Why DIY? 6 Toxin You Can Avoid Through Do-It-Yourself Recipes Part 3

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects are many things. They can save money. They can give you a sense of satisfaction at a job well done. They can give your home, office, or meal time a bit of unique flare. But did you know that DIY projects can also have added health benefits?

I’ve put together a list of the top 6 toxins we avoid at home by some simple DIY projects. (My wife, Erin, put together some how-to videos here  if you’d like to try them out, too!) Here's our last two:


Potassium Bromate

Potassium Bromate has become a buzz word as of late in the health-conscious community. Bromide itself is considered an endocrine (hormone) disruptor no matter what it’s attached to. It is commonly used as an additive to increase the volume in some breads, rolls, and flours. You can find it on a label as bromic acid, potassium salt, bromated flour and enriched flour.

Originally patented in 1914, this long-term baking aid is still prevalent in US. In 1982, researchers in Japan published the first of a series of studies showing that potassium bromate causes thyroid and kidney cancers in rats and mice. Based on the research piling up against it, the additive has been banned in the EU, Canada, Brazil, and many other countries. The FDA requests that bakers avoid using bromate-based agents, but there are no restrictions in place.

Saved by DIY: The fastest way to rid yourself of this toxin is to stay away from the bread and bakery aisles in the grocery store. If you feel the need to purchase baked goods, try a local bakery and ASK if they use potassium bromate in their confections. If they don’t know the answer, pick another baker – they should know EXACTLY what goes into their products or it’s not as “homemade” as they’d like you to believe.

You also have the option of making your own breads at home. If you’ve never tried it before, start simple. Here’s a quick no-rise pizza dough that Erin uses to get your feet wet. Again, the best way to know what you’re putting in your body is to make it yourself (or get it from someone that makes it themselves!)

Refined Vegetable Oil

Where to begin with this one? Commercially-refined vegetable oils come under many labels including soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, canola oil, and peanut oil. They are found in almost all processed foods from Animal Crackers to Zebra Cakes and everything in between. They also come as stand-alone products for cooking (bottled oils and margarines).

[Sidenote: Never choose margarine! There have been numerous videos online of butter and margarine sitting out, with flies collecting on the butter and steering clear of the margarine. Nature is trying to tell us something! I don’t care if the margarine is labelled “heart healthy”, “enriched”, “extra calcium” or “super magic spread”, IT IS ALL GARBAGE! It’s clever marketing designed to hide the truth – it’s a tub of chemicals waiting to be spread on toast (that probably has potassium bromate in it). I’m looking at you, Smart Balance.]

So what makes these oils so bad for us? Like many things, it’s all in the processing. These oils are made by intensive mechanical and chemical processes in order to extract the oil from the seeds. This process uses chemical solvents and high temperatures, deodorizing and bleaching. This process removes the naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from the seeds. What’s worse – it creates a product that becomes rancid and oxidizes easily, creating the dreaded free radicals.

What do free radicals do? In short, they damage a cell’s DNA in search of its missing molecules (oxidation). This creates an environment for disease. Oxidation contributes to inflammation in the body, elevated blood triglycerides, and impaired insulin response. Other free radical generators include cigarette smoke, air pollution, and excessive alcohol consumption.

These oils are also high in Omega-6 fatty acid. They increase inflammatory affects in the body and neutralize the benefits of Omega-3s in your diet. There’s more - many refined vegetable oils are hydrogenated, creating trans fatty acids, which are known to contribute to heart disease and some cancers. 

Save By DIY: Any time you opt out of packaged foods, you’re most likely cutting some refined oils from your diet. Replacing these oils in your home with good-for-you choices like coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil is a great step. If you’d like to shake things up a bit, you can make your own infused oil for dipping. From there, it’s a quick step to making your own salad dressing, too. You can avoid the bad and add the good with just a little work.

Another saver to counteract the Omega 6s disrupting our lives is to balance them with quality Omega 3s. Omega 3s can be consumed through fish and also by using a high quality supplement. Like anything, it’s important to know where the Omega 3s come from and how they are processed. You can ask a knowledgeable healthcare provider (or contact me directly with questions).

Why DIY? There are lots of reasons. My favorite? Do-It-Yourself to be sure you know what’s in it (and what isn’t) as a way to better overall health for you and your family. This is our final installment. Catch up on what you missed here and here.

Dr. Dan Turo is the owner and chiropractor of Turo Family Chiropractic located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Follow him on facebook and twitter.

