Sunday, October 2, 2011

Brace yourself: The build-up to the 2011 flu-scare has begun!

Great piece on the flu vaccine 


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2 October 2011

Inside this issue:

  • Brace yourself: The build-up to the 2011 flu-scare has begun!
  • A remarkable solution to an unavoidable health threat...
  • The 'healthy choice' that can cause cancer...


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Brace Yourself: The Build-Up to the 2011 Flu-Scare Has Begun!

Dear Reader,

Brace yourself: The build-up to the 2011 flu-scare has begun!

'Scaremongering' is a word often used by the mainstream when anyone challenges them or exposes the dangers of their Pharma-concoctions! Yet, this is a definite case of the pot calling the kettle black, especially when it comes to their incessant push to mass medicate and vaccinate.

A case in point is a recnet alarmist statement made by Prof John Oxford, a virologist at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, in the UK. He claims that Britain is facing one of its worst winter flu outbreaks in years and that older people will be hit harder than they have been in recent years.

Ring any bells?

Swine flu all over again

Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 flu outbreak a public health emergency, in 2009, Prof Oxford was one of many mainstreamers who hysterically warned us that up to 750,000 people would die of Swine Flu H1N1.

We all remember what happened as this debacle unfolded: Tamiflu, an antiviral drug used to treat Bird Flu (the supposed flu pandemic of 2006), was touted as our only saving grace, until new potent vaccines were developed against the 'deadly' H1N1 virus strain. However, behind the scenes, it turned out that governments across the globe had excess stock of Tamiflu, which they needed to shift before it expired!

Once the public was cajoled into believing the H1N1 scare, the next step was to quickly develop vaccines. Big Pharma eagerly jumped at this money-spinning opportunity and their newly-developed vaccines were fast-tracked for approval without being properly tested. Before we knew what hit us, a global mass vaccination campaign began despite mounting fears about the safety and effectiveness of the new vaccines.

Much as we were scared into submission, a year later, in June 2010, the worldwide H1N1 death toll stood at 17,853. Compared to the annual death toll of ordinary seasonal flu (between 250,000 to 500,000), the H1N1 deaths made up a measly 5 per cent of that amount... Hardly the pandemic the mainstream expected!

Soon controversy erupted. Worries over the side effects of these vaccines (narcolepsy being the biggest concern), were down-played by remarks like the one from Prof David Speigelhalter, professor of the Public Understanding of Risk at the University of Cambridge, who said: "If millions of people are vaccinated then just by chance we can expect bad things to happen to some of them, whether it is diagnosis of autism or miscarriage."

Even some mainstreamers raised concerns about the whole debacle. A report, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, revealed that the WHO guidance, issued in 2004 (used to determine whether a health threat puts the public in danger), was authored by three scientists who had previously received payment from Roche, the makers of Tamiflu, and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), manufacturer of Relenza – one of the flu vaccines developed during the pandemic scare... I smell a serious case of 'conflict of interest' and 'backroom deals'.

An equally damning report, published by the Council of Europe, criticized the handling of the H1N1 pandemic by the WHO, EU agencies and national governments, and said it was a "waste of large sums of public money." It added that the reaction to the H1N1 outbreak by these groups was unjustified and that their scaremongering resulted in a distortion of public health priorities.

In fact, the only party that benefited from this despicable scenario was the vaccine makers. City analysts estimated that drug companies banked more than £4.8bn as governments stockpiled their vaccines... With money like that in their pockets, I'm sure they couldn't care less about the side effects of their poisonous concoctions!

Christmas is coming early

Since the H1N1 scare nearly three years ago, there have not been any reports about Swine Flu rearing its ugly head on a significant scale again. Yet still the H1N1 vaccine was included in last year's ordinary flu vaccine. Most likely, because many people saw through the H1N1 fallacy and refused to take the untested vaccines... leaving governments with massive stockpiles of vaccines that will expire soon. You'll also probably find that if you choose to have the flu vaccine this year, you'll have no choice in the matter: Inevitably you will be vaccinated with a dangerous and untested vaccine.

Winter is about three months away and so is Christmas... I can't help but think that it makes perfect sense for the mainstreamers to start making noises about the next flu- scare... pushing those vaccinations early to fill their pockets with a nice hefty Christmas bonus!

