Why Are Foods and Supplements Made for Children Packed with
Hazardous Chemicals, Hidden Aspartame and GMOs?
June 12, 2013
Story at-a-glance
The documentary Killer at Large investigates the topic of
obesity, a problem of truly epic proportions where
misinformation is a major driver of its skyward trend
Conventional diet and health recommendations are grossly flawed.
Obesity and related health problems are directly attributable to
improper diet—a diet too high in carbs and poor-quality
proteins, and too low in healthy fats
Calorie counting has been firmly debunked by science. It is FAR
more important to look at the source of the calories than
counting them. You get fat because you eat the wrong kind of
calories
First and foremost, a healthy diet is based on fresh whole,
preferably organic foods, and foods that have been minimally
processed
By Dr. Mercola
As a parent, one of the best gifts you can give your child is a
strong nutritional start. The first years of life represent a time
of rapid development, during which your child's language, cognitive,
social and motor skills are developed.
During the first three years of life, the brain also grows at its
fastest rate, and this represents a crucial window of development
during which proper nutrition is essential.
If your child does not get healthy foods (and ideally breast
milk) during this time, his future intelligence could be impacted.
A 2010 study1
revealed just how big an impact a poor nutritional start can have on
your kids. Those who ate a predominantly processed food
diet at age 3 had lower IQ scores at age 8.5. For each measured
increase in processed foods, participants had a nearly two point
decrease in IQ.
As you might suspect, the opposite also held true, with those
eating healthier diets experiencing higher IQ levels.
As a parent, it is important to carefully consider the types
of foods you give your child at home and in restaurants, as
research has shown that repeated exposure builds taste
preferences very quickly.
Potentially reduced IQ is not the only health risk your child
faces if he eats a diet consisting mainly of processed foods and
snacks.
A junk food diet can also set the stage for obesity,
asthma, eczema, and a variety of allergies, behavioral
problems—from hyperactivity to aggression—as well as inflammatory
conditions and autoimmune diseases. In fact, many of the top
diseases plaguing the United States are diet-related, including
heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
The National Institutes of Health even states that four of the
six leading causes of death in the US are linked to unhealthy diets.
So the importance of proper nutrition simply cannot be
overstated. Yet despite all this knowledge, food and beverage
companies and even supplement makers are foisting products on
children that are FAR from health-promoting, making your role as an
educated parent all the more important...
Girl Scolds McDonald’s CEO
At a recent shareholder meeting, nine-year old Hannah Robertson
had some pointed questions for Don Thompson, CEO of McDonald's Corp2.
"Something that I don't think is fair is when big
companies try to trick kids into eating food that isn't good for
them by using toys and cartoon characters," Hannah told the
attendees at the meeting.
"If parents haven't taught their kids about healthy
eating then the kids probably believe that junk food is good for
them because it might taste good... I make cooking videos with
my mom that show kids that eating healthy can be fun and yummy.
We teach them that eating a rainbow of fruits and veggies
makes kids healthier, smarter and happier because that is the
truth... Mr. Thompson, don't you want kids to be healthy so they
can live a long and happy life?"
Thompson’s reply? "... [W]e don't sell junk food, Hannah,"
he said. He also denied marketing to children. His
response left her unimpressed, and rightfully so, if you ask me.
Children are clearly a primary market for McDonald’s. In fact,
America’s 52 million kids under the age of 12 represent one of the
most powerful markets for American businesses, influencing adult
spending worth $700 billion a year.
Children age 2-11 now see an average of more than 10
television food ads per day, and 98 percent of food
advertisements viewed by children are for products that are high in
fat, sugar or sodium, like McDonald’s and other fast food joints.
This is a Flash-based video and may not be viewable on
mobile devices.
Absurd Lies Told By McDonald's CEO
A related article3
pointed out the many lies spouted by McDonald’s CEO during this
shareholder’s meeting, including but not limited to:
Claiming “chicken nugget Happy Meals and fat-free
milk” are healthy...
Chicken McNuggets contain roughly 30 ingredients, including:
sodium phosphates, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum
phosphate, monocalcium phosphate and calcium lactate. The
“fat-free milk” Thompson touted numerous times is actually
chocolate milk,
containing 10 grams of added sugar...
“We provide high-quality food, we always have. It’s
real beef, it’s real chicken, it’s real tomatoes, real lettuce,
real fruit, real smoothies, real dairy, real eggs.”
