Healthy Eating Tips Healthy Foods

Freedom Of Choice? Apparently Not When It Comes To Food.

English: Illustration of various salmon

English: Illustration of various salmon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know I promised to write about foods and supplements that you can choose to enhance your immune system and I will next week, promise. This week I have to shift gears and shout from the rooftop my concern over something that is devastating to our health that will last longer than the seasonal flu epidemic.
One of the reasons I prefer eating low carb high fiber real foods is because many man-made low fat real foods  (bread, cereal, pasta, yogurt)  are unhealthy because of ingredients like hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients that enhance eye appeal, taste and increase shelf life.
But now, the FDA has gone off the deep end with the approval of a genetically engineered “frankenfish” for human consumption. The “AquAdvantage” salmon is a cross between the Atlantic and Chinook salmon and the ocean pout. The “advantage” is  that it grows bigger faster so it feeds more people. The disadvantage, in my opinion is that it grows bigger faster because there is more growth hormone. The FDA says the fish is safe.
I have not seen the studies, but I do know that growth hormone is associated with type 1 diabetes, http://www.daystarbooks.com/wp_blog/?p=980 cabcer, cancer http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/general/milk.htm, and other risk factors, http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/12.07/11-dairy.html, including greed, http://www.politicususa.com/dairy-products-growth-hormones.html.
There is no intention of labeling this fish to let you know that is genetically altered. If you choose to eat this fish, it’s your choice but it’s your choice to not eat “frakenfish” too and unless you eat organic, that choice is taken away from you http://abcnews.go.com/Health/genetically-modified-frankenfish-nears-fda-approval-debate-heats/story?id=18078157#.UOstTInjmYV. The same is true for most GMO foods that are sitting on the grocery store shelf right now. For now, the only way you know is if the food packaging says no-GMO.
There are so many escalating health issues without any real understanding why but mark my words, real food in the food supply is becoming obsolete. You may just be surprised that what you are eating is not real. You can go here for details, Disabled World News (2009-09-22) – Genetically modified foods information including list of GM foods with dna changes and pros and cons of GM foodhttp://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php#ixzz2Ig72ImRs, but here is a  short version of the genetically modified foods list:
“It’s virtually impossible to provide a complete list of genetically modified food (GM food) in the United States because there aren’t any laws for genetically modified crops! Some estimates say as many as 30,000 different products on grocery store shelves are “modified.” That’s largely because many processed foods contain soy. Half of North America’s soy crop is genetically engineered!”
Rapeseed
Honey 
Cotton
Rice
Soybean
Sugar cane
Tomatoes
Corn 
Canola Potatoes
Flax
Papaya
Squash
Red-hearted chicory – (radicchio) – Chicory (Cichorium intybus var. foliosum)
Cotton seed oil 
Tobacco
 Meat – Meat and dairy products usually come from animals that have eaten GM feed.
Peas
Vegetable Oil
Sugarbeets
Dairy Products-About 22 percent of cows in the U.S. are injected with recombinant (genetically modified) bovine growth hormone (rbGH).
Vitamins – Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is often made from corn, vitamin E is usually made from soy. Vitamins A, B2, B6, and B12 may be derived from GMOs as well as vitamin D and vitamin K may have “carriers” derived from GM corn sources, such as starch, glucose, and maltodextrin.
Some others include soy, banana, cantaloupe http://www.biotech.iastate.edu/biotech_info_series/bio8.html, and cereal http://www.cornucopia.org/2011/10/natural-vs-organic-cereal/.
If you are interested in an app or printable guide, I found it, http://truefoodnow.org/shoppers-guide/ .
While the jury may be out on “organic” food, I buy it because at least for right now I know it’s not GMO.  Let’s keep our food supply, real. Please take the time to sign this petition, http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_frankenfish_r/?tNeKGdb
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About the author

Valerie Goldstein

Valerie raises the bar for health and nutrition know how with unconventional expertise and unconditional support for wellness.