That's also probably why Prof Oxford gave an early reminder. According to him, the B flu-strain (normally prevalent over the winter) has been overshadowed by swine flu for the last couple of years and that's why the B strain could strike much harder this year...

When will these scaremongers realise that the public has cottoned on to the fact that false pandemic scares, like those in recent years, have become an all too familiar scenario?

You can only cry wolf so many times!

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The 'healthy choice' that can cause cancer...

It's everywhere... from your local newsagent to your gym... you'll find this fad that we've all bought into. I'm talking about bottled water! Since the 70s we've been told that it's the healthier option and much safer and more pure than tap water, isn't that right?

In fact, I couldn't have agreed more and until yesterday I carried a bottle of water with me everywhere I went. That's changed now. Not because I stopped believing in the importance of drinking enough water each day, but simply because I saw a documentary film that absolutely shocked me!

Toxic mixture disguised as a healthy choice

The makers of the film 'Tapped' expose the global bottled water industry as one of the biggest health cons of our time. Aside from the fact that we are all paying good money for something that is free, we are also damaging our health and contributing to the demise of the environment in the process!

In most cases, bottled water is packaged in plastic. The fact is that these plastic containers harbour a toxic chemical called Bisphenol A or BPA (a synthetic oestrogen), used to harden plastics. BPA is one of the world's most widely manufactured chemicals, with more than 2.2 million tons made each year.

Studies have shown that BPA increases sperm DNA damage in men and can also cause structural damage to the brain. It also increases fat formation and the risk of obesity, compromises your immunity, stimulates prostate cancer cell growth and causes hyperactivity.

Here's the real kicker: If you live in Europe or the US, it is highly likely that you have BPA in your system, since 90 per cent of Europeans and Americans have detectable amounts.

So far, Denmark is the first EU country to ban the BPA in food and drink containers for children under three, and Canada and three US states have already brought similar bans in to effect. Unfortunately, in the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) insists that there is no evidence BPA is harmful...

Another member of the 'toxic plastic gang' that's lurking around in your water bottle is dioxin. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed dioxin as a human carcinogen which may contribute to the development of breast cancer and is highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

In a John Hopkins Hospital information leaflet, 'Cancer News from John Hopkins' they warn people not to freeze plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. The same applies for heating these water bottles. Leaving your water bottle on a car seat in the sun, can heat the plastic significantly enough to release dioxin into the water and ultimately into the cells of your body when you ingest it.

But that's not all, in the US, many bottled waters are simply bottled tap water, which may or may not have received any additional treatment. So you get a hit of fluoride along with BPA's and dioxins! Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co.'s Dasani bottled waters are both made of 'purified' water from public reservoirs, containing contaminants like disinfection by-products (DBPs), nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic and bacteria.

Now that's hardly a healthy beverage from a sustainable natural source!

High price for no benefits at all

Then there's the price! You pay on average £1 to £1.60 for a 340ml bottle of water, in the UK. However, when you turn on the tap, the water is free!

When you factor in the harmful chemicals in plastic bottles, the environmental impact of plastic waste and the pollution caused by plastic manufacturing plants, bottled water becomes a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.

In fact, the environmental harm bottled water causes alone should be a deciding factor. The bottled water industry threatens the water supplies of local communities by mining water from underground aquifers and natural springs. These natural sources of water serve nearby streams, wells and farms, but aggressive 'water mining' can easily dry them out... and once water is gone, life ends!

Is all of this really worth £1?

Filtering is better

Even though tap water is much more regulated than bottled water, it's still contaminated with fluoride (a toxic chemical that causes dental decay among other things) and disinfection by-products (DBPs) that also harm our health. But there is a way around this...

The best solution (for your health, the environment and the sustainability of our planet) is to install a home water filtration system. It may seem like an extravagant expense but if you consider how much you spend on bottled water, you'll realise that in the long run you'll be saving a lot of money whilst protecting your health and the environment.

Look for a home water filtration system that has three separate stages of contamination removal:

    * Stage one removes sediment.
    * Stage two removes chlorine and heavy metals.
    * Stage three should be a heavy-duty carbon filter for removing hormones, drug residues, chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides.


