Diet soft drinks can be dangerous to your health!
 

I realize this is not the usual topic we discuss here, but I thought this was important enough to mention....

I just read an article about the health hazards of aspartame, better known as "Nutrasweet," a common sweetener in diet soft drinks....

It's been linked to brain damage, brain tumors, blindness, and other serious problems.... If you drink diet soft drinks at all, make sure you READ THIS ARTICLE....

There's more information in the links within the article.... As one who does consume diet soft drinks on occasion, it definitely has me worried! I'm going to stop drinking any diet soft drinks immediately....

I've linked to the article below....

- Dien


The Aspartame Epidemic

Here's the other point of view....
 

I like to check both points of view.... Here's the alternative point of view, for those who'd like to read it (linked to below)....

Personally, I'm going to play it safe, and cut artificial sweeteners from my diet....

- Dien




The other point of view....

Watch out for the Sugar Monster
 

Hi Dien!

> Personally, I'm going to play it safe, and
> cut artificial sweeteners from my diet....

Good call!!! And while you're at it, what other "artificial" things can you remove?

Heck, even sugar is artificial. It's "processed" and "refined" beyond all recognition. And then put into EVERY food there is.

I can't even buy a can of peas that doesn't have sugar added.

WHY?

What is being hidden here?

Do they add sugar to mask the fact they are putting "off" food into cans? With that little bit of sugar I won't taste the mold that's started to form on the food.

And why can't I buy a loaf of bread without sugar and soy-flour???

The Chinese new the dangers of the Soy bean which is why they only used it to fix nitrogen back into the ground... before they figured out the only SAFE way to get at the goodness of soy was to ferment it.

And now I have to triple check the soy sauce I buy to make sure it's fermented soy sauce and not made from pulverizing soy beans and reconstituting them, or some other non-fermentation extraction method.

Here's an experiment to try: buy (if you can) and consume only foods that do not contain numbers as part of their ingredients.

After one month buy a pizza (pizza hut, or whatever brand you want) and eat it... if you can without throwing up of feeling ill.

Or just try and eat something with numbers in it?

Or get a can of coke and drink it?

After one month of this little experiment in uncontaminated food you will INSTANTLY taste the foulness of the food you'd previously consumed without a second thought.

Coke will "feel" like syrup in your mouth and taste extra extra sweet. Food with additives will taste "wrong" and other things will be "heavy" and sickening.

I look at food like this... if I have to add a whole bunch of stuff to it to make it palatable I shouldn't be consuming it.

Have you ever wondered why little kids HATE vegetables?

It's because they taste disgusting! They, the little kids, can taste its yuckiness because their tastebuds haven't been conditioned yet.

And consider this other fact about vegetables... to harvest the vegetable the plant was killed. Making vegetables a non-renewable food supply.

The fact they taste yucky is also an indication we shouldn't eat them. They are designed NOT to be eaten and to help discourage it they taste yucky.

Fruit on the other hand is different. The very survival and renewal of a fruit plant depends on the fruit being eaten. And to assist that process, the fruit tastes good to us.

We then eat it and toss the inedible seed, which becomes another fruit plant later on. All in perfect harmony.

And we don't have to kill a fruit plant to partake of its offering.

This is how nature intended things... we eat what tastes good and don't eat what doesn't taste good or only tastes good after intense cooking and a truck load of additives have been added.

Imagine man 200,000 years ago. He walks over to a white thing sticking up out of the ground, yanks it out (killing it) and bites into it. He makes a funny face, spits out the bite and throws the thing away. Why? Because it was an onion!

Now imagine he sees an interesting thing hanging from a tree. He picks it (leaving the tree alive to make more for later) and takes a bite. He smiles, eats the rest and tosses the seed away which will grow into another tree later. Why? Because it was a peach, or orange, or apple (notice how apple seeds taste yucky? it's so you don't eat them).

Anyway. Try the no-number test and see what things taste like after a month. It's a real eye-opener.

Michael (I don't consume sugar and it makes it darn hard to buy things at the supermarket) Ross.

um, er, ahem, er, uh...
 

I'm speechless. And a little "grossed out" (to quote my niece).

Wow Michael, I don't even know what to say--except great post!

I know what you are talking about with regards to Coke--I am not a Coke drinker (more of a coffee and milk drinker), so when once in a blue moon when I do drink a Coke, I can't handle more than a few swallows.

