Panera Bread has announced that they will be eliminating some of the chemical additives in their food. Additives?
Today, the company publicly published a “No No List” of artificial additives including colors, flavors, preservatives, and sweeteners that are banned from its restaurants as of today in the US (its rollout date in Canada has yet to be determined). The restaurant says it will remove more than 150 ingredients, including aspartame (taken out of Diet Pepsi last month) and azodicarbonamide (aka, the much-maligned yoga mat chemical), as well as old health foes like high-fructose corn syrup and lard. (Also on the list: sucralose, the artificial sweetener replacing aspartame in Diet Pepsi and acesulfame K, the beverage’s other sweetener.)
Click here for the complete NO-NO List from Panera Foods.
Check out this article about Panera’s announcement about taking another step toward ethical meat practices in Forbes Magazine.
Subway Restaurant
Remember the yoga mat incident? Well it looks like Subway has made another step toward helping their PR and announced plans for a significant reduction in sodium at its U.S. stores that could ultimately nudge much of the fast-food industry to follow.
Beginning today, sodium content in Subway’s “Fresh Fit” sandwich line in the U.S. will be cut 28% vs. 2009, when Subway first began to cut salt. And sodium in its overall sandwich line will be cut by 15%, compared with the same period.
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods, a few weeks ago, declared that they will be eliminating the food dye they were using in their Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, the stuff that makes it orange, and replacing it with natural ingredients.
Maybe Kraft is making this move because it’s losing market shareto organic products — although the company still sells half-a-billion dollars worth of the stuff annually.
As it turns out, the famous nuclear-orange color of Kraft’s mac and cheese can be obtained from natural ingredients like turmeric, annatto,and paprika — instead of artificial food dye.
But the BIGGEST news was….ta dah! CHIPOTLE GIVES UP GMOS! The public has spoken. Take that Monsanto who has no problem morally or ethically poisoning the consumer if it can make a profit.
WHAT IS A GMO? (Genetically Modified Organism)
A GMO is created by inserting genes from one species (typically bacteria or a virus) into the DNA of another. This can result in a plant with characteristics that wouldn’t occur naturally, such as producing pesticides or the ability to withstand high doses of chemical herbicides.
Not all GMOs are designed in the same way. Crops can be engineered to do a number of different things. The traits that cause the most concern to agricultural, environmental, and medical experts are:
1. Herbicide Resistance: Plants engineered to survive applications of glyphosate, a chemical that would otherwise kill them.
2. Pesticide Production: Plants engineered to produce insecticidal toxins
(Picture source: Chipotle website)
If you eat processed food, you are more likely to consume GMOs.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been grabbing headlines in recent weeks, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) suddenly reversing bans on one genetically engineered crop after another. The list of genetically modified food ingredients is growing at an alarming rate. And what’s even more disturbing is the fact the USDA seems to have sided with big business in allowing GMO foods to be sold without any labeling whatsoever.
Consumers have been left largely in the dark, unable to make informed choices about buying foods containing GMOs. By some estimates, over 75% of all processed foods sold in the U.S. contain a GMO ingredient. Corn, soy, canola, cottonseed, sugar, beef and dairy products are among the most likely to have been genetically modified.
Scientists, environmental activists, supporters of organic farming and consumers alike are joining forces to protest the USDA’s decisions. Organizations like the Organic Consumers Association, Alliance for Natural Health USA and Say No to GMOs! are just a few examples of those working to fight back against GMOs.
What’s behind all of the outrage and fervor? Here’s a brief overview of the case against GMOs. It’s important to educate yourself now, because the onslaught of approved GMO foods entering our food supply is likely to continue, as the government refuses to acknowledge that they could be harmful.
Why do GMOs exist?
If you listen to the government and the Big Agra companies it supports, GMO foods are perfectly safe, and their benefits include lower cost crops, more productive farms and even healthier foods. But the truth is, genetically engineered plants exist for a single reason — profits. Companies like Monsanto have been known to bully farmers into paying “technology fees” to use their GMO seeds.
In most cases, the reason that seeds are genetically modified is so they plants can withstand massive doses of herbicides and pesticides. And guess who sells these toxic chemicals? The same companies that make the GMO seeds.
Why should you be concerned about GMOs in our food supply?
Genetically engineered plants have had either genes from bacteria or viruses, or genes that make plants resistant to toxic chemicals like the herbicide Roundup — spliced into their DNA. These genes were never part of the human diet until the first GMO plant was created in 1996.
To date, there have been no long-term human safety studies conducted on GMOs. To assume that they are safe defies common sense, as we lack any scientific evidence to prove that they do not pose a threat to human health. In fact, more research points towards potentially harmful effects of consuming GMOs.
The American Academy of Environmetal Medicine (AAEM)’s official position on GMOs is that they “have not been properly tested and pose a serious health risk” and that a more research shows that GMOs are posing a harmful effect to humans.
The Center for Food Safety has launched a free mobile application for smartphones called the True Food Shoppers Guide, a program that allows shoppers to quickly and easily identify grocery items that contain genetically engineered ingredients.
Here’s how to get your legs ready for shorts and summer season.
Okay, so have been hiding your legs under pants all winter but now is the time to get them ready to be seen in shorts. I have some little tips that the Victoria Secret models use and if it is good enough for them, then it is good enough for you. (My 83 year-old mother does this. Keep on reading.)
After this, apply Sally Hansen Airbrush Tan all over your legs evenly, and
you do this by spraying a couple of circles at a time then using your hands and rub evenly. Keep on doing until your legs are completely covered and glowing. Great for covering bruises and blemishes.
There you go! Now you have some rockin’ looking legs. Works on short legs, long legs, chubby legs and skinny legs. Now you have no reason to go out with pasty, dry legs.
