says "whole grain"  "all natural" or "no sugar added" doesn't mean its good for our children.  Think about it when have you ever seen a label so "half-grain" instead of whole, or "sugar added" or "not natural". Even its labeled "Natural-sugar-free-whole-grain" it could still be loaded with " Trans fats, mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame, and/or  high-fructose corn syrup". Get in the habit of reading labels and understanding them even on fresh fruit its important to understand what the label means. 

Reading the labels on Fruit:

Conventional Fruit Labels: Begin with the number 4, and never begin with the number 9.

Genetically Modified Fruit Labels: Begin with the number 8. Note that it begins with 8, not just contains the number 8. This is often a 5 digit number.

Organic Fruit Labels: These fruit labels always contain 5 digits, and begin with the number 9. Always check and make sure, as some “organic” products have been known to be deceptively labeled.

Read More about how to know if your food is "Conventional, Organic or Genetically Modified" 

From: Natural Society

A study conducted by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) found that nine out of ten mothers failed at reading nutrition labels, and did not understand the nutrition information on children’s foods. According to the BHF, 76% of mothers felt that “wholegrain” meant the product was likely to be healthy. In addition, they also thought that a product claiming it was “a source of calcium, iron and six vitamins” meant that the product was likely to be healthy.

The confusion in regard to food labels is not an issue that pertains only to parents, and despite this study occurring years ago, it is still very true today that the majority of people aren’t savvy in reading food labels. The research found many individuals are tricked by the deceptive labeling of sugary foods specifically. The BHF went on to say that Nestle’s Honey Shreddies, which claims to be “wholegrain” and will “keep your heart healthy and maintain a healthy body”, has 13.6g of sugar.This is more than a ring doughnut in an average serving size, which totals 9.2g of sugar. High levels of sugar consumption can be the culprit for a number of health defects and issues faced today, while the massive over-consumption of sugar has some people asking: Is sugar becoming the next tobacco?

With all the harmful ingredients added to our food supply today, it is critical to not only start reading nutrition labels, but also memorize which ingredients to avoid.

Reading Nutrition Labels | Learn of What You’re Eating

Sugar is not the only concern when investigating the real contents of a food product. Trans fats, monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartame, and high-fructose corn syrup are but a few toxic additives that are usually incognito unless you are actively searching for them within the ingredients. This alone highlights the importance of not only reading nutrition labels, but also knowing what each ingredient is. Researching the properties of each additive before ingesting it is indeed a wise decision, and one that will ultimately pay off with an improvement in overall health.

Ingredients to Avoid | Alpha-Dexionic-what?

If while reading nutrition labels you’re wondering whether certain ingredients are written in Greek or Hieroglyphics, then reconsideration of the purchase is probably necessary. Given the current process of food creation in the U.S. and other developed countries, chances are that this ingredient is some form of a synthetic chemical, and one of many ingredients to avoid. A general rule is that if you cannot pronounce it, you should not eat it. Research what your food is composed of before bringing it home and cooking it, or putting it into your body. What you find may surprise you.

While the Food and Drug Administration has seemingly reached the limit for unbelievable behavior, the company’s decisions continue to astound and appall consumers and health activists alike. In the agency’s latest decision, undoubtedly amazing thousands of individuals yet again, the FDA virtually erased 1 million signatures and comments on the ‘Just Label It’ campaign calling for the labeling of genetically modified foods.

FDA Deletes 1 Million Signatures for GMO Labeling Campaign

The ‘Just Label It” campaign has gotten more signatures than any campaign in history for the labeling of genetically modified foods. Since October of 2011, the campaign has received over 900,000 signatures, with 55 politicians joining in on the movement. So what’s the problem here?

Evidently, the FDA counts the amount of signatures not by how many people signed, but how many different individual letters are brought to it. To the FDA, even tens of thousands of signatures presented on a single petition are counted as – you guessed it – a single comment. This is how, despite over a million supporters being gathered by the petition, the FDA concluded a count of only 394.

“This is an election year and there are more than a million people who say this is important to them. This is petition has nothing to do with whether or genetically modified foods are dangerous. We don’t label dangerous foods, we take them off the shelves. This petition is about a the citizens’ right to know what they are eating and whether or not these foods represent a novel change.” said Andrew Kimbrell an attorney for the Center for Food Safety, one of the partner groups on the Just Label It campaign.

The argument as to whether genetically modified foods are dangerous is a whole discussion on its own, but for the FDA to completely sidestep away from the labeling of GM foods is completely and utterly irresponsible. Consumers have every right to know what they are consuming. Needless to say, biotechology giant Monsanto is against GMO labeling, claiming that it would mislead consumers since GMOs are ‘perfectly safe’. Of course there is plenty of evidence proving that GMOs are not completely safe, and how they affect life in the long-term is questionable to say the least. Either way, there is enough controversy surrounding the issue which is cause for alarm for millions of people, and Monsanto’s opinion on GMOs safety is a sorry excuse for not labeling foods as GM. Is the FDA avoiding such an issue because so many ties exist between genetically modified makers like Monsanto and the agency?

The bottom line is that you have the right to know what is in your food, and what your food IS. Denying that right, whether it be by the essential deletion of millions of signatures on a petition, or by ignoring the voices of thousands of people on the street, is taking power away from the people.

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.

Monsanto ‘Biotechnology Book for Kids’ Caught Brainwashing Children

Anthony Gucciardi from Activist Post


Facing direct opposition from the public, biotechnology giants like Monsanto and Dow are now making a disturbing attempt to brainwash developing minds into accepting their genetically modified foods using blatant lies and propaganda.

In a last ditch effort to potentially sway public opinion, the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI)  has launched the “Biotechnology Basics Activity Book” for kids.