Now...I love that theory about why vegetables taste bad and fruit tastes good. It makes sense! Does this also apply to meat vs. something like milk? I know of one vegetarian who took a bite of some meat and felt sick to his stomach--is that just the shock of eating meat (after having not done so for a long time), or does it have something to do with having to kill the food source to get the food?

Michael, I think you would like the book "Why we Feel: The Science of Human Emotions" by Victor Johnston. Some of Victor's ideas are similar to what you discuss in your post (i.e., why things taste bad). I have provided the link below to Amazon.

Nope, it is not an affiliate link. However, I have a confession: I am biased--Victor is my advisor at grad school. *grin* So if you want a signed copy, I can arrange that. :-)

Again, great post!
Becky




Victor's book

Milk and other Hard Beverages
 

Hi Becky!

> Wow Michael, I don't even know what to
> say--except great post!

Thank you.

> Now...I love that theory about why
> vegetables taste bad and fruit tastes good.
> It makes sense! Does this also apply to meat
> vs. something like milk? I know of one
> vegetarian who took a bite of some meat and
> felt sick to his stomach--is that just the
> shock of eating meat (after having not done
> so for a long time), or does it have
> something to do with having to kill the food
> source to get the food?

Killing the food source has nothing to do with why some people don't like the taste of meat. That involves other factors.

You see, I personally cannot stand the taste of lamb. It's that bad that if I try to chew and swallow lamb my abdomen starts to contract in spurts (as it does when vomiting). And it doesn't matter how much sauce or seasoning is used to mask its taste... I taste it and have to spit it out.

Why?

For me it's the fatty taste of lamb.

If your vegetarian friend doesn't cook with oil then they too will instantly taste the high fat content of our farmed meats. And they may also taste the odd flavor the meat has due to all the antibiotics and other such chemicals our farmed animals consume.

Or maybe, for them, it's the acrid smell of the burnt flesh, or the blood that's still present in bought steak.

Farmed meat is unnatural meat. Lazy meat. Fat meat.

Game meat (meat from wild animals), on the other hand, has the correct and natural amount of fat for the particular animal in question.

It may taste odd to a lot of people, but that's because they've never eaten it and are used to the farmed meat.

When wild game meat is compared to farmed meat you will find the game meat is more flavorsome and much much leaner. And, it's chemical free.

Also, the animals wild meat comes from eat the right food for them. And they aren't forced to eat meats and other unnatural food and end up getting things like scrappy or mad cow disease.

And of the wild animals, the only ones which are an option to be food are older males. The young and the female should be left alone. The older males, however, have often ceased to breed and thus outlived their usefulness to the "herd". They are often slower and weaker and the only ones we have any chance of catching any way - not counting our increased hunting ability thanks to firearms.

Besides the taste/smell/texture of meat being a turn off for some people, there's the thought of it. To know the thing in your mouth was once a living breathing creature.

Think of it... most people have no problem eating cow or chicken or pig or fish, yet the thought of eating dog or cat is repulsive even though it is still meat.

Somehow a dog or cat is more personal to us.

And then there's the disgusting meat.. like rat. Yuck, just the thought of eating rat puts you off.

Should we eat meat even though our bodies can process it?

Probably not. We can get all the vitamins and minerals we need from non-meat non-animal sources... regardless of what the meat industry would have you believe.

Milk...

Milk tastes all right because it's designed to be consumed. After all, it's what the young feed on first.

And let that be your clue as to whether it should be consumed by adults.

Once the young goes off milk (and this applies to humans as well) the mother's milk will dry up.

We are able to get milk from cows because we trick their bodies into producing it by contantly milking them. If left alone a dairy cow would eventually dry up until it had a calf.

And consider human breast milk. I've heard that it tastes quite horrid to an adult. A good sign it's not meant for adults, don't you think?

Some people can handle goat's milk and others can't stand it.

Here's another experiment you can try. Drink only bottled spring water for a month. After one month pour yourself a glass of water from the tap and see if you can bring yourself to swallow it.

I bet you can't. I bet you'll spit it out. After all, after one month of good water you'll be able to taste the unnaturalness of tap water.

As with the food experiment it's a real eye-opener.

Michael Ross.

Seems to me that 'truth in packaging' has been violated...
 

I was just thinking about the slogan that was used by a popular cola drink company..."____ adds life!"

How misleading.

On the other hand, I have just spent some time at a non-profit website - Fulvica BioScience - which addresses why many of us may be feeling low vitality which can't be addressed by the seductive chemicals (such as aspartame) designed to excite our brain and give us a 'buzz'.