Until next week

Francois Lubbe
UK Editor


P.S. In this month's Health Sciences Institute (HSI) newsletter, you'll discover how a breakthrough new formula can help ward off breast cancer, colon cancer and heart disease… We'll also tell you how the secret to healthy ageing can be summed up in a single formula by medical maverick Dr. Bill Douglass... Plus, learn more about the common culprit scientists believe is behind a range of serious diseases from Alzheimer's to diabetes, and how you can protect yourself against it.

All new members who sign up to the Health Sciences Institute will receive the latest issue of HSI along with a FREE encyclopaedia, HSI's 100 Greatest Underground Cures... Soon you'll discover why our premium members believe HSI is the ultimate resource for anyone seeking a better, newer solution to their health problems.

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Friday, September 30, 2011

Fwd: World Wide Online Screening Event Starting This Sunday



Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Food Matters" <enquiries@foodmatters.tv>
Date: September 30, 2011 6:37:36 PM EDT
To: "Linda" <Lcyerra1@gmail.com>
Subject: World Wide Online Screening Event Starting This Sunday

  Hi Linda, 
 
 

This Sunday we are going to be opening the doors for the world to watch Food Matters online for FREE!

The official opening time is Sunday 1:00 am Eastern Time (New York).

The feedback from around the world has been amazing! Over 8,752 people have secured their spot so far!

During the event we have some amazing deals and extra special bonuses! One of the bonus eBooks will be a 'sneak peak' of the new Food Matters Recipe Book!

Register your spot today to make sure you do not miss out!

www.FoodMatters.tv/ScreeningEvent

Let's use this information to make the world a happier and healthier place!

In good health,


James & Laurentine
Producer / Directors 'Food Matters'
www.foodmatters.tv
enquiries@foodmatters.tv

   


 
.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Check this out!



 
Yo! What's Up, Y'all!

I am super amped up for tonight's episode of UW Radio!

My guest is Dr. William Davis, author of my latest fave book Wheat Belly.

I guarantee this show is going to a CLASSIC. Dr. Davis' book is easily the best resource for gluten- and wheat-related truth bombs.

Tune in TONIGHT at 5pm PT/8pm ET and you'll learn:

* How the wheat we eat today is NOT the Staff of Life written about in The Bible.
* How consuming wheat is actually WORSE than eating sugar!
* Why removing grains from the diet is so hard to do. (Hint: It's like a drug!)
* How wheat makes you age MUCH faster.
* A whole lot more!

By the way, Dr. Davis is a cardiologist. We'll definitely be discussing how your doctor's recommendations to eat more whole grains is worsening your cholesterol, increasing triglycerides, and accelerating heart disease!

Check out this blog I wrote about how much wheat has changed over the past 10,000 years. This one got almost 300 Facebook shares!

Of course, I have a list of questions, but these shows are all about YOU! Reply to this email with your question for the doc. Or post it on Facebook or Twitter. I'll get it on!

You can also call in LIVE by dialing 347-237-5608.

Here's the BlogTalk link to listen via internet -> Click Me!

Buy Wheat Belly HERE!

Oh, yeah. It's on!!

Sean


 
This email was sent to lcyerra1@gmail.com by sean@undergroundwellness.com |  
Underground Wellness | 2067 Front Street | San Diego | CA | 92101



--
Peace & Blessings
          Linda

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fall

Fall is my favorite season!
Stay tuned for what's is this season, recipes & other stuff!

Sent from my iPhone

Saturday, September 17, 2011

@grassfedorganic, 9/17/11 10:29 AM

Rocky Mtn Org Meats (@grassfedorganic)
9/17/11 10:29 AM
What is happening on farms is affecting antibiotics that you count on to keep you and your kids healthy.


Sent from my iPhone

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

@grassfedorganic, 9/14/11 6:40 PM

Rocky Mtn Org Meats (@grassfedorganic)
9/14/11 6:40 PM
Code of the people of the West http://t.co/K1oshLtC Change can happen and it is happening, http://t.co/rRIjZg2W People make it happen.


Sent from my iPhone

Fwd: Horrifying! USDA "tackling obesity" by exploiting your 6yr olds to market chocolate milk!



Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Weighty Matters <yonifreedhoff@gmail.com>
Date: September 14, 2011 7:05:24 AM EDT
To: lcyerra1@gmail.com
Subject: Horrifying!  USDA "tackling obesity" by exploiting your 6yr olds to market chocolate milk!

Horrifying! USDA "tackling obesity" by exploiting your 6yr olds to market chocolate milk!


Horrifying! USDA "tackling obesity" by exploiting your 6yr olds to market chocolate milk!

Posted: 14 Sep 2011 02:30 AM PDT


Oy vey.

It's called the, "Fuel Up to Play 60" program and it specifically targets American school children, from Grade 1 straight on up.

According to the USDA's own blog, Fuel Up to Play 60's, "overall goal" is, "to tackle childhood obesity".

And how is it going to do that?

By having children track how many servings of specific foods they eat, and by urging them to be more active.

The kids are also able to sign up for different "Plays" that they can make to further their healthy living goals.

Sounded fun, so I decided to take a peek.

Horrified doesn't begin to describe my reaction to a program that on inspection is clearly designed solely to market dairy products in the name of "tackling" childhood obesity with the explicit imprimatur of the USDA and the nation's public schools.

I leafed through the "Healthy Eating Playbook". Of the 27 "Healthy Eating Plays", all but 4 specifically promote dairy products.

Not a surprise of course given that one of the primary funders of the program is the National Dairy Council, but it's what these as young as 6 year olds are encouraged to do during these "Healthy Eating Plays" that is truly beyond the pale. Basically they're duped into becoming active and assuredly unpaid marketers for Big Dairy.

Here's some instructions from their "Playbook" (emphasis mine):
"At the booth, pass out handouts with information about the benefits of dairy in your diet. Offer different foods on a rotating basis and let students sample new foods in exchange for having their milk mustache posted on the Web!"

"You might hold weekly or monthly tests that feature foods students need to consume more of, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat and fat-free dairy foods. "

"Create flyers, posters, table tents or even a brochure listing all of the positive reasons for choosing milk and for choosing milk in plastic versus cardboard. Ask your art department to help you create exciting visuals and graphics."

Meet with the school football coach, trainer or athletic director to talk about the benefits of athletes eating healthy, including getting the recommended servings of low-fat and fat-free dairy foods such as milk, cheese and yogurt at breakfast, lunch, dinner and as snacks.

Ask the P.E., health and classroom teachers to highlight the benefits of low-fat and fat-free dairy as a nutrient-rich food that provides energy students need to be active.

Poll students to learn about their habits and set goals for everyone to get the recommended number of servings of low-fat and fat-free dairy each day for a month. Do students know about the benefits of milk, that flavored milk offers the same nutrients as regular milk and that it is important to get the recommended servings of dairy a day? (If they don't know or need more information, you can use this as an opportunity to build awareness with your promotional campaign about the health benefits of milk.)

Offer pizza with low-fat and fat-free cheese as a breakfast item. Kids love pizza at any meal!

Brainstorm ideas about how to best implement this approach. For example, cafeteria line staff can directly ask students questions such as "Would you like an apple with that?" or "Would you like chocolate milk with your meal?" Signs with the same questions can also be posted in the food serving lines.

Highlight items on the school menus that are excellent as pregame or post-workout foods. Include nutrient-rich foods that students like to eat—like so-called "comfort foods"— including pizza and macaroni and cheese made with whole grains and low-fat or fat-free cheese.

Remind athletes they should always consume plenty of fluids, including low-fat and fat-free milk.

Provide information at your Training Table about nutrient-rich food items like low-fat and fat-free milk. Highlight, for example, that: Milk provides carbohydrate for energy, along with protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin (niacin equivalents). Drinking milk can be an effective way to help hydrate after a workout.

Ask your local Dairy Council® representative to be a possible special guest and resource. Students will need help from the school's Program Advisor or another adult to make this happen.

Host an assembly and invite a dairy farmer to talk about the work they do to produce nutrient-rich foods your students are learning to choose.

Build awareness about the benefits of nutrient-rich dairy and other farmed foods by creating "point of purchase" promotions during food service. "
So there you have it.

