Sweeteners: The worst and the best

Today, I will share with you guys the good and the bad sweeteners. Yes, the good guys and bad guys in sweetener world. I'm sure some of you might ask and wonder which sweeteners are bad and which ones are safe to consume. For whoever read my previous sugar posts, you will not be surprise what I'm going to reveal in this post. I know almost all of us are 'sugar addict' and most of us just can't stop eating sweetened foods and beverage, and the cravings just gotten worst overtime. Reason? Read my sleep and sugar posts,  you will learn much more about why do you often crave for sugary foods and the addiction doesn't seem to improve at all. Before we proceed further, please bear in mind, the sweeteners I'm discussing today, does not involve artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are the most dangerous of all the sweeteners out there. And by the way, it DOES NOT promote weight loss! 

Now, I'm sure a lot of you realized that eating too much of sugar is bad, but you may not know which specific type of sweetener that does the most damage to your body. We have whole list of sweeteners such as table sugar(sucrose), glucose, fructose, lactose, stevia, high fructose corn syrup, etc. How about artificial sweeteners? Well, I DO NOT recommend any artificial sweeteners at all. They are dangerous and cause much more damaging to our body and health. If you have read my previous posts or did you own research on sucralose and aspartame, you will know what I meant. 

There are also some of my friends asking me about glycemic index and glycemic load on foods, how do these foods affect the conversion of sugar into our blood stream. Well, glycemic index is measure upon a single piece of food, how fast it converts to sugar in your blood stream. As for glycemic load, it is the combination of more then a single food at that point of time (meal), as they modulate one another. So, if you eat a meal with combination of avocado, raw nuts, olive oil and popcorn and white rice, you can't measure the meal with glycemic index. It has to be measured by glycemic load. 

Anyway, I now present to you, the 'best' and 'worst' sweeteners available. Be cautious when buying packaged foods in the supermarkets or any grocery outlets, as sugar, is one of the culprit in weight gain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other diseases. 

Worst:

-High Fructose Corn Syrup (about 45-55% pure fructose, one of the worst sweeteners)

-Agave Syrup/nectar ( 90% fructose!!, highly concentrated and processed sugar, it's not a whole food) - the worst of all sweeteners!

-Fructose (the culprit!)
- Sucrose ( 50% fructose, also known as table sugar)

** Avoid any food/beverage products which contains "fruit sweetened, fruit juice sweetened, fruit juice concentrate".  

Best:

- Stevia (natural sweetener, it's a herb)

- Yacon (Large root, cut and boiled to concentrate FOS, it also has prebiotic, feeds good bacteria)

- Lou Han Guo (It has prebiotic, soluble fiber) - It is safe for diabetics and doesn't cause insulin resistance.

** Sugar alcohols such as Xylitol, mannitol and maltitol are acceptable for small amount of usage. 

Stevia plant

Agave nectar/syrup

Q&A (Commonly asked) - Diet & Exercise

We are weak, sick and fat. We are the weakest homo species of all human beings compared to our ancestors @ caveman. We are dependant and addicted to drugs, sugar and stimulants. We have become from a fat burning machine, to an estrogen-driven carbs craving species in the past decades. We have been mislead and misfed by health, nutrition and fitness information by so called 'health and fitness professionals' and media sources. Most of us are confused by tons and tons of overhelmed health information available on the internet, magazines, books and other sources. Which ones are the truths? Which ones are quack? 

Now, I hereby list down some of the most commonly asked questions by most people I know, including my clients and friends. 

1) Will jogging or cycling burn fat effective and safe?

Answer is mainly NO. Look at sprinters and marathon runners, you have the answer yourself. Training such as HIIT, proved scientifically that it is able to burn fat more effectively then conventional steady state cardio exercises 7 to 10 times! And it requires far less time and safer in terms of physical impact on joints (knee) and encodrine pathways as well as how glucocorticoid hormones affect the sympathetic nervous system. None of our ancestors @ caveman, jog or cycle for hours and hours regularly week in week out. Prolonged chronic cycling also causes a hip joint condition called FAI. But, I would have to say that cycling has benefit of building a stronger solid lower body (legs) and cardiovascular fitness, especially cycling uphill. 