Why DIY? 6 Toxin You Can Avoid Through Do-It-Yourself Recipes Part 2

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects are many things. They can save money. They can give you a sense of satisfaction at a job well done. They can give your home, office, or meal time a bit of unique flare. But did you know that DIY projects can also have added health benefits?

I’ve put together a list of the top 6 toxins we avoid at home by some simple DIY projects. (My wife, Erin, put together some how-to videos here  if you’d like to try them out, too!) Here's our next two:

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

HFCS is a highly-refined sweetener in which corn starch is separated from the corn kernel. The corn starch is then converted into corn syrup through a process called acid hydrolysis. Any time a process with that many letters is used in food prep, I’m hesitant to keep the product as a staple in my diet.

So we’ve all heard the debate… Is it bad? Is it any worse than “regular” sugar? Who should I believe? As a general rule, all processed sugars - HFCS and white granulated sugar – are something to avoid. They are poisonous to the body, causing inflammation, triggering cancer cell growth, initiating premature aging, and increased weight gain. A packaged food containing these ingredients isn’t typically a healthy choice for this and other reasons. If you’re label looking, you might find HFCS hiding under the aliases Corn sugar, glucose/fructose (syrup), high-fructose maize syrup inulin, iso-glucose, and fruit fructose.

HFCS is the #1 source of calories in the US diet, and has been shown to contribute to weight gain and the development of diabetes. It’s also been shown to be major contributor to cardiovascular disease, arthritis, insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides and raised LDL cholesterol. It’s found in everything from beard to yogurt, cereal to salad dressing. On average, Americans consume 12 teaspoons of HFCS per day.

More negative news - the Environmental Health Journal reported that a study conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (2009) found MERCURY in 9 of 20 samples of commercial HFCS. These samples were taken from 3 different manufacturers including popular brands such as Hunts, Quaker, Kraft, Smuckers, Yoplait, and Nutri-Grain. Mercury is a heavy metal and is considered a potent brain toxin. Need we say more?

Saved by DIY: This may sound vague, but nearly ANY DIY recipe you choose will rid you of HFCS. Avoiding prepared and packaged foods will decrease the presence of HFCS in your life. When you do choose a packaged item, be diligent about the label. No one regulates the term “All Natural”; seeing that on the box might just be clever marketing. Snake venom is all natural too, but that doesn’t make it good for us!

Artificial Food Coloring

Artificial Food Coloring and Dyes are exactly what they sound like – something isn’t the color the manufacturer wants it to, they “improve” it with dyes. These dyes, originally derived from coal tar, are now made from petroleum. Artificial Food Coloring and Dye are found in most packaged foods - candy, baked goods, cereal, energy bars, puddings, jams, bread, macaroni and cheese, deli meat, frostings, condiments, ice cream, sherbet, sorbet and nearly every bottle or canned beverage.

Fast food is so full of junk – dyes, preservatives, butane, petroleum, flame retardant – that the term food should be taken lightly. (This is a lengthy rant for another blog)

Think the meat counter is safe? Think again – coloring is added to make pork, beef, and fish look “fresher”. I’d prefer if it was actually fresh, but maybe that’s just me?

Artificial food coloring is a broad category. It can be found on the label as caramel color, Red Number 3, FD&C Blue #1, Brilliant Blue FCF, Bright blue, FD&C Red No.40, Ingtotine, Royal Blue, Erythrosine, Blue # 2, Allura Red AC, Yellow 5 and 6, FD&C Green Number 3, to name a few.

Many dyes have been banned because of adverse reactions in lab animals; however, recent studies have shown that NINE dyes currently used in the US raise some serious health concerns.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s (CSPI) study on food dyes, “The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens. Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet it is still in the food supply.” These 9 food dyes are linked to serious health issues ranging from cancer and ADHD to allergic reactions.

In 2007, the UK medical journal Lancet published a large-scale British government study stating that a variety of common food dyes, as well as the preservative sodium benzoate, increased hyperactivity and decreased the attention spans of children. These additives were shown to adversely affect children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), along with children having no prior history of behavior problems.

Fun Fact: The European Union (EU) mandated labeling regulations to inform consumers of the health risks of these 9 offenders; the US has done nothing to alter regulations…after 7 years. That makes me sick to my stomach.