Some scientists believe that fulvic acid - a humic extract - may be the missing link in our food chain...and the greatest electrolyte known to man.

Until recently, the importance of it was overlooked. But it has been missing from our diet now for generations.

It is known that our soils are depleted of minerals. Our plant vegetation is suffering from sick soil conditions and isn't nourishing our bodies sufficiently.

Through the use of agricultural practices, pesticides and chemical fertilizers, erosion and mineral depletion and sterile conditions that prevent microbial activity...we are denying our bodies the nutrients we need to promote good health.

However, remineralization of our soils is of little value without the addition of microbes and the fulvic acid they produce.

Fulvic acid is nature's perfect vehicle for transporting the minerals to living cells.

It assists with human enzyme production, hormone structure and is necessary for the utilization of vitamins.

Perhaps if we were truly feeding our bodies the nutrients it needs, we wouldn't be attracted to the 'feel good' chemicals such as aspartame.

Are our bodies crying out for this missing substance?

~Amber




Is it really a missing link in our food..,with deadly consequences?

Dead Cow, Dead Vegies & A Big Glass Of Black Fizzy Water Please!
 

When my kids were little we fed them mashed up vegies and meat and they loved it. I mean all the vegatables that they don't like today.

Why don't they like vegies now? Because we didn't go gung ho and abstain from the odd sugary snack treat and they got their taste buds a little conditioned to those nasty brainwasin' chemicals or maybe that should be, nasty brainwashin' advertisments.

You may know that out of the top ten food items bought in supermarkets the No.1 is coke, then smokes make up the other 7 and bread and milk mixed later down the list.

Personally I find Coke a disgusting drink at the best of times and all meat that most westerners eat is generally not very nice by itself, you have to add sauces, seasoning, spices and salt and pepper before it's delicious. Hmmmmm deeliciousss as Homer would say.

What I find interesting, is that some people think that eating meat is cruel and that they'll live longer by staying away from it.

Aren't vegatables living things? And what about Vegans? Don't they eat anything unless it's fallen off the tree by itself? Too bad if you're starving and the tree's full with nothing on the ground yet!

If we all believed everything we read and heard about food and drink, you wouldn't eat or drink anything, it's funny when these studies come out and tell us that red wine or beef or cabbage is bad for us and then months or years later, they bring out a new report and say the opposite.

I had a discussion once with a VegHead at a BBQ of all places, about why they eat no meat. Apart from the fact they think it's cruel, the rest of the argument was based on living longer!

Yep, the VegHeads will out live the MeatHeads by at least 100 years, how laughable. My brother's girlfriend was a strict VegHead and got killed in a car accident.

Personally, I think that worrying about chemicals and sugar and what's in this and what's in that is a little paranoid. What about the air we breath or maybe the radiation from the machines we use. Where does one draw the line?

I suppose we're all different and that's what makes us unique if not interesting.

Me, I'll take a steak, oysters and prawns, side sauces, condiments and maybe even a big glass of coke with Rum in it and if the VegHeads out live me, then good for them.

Max(MeatHead and proud of it)Power.

I agree.... We've overlooked why we eat in the first place....
 

Hi Amber,

I hope that everything is going well with you.... :)

Thanks for the info on fulvic acid....

It does seem that in our quest for good economics, sometimes we've overlooked one of the main reasons we have to eat food in the first place -- the nutrients....

I guess that perhaps the best way to go is to eat lots of fruits and organic vegetables etc.

Some are more sensitive to these various additives than others, which might help to explain the differences in how various people respond....

Thanks Amber...

- Dien

Health means happiness....
 

Thanks Michael for your insightful posts....

Modern medicine has made many strides, and modern food technology too, but sometimes among all this experimentation things go wrong....

I think it's great that you are helping to point these things out to us... You're clearly one of the most knowledgeable people here regarding thes issues (as well as on many other issues too)... :)

I've always been conscious about my health, but I tend to go through phases... Sometimes I'm very health-conscious, and other times I'm not.... But I generally always feel much better, and I tend to be happier, when I'm eating healthily...

Thanks once again for helping to bring these very important issues to the forefront! :)

- Dien

Lots of smart folks on this board
 

Wow, everyone really seems to be up on what they eat. Turn around and look at that little speck in the distance--that's me! :-)

Thanks, everyone, for the great information!

Becky