Monday, April 19, 2010

9 Ingredients to avoid in processed foods user

9 Ingredients to avoid in processed foods user
by Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance,

You should know that I’m an advocate for whole, unprocessed foods. However, many of us inevitably turn to packaged or processed foods when we are short on time. Maybe we grab a frozen dinner or pizza for a quick dinner for our family. Maybe we grab a quick nutrition bar to satiate our hunger until we can sit down for a real meal. Or maybe, we just don’t like to cook. Whether we like it or not, packaged and processed food has become a huge part of our food industry and, as a result, a part of many of our diets.

Although there are some brands that I hugely advocate for, there are many more that border on outright unhealthy and “scary.” Many packaged foods that seem healthy often contain fillers, preservatives and other ingredients you don’t want in your diet. It is always preferable to choose products that have only a handful of ingredients, all of which should be recognizable. One test to know whether an ingredient is healthy is to ask yourself whether your grandmother would recognize it. If not, there is a good chance the ingredient is less natural food and more man-made chemical. Another good test is whether or not you can easily pronounce the ingredient. If you feel like you need a science degree to pronounce it properly, chances are the ingredient is worth avoiding.

If you do have to resort to a processed food for a snack or dinner (anything canned, packaged, etc.), try to avoid those that contain the ingredients listed in the following chart. Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, these ingredients are some of the most highly processed and least healthy of all:

Ingredient: Why it is Used Why it is Bad?

Artificial Colors Chemical compounds made from coal-tar derivatives to enhance color. Linked to allergic reactions, fatigue, asthma, skin rashes, hyperactivity and headaches.

Artificial Flavorings Cheap chemical mixtures that mimic natural flavors.

Linked to allergic reactions, dermatitis, eczema, hyperactivity and asthma
Can affect enzymes, RNA and thyroid.

Artificial Sweeteners

(Acesulfame-K, Aspartame, Equal®, NutraSweet®, Saccharin, Sweet’n Low®, Sucralose, Splenda® & Sorbitol) Highly-processed, chemically-derived, zero-calorie sweeteners found in diet foods and diet products to reduce calories per serving.
Can negatively impact metabolism
Some have been linked to cancer, dizziness hallucinations and headaches.

Benzoate Preservatives

(BHT, BHA, TBHQ)Compounds that preserve fats and prevent them from becoming rancid.
May result in hyperactivity, angiodema, asthma, rhinitis, dermatitis, tumors and urticaria

Can affect estrogen balance and levels.

Brominated Vegetable Oil

(BVO) Chemical that boosts flavor in many citric-based fruit and soft drinks.
Increases triglycerides and cholesterol
Can damage liver, testicles, thyroid, heart and kidneys.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

(HFCS) Cheap alternative to cane and beet sugar. Sustains freshness in baked goods
Blends easily in beverages to maintain sweetness. May predispose the body to turn fructose into fat. Increases risk for Type-2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer. Isn’t easily metabolized by the liver.

MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)
Flavor enhancer in restaurant food, salad dressing, chips, frozen entrees, soups and other foods. May stimulate appetite and cause headaches, nausea, weakness, wheezing, edema, change in heart rate, burning sensations and difficulty in breathing.

Olestra: indigestible fat sub used primarily in baked & fried foods.

Inhibits absorption of some nutrients. Linked to gastrointestinal disease, diarrhea, gas, cramps, bleeding and incontinence.

Shortening, Hydrogenated and Partially Hydrogenated Oils

(Palm, Soybean and others) Industrially created fats used in more than 40,000 food products in the U.S. Cheaper than most other oils. Contain high levels of trans fats, which raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol, contributing to risk of heart disease.

Have you checked your ingredient lists recently? Do they contain any of the above? Have you tried cutting some of these ingredients out?