If you prefer, you can make your own sea salt scrub by mixing olive oil and a little Himalayan sea salt. Warning: your tub will become very slippery from the olive oil. Clean the tub after with Comet to de-oil so the next person to use the tub/shower doesn’t slip.
If you want to use a great natural moisturizer, try using coconut oil. Or if you have really dry skin, a long lasting gel like Baby Oil Gel works great at sealing in moisture after your shower, and is non-oily.
Below are a few suggestions that you can click on and shop via Amazon.
You would have to live under a rock if you haven’t heard about music’s new it man, Sam Smith. His famous song Stay With Me. won a Grammy. Sam has admitted that he has struggled with weight all his life and even posted a picture of himself as a chubby child.
Sam’s music career is on the top now but even with his success he was still bothered by his extra pounds. He decided to do something about it and consulted with Amelia Freer, the weight loss guru to the UK stars.
Sam said, “Three weeks ago I met a woman who has completely changed my life,” he wrote, before crediting his weight loss to Amelia Freer, Certified Nutritional Therapist and author of Eat. Nourish. Glow. “Amelia Freer has helped me lose over a stone in 2 weeks and has completely transformed my relationship with food.”
Sam Smith
Forget fad diets, now is the time to make a lasting change and develop a healthy, clean and sustainable relationship with food.
Being healthy is a way of life, but it doesn’t have to be about denying yourself. Amelia Freer loves food and encourages a positive and realistic approach to healthy eating. In her book, providing an introduction to her food philosophies for the first time, she offers simple changes to your diet and lifestyle to help you look and feel amazing.
Here are some of her basic principles :
Skip process foods
Eat fresh fruits and vegetables
Leave the sugar in the sugar bowl
Take small steps in diet changes so you don’t become overwhelmed.
Okay, we all have tried the new diet crazes and lost weight and then put it right back on once we fell off the wagon. This is more of a way of life for now on and not a fad diet.
Take a look at this video about what is in Amelia Freer refrigerator. CLICK HERE!
Where do people live the longest? If you watched the CNN report on Sunday, March 15, 2015, you would have seen the show called The Blue Zones. It was based on the book with the same name by author Dan Buettner.
“People in the Blue Zones reach age 100 at 10 times the average rate. What’s their secret?”
Not surprisingly the common thread was about centenarians who live on remote islands, never saw a McDonalds, and eat only home-grown veggies. One interesting fact was that eating meat was reserved only for special occasions. And also having less stress is a big common denominator, but we all already know that, and unless we are ready to sell everything and move to a remote island that would be almost impossible. But guess what? One of the areas with the most people living to 100 is not only on a remote island in the South Pacific but right here in America. There is hope for us all. Where is it? Loma Linda, California. What do they do that is different from the rest of the country? They are Seventh Day Adventists who eat a vegetarian diet. Plus, they have a strong church community and therefore a tight group of family and friends which is also a key point in life longevity. Here are the 9 key characteristics: Power 9 principles from The Blue Zones:
Move Naturally The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron or run marathons. Instead, their environments nudge them into moving without thinking about it.
Purpose Why do you wake up in the morning? Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy.
Down Shift Stress leads to chronic inflammation, associated with every major age-related disease. The world’s longest-lived people have routines to shed that stress.
80% Rule “Hara hachi bu” – the Okinawans say this mantra before meals as a reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full.
Plant Slant The cornerstone of most centenarian diets? Beans. They typically eat meat—mostly pork—only five times per month.
Wine @ 5 Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers, especially if they share those drinks with friends.
Belong Attending faith-based services four times per month – no matter the denomination – adds up to 14 years of life expectancy.
Loved Ones First Centenarians put their families first. They keep aging parents and grandparents nearby, commit to a life partner and invest in their children.
Right Tribe They world’s longest lived people chose or were born into social circles that support healthy behaviors.
In an era where every symptom becomes a deficiency of the latest drug, it makes the word “cure” sound as though it borders on quackery. But nothing could be further from the truth. For example, the leading diabetes prescription medications have quadrupled the heart attack rate, increased bladder cancers and depleted vitamin B12 which leads to exhaustion, impotence, Alzheimer’s, and much more. In fact the leading diabetes medication according to the Journal of the American Medical Association 2010 doubles the heart attack rate. Furthermore, lowering the main test that doctors use to monitor diabetes (the hemoglobin A1C) with a diabetes drug increases death 22%. As well, diabetes drugs set folks up for blindness from retinopathy, renal failure in 37% which requires dialysis which then leads to heavy metal toxicity, a 33-70 % increase in cancer, 50% get memory loss, and much more. Even a study in the 2008 New England Journal of Medicine showed that you can give all the best medications to diabetics for 5 years making their blood tests look normal, but it does not change their rate of dying one iota. One in four Americans over 60 has diabetes and three times that number are pre-diabetic with hypertension, elevated cholesterol or triglycerides, obesity, NASH (not alcoholic steatohepatitis or fatty liver disease), and/or Metabolic Syndrome X (insulin resistance). Diabetes is clearly our best example of accelerated aging. And as far as the multiple curable causes of diabetes go, the #1 cause permeates 80% of our diet. Yet the FDA limit on this #1 cause is 500 times higher than the dose that researchers use to create diabetes. The good news is sometimes as little as pennies of non-prescription nutrients can literally cure diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), prevent amputations, reverse diabetic retinopathy, as well as reverse diabetes to the point of needing no medications. Come and learn how to empower yourself (contains well over 1000 references).
More books by Dr. Rogers. (I had the pleasure of meeting her and she truly is an amazing person and great healer.)
a key point in life longevity. Here are the 9 key characteristics: Power 9 principles from The Blue Zones:
D5 Creation