2) Don't we need sugar and lots of carbs to survive?

Our ancestors and other primates, have never dependant on sugar or high carbs intake for thousands and even millions of years. Even gorillas, apes, rumminants and other primates, are actually on low carbs diet. Don't believe? DO your own research! It takes only 3 teaspoons of sugar at one time, to suppress your immune system for 4-6 hours. Besides, cancer cells thrive on sugar! 

3) Don't eating fat makes you fat?

Well, if that's the case, statistically, we would already become leaner by now, instead of huge potbelly and being severely out of shape. For the past decades, we followed the USDA and health ministry eating pyramid guide and lowered our fat intake, low fat this, low fat that, and we became fatter! Reason? Any products sold in supermarkets, especially low fat or non fat processed foods, usually has higer content of SUGAR. Why? This is the 'tastebud' ploy, by food industries, to ensure their food products still maintain the 'yummy' level, in all their profit making products. Only fat and carbohydrate have the taste factor in macronutrients. If you take out the fat, you got to add more sugar, else, no sales, thus, no profit! Meanwhile, eating carbs triggers insulin production, which is a fat storing hormone, and eating dietary fat stimulate bile production, which does not store fat in our body. 

4) Is eating more fruits make you healthier? 

Well, partially yes in a way, but mostly NO. Why do I say that? Eating fruits does in fact has fiber and vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants and other minerals and nutrients. But, unless if you are eating mostly organically grown fruits, you are ingesting loads of pesticides, herbicides and chemicals. Apart from that, the biggest problem here, is fructose. It cannot be converted into sugar or glucose! It can only be metabolized by the liver and it has up to 7 times of AGE(Advance Glycation End Product) damage compared to glucose. Heard of non-alcoholic hepatitis of the liver? Well, none of our ancestors ever consumed large amount of fruits during their lifetime as ancient fruits were much bitter and only available in certain seasons and not daily consumption.

5) Is there any specific exercise to get rid of my belly fat?

Answer is NO! Forget about sit ups or abs crunch. It does not burn abdominal fats and it turn out to be harmful to other body parts such as the lumbar spine due to excessive stress load from repetitive flexion. The whole idea, is to accelerate more efficient fat burning process, to incoporate compound movements, involving multiple joints with weights and proper form. Remember, your body is smart enough to know which body parts to shred off the fats equally, and usually the belly fat, is the last place to come off due to survival mechanism. Have some patience, focus on the right types of training, and your diet is far more important then your exercise program. And yes, recovery is also crucial as you need adequate sleep and rest. The key here, is to tackle the root cause, which is to reduce tremendously simple carbs (sugar, refine flour) to prevent fat storing, and perform exercises to stimulate your metabolism and fast muscle fiber twitch to produce more fat burning hormones.

6) Which diet is the best and recommended for optimum health and weight?
Well, there is no ONE size fits all diet. Same apply with different people has different sizes of shoes to match their feet. Each people, has their own metabolic type, and surely not a high carbs diet. We have never evolved to consume a high carbohydrate diet, nor vegan or vegetarian diet. None of human species ever survived on these particular diets if any of you ever studied human antropology. All of us, have been confused with tons of diet books out there, arguing which one is the best and which ones are not suitable for us. There is an internal war amongst the nutrition and diet industry, how can we put our faith on who and which diet to follow? What I can say, is for any of you to observe and analyze living primitive tribes or populations who have been in a very healthy state mentally and physically for generations after generations. Find out how they have been eating and living their livestyle, do in depth research and connect the dots. I can give you the answer how how exactly to eat and which diet to follow, but that would enable you to be "ARE YOU TOO LAZY TO LIVE?"

Cholesterol Control and Managing Obesity: Are you serious??