The USDA is "tackling" childhood obesity by insidiously conscripting children to actively market dairy products with messages that include:

1. Chocolate milk is healthy, healthier even than broccoli.
2. If you exercise you need to "fuel up" with comfort foods like pizza or macaroni and cheese, never you mind about energy balance.
3. Pizza for breakfast is a great idea - as is pizza pretty much anytime.
4. Kids should be asked directly and through signs if they want to add a chocolate milk to their meal.
5. The pinnacle of healthy eating is dairy and eating more of it is always a good idea.

Brilliant plan.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Weight Watchers Lose More Weight?

I love fooducate ! 

Weight Watchers Lose More Weight?

Posted: 08 Sep 2011 05:46 AM PDT

A study (sponsored by Weight Watchers) recently published in the respected Lancet journal shows that dieters that are members of a weight loss program lose twice as much weight as those on standard health care:

The new research compared 772 overweight and obese adults in Australia, Germany and the U.K. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 12 months of standard health care or a 12-month free membership to Weight Watchers. Read more…

The findings make sense. Weekly group meetings create a support and encouragement system that helps motivate people more than occasional visits to a doctor or government sponsored programs. In the study, those on Weight Watchers lost 11 lbs after one year, compared to a mere 5 pound weight loss by a control group.

What you need to know:

The problem is that most people on diets put the weight back on after a year. Or two. Or five. In fact, it is estimated that 85-95% of all dieters end up regaining all the weight loss within 5 years!

Depressing, right?

The Weight Watchers program, which indoctrinates people to count calories with a proprietary point system (called Points Plus), really wants people to lose weight, and has set up the a support systems to help. So what is the problem?

Perhaps partly to blame it is the type of food that dieters are consuming when on the points system.

People on the Weight Watchers plan search for low point foods at the grocery store. The correlation with low calorie foods is usually very high. As a result, many "diet" foods and beverages are consumed. Including many "Weight Watcher" branded products, such as the "Smart Ones" line. As we've written in the past, these tend to be highly processed, fat removed, fake fillers and preservatives added foods.

Even Weight Watchers is ashamed of their products' ingredients.

How do we know? They are nowhere to be found on the product pages of the Weight Watchers website.

We would encourage Weight Watchers to review their point system. Currently it looks only at fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. Not at the ingredients comprising the product. And we all now how easy it is to game the nutrition facts label to make a processed foodlike substance seem healthy…

What to do at the supermarket:

It's not enough that a product has a low points value or is low in calories. You MUST read the ingredient list to verify that you are not consuming a fake food.

Get Fooducated: iPhone App Android App RSS Subscription or Email Subscription

Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/fooducate on facebook: facebook.com/fooducate

http://t.co/3QhstVr


Sent from my iPhone

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Fwd: Fooducate Blog - 10 Nutrition Label Improvements the FDA MUST Implement

Great blog post from Fooducate 


10 Nutrition Label Improvements the FDA MUST Implement

Posted: 06 Sep 2011 04:36 AM PDT

The FDA is planning a minor facelift to the 20 year old nutrition label. When nutrition labels were introduced into the market, the food industry battled vehemently against them, while the government and health organizations explained that providing detailed information would help consumers make healthier choices. Fast forward to 2011, and it's clear that the labels did not achieve their goal.

While more people are aware of the importance of proper nutrition, most of us still cannot understand what's in a product and whether it's better than a similar one down the shelf.

What changes is the FDA planning?

A proposal is in the works to change several parts of the label, including more accurate serving sizes, a greater emphasis on calories and a diminished role in the daily percent values for substances like fat, sodium and carbohydrates. Read more…

Seriously? Will these small changes help consumers choose less processed foods. Wake up Uncle Sam, you can't fight obesity with cap guns. Bring out the heavy artillery please.

Here is Fooducate's list of changes to food labels:

1. Real serving size. "More accurate serving sizes" as the FDA says sounds fishy. Let's get REAL here. Have you ever noticed the ridiculously small serving sizes on packages – 3 Oreos? 15 potato chips? Or a single serve 20 fl oz bottle of cola written up as containing 2.5 servings? Manufacturers like to minimize the servings to toddler size portions so that the nutrition facts per serving won't seem too bad (calories, sugar, etc…). This is misleading and needs to change to reflect how people really consume food and drink.

2. Daily values are important. Don't ditch them! People need to know that a can of soup with 1200mg of sodium is more than 50% of the daily maximum for healthy people, and more than 75% of the daily max for about half the population.

