THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY. MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE.

If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, making sure kids get a healthy start is a priority. Today's breakfast cereals run the gamut from heart-healthy, high-fiber bran, to sugary treats that could be called dessert. Did you know that some popular kids' breakfast cereals are almost 50% sugar? They also contain other hidden gems that are known carcinogens, can cause ADHD, and can trigger allergies among other negative side effects.   A close look at the nutrition facts of General Mills and Kellogg's cereals reveals some startling numbers. Here are some of the worst* breakfast cereals for kids:

*"Worst" for this analysis is classified as cereal with more than a 30% sugar content and less than 3 grams of fiber per serving.

#10: General Mills Cinnamon Toast Crunch: 34 % sugar
Over a third of this popular kids' cereal is made entirely of sugar, which means kids are eating about 10 grams of sugar and a measly 1 gram of fiber per ¾ serving. This breakfast cereal is available in a reduced sugar version that clocks in with just 2 grams of sugar and 3 grams of fiber, but is heavily sweetened with Splenda artificial sweetener which may not be healthy for kids with food sensitivities or allergies.

#9: Frosted Rice Krispies: 39% sugar
Made with rice, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup, Frosted Rice Krispies will deliver an instant energy boost followed by a major crash. Kids are getting 12 grams of sugar from a ¾ cup serving, and zero grams of fiber. While the cereal will definitely wake them up in the morning, it offers very little nutritive value.

#8: Kellogg's Frosted Flakes: 39% sugar
This popular sugar-topped cereal contains 11 grams of sugar per serving, and is made with high fructose corn syrup which is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and may be linked to hyperactivity. While Frosted Flakes are fat free and low in sodium, they only contain 1 gram of fiber and 1 gram of protein. Ultimately, this cereal is just plain carbohydrate from corn and sugar.  Look at the number of times sugar is mentioned in the ingredients list.  Partially hydrogenated soybean oil equals trans fat which is one of the worst things we can put in our bodies.  We covered what high fructose corn syrup does in a previous post.  This along with most cereals on this list contains BHT.  In addition to causing hyperactivity in children, BHT  is considered a carcinogen by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Yet the FDA allows them to be used in foods?! What’s wrong with this picture???

#7: Reese's Puffs: 40% sugar
A ¾ cup serving (smaller than your fist) of this chocolate-peanut butter treat contains 12 grams of sugar and is made primarily with real sugar, corn and peanut butter. It's not a healthy choice for kids who need to keep fat at a minimum, because the ¾ cup serving also contains 3 grams of fat (0.5 grams of which are saturated fat). Even though the puffs are made with corn, there are also traces of wheat in this product, so they are a definite 'no' for kids with wheat allergies.

#6: General Mills Apple Cinnamon Cheerios: 42% sugar
One serving of Apple Cinnamon Cheerio's contains 12 grams of sugar and just 1 gram of fiber. Even though this cereal is made with heart-healthy whole grain oats, it also contains corn syrup, brown sugar and white sugar. A healthier option would be plain oatmeal topped with real cinnamon and a few chunks of fresh apple mixed in.

#5: Kellogg's Apple Jacks: 42% sugar
It's flavored with apple juice and cinnamon, but Kellogg's Apple Jacks is also chock full of sugar. The first ingredient in this cereal is sugar, followed by corn flour, wheat flour and oat flour. One cup of Apple Jacks contains 12 grams of sugar and 0.5 gram of fat. It's also low in fiber and protein.

#4: Trix: 43% sugar
Trix are for kids...on their way to poor nutrition. Those fruity flavors are made entirely out of whole grain corn, sugar and corn syrup, and 1 cup of the sugary cereal contains 12 grams of sugar. The low fiber count and 1 gram of protein per serving offer little nutritive value for kids who need a more substantial breakfast.

#3: Kellogg's Smorz Cereal: 43% sugar
Graham cracker pieces, marshmallow bits and chocolate sound like an ice cream concoction, and dessert may be just what kids are getting when they reach for a serving of Kellogg's Smorz One cup of this cereal contains 13 grams of sugar and 2 grams of fat.

#2: Kellogg's Froot Loops: 45% sugar
The first ingredient is sugar because nearly half of the cereal is made of the sweet stuff. Kellogg's Froot Loops contain 12 grams of sugar per one cup serving, and have less than 1 gram of fiber. They may be a sweet start to your kids' day, but the sugar high will only last a couple of hours before they're hungry again.  Has many of the same ingredients to avoid in the other cereals with the addition of Red #40, Blue #2 and Yellow #6.  These synthetic dyes have all been identified as being, or being contaminated with, potential cancer-causing chemicals, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. And Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 are known to trigger reactions in those with allergies.