Oh god! Oh god! Oh god! I had to say it three times. I felt disgusted when i attended the so called 'Safety Day' and I just have to publish this so called 'Cholesterol Control' and 'Managing Obesity' brochure provided by National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia and Malaysian Association of Dieticians. I'm not going to go in details about heart disease, cholesterol and foods, but I will just upload the snapped pictures of the brochures and let you guys judge yourself. 

Why do we have more people with huge potbelly and being out of shape? Why incidence of obesity is increasing tremendously? Why cardiovascular/heart disease is still the no.1 cause of death in most industrialized countries? Why are we getting sicker and having low energy most of the time? Well, below are some of the reasons why, and the misinformation given to people like me, you and all of us! What happen to health care? What happen to proper nutrition and dietician guidance which suppose to lead the population to eat right? We are facing infertility issues amongst most of us, human species are becoming extinct and dying prematurely, reasons? Thanks to so called 'health professionals' who provided us with below information. We have been mislead and misfed. 

The food guide practially leading you to become 'FATLANDER'. Recommend pizza for weight loss?  This is just absurd and it explains why so many Malaysians are so darn fat! 

Angiogram showing a healthy heart. If you want to maintain a healthy heart, say NO to grains, sugar, vegetable cooking oil and trans fat. Cholesterol and saturated fats DO NOT cause heart disease!

"We eat according to the food pyramid guide and why are we still fat? Isn't eating grains and carbs suppose to make us look lean and healthy?"

Pesticides & Chemicals (Part 3)

As some of you might notice, more and more organically grown vegetables, fruits and other food products are being sold in the supermarkets and organic outlets. Demand is higher now, compared to couple years ago. More people, starting to realize the health benefits of eating organic whole foods, but there are still majority of population have yet to change from non organic diet, to a cleaner, safer, more nutritious organic whole foods.

Today, I will discuss the final post about how pesticides exposure could cause damage to developing babies as well as sharing some of the ways to protect yourself from pesticides toxicity. With most conceiving soon to be mums are not aware of the harmful affects of pesticides contamination of food products, you may want to pay attention to this post.

While pesticides exposure may not be as great from eating contaminated foods, the cumulative effects can be significant, especially considering that exposure begins even before birth.

The brain is one of the systems to arise in the embryo, and its development continues long after birth, putting the organ at an extreme disadvantage during the nine month period in the womb. Most injuries to the brain during the early phase of development are fatal before birth, of greatest concern are those that occur later in the pregnancy and do not kill the fetus, but may cause serious defects in the child.

Most pesticides kill bugs either by interfering with neurotransmission, or by altering neuron function. Unfortunately, these substances also affect humans in the same way. The governing theory behind using these dangerous substances as bug killers is based on the idea of differential toxicity, as bugs are smaller then humans, so killing them requires a proportionately smaller dose. It may not kill us in smaller dose, but it certainly alter cellular functions.

Now, let's discuss abit about PCBs. Some of you might heard before, but most of you have never heard of this substance ever in your life. It's another contaminant which was banned for general use back in the 1970's. This oily substances was used in the electrical industry, in die and machine cutting oils, as heat exchange fluids, and in materials such as paints, plastics, etc. Like many other neurotoxic compounds, it is highly fat soluble. Bear in mind, the brain is composed of 60% fat, and readily accumulates these toxins.

Normally, the liver detoxfies these lipophilic substances by making them water soluble, thus, increasing their excretion from the body. However, PCBs inhibit the liver enzyme necessary to accomplish this task. As a result, toxins may linger in the body for a very long time. In fact, PCBs half life is about 8 yrs, meaning that after 8 years period, only half the PCB in your body will have been eliminated.

One disturbing article that appeared in Neurotoxicology, reported that children exposed to pesticides developed hypersensitive reactions to these or similiar pesticides as adults. This may explain some cases of multiple chemical sensitivity. Cross reaction among chemical toxicants is increasingly recognized in the medical literature. For example, exposure to formaldehyde makes one overly sensitive to cocaine. With enormous number of powerful chemicals entering our environment, we can only expect that occurances of such interactions will increase.