3. Ingredients. Focus on what makes up the food, not just the numbers on a few key nutrients. We all know that manufacturers have ways to pump up nutrient values of foods to make them seem healthy. Look at any sugary kids' cereal fortified with vitamins and minerals that are created in a lab. That's not real food, folks.

It would be very beneficial to see a percentage amount of the main ingredients in the list, as well as a highlight on controversial ingredients. See this example, a leading kids cereal (guess which one)

Sugar [41%] , Corn Flour [20%], Wheat Flour[15%], Whole Oat Flour[8%], Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of: Coconut, Cottonseed, and Soybean) (Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat Per Serving), Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Natural Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Other Natural Flavors, Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide, Turmeric Color, Blue No. 1, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Annatto Color, BHT (Preservative), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12.

Get it? Sugar is the first ingredient, 41% by weight!!! Which leads us to the next point…

4. Sugar and ADDED sugar. Currently there is no FDA defined level of maximum daily consumption of sugar. People don't know if 27 grams of sugar is a big chunk of their daily allowance or not. For sodium, fats, and vitamins, the "percent of daily value" (DV) clearly lets you know if you're getting a low or high amount. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at most 125 grams of total sugar per day.

Additionally, the nutrition label states the amount of total sugar in a serving, but it does not indicate whether the sugar is added to the food, occurs naturally, or both. Caloric-ly, there is no difference between added sugar and sugar found naturally in fruits and vegetables. But the benefit of fruits containing naturally occurring sugars is in the additional vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidantss and phytochemicals they provide. Added sugars provide no health benefits. They are truly empty calories. People should choose products with as little added sugar as possible. Unfortunately, today consumers can only guess how much sugar has been added to a product.

5. Zero should be zero. Did you know that if a product contains trans fat, but less than 0.5 grams per serving, it can legally be labeled as 0 gram of trans fat? This is ridiculous. Serving sizes can be "calibrated" to be just under half a gram's worth of trans-fat and receive the coveted zero number. But when wolfing down a snack bag (real serving size much larger than labeled – see point #1),  you could be getting even 1.25 grams of trans-fat, all while thinking that the product contains none at all.

6. No more qualified health claims. The FDA allows manufacturers to place health claims on products based on sound scientific evidence. But in the past few years, allowances for "limited research" has become acceptable, as long as the claim is "qualified" with mouse print disclaimers elsewhere on the package (usually a tiny font at the bottom). This does not serve consumers' best interest and creates a false halo of health in places it should not.

7. Caffeine content. Products that contain caffeine should clearly state the amount. People are often surprised to discover caffeine in soft drinks, cakes, and other snack items. Some energy drinks contain ridiculously high amounts.

8. Better allergy and intolerance info. More than 30 Millions Americans suffer from some sort of allergy or food intolerance. Although the presence of the 8 major allergens is clearly stated (it's the law), there are fuzzy areas. For example, when a plant manufactures a product without peanuts, but uses a production line that processes peanuts as well, there is no clear wording to consumers. "Processed in a plant that also manufactures peanuts" does not make the decision easy for a parent to decide.

9. Allow rBGH-free labels. rBGH / rBST is a hormone injected into cows to increase their milk output. The hormone has been associated with various health risks for humans consuming the milk. Bowing to industry pressure in the 1990's, the FDA required manufacturers who chose NOT to use milk from rBGH cows and put that information on the label to ALSO state that that there is no significant difference between rBGH and rBGH-free dairy. In the past few years we have seen announcements from major dairy brands that they will not be using milk from rBGH cows. Why not see that info on the label as well?

10. GMO labeling. In Europe, government food agencies require labeling of ingredients from genetically modified organisms. Consumers voted with their wallet and chose not to buy those products. Shouldn't Americans be granted the same basic freedom of choice?

What to do at the supermarket:

Don't hold your breath for our suggested changes. And not even for the gentle changes the FDA is planning. You can be sure that each change will be fought over by lobbying groups who will drag things out as long as possible. In the meantime, we're here and on your mobile phones (iPhone / Android) as a resource to learn about nutrition labels and hard to pronounce ingredients, and ultimately to make healthy grocery choices.

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