#1: General Mills Cocoa Puffs: 47% sugar
Perhaps one of the worst of the pack, General Mills Cocoa Puffs cereal is almost 50% sugar. This chocolaty treat may belong on the dessert table with its empty calories and low nutritive value. Each ¾ cup serving contains 12 grams of sugar and 1.5 grams of fat. The cereal is made with whole grain corn, sugar, corn syrup and cocoa, and is sure to put your kids on the sugar rollercoaster in no time flat.

Our family avoids these cereals like the plague not only due to the massive sugar crash that they cause, but also due to all of the other potential negative consequences as a result of ingesting things like HFCS, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, BHT, and artificial dyes.

What do we do?  We go organic.  Here are some of our favorite choices:

Cascadian Farms has a huge variety of cereals to choose from and the ingredients in them are certified organic.  It took a while, but my boys now love these cereals.

I personally like Kashi organic cereals.  Cinnamon Harvest is my favorite!

Kellogg's is also starting to feel the pressure from consumers and is introducing their own line of organic cereals.  If we keep up the pressure (with our wallets) eventually organic ingredients in cereals will become the rule and not the exception.  We need to be educated about what these ingredients do to our children, and avoid them at all costs.  If we do, the cereal companies will eventually eliminate these harmful additives from their ingredients lists.

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Aspartame: how it was approved and what it does to us.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981. Marketed under the brand names NutraSweet® and Equal®, aspartame now sweetens over 6,000 food and beverage products, ranging from diet soft drinks to low-calorie yogurt, jams, desserts, juices, chewing gum and sugar-free condiments.

Aspartame gives food that sugary taste that is also quite addictive.  Many people drink diet sodas to avoid the calories and sugar (high fructose) that they see in normal sodas.  What they don't realize is that aspartame actually makes you CRAVE CARBS which ends up worse for people looking to keep their weight down in the long run.   Your body actually craves more calories than you would if you eat real sugar.

Aspartame also has other side effects such as:

• Headaches/migraines

• Nausea
• Abdominal pains
• Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain)
• Sleep problems
• Vision problems
• Anxiety attacks
• Depression
• Asthma/chest tightness.

But this is only the tip of the iceberg.  Long term, consistent ingestion of this product can cause severe health risks.   I recently read a report where the FDA actually admitted that Aspartame has been linked to over ninety symptoms.  If you would like to learn more about them, a report can be found at: 

http://www.relfe.com/aspartame_92.html

Okay, if you're like me, you're now asking yourself how this stuff can find its way into our food supply if it causes these kind of reactions???  To get your answer, we have to travel back to the time of disco and bellbottoms, the 1970's. This was when the chemical company known as G.D. Searle requested the FDA for approval of the sweetener.  In 1974, the FDA commissioner Alexander Schmidt in a first ever move assembled a public board of inquiry to investigate the artificial sweetener.  Their findings cited a study by a neuropathologist, Dr. John Olney of Washington University, who had linked aspartame to brain lesions in mice.  They also went on to say that Searle severely distorted its studies to gain approval and that their integrity could not be relied upon.  Aspartame was subsequently not approved by the board.  At this point in time the FDA actually did its job in protecting its citizens.

Fast forward to 1977 when Searle hired Donald Rumsfeld (yes, that Donald Rumsfeld) as their new President and eventually CEO.  From day one, Rumsfeld's main goal was to somehow get aspartame approved and into as many household food items as possible.  The potential profitability to the company was enormous.  His first order of business was to derail a potentially harmful situation.  

The U.S. attorney was investigating Searle's purposeful misrepresentation of the effects of aspartame in its studies to bring before a grand jury.  Searle was able to dodge that bullet not once but twice.  The first instance was when the Chicago U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner handling the case decided to step aside and take a lucrative position with Searle's law firm instead.  The second time was when the new Assistant U.S. Attorney on the case, William Conlin, left to join their firm as well.  How's that for power and influence?  By that point, enough time had gone by for the statue of limitations to expire on its allegedly false statements about aspartame.

With that potential threat out of the way, Rumsfeld could focus on somehow pushing it through for approval. In October 1978, with the help of FDA official Dr. Howard Roberts, an FDA review was ordered to "help get Searle's petition back on track".  Robert's subsequently went on to serve as VP of the National Soft Drink Association, today's leading purveyor of aspartame.  Despite all of the industry influence, on September 30, 1980, the FDA's Board of Inquiry ruled against the approval of aspartame.  It leads you to wonder what the scientists had really seen.

The good news for Rumsfeld and Searle was that one month later, Reagan defeated Carter and a new FDA commissioner would be appointed in due time.  On July 18, 1981, Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. was appointed and less than 3 months later, aspartame was approved for use in all dry foods, and eventually soft drinks.  On a side note, Searle went on to be acquired by the friendliest Bio Tech company of them all, Monsanto!