Saved by DIY: Choosing fresh, natural foods automatically makes your plate more visually appealing while decreasing dyes in your life. Making your own juice and switching to water are great simple changes to make. Avoiding fast food like the plague (because that might be their “secret ingredient”) and prepping meals ahead of time for grab-and-go convenience can go a long way. You can even use natural foods to add pops of color to recipes. Try mashing up a few blueberries and raspberries for cake frosting – they don’t change the flavor, but can brighten up a white icing!

Why DIY? There are lots of reasons. My favorite? Do-It-Yourself to be sure you know what’s in it (and what isn’t) as a way to better overall health for you and your family. This is Part 2 of 3 - check back next week for Part 3 with more Toxins and Ways to Avoid them and catch up on what you missed last week here.

Dr. Dan Turo is the owner and chiropractor of Turo Family Chiropractic located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Follow him on facebook and twitter.

Why DIY? 6 Toxins You Can Avoid Through Do-It-Yourself Recipes Part 1

Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects are many things. They can save money. They can give you a sense of satisfaction at a job well done. They can give your home, office, or meal time a bit of unique flare. But did you know that DIY projects can also have added health benefits?

DIY for Your Health
 
It’s true. Cooking fresh meals is a great way to make meals healthier. But we don’t have to stop there. Making some common kitchen ingredients instead of buying them off the shelf can eliminate hidden toxins you might not even be aware of! And the fewer toxins we ingest, the better we function. We’re less likely to get sick and more likely to have increased energy and a positive attitude. Maybe it’s time we all tried a little DIY!

I’ve put together a list of the top 6 toxins we avoid at home by some simple DIY projects. (My wife, Erin, put together some how-to videos here  if you’d like to try them out, too!) Let’s start with two:

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) 

MSG is an amino acid used as a flavor-enhancer in processed foods. MSG is also a known excitotoxin - a neurotoxic chemical. This chemical has been shown to harm nerve cells by overexciting them, sometimes to the point of cell death. Regular consumption of MSG increases appetite and contributes to weight gain and obesity. It has also been linked to significant brain cell death, leading to neurological disorders and other health problems. Sounds like something to avoid to me!
As one of the most common food additives, it hides in everything processed - from salad dressings, low-fat yogurt, canned meats, frozen entrees, potato chips, canned soups and flavored crackers to name a few.

The tricky thing about MSG is that it goes by many names. You can find it hiding as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Vegetable Protein Extract, Yeast Extract, Glutamate, Glutamic Acid, Sodium Caseinate, Textured Protein, Soy Protein Isolates, Barley Malt, Calcium Caseinate and Malt Extract. Any of these on the label and it might as well say “MSG lives here”.

Saved by DIY: The easiest ways to avoid MSG are to read the label and shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Anything in a box or bag has the potential to contain any of these food additives. Making your own salad dressings and seasoning mixes (like tacoseasoning and ranch mix) will help eliminate some offenders from your kitchen cabinets. Making homemade soups and casseroles rather than buying prepared foods has two benefits – you know what’s in them and they taste better, too!

Artificial Sweeteners – Aspartame, Sucralose, Saccharine
 
The three most widely used artificial sweeteners; one is always trying to claim health benefits over another. The truth? Not one of them is good for you. In fact, all have been found to be carcinogens (cancer-causers). Aspartame, like MSG, is an excitotoxin (neurotoxin), and breaks down in the body to formaldehyde, an agent used in the embalming of corpses. Lovely.  These sweeteners have also been linked to neurotoxic effects like blurry vision, dizziness, headaches, and gastrointestinal disturbances.

This one also hides behind several aliases: NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel, Spoonful, Natrataste, AminoSweet, Slenda, Sweet’N Low, with more surfacing all the time.

These offenders are found in over 6,000 products – in anything from diet and sugar-free sodas and drinks, sugar-free chewing gum, yogurt, breath mints, instant breakfasts, frozen desserts, juice beverages, and gelatins.

Saved by DIY: If you can’t avoid the sweets all together, it’s best to make your own. You can sweeten homemade items with honey or maple syrup instead of processed sugar or sweetener. Using frozen fruit instead of ice cubes is a great way to spice up water or tea without adding excess calories or chemicals.


Why DIY? There are lots of reasons. My favorite? Do-It-Yourself to be sure you know what’s in it (and what isn’t) as a way to better overall health for you and your family. This is Part 1 of 3 - check back next week for Part 2 with more Toxins and Ways to Avoid them.

Dr. Dan Turo is the owner and chiropractor of Turo Family Chiropractic located in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Follow him on facebook and twitter.