Saturday, April 17, 2010

I am a Jew

I am a Jew by an Israeli named Dan Sporn
אני יהודי
נכתב ע"י ישראלי בשם דן ספורן
Our-condition, in Israel, has never been better! Only the media make people think the end of the world is near. Only 65 years ago, Jews were brought to death like sheep to slaughter. NO country, NO army. Only 60 years ago, seven Arab countries declared war on little- Israel, the Jewish State, just -a few hours after it was established.
המצב שלנו, בישראל, מעולם לא היה טוב יותר מאשר עכשיו!
רק הטלוויזיה והתקשורת גורמים לאנשים לחשוב שסוף העולם קרב.
רק לפני 65 שנים, יהודים הובאו למוות כצאן לטבח. ללא מדינה, ללא צבא.
רק לפני 60 שנים, 7 מדינות ערב הכריזו מלחמה על ישראל הקטנה,
מדינת היהודים, רק כמה שעות לאחר היווסדה.
We were 650,000 Jews against the rest of the Arab world.
No IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) or Air Force. We were only a small group of stubborn, people, with nowhere to go.
היינו 650,000 יהודים כנגד שאר העולם הערבי.
ללא צה"ל (צבא הגנה לישראל) או חיל אוויר. היינו רק קבוצה קטנה של אנשים עקשנים עם שום מקום לאן ללכת.
Remember: Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and
Saudi Arabia? They all attacked at once. The state that the United Nations "gave" us was 65% desert. We started it from zero.
כרו: לבנון, סוריה, עירק, ירדן, מצרים, לוב וערב הסעודית, כולם תקפו בעת ובעונה אחת.
המדינה שהאומות המאוחדות "נתנו" לנו הייתה 65% מדבר.
התחלנו את זה מאפס.
Only 43 years ago, we fought three of the strongest countries in the Middle East, and crushed them in the Six Day War.
רק לפני 41 שנים, נלחמנו נגד שלוש המדינות החזקות ביותר במזרח התיכון, וריסקנו אותם במלחמת ששת הימים.
Over the years, we fought different coalitions of 20 Arab countries with modern armies and with huge amounts of Russian-Soviet ammunition, and we still won.
במהלך השנים נלחמנו בקואליציות שונות של 20 מדינות ערב עם צבאות חדשניים וכמות עצומה של תחמושת רוסית – סובייטית, ועדיין ניצחנו.
Today we have a beautiful country, a powerful Army, a strong Air Force, an adequate Navy and a thriving high tech industry.
Intel, Microsoft, and IBM have all developed their businesses here.
היום יש לנו מדינה יפיפייה, צבא רב עוצמה, חיל אוויר חזק, חיל ים הולם ותעשיית הי-טק משגשגת.
אינטל, מיקרוסופט, ו- I.B.M פיתחו כולם את עסקיהם כאן.
Our doctors have won important prizes in the medical development field.
הרופאים שלנו זכו בפרסים חשובים בתחום הפיתוח הרפואי.
We turned the desert into a prosperous land.
הפכנו את המדבר לאדמה פורחת ומשגשגת.
We sell oranges, flowers, and vegetables around the world.
אנחנו מוכרים תפוזים, פרחים וירקות בכל רחבי העולם.
We launched our own satellite! Three satellites at once! We are in good company: US (280 million), Russia (220 million), China (1.3 billion) and Europe (France, England and Germany 35 million), we are one of the few countries in the world to launch something into space!
שיגרנו
את הלווין שלנו! שלושה לווינים בעת ובעונה אחת! אנחנו בחברה טובה: יחד עם ארה"ב (280 מיליון תושבים), רוסיה (220 מיליון תושבים), סין (1.2 ביליון תושבים) ואירופה (צרפת, אנגליה וגרמניה 35 מיליון תושבים), אנחנו אחת מהמדינות הבודדות בעולם ששיגרו משהו לחלל!
Israel today is among the few powerful countries that have nuclear technology & capabilities.
(We will never admit it, but everyone knows).
ישראל היום היא בין המדינות הבודדות החזקות, שהיא בעלת טכנולוגיה ויכולות גרעיניות. (אנחנו לעולם לא
נודה בזה, אבל כולם יודעים).
To think that only 65 years ago we were disgraced and hopeless.
לחשוב שרק לפני 65 שנים היינו מבוישים וחסרי תקווה.
We crawled out from the burning crematoriums of Europe.
We won in all our wars. With a little bit of nothing we built an empire.