Let's move on to the following discussion. How do we protect ourselves? With so much toxins and chemicals and overload of daily ingestion of pesticides from foods and drinks, is it possible to reduce the damage and protect ourselves? First and most important, remove as many toxins, pesticides and chemicals from your immediate environment as possible. This means no further pesticide treatments, which include bugs treatment. Avoid bug sprays and use only safe natural insecticides outdoors if really needed. Next, cancel your lawn service if you do have one.

When comes to foods, you should avoid canned, packaged and other forms of processed foods. Eat as much organically grown local whole foods to your best ability on daily basis. When you buy vegetables and fruits, buy organic. I know most of you would be thinking, how on earth would I be able to eat organic celery and avocado? They are very expensive and I can't afford it. Well, if you can afford driving a HONDA, TOYOTA, or perhaps continental Europe luxury cars, eating organic whole foods seem resonable and sane. How about some of you spending few hundreds bucks monthly on beers and alcohol or junk foods but complain about investing on real foods? That is just ABSURD!

I've taught alot of my clients and friends on how to eat safe, healthy and nutritious foods on daily basis based on controlled budget. I don't blame some people whose monthly income is not very high, but it is their determination, discipline and mental strength which drive them to want to eat healthy and be healthy. You could be millionaire and still refuse to eat organically grown whole foods and spent on ess important stuff. Rings a bell? I know some of you who read this may hate me, but some of you may agree.

As for non-vegetarians, buy only free range organic meats from local people you know well. Some farmers may not be as honest as you think, you might need to do some homework to find out and go for safer, cleaner meats. Animals which are caged up or fedlot, overdosed with antibiotics and synthetic growth hormones and fed on diet contaminated with pesticides and GMOs, are basically sick malnurished animals. These animals most of the time developed certain nasty diseases and loaded with harmful microbes, pathogens and bacterias. Do you know that some commercial chickens are fed pig feces?? It is absolutely disgusting and you guys are eating the chickens!

For beef lovers, go for organic, grass fed cows which are not injected with antibiotics and synthetic hormones. Commercial cows are one of the most toxic laden animals on the planet. Heard of mad cow disease? Theoretically, ingesting 'infected' tissues of dead animals can spread mad cow disease. Vitamin manufacturers are switching to vegetable capsules and people are avoiding animal based products.

Now, people with powerful detoxification systems can tolerate exposures to many toxins that make people with weak detoxification systems very sick. Detoxification systems exist in most cells, but the body's major detoxification apparatus is the liver. This cleansing systems depends on a good supply of detoxification chemicals such as sulfur, glutathione, taurine and selenium to successfully accomplish this task. Several plants flavanoids and vitamins have been shown to possess a remarkable ability to stimulate the detoxification process. Some of them are cartenoids and curcumin. Also, milk thistle plant extract significantly improves liver cell function and it is a powerful antioxidant, protecting liver cells from free radicals and lipid peroxidation damage. Next, the flavanoid curcumin, also protects the liver, and improves flow of bile as well.

Also, riboflavin also plays a major role in detoxification, as it is a component in detox process. Magnesium deficiency is very common with heavy metals toxicity and toxic chemical exposure. Both of these toxicities cause increases the excretion of magnesium in the urine.

So, there you go. A list of important detoxification chemicals or supplements which can help you liver to detox more effectively. Of course, there are other herbs or supplements which are also beneficial to help liver detoxification, but these are some ideal ones to start off with, but each individual might not experience same results with others. Last but not least, try eat as much organic whole foods as possible on daily basis.

- Milk Thistle Extract

- Aged garlic extract

- Circumin

- Alpha Lipoic acid

- Thiamine

- Vitamin E succinate

Pesticides & Chemicals (Part 2)

How many of you are okay with the fact that your food is laden with pesticides and chemicals? Hands up please. How many of you has a fairly good knowledge about food toxicity and adverse effects of pesticides? How many of you is eating at least 70% organic whole foods on daily basis? 

