With more and more people becoming aware of the importance of a healthful dietary, even switching to organically grown foods, some find they still can’t shake their digestive problems. Are you one of those folks? If so, please read on.
Digestive problems can start with the first mouthful of food you ingest, especially if the food has been compromised by chemical farming practices; is processed with numerous food processing chemicals; is ‘fortified’ or ‘enriched’ with numerous synthetics; or even contains natural ingredients found in Nature, not the ‘natural ingredients’ made from GMOs and chemicals. [1]
One of the most deceitful ingredients on a food product label, in my opinion, is “natural flavoring,” which can be anything but natural! Plus, natural flavorings can contain MSG, GMOs, various types of sugars, including aspartame, and salts to which chemicals are attached, e.g., sodium _______.
Another truly natural product that is found in many, if not most processed foods including health food store brands, is carrageenan—a type of highly processed red seaweed—which causes a lot of digestive, especially intestinal distress, for eaters. The Cornucopia Institute has put together a comprehensive list of foods containing carrageenan.
The Underground Health Reporter article “Carrageenan Side Effects Not So Safe and Natural” details what eaters should know about it, especially that it’s implicated in causing inflammation, the source of many chronic diseases.
Another equally questionable ingredient in numerous health-type products is the birch tree sugar xylitol, which can go by many more names, e.g., Birch Sugar, E967, Meso-Xylitol, Méso-Xylitol, Sucre de Bouleau, Xilitol, Xylit, Xylite, Xylo-pentane-1,2,3,4,5-pentol. Intestinal problems can include: bloating, rumbling sounds of gas moving through the intestine (borborygmi ), colic, diarrhea, increased total bowel movement and frequency, and nausea. If eaters are highly sensitive to sugar alcohols, which xylitol is, please be forewarned of something you may not realize or know—your sensitivity to them.
Did you know that sugar alcohols often are combined with other artificial sweeteners to enhance a product’s sweetness? That’s what I’d call a “double whammy”! Here’s a comprehensive list of artificial sweeteners. My advice is to read labels when food shopping.
My book, Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick, discusses much of what consumers eat, wear, use to clean house and do laundry, sleep on, etc. that can contribute to health problems.
The highly-touted, no-calorie, natural sugar substitute, stevia, can provide stealth side effects. Here’s what stevia can cause: allergic reaction, upset stomach, metabolism change, and affect some prescription drugs negatively, such as lithium, diabetes medications, and high blood pressure medications. Read all food products’ labels and know that any ingredient/product has the potential to interact negatively with another, especially during these chemical times and GMO ingredients, which as crops are highly sprayed with glyphosate. The World Health Organization’s IARC says this about it:
The herbicide glyphosate and the insecticides malathion and diazinon were classified as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A). [3]
Genetically modified phoods, and processed foods made with GM ingredients, have been known to cause gastrointestinal troubles, especially in children on the Autism Spectrum [2]. When their MDs prescribe organically-grown foods and take them off processed foods, they get relief, if not get cured of their gastrointestinal pain and problems.
Digestive problems can be solved very easily when we examine what we are eating and stop buying into the advertising hype grocery manufacturers promote. Getting back to clean, non-chemicalized, naturally-grown food is the best place to start, in my opinion. Also, start cooking from scratch!
References:
[1] http://www.naturalnews.com/036308_natural_flavors_MSG_aspartame.html
[2] http://www.responsibletechnology.org/autism
[3] http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/MonographVolume112.pdf
Resources:
The Gross Truth About Natural Flavors
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/reasons-vegans-read-labels-natural-flavorscastoreum.html/1
Side Effects of Xylitol and Sorbitol
http://www.livestrong.com/article/222889-side-effects-of-xylitol-and-sorbitol/
Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.
Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com.
Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.
Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)
Stevia is very easy to grow naturally in the garden.
Fecal Transplant. No joke.