Who are Khaled Mashal (leader of Hamas) or Hassan Nasrallah
(leader of Hezbollah) trying to frighten, us? They amuse us.
זחלנו החוצה מהמשרפות הבוערות של אירופה.
ניצחנו בכל המלחמות שלנו. עם מעט מכלום בנינו אימפריה.
מי אלו חלאד משעל (מנהיג החמאס) או חסאן נסראללה (מנהיג החיזבאללה) המנסים להפחיד אותנו? הם משעשעים אותנו.
As we celebrate Independence Day, let's not forget what this holiday is all about; we overcame everything.
בזמן שאנחנו חוגגים את יום העצמאות, בואו לא נשכח מהי המהות של היום הקדוש הזה: התגברנו על הכל.
We overcame the Greeks,
התגברנו על
היוונים,
We overcame the Romans,
התגברנו על הרומאים,
We overcame the Spanish Inquisition,
התגברנו על האינקוויזיציה הספרדית,
We overcame Russian pogroms,
התגברנו על הפוגרום הרוסי,
We overcame Hitler, Germany and the Holocaust,
התגברנו על היטלר, התגברנו על גרמניה והתגברנו על השואה,
We overcame the armies of seven countries
התגברנו על הצבאות של 7 מדינות
Relax chevray (friends), we will overcome our current enemies.
הירגעו חבר'ה, אנחנו נתגבר גם על האויבים הנוכחים
Never- mind -where -you –look- in- human -history.
Think about it, Jewish nation, our condition has never been better than now.
So let's lift our heads up and remember:
לא משנה לאן שנביט בהיסטוריה האנושית. תחשבו על זה, העם היהודי, מצבנו מעולם לא היה טוב יותר מאשר עכשיו.
אז בואו נישא ראשנו מעלה וזכרו:
Never mind which country or culture tries to harm us or erase us from the world.
We will still exist and persevere.
Egypt? Anyone know where the Egyptian empire disappeared to?
The-Greeks?
Alexander- the -Great?
The- Romans? Anyone speak Latin today? The- Third- Reich?
Anyone hear from them lately?
לא משנה איזו מדינה או תרבות מנסה לפגוע בנו או למחוק אותנו מהעולם. אנחנו עדיין קיימים ושמורים.
מצריים? מישהו יודע לאן האימפריה המצרית נעלמה? היוונים? אלכסנדר מוקדון? הרומאים? האם מישהו מדבר לטינית היום? הרייך השלישי? האם מישהו שמע חדשות מהם לאחרונה?
And look at us, the Bible nation –from slavery in Egypt, we are still here, speaking the same language. Exactly here, exactly now.
והסתכלו עלינו, העם התנ"כי – מעבדות במצרים, אנחנו עדיין כאן, עדיין מדברים את אותה השפה.
בדיוק כאן, בדיוק
עכשיו.
Maybe The Arabs don't know it yet, but we are an eternal nation.
All the time we keep our identity, we will stay eternal.
אולי הערבים עדיין לא יודעים את זה, אבל אנחנו עם נצחי.
כל זמן שנשמור על זהותנו, נשאר נצחיים.
So, sorry that we are not worrying, complaining, crying, or fearing…
אז סליחה שאנחנו לא דואגים, מתלוננים, בוכים או פוחדים.....
Business here is beseder (fine). It can definitely be much better,
But it is still fine. Don't pay attention to the nonsense in the media,
They will not tell you about our festivals here in Israel or about the people that
continue living, going out, meeting friends.
העסקים כאן בסדר. זה בהחלט יכול להיות טוב יותר, אבל זה עדיין בסדר. אל תשימו לב לשטויות בתקשורת, הם לא יספרו לכם על החגיגות שלנו כאן בישראל או על האנשים שממשיכים לחיות, לצאת ולפגוש חברים.
Yes, sometimes morale is down, so what? This is only because we are mourning
the dead while they are celebrating spilled blood.
And this is the reason we will win after all.
נכון, לפעמים המורל נמוך, אז מה? זה רק בגלל שאנו מבכים את המתים בזמן שהם חוגגים על דם שנשפך. וזו הסיבה לכך שאנו ננצח למרות הכל.
Forward this to all of your friends. You are all part of our force to keep our existence.
בבקשה העבירו מייל זה לכל חבריכם היהודים, בכל מקום בעולם. כולכם חלק במאמץ שלנו לשמור את קיומנו.
This e-mail may help some of us lift our heads up and be proud to say:
מייל זה עשוי לעזור לחלק מאיתנו לשאת את ראשינו מעלה ולהיות גאים לומר:
I AM A JEW
אני יהודי