Today, I'll share with you guys some of the different types of pesticides and herbicides. For starters, whoever smokes, should realize that each cigarette, contains a high amount of pesticide DDT. Apart from this, there are other more common pesticides such as organophosphates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and carbamates. All these pesticides employ a neurotoxic mechanism to kill insects. Furthermore, most of the pesticides and herbicides are easily absorbed through the skin and lungs. This is why you would see labels to wash all spills off your skin with copious amounts of soap and water immediately!

When we consider the magnitude of exposure from indoor bug and termite treatments, our pesticide/herbicide exposure from foods is actually pretty small. Some people who buy vegetable wash and scrub all their fruits and vegetables to remove pesticides, and then also have a pesticide service treat their home inside and out every month. Because they don't see any lingering vapors, they assume the pesticide and therefore their homes are safe.

Organophosphate pesticides kill bugs by inhibiting a special enzyme, also found in humans, called cholinesterase. Under normal circumstances, this naturally occuring enzyme deactivates acetylcholine to prevent overstimulation of muscles and central neural pathways. When cholinesterase is deactivated, acetylcholine overstimulates muscles, resulting in an inability to control movements. Heavy exposures can cause death from respiratory paralysis.

While it has been assumed that the toxic effects of organophosphates are caused solely by cholinesterase inhibition, studies have shown that another mechanism may also be involved. In fact, low concentration exposure can produce lasting neurological problems, such as memory defects and reduced ability to concentrate. 

Another disturbing effect of the organophosphate, is that findings of a high incidence of auto-antobodies to myelin and the nucleus of cells. These are the types of autoimmune antibodies found in autism and lupus. Individuals exposed to this particular pesticide have reported muscle pains, fatigue, flu like symptoms, and defects in tests of rapid visual identification and decision making. In addition, these people demonstrate difficulties with problem solving and complex processiong of information.

Next, carbamates are widely used as berbicides, pesticides and fungicides. Like organophosphates, they are easily absorbed through the skin, producing rapid toxicity. Exposure can cause acute memory loss, vertigo, numbness in the hands and feet, increased sensitivity to light, fatigue and visual impairment that can last over a year. Well, in some instances, these symptoms are permanent. 

Another very toxic substance, chlorinated hydrocarbons or also known as cyclodienes. This substance is the most highly toxic of any of the organochlorine pesticides. These includes chlordane and endosulfan. Excessive exposure can cause seizures, loss of coordination, brain swelling,  and liver failure. One ongoing problem with chlordane is that it can persist in the soil for twenty years! For homes, it is fifteen years after application. 

Now, let's discuss about how these pesticides can interfere with some of the vital neurotransmiter in the brain. Whoever read my earlier posts, you would have known about GABA. The organochlorine group of pesticides, such as lindane, kills bugs by intefering with GABA receptors, making them convulse to death. GABA, is a neurotransmitter that calms the nervous system by inhibiting excitatory neurons. The brain becomes overexcited when GABA is deficient.

The importance of the GABA system is emphasized by the fact that it is one of the earliest systems to develop in the fetal brain, usually by 6-7 weeks. The number of GABA receptors increases sharply betweem eight and eleven weeks of development. It is known that drugs that target these receptors can cause long lasting behavioral changes.

Those with neurological diseases, especially disorders related to excitotoxicity, are especially vulnerable to these pesticides, since GABA is essential in preventing overexcitation of the nervous system. Patients with ALS, suffers excitotoxic disorder of the spinal cord. 

Organochlorine type of pesticides are accumulating in our foods, and in our bodies as well. Significant levels of these compounds have been measured in human breast milk and can pass easily through the placenta. Soon to be mums and breasfeeding mums, please do take note. 

I'm sure alot of you must be wondering and asking, how about residues on fruits and vegetables? if I wash my veggies and fruits, the pesticides and chemicals should be eliminated right? Well, the answer is NO. While, billions of pounds of pesticides and herbicides are used globally on our crops, we obviously have a problem, a big problem. Because many pesticides including DDT, have demonstrated major toxicity and carcinogenicity, they have been banned in certain countries including USA. 