Really? The “real eggs” in an Egg McMuffin are “
prepared with” the following: Liquid Margarine: Liquid
Soybean Oil and Hydrogenated Cottonseed and Soybean Oils, Water,
Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Mono and
Diglycerides, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate
(Preservatives), Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid, Vitamin A
Palmitate, Beta Carotene (Color).
“Globally, we follow guidelines on responsible
marketing to children.”
... Just last month,
McDonald’s was fined $1.6 million by the consumer protection
agency in Sao Paulo [Brazil] for violating local laws on
targeting children... A
report from Yale University found that... “Although
McDonald's pledged to improve food marketing to children, they
increased their volume of TV advertising from 2007 to 2009.”
Preschoolers saw 21 percent more McDonald's ads and older
children viewed 26 percent more ads in 2009 compared to 2007...
“And we are not marketing food to kids.”
Two words: Happy Meals.
The author, Michele Simon, a public health lawyer specializing in
industry marketing and lobbying tactics, suggests adding your voice
by signing the petition created by Corporate Accountability
International, urging CEO Don Thompson to stop marketing McDonald’s
to children.
What’s in That Big Mac?
A cross-sectional study of 1,877 adults and 330 school-age kids
who regularly ate at fast-food chains revealed that meals consumed
at these restaurants were very high in calories, and that both
children and adults underestimated the amount of calories their
meals contained. As reported by Time Healthland4:
“The investigators collected receipts from the
participants in order to calculate how many calories the
participants consumed from their meals. They also asked the
volunteers to estimate the number of calories they had just
ordered. At the time of the study, none of the restaurant chains
included calorie information on their menus, as many now do.”
On average, each adult fast-food meal came out to 836 calories,
teens’ meals were about 756 calories, and kids consumed a whopping
733 calories in one sitting. But it’s not all about calories per se,
because a calorie is NOT a calorie. What matters most is the
source of those calories, and this is where fast food fails
miserably. The ingredients used simply cannot be compared to whole,
unprocessed foods.
As a general rule, "food" equals "live nutrients." Nutrients, in
turn, feed your cells, optimize your health, and sustain life.
Obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and heart attacks
are hallmark diseases associated with a fast food diet – a CLEAR
indication that it does not provide the appropriate nutrition for
your body. And, if lack of healthful nutrition isn't enough of a
deterrent, perhaps the fact that some fast foods have been found to
be
impervious to decomposition, even after more than a decade, will
get you to reconsider feeding it to your children.
Thompson denies McDonald’s sells junk food. However, looking at
the lists of ingredients in
McDonald’s meals, I find this to be an undefendable stance. When
you consider the fact that a large number of the ingredients in a
fast food meal exist nowhere in nature, but are rather concocted in
a lab, it’s just not ‘real food’; it's junk. As just one
example, what kind of bread can lie out for years on end without
developing so much as a trace of mold? According to McDonald's
website5,
their hamburger buns consist of:
Interestingly, analyzing this list of ingredients offers clues
not only for how these buns remain unblemished for years on end, but
also to some of the health ramifications you may experience when
eating a McDonald's hamburger. For example, if you've ever felt it
just "sitting" in your gut like a brick, perhaps the plaster of
Paris, aka calcium sulfate6
isn't quite as digestible as you'd hoped. Or if you've had to run to
the bathroom shortly after your meal, perhaps the ammonium sulfate
and the ammonium chloride are to blame. Both of these chemicals
cause gastrointestinal irritation with symptoms such as nausea,
vomiting and diarrhea.
Processed Food Contains Many Potentially Dangerous Ingredients
Fast food hamburgers are not the only type of heavily processed
food that is questionable in terms of whether or not it should be
considered real food. The following are just a few more examples,
but you get the idea – any time a food is heavily processed, it
typically ceases to be beneficial for your child’s health. Many
processed foods also contain
dangerous MSG, to give the otherwise bland mixture some flavor.
Chicken McNuggets, for example, have made it into
mainstream news because of the potentially hazardous additives
they contain.
French Fries are loaded with the worst
types of fat on the planet -- typically highly refined and
genetically modified omega 6 oils, such as corn, canola, and
soybean oils.
Breakfast cereals are little more than
disguised forms of high fructose corn syrup and many are loaded
with genetically engineered grains.