It crushed me to learn that this type of thing can happen "behind closed doors" within our government.  Favors being granted to allow harmful synthetic ingredients into our food supply that for all intents and purposes makes us guinea pigs.  With the downturn in health and rise in illness and disease in this country, we're learning the results decades later.  This was a valuable lesson for me.  I came to realize that we're on our own when it comes to researching these things and truly learning what's potentially dangerous to ourselves and our families.  Unfortunately, this was one of countless examples of the FDA being completely negligent when it comes to doing their job and protecting us.

It's for that reason that I will continue to bring these things to light on as many potentially harmful ingredients in our food supply as possible.  Aspartame is one that you should definitely remove from your diet immediately.  Now that you know how it was approved and made its way  into our foods, soft drinks, gum and many other products, don't you think you should share this with the people you care about?  If so, click any of the share buttons below and spread the word!  The only way we as consumers win is when we vote with our wallets.  Trust me, if enough people stopped buying products with aspartame and other artificial sweeteners in them, food companies would get the message and remove them from their products.

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Something EVERYONE should take EVERY DAY

I wanted to start by saying thank you to those of you who have reached out to say how beneficial the information that I have shared so far has been.  It's exciting to me to know that the information is both appreciated and beneficial!  Getting this feedback has me motivated to continue sharing, so I'll do so as long as people find my information to be both informative and entertaining!

I have started by sharing a handful of ingredients that unfortunately find their way into a ton of the food options we see in our supermarkets today.  I shared some common examples of what you'll find them in, and examples of alternatives that my family has found to remove these toxic chemicals from our pantry and refrigerator.  I'll continue to do this in the day's and weeks to come, but I wanted to change it up today to share something that we SHOULD be incorporating into our diets.

There are so many harmful toxins in the foods that many of us eat on a daily basis, and it's difficult if not impossible to remove them all and feed ourselves and our families three healthy meals a day with healthy snacks in between.  As busy as our lives have gotten (especially with our two teens) you simply can't avoid everything.  For those times when you can't (think Super Bowl parties everywhere yesterday), you need some assistance with flushing those toxins out of your body while properly digesting the good ingredients that we need to fuel our bodies.

For this reason, my family and I take a Probiotic on a daily basis.  The word "probiotic" is a compound of two Greek words: "pro," to signify promotion of and "biotic," which means life. The very definition is something that affirms life and health.  Here's a picture of the one that we take:

What many people don't realize is that 70-80% of our overall health is determined by how healthy our "guts" are.  Our intestines are filled with thousands of healthy bacteria or "flora" that assist us with the digestion process and the effective processing of waste out of our bodies.  Taking a probiotic daily allows these flora to thrive thereby boosting our immune systems in a big way. It will also assist in flushing the harmful toxins found in many of the foods we eat.  

Finding one with a higher number of live cultures per capsule is the best option.  You'll notice that the one we take has 20 Billion.  It's also better to take probiotics that require refrigeration as they tend to be more effective.

People that load up on foods that have these harmful toxins without being able to flush them from their bodies efficiently can develop what's known as "leaky gut".  These toxins actually leak through the intestinal walls into the body and become free radicals that our white blood cells need to fight.  Tying up our white blood cells to fight these free radicals can lower our immune system, invite sickness, and even diseases in the long term.

My family and I skip the flu shot every year and all incorporate probiotics, take Vitamin D3 daily, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.  If buying these supplements isn't an option, then going with the real thing through juicing on a regular basis may be an option.  We do this almost daily as well!

Luckily, we have been able to avoid the nasty flu strains that have been punishing many of us this season by incorporating these things and regular exercise into our routine.  This is extremely important with my wife Deb battling cancer right now.  Contracting the flu would land her in the emergency room without question.  Unfortunately, Piers Morgan wasn't so lucky after having Dr. Oz administer the flu shot to him as seen here.  I don't buy the effectiveness of the flu shot for a minute!

If purchasing and taking a probiotic on a daily basis is not an option for all of your family members, then there are other methods for boosting the healthy flora in your gut.  The most popular would be to incorporate yogurt into your diet.  If you decide on this, be sure to avoid the ones with any detrimental ingredients such as high fructose, artificial colors, or aspartame.  We buy Greek organic that we like.  Here are a few other probiotic rich foods:

• Kefir
• Sauerkraut
• Miso
• Pickles
• Tempeh
• Kimchi and
• Kombucha tea.

It's so important for us to have a "healthy gut" to maintain our overall health.  With all of the harmful toxins in many of the foods that we eat in this country, taking a probiotic can be the key to maintaining our health by boosting our immunities, especially during flu season!

