Today’s blog entry is a continuation from yesterday’s by Lowery Johnson. She’s been able to transform her life and her health by losing over 100 pounds. Truly an inspiration to anyone who has struggled with weight loss. Lowery is committed to a new, healthy lifestyle and she’s taking the steps necessary to focus on foods that will give her a health a boost instead of harming her. Today, Lowery gives us two more ingredients to look out for when we shop and common foods they are found in -Joel
By Lowery Johnson
Monosodium Glutamate
MSG literally acts like a drug in your brain. The purpose of MSG is to boost the flavor of food, but it doesn’t actually do anything to the actual flavor. The work of MSG is done in the brain. It triggers your brain to release dopamine which in turn increases your enjoyment of the food. The affects are eerily similar to the temporary high of a drug addict. Subsequently, MSG is highly addictive and leads to overeating. MSG is in a lot of processed and packaged foods. Because so many processed foods are made of cheap ingredients, manufacturers use MSG to make the cheaper product taste good when in reality, the only reason we think it tastes good is because a chemical is forcing our brains to relate the release of dopamine to eating cheap foods. FoodMatters.tv has written some very compelling articles on MSG that will definitely change the way you think about processed foods.
Foods to look out for: Cup-o-Noodles, Hidden Valley Ranch products, Pringles. Click here for a more complete list.
Aspartame
What if I told you that you were drinking the feces of one of the deadliest bacteria in the world? I bet you’d put your drink down and run to the nearest toilet to puke. Well, if you drink or eat things with aspartame, you are. Recently, the patent for aspartame was released to the public and it confirms that aspartame is made by taking the feces of genetically modified E. Coli bacteria and soaking it in methanol. The process is shocking and unnerving. As if the thought of drinking E. Coli pooh doesn’t turn your stomach enough, consider the side effects of aspartame poisoning which include joint pain, menstrual cycle irregularities, seizures, migraines and more.
Foods to look out for: Chewing gum such as Extra, Yogurts including brands like Dannon, Diet sodas and more.
Do you read ingredient labels when you shop? If not it may be time to start. After doing the research on these ingredients I am convinced that soda is entirely out of my diet. It’s becoming more and more obvious that packaged foods are less food and more chemicals. The reasoning behind eating clean and making treats from scratch is becoming stronger and stronger in my mind.