The highest concentration of these pesticides can be found in the following foods such as tomatoes, potatoes, ornages, lettuce, apples, peaches, wheat, soybeans, beans, carrots, beef, chicken, pork, corn, grapes, etc. Some fruits of vegetables, contains up to combination of 13 different pesticides in a single piece! Bear in mind, some fruits and vegetables, such as bell peppers, peaches, cucumbers, oranges, apples eggplants, are waxed to slow spoilage. Often, pesticides that cannot be washed off with water are added to these waxes. 

Pesticides poisoning is not at all uncommon. One particular alarming incident occured where the use of systemic pesticide, called aldicarb on watermelons. A systemic pesticide is one that permeates the entire plant, not just the outside. Tainted watermelons! Symptoms varied from nausea and vomiting to even seizures, nerve damage and blurred vision.

Studies have shown that firty to seventy chemical residues present in the fatty tissue of ordinary adults in the Unites States alone. Several studies have also shown that pesticide residues in breast milk. Again, your infant DO NOT know how to tell you NOT to feed him or her pesticide contaminated milk! It is parents responsibility to research and ensure whatever been fed to the infant or child, it is clean and safe.

In the brain, many of these powerful chemicals alter neurotransmission, receptor function, and membrane physiology. It alters the brain's immune system, while others mainly affect the vascular supply to the brain, and still others destroys specific parts of the brain such as the substantia nigra responsible for Parkinson's disease.

Most people assume that if they experience no symptoms at the time they are exposed, they haven't been affected. This is wrong. It's a dangerous presumption. The effects of early exposure to many of these chemicals may not appear until much later in life. Most neurological disorders do not develop clinically until 80% of the neurons in a particular area of the brain have been destroyed. 

In the next final post, I will discuss about how pesticides could affect the developing babies and how we can protect ourselves from these neurotoxic substances. Stay tuned. 

Pesticides & Chemicals (Part 1)

I know a family, a wealthy family, who owns several huge high class condominiums and a nice car. The husband, particularly has virtually zero believe and faith about organic foods, but I do not blame him, as I respect his mentality and point of view. There are certain people, no matter how hard you bring out the discussion and try to convince him or her, it's either useless or waste of time. It's a fixed mindset! It's like trying to win a losing war. There are people, who would spend huge loads of money on entertainment and other non important stuff, but, spending on healthy clean organic food is definitely not in their list. Some would say, it's a waste of money, and some would point out that foods are all the same, it goes into the mouth and out from the colon and rectum. 

I know I have discussed about organic foods, pesticides and chemicals in my previous posts, but today, I would want to share with you guys abit more about these dangerous substances. Although in Malaysia, more and more people are buying organic foods, but vast majority of the population are still clueless and hesitant about investing on organic foods.

Now, let's start of with some discussion about one of the culprits of whole list of health conditions we suffer today. PESTICIDES! From infertility to cancer, poor sexual and cognitive performance to nervous system and endocrine disorders, you name it, it plays a major role in some of the conditions we seen since few decades ago. As we have seen, major questions have not been answered about the toxic effects of aspartame and MSG on the human brain, yet neither the government, nor the industries that use these chemicals, are doing anything to satisfy our rights to know. We have witnessed the same blindness with fluoride, vaccinations and other toxins forced on the public. Question is, how many of us realize and know about this? How long will this continue?

Does any of you know how many chemicals are registered in EPA registry? It's over 75 thousands! And this data is not even up to date. The vast majority of these chemicals have not been tested adequately for potentially toxic nervous system effects, especially higher cortical functions, such as memory, cognitive ability and executive functions of the brain. Because we come into contact with them everyday, food additives and cosmetics ingredients pose a particular concern.

For example, back in the century, face powder contained white lead. Hundreds of incidences of lead poisoning cases later, cosmetics containing the harmful component were removed from the market. What was the fate of women exposed to these substance long term? No one knows and no one seem to care.

