In fact, some social workers will not take on cases of children with ADHD/ADD/Anxiety/Autism if parents are unwilling to remove food additives from the child’s diet.  That is just one example of how diet can greatly affect a child’s life. 

For what are food additives used? To:

• ·         change food’s color
• ·         preserve food
• ·         prevent rancidity
• ·         keep fats emulsified and foods stable  

Most of the chemicals are synthetic compounds, some with known negative health effects.  Mostly, the long term affect of consuming large amounts of additives are unknown.  

Check out this list of the top 12 to avoid.

Although eliminating these may be impossible for some people, begin to notice how you feel (or how your children act) after consuming these.  You may find more sensitivity to one more than another.

Labelwatch.com is the first and only informational website that allows consumers to go beyond the fancy package, and actually understand what’s really inside.

You can look up your favorite foods or simply search for a particular ingredient.

My favorite part is the color coding:

• Green indicates “Beneficial Ingredients”

• Yellow indicates “OK Ingredients”

• Red indicates “Cautionary Ingredients”

The ingredient glossary was created using information supplied by many reputable sources, including: The National Institutes of Health, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Food & Drug Administration, and Foods Standards Agency UK, among many others.

Products that contain no “cautionary” ingredients (as defined by the glossary) are awarded the Labelwatch Smart Ingredients Seal, a distinguished seal of product excellence.

 Check out your label today!

• High doses of caffeine stimulate the release of stress hormones.  These are the hormones release during challenging situations, which is quite useful.  However, chronic release of these hormones is damaging to the body.  Here’s why:

 An abundance of stress hormones cause the body to age at an accelerated rate.  The older you are the more stress hormones you release in response to caffeine, so habitual coffee drinking ages the body at a more rapid rate than it would without the caffeine, and situation snowballs over the years.  

• Caffeine interferes with the absorption of minerals in the body, including calcium and magnesium, which are key minerals for bone health.  This can lead to lower bone density.

• Caffeine increases blood pressure.

 Caffeine certainly does have its benefits not in only how we feel, but some research suggests it may actually benefit the heart, so it certainly isn’t all bad.  Now you can make the decision as to how you will include it in your life.

 “Breaded” Lemon Chicken 

• 6 Boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• Store bought lemon or lemon pepper marinade
• ½ cup dry bread crumbs
• ½ cup ground flax seed (or flax seed meal)
• Steamed veggies of your choice
• Baked sweet potatoes 

 

1. Put chicken breasts in plastic bag.  Add marinade.  Set 2-3 hours or overnight.
2.  Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. 
3. Coat chicken with bread crumb mixture. 
4. Place is greased backing pan. Back uncovered at 350◦ for 20-25 minutes or until juices run clear. 
5. Meanwhile, prepare steamed veggies and cook each sweet potato in the microwave for 5 minutes.

No matter what favorite summer veggie comes out of your garden, grill it.

There’s no wrong way to do this, but here are some tips:

• Cut veggies in 1 inch thickness (i.e. zucchini and squash in 1 inch thick circles, grape tomatoes and pea pods can stay whole)
• Put in bowl or plastic bag.
• Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Add Italian seasoning or any other favorite seasoning if desired)
• Place in grill basket.
• Cook on grill, stirring every 2-3 minutes until veggies are desired tenderness

Don’t be shy.  Try grilling anything in your garden.   You will be amazed at the new flavors that are revealed through this healthy, quick and easy way of cooking.

Also, see “Roasting the Perfect Pepper” for a fun way to enjoy your bounty of hot, mild, or bell peppers.

Enjoy!

½ c. blueberries

5 Strawberries

½ banana sliced

1 ½ T protein powder

1 T Flax seed meal

1 T sliced almonds

2 T uncooked oatmeal

1 T granola (optional)

Mash blueberries, strawberries, and bananas in a bowl using a potato masher.  Add protein powder, stir.  Add flax seed meal, stir.  Top with almonds, oatmeal, and granola.

• Energy Highs and Lows
  When we consume foods high in sugar (glucose), the glucose enters the bloodstream, quickly causing blood sugars to rise.

The pancreas responds by secreting insulin which then causes a surge of sugars to enter the cells to either be used as energy or stored as fat for later use. Blood sugars then fall to normal or possibly just below normal levels. While this is happening, we experience a “sugar rush” of hyperactivity (all too commonly seen in kids) only to be followed by the “crash” - fatigue, drowsiness and poor concentration. Naturally, as blood sugars fall, the body works to maintain balance by causing a craving – most likely for more sugar – and the whole process starts all over again.

• Compromised Immunity
  Studies dating back to 1997 and even earlier, back to 1973 show white blood cell counts are suppressed after sugar consumption. White blood cells are the body’s first line of defense against an invading virus or bacteria, so this leaves us susceptible to illness, especially with regular consumption of sugar.

• Sugar’s Long-Term Effects Aren’t Sweet
   Insulin is also secreted in proportion to the amount of sugar consumed.

Insulin is the hormone that instructs the body to store energy as fat. Repeatedly eating sugar throughout the day eventually leads to chronically high insulin and ultimately to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is like this: Imagine insulin as a truck that carries sugar into cells and enters the cell upon arrival by using the garage door opener. Think of insulin resistance as the insulin truck arriving at the cell, but the garage door opener won’t work until six insulin trucks are waiting, rather than just one. Soon, we will have a traffic jam of insulin trucks throughout the body, or chronically high insulin. At this juncture, weight loss becomes very difficult and there is often an increase in blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, abdominal fat, breast and prostate cancer risk and more.

• Aging Accelerated
  Through a process called glycation, described as abnormal attachment of sugar molecules to cells in the body, aging is accelerated.

When this occurs, tissue elasticity reduces to cause skin sagging, arterial stiffness and poor organ function. Sugar also causes the brain, nervous system and eyes to age. 

• Tooth Decay

Sugar is terrible for your healthy mouth and smile. Studies clearly show it can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.

• For more information on various names of sugar, click HERE   
• information provided by: http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/archives.asp?content=14ml3p1a95

• it has no nutritional value (no vitamins, no minerals)
• sugar often keeps bad company (unhealthy ingredients, such as fats and refined grains)
• it contributes significantly to tooth decay
• is not filling, which leads to eating greater portions
• can be used to cover poor ingredients (like adding flavor to low grade tomatoes in tomatoe sauce)
• the earlier to you start, the more likely you are to be a sugar-craving adult.

 For more on the way sugar works in the body, click here. To minimize sugar in your diet, here is a list of the names of sugar (check those labels carefully!) 

• Brown sugar
• raw sugar
• turbinado sugar
• fructose
• glucose
• honey
• maple syrup
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids
• high-fructose corn syrup
• corn sweeteners
• dextros
• sucrose

 It is also most found in these foods: maple syrup, candies, pop, jams, ketchup, baked goods, juice, several packaged foods and many low-fat products for added taste.  Refined flour, chips, pretzels, muffins, white rice and pasta also end up as sugar in our body. Although sugars are safest in their natural, unprocessed forms such as maple syrup, honey or sugar in the raw – all forms of sugar possess similar health risks. 

Can’t avoid them totally? Then try avoiding products that :

• have these ingredients listed within the first 5 ingredients, or
• have two or more of these ingredients

 

Don’t Avoid Them Entirely

• save sweets for special occasions rather than include them in your daily diet
• have sweets made from fruit-juice concentrates and fruit sweeteners (found in most grocery stores) on occasion.

 For more information about the effects of sugar in the body, click here.