Diet Soda Found to Be as Bad as Meth or Crack Cocaine for Your Teeth
A recent article in the New York Daily News7
highlighted study8
findings that a steady consumption of diet soda can result in the
same type of tooth decay and erosion as that caused by
methamphetamines and crack cocaine:
“The report, which was recently published in the journal
General Dentistry9,
found that a woman in her 30s who drank two liters of diet soda
every day for three to five years had eroded teeth similar to
those of a 29-year-old meth addict and a 51-year-old longtime
crack user. ‘You look at it side-to-side with 'meth mouth' or
'coke mouth,' it is startling to see the intensity and extent of
damage more or less the same,’ said Dr. Mohamed Bassiouny, a
professor of restorative dentistry at the Temple University
School of Dentistry in Philadelphia.
Diet and regular soda are highly acidic, like
methamphetamine and crack cocaine. Paired with poor dental
hygiene, the citric and phosphoric acid in soda can lead to
substantial damage and decay, Bassiouny said.”
The American Beverage Association (ABA), which represents soft
drink manufacturers, issued a statement noting that the woman did
not receive dental health services for more than 20 years, and that
“To single out diet soda consumption as the unique factor in her
tooth decay and erosion — and to compare it to that from illicit
drug use — is irresponsible.” The ABA also stated that these
findings do not justify never drinking soda again; rather you should
be aware that soda is highly acidic, and that you should rinse your
mouth after drinking it, and brush your teeth twice a day.
I disagree. Soda, whether regular or diet, has no positive place
in a healthy diet. There’s simply no reason to ever give your child
soda. To learn more, please see this
previous article, where I review my many reasons for this
hardcore stance.
Why Do Kids' Vitamins Contain Aspartame, GMOs, and Hazardous
Chemicals?
Another industry that is shockingly irresponsible when it comes
to children’s nutrition is that of dietary supplements. Take
Flintstones Vitamins, for example, which is marketed as the
"Pediatricians' #1 Choice" of supplement for kids. A recent article
by GreenMedInfo.com10
reveals several of the horrid ingredients in this well-known kids
vitamin—ingredients that can have adverse health effects severe
enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.
Flintstones Vitamins is produced by the pharmaceutical company
Bayer. I’ve revealed some of the many skeletons in Bayer’s
closet in the past -- including their numerous
drug-related lawsuits and intentional selling of
AIDS-infected drugs in Europe and Asia. With that in mind,
perhaps it’s not so surprising to find that their wildly successful
kids vitamin contains some shockingly unhealthy ingredients,
including:
Aspartame, perhaps the most dangerous
artificial sweetener on the market, aspartame
converts into toxic methanol and formaldehyde in your body.
The featured article lists over 40 adverse health
effects of aspartame11
found in the biomedical literature, including neurotoxicity
and carcinogenicity
Cupric Oxide, listed as the 'nutritional'
source of 'copper,' supplying "100% of the Daily Value (Ages
4+). However, the European Union's Dangerous Substance
Directive lists Cupric Oxide as a Hazardous
substance, classified as both "Harmful (XN)" and
"Dangerous for the environment" (N)
Coal tarartificial coloring agents
(FD&C Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #6). All of these are
well-known for their adverse effects on children and are
banned in certain European countries for this very
reason
Zinc Oxide. Also widely used in sunscreens,
the EU's Dangerous Substance Directive classifies it as an
environmental Hazard, "Dangerous for the environment (N)."
It causes the death of phytoplankton (the plankton absorbs
it until they burst)
Sorbitol. Higher amounts have been linked
to gastrointestinal disturbances from abdominal pain to more
serious conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome
Ferrous Fumarate, the form of iron used in
Flintstones Vitamins, is actually an industrial mineral not
found in nature as food. It is extremely toxic, and
accidental overdose of products containing this form is "a
leading cause of fatal poisoning in children under 6"
Hydrogenated soybean oil. This is one of
the most harmful ingredients in processed foods. Part of the
problem with
hydrogenated soybean oil relates to the health hazards
of soy itself. An added hazard factor is the fact that the
majority of soybeans are genetically engineered.
Hydrogenated soybean oil has been linked to over a dozen
adverse health effects, from coronary artery disease to
cancer, violent behavior and fatty liver disease
Genetically engineered corn starch.
