Fruit Juices – to Drink or to Eat?

The everyday foods that we consume are sometimes not healthy but many of us know that.  There is a big concern that some of these foods may cause a larger issue than we expected.  The same goes for ingredients in cosmetic where I wrote an article on(read it here).  

 Yes we all know that fats and sugar can be bad if he consume too much of it every day.  The question becomes how much do most common food have of sugar or bad fats.  Another thing that we tend to overlook is that sometimes the food may contain things much worse such as growth hormones, antibiotics and pesticides commonly used in agriculture.  

 Right of the bat, I can say that the best way to avoid this is to grow your own vegetables and purchase locally if possible.  I understand that sometimes you may be living in a colder climate where growing your own garden year-round is not possible.  One way to combat this is to have a garden in the summer and to store the leftovers for the winter in freezer bags.  There are many tricks to do this.  Another viable way of having a good amount of vegetables for the winter is to have a community garden.  This is a good set up to have in your community.

Juice troubles

Many of the so-called healthy foods you find in the supermarket may not be in fact healthy at all.  The confusing issue is that sometimes these are misleading because of how advertising works in America.  Just because it says the word healthy on a package does not mean that everything in the ingredients is good for you.  The one thing that I truly recommend you doing is to eliminate process fruit juices.  I’m specifically talking about the commercial brands because they are loaded with too much sugar.  Sometimes the sugar is more than any sort of drinks.  

How is it processed?

Another issue is that the juices are pasteurized and this will actually remove any of its healthy good minerals.  Furthermore, many of this liquid from the actual fruit which are stripped of his minerals already is stored in a tank and it can be in their depending how much the company’s is selling.  Because of this, the oxygen’s will be removed in order to preserve it but the taste of the actual juice is essentially gone.   

What happens next, is that these companies will add artificial flavour’s as well as aromas to help it simulate the taste and smell of the real stuff.  And you guessed it, one of the main ingredients to enhance the flavour is the syrup of fructose corn.  The best way to have your fruits is eating it.  Be aware that fruits on its own does have a lot of sugar but is loaded with so much minerals and vitamins.  When you’re making a smoothie and adding fruits, tried to add more leafy green vegetables to counteract the amount of sugar and fruits.  A good combination is bananas and spinach.

Be Careful of some Ingredients in Products

The dangers of some ingredients used in the cosmetic industry is something that many people overlook.  We sometimes think that because the products are on the shelves, they automatically assumed because they are there that they should be safe.  This is true in a way because every product has to go through the FDA, as they provide the strict guidelines to approve or disapprove a product.  Sometimes though, some ingredients are safe that meet just the minimal guidelines of passing and they have no chance of harming us because of the research and testing over X number of years.  These ingredients are safe for the general public but they can be actually be harmful to the few who may be allergic or have others health conditions.  For example, if you’re suffering from Eczema, then some of these ingredients may make your skin worse or better depending on the lotion/moisturizer or shampoo you are using, so make sure to pick the best ones by researching the ingredients your product. Hope this article will help a bit.

Here are some ingredients that are known to be somewhat in the grey area in terms of safety but if you suffer from a skin condition than you may need consider doing more research.

The Smell?

Many cosmetic products especially lotions make you smell good.  You have the ever so popular strawberry or coconut fragrance that have been around for ages in perfumes or even in food products.  What is interesting to note is that these fragrance are not natural at all.

They are a combination of different chemicals that give off that smell.  One particular ingredient is called diethyl-phthalate, it’s something to be aware of and is found in every product out there.  Apparently according to researchers, this chemical has toxic disruptors and can have a negative effect on your organs.  The smell of this chemical can cause those with allergies or asthma to react badly.

BHA

According to David Suzuki this chemical can provoke that allergies and is known to disrupt the hormones.  It could be classified as a carcinogen according to the research agency of cancer.  The research has shown that there is some long-term issues with exposure which can cause problems to our blood circulation and lungs.  In the country of Canada BHA is not restricted, but is categorized as a health priority according to its health regular (Health Canada) because some of its chemicals have known to be scrutinize based on studies.  In Europe, using BHA is not allowed to be used in products as fragrance.  This means you will not see any cosmetics across Europe with BHA.  In the United States, it is a state-by-state case because in state of California, it is used as fragrance but is labelled on products.  This is a requirement by the state in order to let consumers know that there is fragrance and in labelled that it has the possibility of causing cancer.

How does our body break down BHA

When we consume products with this ingredient, it does break down and absorbed. Because of this, it could pose an effect on our biological system which can be harmful but according to other research could be slimly beneficial.  Supposedly in some research, the benefits is that it could help fight against free radicals or provoking the enzymes in our bodies to help detoxify some of the bad stuff.  Other studies shows that it could be toxic to the cells in low doses, meeting that you could be very bad in high doses.

What does this all mean?

The studies are leading towards a negative view of BHA.  The fact that is banned in Europe means that individual living in North America should be cautious because it is still found in our products.  It is up to you, the consumer to make that decision and it is easy since it is clearly labelled having this ingredient depending where you live.