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SIX INGREDIENTS TO STAY AWAY FROM

To start this edition to my blog, I wanted to share a photo of my two main inspirations for my new found passion for learning about and sharing everything I can about proper nutrition.  My goal in doing so is to convince as many people to look at their health and well being from a preventative standpoint vs. a treatment standpoint.  

Unfortunately, we didn't initially have the knowledge to understand Kyle's dietary needs due to his low immunity, or to prevent Deb from recently contracting stage 2 ductal carcinoma (medical term for her type of breast cancer).  I'm not saying that the cancer cells weren't there.  They are actually in all of us!  However, they need fuel to multiply and become full blown cancer.  That's where a number of outside factors including what's in our diet comes into play.  Avoiding the bad stuff and incorporating the good stuff can minimize the chances of us ever having to battle this and other ailments.  The shock and sadness experienced by a father and husband when dealing with these issues has prompted me to embark on a path of gaining the knowledge offered by preventative thinking.  If sharing that knowledge  can help a family to avoid dealing with these issues in their lives, then I will be accomplishing my goal.  

We live in a country with a healthcare system that puts so much weight on the treatment of negative health symptoms through pharmaceuticals instead.  Unfortunately, this is a profit driven model that doesn't focus on the proper way to go about things.  It's up to us to educate ourselves on how we can avoid these symptoms altogether vs. treating them.  With that thought in mind, let's dive into some additional ingredients to remove from our diets and the reasons why.  You'll see six of them in the video below, but I'd like to place a strong focus on one in particular.

Artificial Colors:  (such as red #40, blue #2, yellow 5, sodium benzoate, etc.)
There's a reason why most sugary treats and even sports drinks give us a rush. These synthetic chemicals are often added to foods marketed towards children. They’ve been found to cause many health problems including hyperactivity, ADD, ADHD, allergic reactions, and nerve damage.

What to Do

Wean your child off foods that are artificially dyed or flavored, or that contain sodium benzoate. Here are some helpful tips about what foods to avoid and what to serve in their place:

• Substitute 100 percent fruit juice for soft drinks, fruit drinks, and fruit punches — all of which are typically artificially colored and flavored. If your child must have a soft drink, try 7-Up, Squirt, or Sprite. These brands are naturally flavored and free of dyes—though they all contain sodium benzoate. Even better, buy natural sodas like we do from providers such as Hansen's  My kids love their root beer with no high fructose or dyes.
  
• Nearly all colored candies contain some artificial colors in them.  This was a tough one when it came to my son Kyle.  He LOVED M&M's, Starburst, Jolly Ranchers, Sourpatch Kids, etc.  You could literally watch the hyperactivity wash over him after eating them, and his grades began to show it until we figured this out.  This also made it impossible for him to concentrate in his classes after devouring them at lunch time.  We substituted candy from the "Unreal" line which can be found at Target, Wal Mart and other places.  Also, there are plenty of organic gummy products, suckers and hard candies available at places like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  Eliminating these dyes from Kyle's diet has made a HUGE difference, and HE admitted it!
  
• As you would expect, the more colorful the cereal, the more food dyes it contains. Cap’n Crunch, Trix, Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, and Apple Jacks are full of food coloring. Look for breakfast cereals that are free of dyes.  We now prefer serving our kids organic eggs, waffles & pancakes (gluten free in Kyle's case), and cereals without dyes such as those offered by Cascadian Farms.
  
• If your kids love barbecue sauce, or if you use it to spice up everyday dishes, read the label before buying a bottle. Many brands are loaded with Red #40.  Annie's and Trader Joe's brands however, are free of food coloring (as well as high fructose corn syrup. Does your child enjoy popsicles? Buy Welch’s Fruit Juice Bars, one of the few brands without dyes or preservatives.
  
• Jell-O and other gelatin mixes are loaded with artificial coloring and flavors.  I was floored by the ingredients found in this household brand name!  Opt for jello/pudding from an organic brand such as  Dr. Oetker's which you can find in your local supermarket.

• Capri Sun's, Gatorade, and other drinks our kid's drink carry these dyes.  You can replace these with a new line of drink pouches that Capri Sun offers that offers fruit and vegetable mixtures without the dyes, and replace Gatorade with Vitamin Water.

If you have children, please try replacing the products that carry these dyes and watch how their behavior changes!  This is an absolute must if you think that they have any symptoms of ADD or ADHD.  These are typically caused by what's in their food.

Here is a segment that was recently run on Fox News that breaks down six ingredients to avoid in our diets, including artificial colors and dyes:

  

*If you feel the information shared here can benefit friends or loved ones, please hit the share button and spread the word!

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