According to the featured article, the 'vitamin C' listed as
ascorbic acid in Flintstones is likely produced from GMO
corn. (Bayer's Ag-biotech division, Bayer CropScience,
donated $381,600 to defeat California’s Prop. 37 GMO
labeling bill)
Kids Chemotherapy Rebranded as ‘Superformula’
Yet another area where kids are being increasingly targeted for
brainwashing is with regards to pharmaceuticals. One of the most
shocking and recent examples is the rebranding of chemotherapy as
‘superformula’ for children. As reported by iO9.com12:
“Chemotherapy is never fun, but A.C.Camargo Cancer Center
in São Paulo is trying to make it easier for children to accept
the treatment. They're rebranding the treatment as
"superformula" and using comics to help kids understand
chemo.... [T]he cancer center is working with ad agency JWT,
which also works with Warner Bros. The idea was to help children
believe in the power of chemotherapy to make them ultimately
better. They're not just covering the chemo cases with superhero
logos; they're also giving pediatric cancer patients comic books
in which the heroes experience something similar to cancer and
must receive a similar treatment formulated by doctors. And in
the comics, the cases for the treatment bags look just like the
cases the kids get over their own chemo bags.”
How Do You Determine Whether or Not a Supplement Is a Good Choice?
To optimize your child’s health, your BEST solution is to choose
the highest quality foods possible, and serve a wide variety of
whole locally grown minimally processed organic foods. But how do
you pick a high quality supplement, should you or your child need
one? For starters, make sure it has the following characteristics:
It is as close as possible to its natural (whole food) form,
and ideally certified organic
Use independent third-party labs that check the raw
materials for contaminants and correct dosage.
Follows industry standards for quality assurance including
ISO 9001, ISO 17025 and Good Manufacturing Processes (GMP)
certifications.
The utmost care has been taken in all phases of its
production, from growing its ingredients, to manufacturing,
testing for potency and quality control.
It works! I always try to select from companies that have a
long track record of providing high-quality products that
produce good clinical results.
Your Child's Healthy Diet Is Up to You
Children will simply not know which foods are healthy unless you,
as a parent, teach it to them. Remember, wholesome food is "live"
food, and the hallmark of live food is the fact that it will wilt
and decompose. The fact that fast food burgers, buns, and fries do
not decompose, even after a decade, is a clear sign that it's just
not real food and serves no beneficial purpose as part of your diet.
It’s very simple: Kids need real nutrients, not man-made chemicals
that are nonexistent in natural food! These substitutes are NOT
equivalent to the real deal.
Food is a part of crucial lifestyle choices first learned at
home, so you need to educate yourself about
proper
nutrition and the dangers of junk food and processed foods in
order to change the food culture of your entire family. To give your
child the best start at life, and help instill healthy habits that
will last a lifetime, you must lead by example. If you're not sure
where to start, I recommend
reading my
nutrition plan first. This will provide you with the foundation
you need to start making healthy food choices for your family.
The simplest way back toward health, for children and adults
alike, is to focus on WHOLE foods -- foods that have not been
processed or altered from their original state; food that has been
grown or raised as nature intended, without the use of chemical
additives, pesticides and fertilizers. You, a family member, or
someone you pay will need to invest time in the kitchen cooking
fresh wholesome meals from these whole foods so that you can break
free from the processed food diet that will ultimately make you
sick.
By doing this, and eating meals together as a family, your
children will receive the proper nutrition their bodies need during
the important developmental years while also developing a love for
whole fresh foods that will last them a lifetime.
Keep Fighting for Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods
While California Prop. 37 failed to pass last November, by a very
narrow margin, the fight for GMO labeling is far from over. The
field-of-play has now moved to the state of Washington, where the
people's initiative 522, "The People's Right to Know Genetically
Engineered Food Act," will require food sold in retail outlets to be
labeled if it contains genetically engineered ingredients.
Remember, as with CA Prop. 37, they need support of people like
YOU to succeed. Prop. 37 failed with a very narrow margin simply
because we didn't have the funds to counter the massive ad campaigns
created by the No on 37 camp, led by Monsanto and other major food
companies. Let's not allow Monsanto and its allies to confuse and
mislead the people of Washington and Vermont as they did in
California. So please, I urge you to get involved and help in any
way you can.
No matter where you live in the United States, please donate
money to these labeling efforts through the
Organic
Consumers Fund.
Sign up to learn more about how you can get involved by
visiting
Yeson522.com!
For timely updates on issues relating to these and other
labeling initiatives, please join the Organic Consumers
Association on
Facebook, or follow them on
Twitter.
Talk to organic producers and stores and ask them to
actively support the Washington initiative.