Danger Lurking - Read Your Labels

Rarely do I put something in my mouth without first reading the attached Nutritional Information label as well as the Ingredients list on the packaging. I usually always find something in there that surprises me -- or should I use the word shock. I'm not surprised anymore to discover that there is gelatin in some breakfast cereals, or artificial sweetener in your so called "healthy" good snack choice: Quaker rice cakes. I'm usually angered and shocked by these findings; Surprised doesn't even begin to describe my feelings.

Gelatin: To most people, you probably don't think about it. For vegetarians and vegans it is a very big deal. If you can eat it you can read what I'm about to tell you... don't get squeamish on me, you probably consume it more than you know. Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals such as cattle and/or horses. (Wikipedia). Commercially gelatin is made from by-products of the meat and leather industries. Its in things from breakfast cereals to the coating on your pills. There is another form of gelatin which is for those who keep Kosher - derived from fish. If you don't want to be consuming this gross by product, I suggest you read your labels.

High Fructose Corn Syrup: You probably see this quite often, but do you know how dangerous it is to consume? A study done on mice suggests that HFCS increases obesity. Large quantities of HFCS stimulate the liver to produce triglycerides, promotes glycation and induces insulin resistance- this can also lead to fatty liver disease and diabetes as well as possible ADD in children. One study showed that the average American consumes more than 70 pounds of HFCS a year! EW! Other Countries have already outlawed the use of HFCS in products (I tried finding information on which countries, but was unable to find it. I do believe that even Mexico is one of them.) This is bad bad stuff, and don't believe the lies... nobody is looking out for you and NO there is NO way this stuff can be good for anyone, even in small doses. The people that put this stuff in your foods are saving SO MUCH money by using HFCS rather than real sugar. I also read an article recently that they have recently discovered that HFCS actually contains Mercury! Yes, Mercury! That stuff that they tell you is infiltrating the fish in the ocean! Mercury is bad stuff too! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html

So, I thought I would share with you a few things that were on my mind this morning. It started because I went for my bowl of breakfast cereal this morning - and after reading the label on my Kellogg's Box for Frosted Mini Wheats (supposed to be healthy) I got utterly disgusted because my mini wheats had HFCS in them... and another box (different flavor) had gelatin! Very upsetting. I don't have kids, but if I did, I would do more research on this HFCS and make sure myself nor my kiddies consume this garbage. Good Luck. (Side note: sometimes I eat breakfast at work and so I didn't buy the boxes of the tainted cereal... someone else did, nothing in my cupboards contains this stuff.)