How about people like us, you, me and everyone else. You stroll along the valley of supermarkets and try to decipher or read and figure out the ingredient lists in the food products. Well, most of us assume that the unidentifiable ingredients must be safe, or the FDA would have recalled them. We also naively imagine that they must have been carefully tested or our regulatory agencies wouldn't allow food processors use them in the first place. Right? Hell wrong!! The vast majority of these ingredients have never been tested for long term neurological effects. Guess what? You and your family get to be the guinea pigs!

When it comes to food additives, the vast majority have never been tested for long term effects on the brain as well. Even those that have been tested for effects on the body tissues have never been tested in combination with other toxins. For instance, what happens when you combined the two food adiditives in the body? Nobody knows. And that's the real problem. Imagine chewing on a gum which has both dangerous artificial sweetener sucralose and aspartame at the same time. We are the experimental pigs!

Millions of people are exposed to these chemicals and neurotoxins daily, either at workplace or home. Most of us are not even aware that these commonly used chemicals can damage the nervous system. We assume that if they were really dangerous, the FDA and EPA would have told us. We put our trust in those who should not be trusted.

The EPA and FDA simply ignore neurotxocity whenever they can, and in some instances, bureaucrats go out of their way actually to protect the offending industries. Those who blow the whistle can expect a full wrath of the system falling down on them. What a shame!

It is already enormous, and continues to grow unchecked. More than a thousand new compounds are added every year to the existing stock of more then 75 thousand chemicals. Among these chemicals, close to forty thousands pesticides registered with EPA, many of which are neurotoxic. Worldwide, close to five billion pounds are used annually. Approximately up to 80% of livestock are treated with pesticides.

In the past, pesticides allowed us to grow the enormous amounts of food necessary to literally feed the world. There is little question that millions of lives were saved by the use of pesticides, yet things have improved on the bug war front as well. Newer natural methods of controlling incescts have been devised but never implemented on the wide scale. Corporate farms did not want to cut profits for the sake of safety, and smaller family farmers have been brainwashed into believing in the safety of these toxic chemicals.

Check this out. In cancer cases, especially lymphomas and leukemias, the highest incidence in the population occurs in people who work on farms. The same is true for Parkinson's disease. Lured into believing these powerful chemicals were safe, farmers drenched everything in pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, including themselves and their families.

If you think that you are safe because you don't live in a farm, think again. Because of our national obsession with bug-free homes and perfect lawns, these same chemicals are saturating city neighborhoods as well. Lawn treatment spraying from yard to yard, spraying heavy herbicides and weed control toxins over the grass. We had to hide in our homes to wait until the vapor is settled and warn our children not to play in the yards that have been treated.

In the next post, I will discuss more details about pesticides and herbicides and the roles of these chemicals how they affect our host body and health. Stay tuned.

Approximately 6 billions tons of pesticides been sprayed into our food supply annually.

Pesticides on your food?? Bad idea!

Celery, rated as worst ever pesticides contamination with 95%. A single commercial celery contains up to 13 chemicals, while 67 different pesticides were used on the entire group of celery.

Peaches, rated 2nd worst, as 96% of peaches were positively tested for pesticides. A single peach, contains 9 different pesticides.

Strawberries, ranked 3rd amongst the most contaminated with pesticides, with  13 different chemicals and 53 different pesticides were discovered.

Blueberries, ranked 5th, with 13 different chemicals in a single  blueberry.

Sauerkraut : Fermented Cabbage

A quick look at one of the fermented foods which one can eat and enjoy, welcome Sauerkraut. Bought this product from one of the organic shops in Klang Valley area, I would say that it is quite difficult to find this fermented product widely popular in Germany, Poland and other parts of Europe. 

This product is organic of course, go through at least 6 weeks of full fermentation using only sea salt and organic cabbage and water. Hand harvested using traditional fermentation techniques, try it out, it may taste a bit sour, but fermented foods should be part of your regular diet. Try it out, mix it with your cooked dishes, you may love it. Meanwhile, I will write about fermented foods in coming posts and the benefits of incorporating it into our diet, why is it so important, and what is it all about. Stay tuned.