NO to processed foods.


“Sugar is now the most ubiquitous foodstuff worldwide, and has been added to virtually every processed food, limiting consumer choice and the ability to avoid it. Approximately 80 % of the 600,000 consumer packaged foods in the United States have added caloric sweeteners.” 

Dr Robert Lustig

Since the mid 1970s it has been well known that processed foods containing high levels of sugar, fat and sodium are not good for our health. Governments have attempted to change dietary requirement guidelines and with each attempt, powerful lobbyists from the food producer and food manufacturing industries have threatened and convinced one administration after the other to put a stop to any change in the reduction of sugar, fat or sodium in manufactured foods. Thus far, they have won and we have lost.

Our food has been hijacked by powerful and rich corporations who now control what appears in our supermarkets and what we eat. They bombard our children with food commercials and they have tricked us with their faslehoods. Food has become politicised and no one seems to care about the consequences. 

The same tactics used by the tobacco industry are being used by the sugar industry. They remain a formidable adversary, determined to safeguard its market position

The risks of smoking have been known since the 1930s; the U.S. surgeon general report of 1964 squarely faced down the tobacco industry. That put the tobacco propaganda machine into overdrive to squelch the science and any scientists who stood in their way.” (John Yudkin "Pure, white and deadly")

Researchers who have linked sugar to the obestiy epidemic in the last 30 years have been called zealots and shouted down. Food manufacturers have paid millions upon millions of dollars to researchers to undertake research that contain half-truths and misleading information — all in their attempt to muddy the water and cause confusion. To hide the message so we as consumers are kept in the dark and the manufactures continue to make billions of dollars.

In the 1980s "low fat" foods were introduced and we were told that it was a "healthy option. Advertising was huge and billions spent convincing us to eat these healthy alternatives. Sadly we continued  to get fatter and fatter. What we weren't told is that food with low fat tastes bad . . . . and to make it palatable, sugar needed to be added . . . LOTS and LOTS OF SUGAR.

In our supermarkets, sugar is added to almost everything — 80% of all supermarket foods contains sugar. From the cereal we buy, to the pasta sauce, the bread, the spreads, drinks, lollies and candies etc. Sugar comes in many disguises and they are all bad for us if eaten in large quantities.


In the USA, children are consuming 41 teaspoons of sugar per day and many parents are directly responsible for this. If your home contains  large quantities of processed snacks and drinks, your children will consume it.

We need to educate ourselves and we need to educate our children.

We need to say NO to processed foods.

 When wanting a pasta sauce—learn how to make it from scratch.

When making pumpkin pie—buy one pumpkin and not a can.

Want pizza tonight—make it yourself.

Chinese, hamburgers, french fries—all can be made at home.

Muffins, cookies, cake can all be homemade — much healthier than the supermarket version and you will know how much sugar has been added and it will contain no chemicals or other unnecessary "food" items. 

If we all reduced the amount of processed foods in our cooking and actually COOKED rather than assembled, our health would improve 100% and our children would be set for life. Allowing our children to consumer processed foods high in sugar, fat and sodium is a form of child abuse.

Sugar in moderation, used at home in foods cooked from scratch is perfectly safe — however SKIP the processed foods completely as sugar is hidden and you have no idea how much you are consuming. 



"Christians ought to watch what they eat. I do not refer here only to overeating, which is a bad thing, but to eating the wrong things. Too many sweets, too many rich things, too much junk. Take a walk through any supermarket and note the space given to soft drinks, candy, packaged snack foods, dry cereals. We could do very well without any of these. Try it for a week. You may be surprised at how dependent you are on them. You might even discover that you are an addict." {Elisabeth Elliot}


Comments

  1. I wanted to say hi! I found you on a blog hop and I have really enjoyed reading your blog :) You have a new reader, and I am excited to read some of your posts!! Nice to meet you!!

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    1. Hi Stacy, thanks for stopping by :) I do hope you enjoy my posts and I do love to hear from my readers :)

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  2. Hi Jo, I have been a bit lazy about some of the stuff I normally make from scratch, but it is now time to be aware... Blessings, Roxy

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    1. There will always be some processed foods that I eat - i.e. tomato paste, tomatoes in a tin and the usual rice, sugar, flours etc. but I do try to make from scratch as much as possible - it tastes so much better :)

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  3. I enjoyed reading your post. I have been lazy this last year. I was doing good but then school got crazy and I went for what was fast. I am planning to do a better job in the upcoming months. Thanks for reminding me why I use to do a circle in the grocery store and not go in the aisles.

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    1. It is easy to slip into the processed foods/fast food problem as it is easier, but I just keep reminding myself of how good homemade food tastes :)

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  4. The photos you put at the top of the post are NOT attractive. The photos you put at the bottom of the post look SO delicious!! And they are healthy, to boot! :D It's amazing how people go to a lot of effort to package processed (unhealthy) foods in bright packaging when GOD has already brightly "packaged" food for us in His creation!!
    In regards to cane sugar - if I eat it (even the organic version), I break out in pimples. If I only eat coconut sugar, maple syrup and raw honey, my pimples all clear up. It's like my body just can't handle the cane sugar - so I very, very rarely eat it. I use the other sugars I mentioned above in my cooking/baking instead, with wonderfully tasty results!
    In regards to fat... Fats are extremely necessary for our bodies! They are not the demon they are made out to be, so long as we eat the healthy kinds - butter, olive oil and coconut oil are my favourites to cook/bake with. Our brains need fats so we can process information, have a good memory and think well. Fish oil is also essential - for our joints, brain and good mental health. The problem with processed foods is that they often either remove fats (BAD) or they use unhealthy fats (BAD)! So stupid!
    Anyway, we make almost all of our foods from scratch (excluding potato & corn chips, which we buy occasionally - and then only the organic version, to limit the nastiness they contain!). We love homemade food and we know what's in it and we can eat without guilt, knowing we are supporting our children's health rather than damaging their future. :)

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    1. Homemade foods always taste better, even if its a copy of a fast food - such as hamburgers or pizza!! Why would you buy when can make better at home!!. Sometimes my DH brings home a pasta sauce in a jar (to he helpful) and I have to gently remind him that I prefer to make my own. I have used a few he has bought (to not hurt his feelings) and they are always very salty and not pleasant to eat. I have to do a lot to make them taste better.

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