| What Are You Feeding Your Children? Do you consider yourself a good parent? Are you concerned about your children's well being? Of course you are. So why are you purchasing food that is loaded with sugar and partially hydrogenated oils for them to consume on a daily basis? It is about time that parents start reading labels and read them carefully. Recently I walked through the grocery aisles of my local supermarket. As I glanced at the various products that appeal to children, I noticed that most of popular cereals and snacks all had one ingredient in common: partially hydrogenated oils. Now, a parent may say, "so what. Who cares?" Well, that might be the lousy attitude of a parent who desires to stay ignorant of the facts but for the rest of those who desire to know what their children are eating, this article is a must read for you. Nutrition plays a key role in development and maintenance of good health. Your child is in your hands. They do not know what is good for them and you as a parent better know what is good for them. I believe that our life is in God's hands and each one of us has a time appointed... when our time is up, it is up but God gave us wonderful foods to enjoy and they are what we should be feeding our children. Check out our health links page for more information on eating more natural and organic foods. Parents are serving breakfast in a box, lunch in a can and dinner in a microwavable box and they wonder why their kids have health problems, learning problems, ADD and the list goes on. Take just one "kid's food" product off the grocery shelf and look at the sugar content and read the ingredients listed and then do some research for yourself. "More than a decade of research at the University of Maryland, as well as research that was being done at other institutions, showed that consumption of trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated (a process that adds hydrogen to solidify or harden) vegetable fats and oils had many adverse effects in health areas such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, immunity, reproduction and lactation, and obesity." ~~Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., a nutritionist widely known for her research on the nutritional aspects of fats and oils, is a consultant, clinician, and the Director of the Nutritional Sciences Division of Enig Associates, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland. "Research has shown that transfatty acids contribute to impaired cellular function, clogged arteries, and degenerative disease...they are believed to interfere with the body's ability to efficiently process good fats....Unfortunately, hydrogenated fats contain the harmful transfatty acids associated with accelerated aging and degenerative diseases like heart disease and cancer." -Ann Louise Gittleman, Eat Fat, Lose Weight, pg. 9 According to Dewey's World, http://www.dldewey.com/hydroil.htm "Hydrogenated oils and trans fatty acids are silent killers." "Research studies show conclusively these deadly oils cause non-insulin dependent type II diabetes, or hyperinsulinemia. This is a disease which can eventually burn out the pancreas and cause insulin dependent diabetes. These changed molecular oils dramatically increase the risk of coronary heart disease, breast cancer, other types of cancers and auto immune diseases. Over 100 research studies show how harmful these oils are to the human body. However, these findings have been largely ignored by the mass media and the FDA. In addition, the Commercial Edible Food Industry has suppressed these research findings for sometime. Why? Money and lots of it! Food processing companies and the companies that own the patents on this process would lose billions of dollars if they had to change their method of food production of hydrogenating oils. The main reason oils are hydrogenated is that the hydrogenation of the oils act as a preservative. This leads to increased shelf life of products and less returns or spoilage of products. But at what cost is it to the human body?" "The human body needs the type of essential fatty acids that mother nature has provided. Hydrogenated oils are molecularly changed oils that are toxic to the body. Soon after food production companies started using hydrogenated oils, substantial increases in several diseases occurred within a few years. In particular was a new disease which the medical profession had to name because they did not know what was causing it. It was not the normal type of diabetes but a new type. This new type of diabetes was named diabetes type II. Over the last fifty years since the introduction of hydrogenated oils, this disease has increased over 1000%. Over 90% of the foods produced today contain hydrogenated oils." Treelight.com says the following: "Partially hydrogenated oils will not only kill you in the long term by producing diseases like multiple sclerosis and allergies that lead to arthritis, but in the meantime they will make you fat!" "But the absolute worst has to be the fast-food chains, who almost uniformly do their deep frying in cheap, deadly partially hydrogenated oil." http://www.treelight.com/health/PartiallyHydrogenatedOils.html Ban Trans Fat.com, a California non-profit corporation sued Kraft in May of 2003. Here is a quote off their website: "We sued Kraft in May 2003 to ban the marketing and sale of trans fat-laden Oreos to children, and to prevent Kraft from continuing to distribute Oreos to young kids in schools. As a result of the lawsuit, Kraft agreed to remove partially hydrogenated oil from the Oreo. Kraft also agreed to stop all in-school marketing." Although we do not necessarily endorse all of Dr. Andrew Weil's ideas, what he says in his book, "Spontaneous Healing" is very important: "Read labels of all food products so that you can dispose of anything containing partially hydrogenated oils.." Foods That Are Usually Made With Partially Hydrogenated Oils: (Most, but not all. A specific brand may not contain partially hydrogenated oils and this is where you need to read labels when shopping. The products you find in a health food store will usually NOT contain hydrogenated oils but again, READ EVERY LABEL.) Cake mixes, biscuit, pancake and cornbread mixes, frostings Cakes, cookies, muffins, pies, donuts Crackers Peanut butter (except fresh-ground or natural, organic) Frozen entrees and meals Frozen bakery products, toaster pastries, waffles, pancakes Most prepared frozen meats and fish (such as fish sticks) French fries Whipped toppings Margarines, shortening Instant mashed potatoes Taco shells Cocoa mix Microwave popcorn Breakfast cereals Corn chips, potato chips Frozen pizza, frozen burritos, most frozen snack foods Low-fat ice creams Noodle soup cups Bread Pasta mixes Sauce mixes Eric Armstrong from TreeLight.com says: "Consuming partially hydrogenated oils is like inhaling cigarette smoke. They will kill you -- slowly, over time, but as surely as you breathe. And in the meantime, they will make you fat!" In Conclusion: Be a good steward of your children. Read the labels carefully. Does it contain preservatives, artificial flavors, partially hydrogenated oils, high sugar content, genetically modified, etc? Be wise and ask God to help you to shop wisely for your family. There are many healthier alternatives to the popular brands out there. It is just a matter of knowing where to look. Ask your grocery store to carry Organic breads and snacks. Ecc 3:13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. Psalm 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Copyright © 2004 Cobblestone Road Ministries All Rights Reserved Further Reading: Health Links TV- Turning Children Into Zombies- (how TV affects children) |
|