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Israel: Ally or enemy?

Sunday, April 11, 2010
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Israel: Ally or enemy?
Exclusive: Roger Hedgecock warns, Obama abandonment is 'recipe for nuclear war'
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All my life I've admired the determination of Jews worldwide to re-establish a Jewish homeland in Israel and defend it (repeatedly) against the implacable hatred of surrounding Muslim states. I'm not a Jew, but the survival of Israel and, even more, its success as an economy and a democracy has earned my respect and the respect of a vast majority of Americans.

All of my life until now, American administrations since the establishment of Israel in 1948, both Democrat and Republican, have reflected this American respect and admiration and stood by our ally, Israel. Americans have been willing to, in effect, guarantee the survival of Israel.

President Obama appears poised to reverse this position and abandon Israel. This course will lead to war – possibly nuclear war.

Every president since Nixon has sought to further a "peace process" in the Middle East. This has largely been a waste of time for all parties.

To the Israelis, this interminable and fruitless exercise is the price for continuing political and military support from the West and particularly from the U.S. Israel knows it must look "reasonable" and "open to compromise."

To the Muslims, this "process" is a long-term strategy to separate Israel from its allies in the West and leave it vulnerable to defeat and extermination in a repeat of Muslim victory over the Western crusaders 700 years ago.

Obama built on the "two state solution" advocated by the last few American administrations by requiring new concessions from Israel. Not only were Jewish settlements outside the 1967 boundaries of Israel to stop, but even private residential construction in disputed Jerusalem must stop pending the boundaries of a new Palestinian state.

This new demand marked the first time an American administration conceded the Palestinian point that parts of Jerusalem now part of Israel should become incorporated in the new "Palestine."

In fact, Obama is more upset by a Jew building an apartment building in a residential neighborhood in Jerusalem than he is by Iran building an atomic bomb, a bomb the Iranians have promised to use to exterminate Israel.

(Column continues below)

Iran, says our president, has a right to nuclear power. Obama has not stopped Iran from importing gasoline. Until that sanction is placed on Iran, the constant call for "sanctions" against Iran for its ongoing crash program to produce nuclear weapons will be hollow, and all nations know it. Obama appears deliberately willing to live with the consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran.

The Russians and the Chinese will never allow Iran to be "sanctioned" in any meaningful way. Iranian oil has made China an Iranian ally. Iranian money has made Russia's military factories rich and bought Russian support.

Obama's disgraceful treatment of Prime Minister Netanyahu during Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington was second only to the notorious "no pictures, no joint press conference, and oh, can you exit the White House through the door where we put the household trash?" treatment of the Dalai Lama.

This week's 47-nation conference in Washington, D.C., on nuclear nonproliferation will continue to ignore the fact that China and Russia are the biggest
"proliferators" of all. North Korea got nukes and missiles tech from China, which got it in turn from Russia, who also supplied the Indians with same. Pakistan had to have nukes to offset India, and China happily supplied them, too. Chinese nuclear warhead and missile designs show up now in Iran and for a while in a nuclear reactor in Syria – until the Israelis bombed that reactor.

Obama apparently set up Egypt and Turkey to ambush Israel at this conference with the demand that Israel sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It's increasingly apparent that Obama views Israel as more of a problem than Iran.

Netanyahu canceled his participation in the conference, sending a lower level delegation to the conference instead. Obama retaliated by barring U.S. entry visas to all Israeli scientists even remotely connected to the Israel nuclear program.

During this last year the infamous "lottery" visa program allowed citizens of Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Qatar, Libya and Egypt (among other nations) to enter the U.S. legally – but not Israeli scientists. They're barred.

An emboldened nuclear-armed Iran bent on fulfilling an apocalyptic prophecy combined with a cornered and abandoned (and nuclear armed) Israel is not a "peace process." It is a recipe for nuclear war.