How Natural are “Natural Flavours” Listed on Food Labels?

You can find it on millions of food labels. But in this case “natural” comes with a definition that’s hard to believe. That’s because “natural flavors” can perversely “mean” any chemical approved for use in food. The FDA makes manufacturers declare if a flavoring has any of the eight major food allergens – milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans.

But companies don’t have to tell you the sources of any other chemicals used for flavoring.

This deceptive labeling is particularly devious at the ready-made meal section of your grocery store. These are different from frozen TV dinners in that they look like meals made out of ingredients you might put together yourself.

The difference is that to preserve the meals for longer shelf life, and to make them look good in the package, the food is heavily processed with methods like these:

• boiling

• pressurizing

• oxidation

• osmotic inhibition

• freezing

• extremely high water pressure

• dehydration

• smoking (sometimes using carbon dioxide, vinegar or even alcohol)

• mineral removal through chelation

All of these processing methods leech the taste out of food. So food makers add chemicals back in to make what they’re selling taste like real food.

The flavors are created by chemists called “flavorists.” They distill flavors from foods before they get packaged, and then combine them with chemical compounds. These potent flavor potions are created to taste like the flavors that were processed out. Any food pre-packaged in a can, foil wrapper, sealed package, plastic container or box has a cocktail of natural flavorings added back in after it’s processed.

Even many organic foods have “natural flavors” added to them, too. Because the law doesn’t require companies to disclose the ingredients in their flavorings, they can maintain their “trade-secret” tastes used for products. They also can conceal the truth about the list of chemicals added to foods.

Example, the strawberry flavoring in a Burger King strawberry milk shake has 74 chemicals with names like amyl acetate and benzyl acetate. These chemicals are not “natural” and can harm your health. Amyl acetate is legal to be claimed as “natural” on a label. But it’s been linked to nervous-system problems, depression, indigestion, chest pain, headaches, fatigue and irritation of mucous membranes.

Benzyl acetate has been found to cause gastrointestinal, bronchial, eye and ear irritation, and that’s just two of the 74 chemicals in one drink.

Here are some ways to avoid consuming any of these unnatural and toxic chemicals, and find natural food with REAL flavor:

1. Go back to the basics. Our native ancestors ate what they could hunt and gather. And that was natural meats and eggs, veggies, unmodified fruits and nuts, and olives. They ate a lot more protein and fats than most modern Americans. And they ate fewer carbs – and no processed foods or food cooked with vegetable oils. As a result, their archaeological records show virtually no heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis or obesity.

2. Eat fresh, locally grown, organic fruits and veggies as much as you can. Food grown from local farms is much fresher than food at the grocery store. That’s because most produce is transported an average of 1,500 miles. And many of the nutrients get depleted during transit. But not only is locally grown food more nutritious, it also tastes great. And if the farmer uses organic methods, you don’t have to worry about consuming harmful pesticides and fertilizers.

3. If you have to shop at grocery stores, stay in the exterior aisles and stick to organic dairy, meats and produce. You can pretty much disregard everything in between. Those aisles are filled with nothing but processed foods loaded with harmful chemicals.

4. Read labels carefully, even for organic food. If you shop in the exterior of the grocery store, you won’t need to take this step. But if you ever need to grab something in the interior, check the labels of anything packaged in a can, box or plastic (even the organic stuff) for “natural and artificial flavors.” If you see these terms on labels, stay away.

~ syndicated from Al Sears, MD

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Coconut Oil Benefits Alzheimer’s Patients

There is a mad rush for coconut oil these days. Do you know why?

A few months ago Dr. Mary Newport released her study that hit the news in print as well as online ‘What if there is a cure for Alzheimer’s and no one knew?’ In her study Dr. Newport reported about the healing benefits of Coconut Oil in connection with Alzheimer’s. 

The article was published in EyeOpener magazine # 5, which was sent to health food stores and nutrition centers just three weeks ago, you would be able to pickup a copy now.

Dr. Julian Whitaker also reported about this exciting connection between coconut oil and Alzheimer’s in his popular, widely read Health & Healing newsletter, issue October 2009, as did Dr. Bruce Fife in his Coconut Oil News online. 

Health food retailers are reporting that their customers all of a sudden are demanding more coconut oil, saying that they have an Alzheimer’s patient in their family, or are curious about the prevention aspect.

Personally, I am not surprised, having spent years studying lipids and writing several books, Fantastic Flax and Good Fats and Oils. Fat is not just a source of calories. Many fatty acids play different vital roles in our bodies. We all are made aware of this fact in the book FATS that HEAL – FATS that KILL, which I mentored Udo Erasmus to write, and which I published at alive (1986).

It always saddens me to see at check-out counters how much of the bad fats and refined oils are actually purchased by so many uninformed consumers, who do not realize that these unnatural refined oils and hydrogenated fats are responsible for a whole slough of degenerative diseases, especially heart disease, inflammation in the arteries leading to high cholesterol, and cancer. 

When purchasing food, many consumers often seem to put their monetary savings ahead of the health benefits offered by the higher quality fats and oils, such as Flax seed oil, unrefined Hemp and Pumpkin seed oils, Extra Virgin Olive oil and raw DME Virgin Coconut oil. My best advise to you is to consider an oil change for your health sake! Select only the highest un-processed qualities of precious natural nutritional oils.

*contributed by Siegfried Gursche author of Good Fats & Oils

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