With the intent to be used by ‘agriculture and science teachers’, the activity book spreads absurd lies about GMO crops — even going as far as to say that they ‘improve our health’ and ‘help the environment’.


The book can be seen on the organization’s website, and makes it extremely apparent that it is full of misinformation and propaganda that completely ignores scientific research surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs).


In fact, let’s examine some claims made by this book that serves as an ‘educational’ tool to be used by teachers.


Here is a short outline I created from the article at Activist Post:


Monsanto’s Propaganda that is spreading to our children through literature

From page # 1 of the Propaganda they are distributing.....
.........................They say that GMO crops............

1) Grow more food;


Not so much ……according to 900 scientists, GMO crops actually do not grow more food than traditional farming practices. In fact, they are simply not an effective tool to fight starvation in any capacity, thanks to their excessive costs and immense failure to yield crops.


Funded by the World Bank and United Nations, an organization was created known as the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Made up of 900 scientists and researchers, the group — whose mission was to examine the issue of world hunger — found that genetically modified crops were not a meaningful solution to the problem.




2) Help the environment
Do What?......Research has shown that Monsanto’s modified Bt pesticide is actually mutating the very genetic coding of insect life on the planet, creating super resistant ‘mutant’ bugs that are wreaking havoc on farms using Monsanto’s harmful concoctions across the globe. At least 8 populations of insects have developed some form of resistance, with 2 populations resistant to Bt sprays and at least 6 species resistant to Bt crops as a whole.


3) Grow more nutritious food that improves our health.
Do GMOs really ‘Improve Our Health’?. . . But what about the claim that GMOs improve our health? It turns out nothing could be further from the truth. A prominent review of 19 studies examining the safety of GMO crops found that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans can lead to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys.


Of course the negative effects do not end there. Monsanto’s modified biopesticide, known as Bt, has been found to be killing human kidney cells in conjunction with Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup. That’s right, it exhibits direct toxicity to human cells. 

What’s On Your Plate May Be Killing 50% of Your Healthy Cells

From: Natural Health Dossier

We’ve told you before about the dangers of genetically modified (GM) foods. But new research now suggests they may be even more dangerous than we thought.

The latest research shows that GM foods may actually be killing human kidney cells.

Watch Food Inc. HERE

The findings come from Dr. Gilles-Eric Séralini. He’s a top researcher at one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in France, the University of Caen.

“We were very surprised by our findings,” he says. “Until now, it (was) thought almost impossible for (these) proteins to be toxic to human cells. (Our) experiments show that the risks have been underestimated.”

You can read about his findings in the Journal of Applied Toxicology.

His findings come just days after another independent study also found that GM foods are dangerous to your health.

In fact, this other research shows they are toxic to human DNA…even in tiny amounts.

GM Foods…Triple Threat to Your Health

Monsanto is the biggest player in GM crops and farming. It produces an herbicide called Roundup. It also provides the tech behind 90 percent of genetically engineered seeds in the US.

Until now, it’s always been said that Roundup is safe for humans. They claim it’s only toxic to insects and is in no way risky to you.

But the new study shows this isn’t true.

Dr. Séralini and his team tested how the active ingredient really affects human cells. So he tested it out on human kidney cells. And he found that it kills them, even in very low dilutions.

When he tested the effect of it when diluted to 57.5 ppm, he found it kills up to 50 percent of healthy cells.

He further noted that this is “far below agricultural dilutions.”

But the bad news doesn’t end there.

He also tested GM crops. And he found that a protein in them also destroys human cells. It’s actually a toxin that’s produced in most GM crops like corn.

The final bit of research he came up with may be the most concerning.

He found that human cells were totally devastated when they were exposed to both Roundup and the protein. The combination of the two causes synergistic damage to human cells. In other words, when a GM crop (that already contains the protein) is sprayed with Roundup, the damage to your cells goes through the roof.

The news comes hot on the heels of another study which also shows bad results for GM crops.

Herbicides Devastate DNA

This study comes from the Medical University of Vienna. It was headed up by leading cancer researcher Dr. Siegfried Knasmueller.

This study was published in the Archives of Toxicology.

He wanted to see if Roundup poses risk to humans at any level. So he diluted it down and did his test on a solution that was 450-fold weaker than what’s normally used on crops.

And he still found that the herbicide shattered human DNA.

“We found toxic effects after short exposure,” he says. “Our findings indicate that inhalation causes DNA damage in exposed individuals.”

So if a concentration (that’s 450-fold weaker than what’s normally used) still damages your DNA, what does the full dose do to it?

What You Can Do

Because there’s so much evidence that shows GM crops are dangerous, you should make sure you’re cutting them out of your diet today.

As we’ve told you before, both soy and corn are two of the most genetically modified crops. So you should stay away from both of these food stuffs in the future.

The next thing you can do is check the label. More and more stores are offering lines that are labeled as non-GMO.

The third thing you need to think about is the meat that you eat.

That’s because this kind of damage doesn’t just come from GM crops like soy and corn. Any animal that’s raised on these crops will also pass the bad effects onto you.

So even if you’re avoiding corn and soy like we’ve told you to, you may still be in danger from the meat on your plate.

In other words, eating animals that are reared on GM crops can do your cells plenty of damage over time.

That’s a big reason why we often tell you to only buy meat that is grass-fed and fish that is wild-caught.

That label tells you that what you’re eating hasn’t been raised on GM crops.

So, you should get into the habit of looking at labels for this information. Also keep an eye on anything that says your food is organic, and pesticide-free.

Finally, when handling produce, be sure you wash it thoroughly.

Research suggests you need to soak fruit and vegetables for about 10 minutes in water.

After that you need to scrub the skin and rinse under the tap for at least one minute.

Wishing you good natural health,

Ian Robinson,

Editorial Director, NHD “Health Watch”