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8 Ways to Avoid Artificial Sweetener Toxins

You get the point--artificial sweeteners are bad for you! So how can you avoid the toxins that can come from these substances?

1. Time to clean out your pantry! Get rid of anything with acesulfame potassium, sucralose, aspartame, or saccharin on the label.
2. Stay away from products claiming to be "low calorie," "sugar free," "no added sugar," or "diet."
3. Instead of diet drinks, drink pure, clean water.
4. Stay away from Nutrasweet, Equal, and Splenda.
5. Regularly participate in colon cleanses to help reduce the toxic effects from artificial sweeteners.
6. Write letters to the FDA asking them to take the proper steps to ban artificial sweeteners.
7. Regularly cleanse your liver and gallbladder to detoxify and flush out built-up toxins.
8. Replace artificial sweeteners with agave nectar or locally-grown honey.

(Picture Credit: Home Tips)

Toxins from an Artificial Sweetener? Say it isn't so!

Sorry, kids. It IS so.

Did you know that there have been 92 documented negative side effects from aspartame? Some of the most intense side effects include:

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Alzheimer's disease
• Cancer
• Heart palpitations
• Multiple sclerosis
• Vertigo

Aspartame has also been investigated as a possible cause of mental retardation, epilepsy, brain tumors, birth defects, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, and diabetes.The fact that aspartame is offered at pretty much every restaurant and store as an artificial sweetener is pretty scary. Betty Martini stated in her article "The Aspartame Scandal" that "The FDA has received more than 10,000 consumer complaints on this Nutra-Poison. That's 80% of all complaints about food additives, yet they remain comatose and have done nothing to alert the American consumer who assumes, since it's so highly advertised, that is must be as safe as mother's milk."

And here's the scariest fact of all: after being in your body for just twenty minutes, aspartame breaks down into methanol, formic acid (ant venom), and formaldehyde (a known carcinogen).

So throw those artificial sweeteners away!

(Picture Credit: Mercola)

Artifical Sweeteners: Stay Away from Sucralose

There are tons of artificial sweeteners out there, and the majority of them should be avoided at all costs. Let's start with sucralose.

Sucralose is created by chlorinating sucrose, which changes the sugar molecules' structure. These changes make you think...why does the FDA let chlorine, which is a known carcinogen, be used in our food?

Here are three more reasons to stay away from sucralose, according to the Holistic Healing Web Page:

1. Pre-FDA-approval research showed the potential toxicity of sucralose...but the FDA approved the substance anyway.
2. No controlled, long-term, or independent studies involving humans have been conducted for sucralose.
3. The safety of sucralose isn't monitored by federal regulators or consumer watch groups.

So little is known about sucralose, but what is known is scary...why would we knowingly ingest chlorine? It's dangerous, and it's extremely likely that this type of substance could seriously damage your intestinal lining.

Come back next week to learn about aspartame!

(Picture Credit: Fitho)

9 Tips to Getting Rid of Toxins from Refined Sugar

1. Instead of refined sugar, use xylitol, raw cane sugar, organic agave nectar, locally-grown honey, or stevia.
2. Get rid of soft drinks! Cut down your soda intake by one can a day until you're rid of them for good.
3. Stay away from energy drinks and store-bought fruit-flavored juices.
4. Only allow yourself sweets three times weekly.
5. Eat fresh fruit when you're craving sweets. This will help to satisfy your craving while also stabilizing your blood sugar.
6. Participate in colon cleanses two to three times weekly to reduce the acidic environment in your digestive system.
7. Mix club soda and fresh fruit juice to make your own, healthy soft drinks.
8. Try unsweetened herbal tea with fresh mint for flavor instead of sugary drinks.
9. Drink purified water as often as possible.

(Picture Credit: American Mills Group)

Soda and Refined Sugar = Poison

I grew up drinking soda. My favorites are Sunkist, Dr. Pepper, and good old Coca-Cola. I'm kind of a soda junkie. So I write this blog post with all the seriousness (and some sadness) in the world.

Soda is toxic. A 12-ounce soda (and this includes energy drinks) can contain more than eight teaspoons of sugar. Gross.

But it's not just soda--juices are to blame, too. Commercial fruit juices can be just as sugary as your typical soda. In addition, many commercial juices contain only ten percent (or less) of actual fruit juice! That great fruity flavor is coming from refined sugar and artificial flavorings.

Now for some scary statistics about refined sugar, via Dr. Edward F. Group III's book The Green Body Cleanse:

• The average American's colon processes about 100 pounds of refined sugar and 75 pounds of fructose corn syrup each year.
• Many children are drastically losing the enamel on their front teeth because of drinking so much soda.
• Americans spent $66 billion on carbonated drinks in 2004.

When you regularly ingest refined sugar, you are continuously altering your body's pH. Your body becomes more acidic, which can damage the digestive tract.

Come back tomorrow for tips on how to get rid of toxins from refined sugar.

(Picture Credit: Barton Publishing Blog)

What You Drink Matters, Too

You don't just get toxins from the food you eat. Many of the beverages you drink can also cause you to develop a toxic body.

Soda. Whether you call it pop, soda pop, or by the brand name, the truth remains the same: It's chocked full of toxins. First you have the acids that are used for flavor and carbonation. They can irritate the intestinal lining. Now you have either refined sugar or a sugar substitute that creates the sweet flavor. Both of these are terrible for you. Finally, you have caffeine, which is very toxic to the gastrointestinal tract.

Coffee is another popular caffeinated beverage that does a number on the digestive system. It can also disrupt the group of healthy digestive flora.

And then there's alcohol. Oh, geez. The alcohol.

Let's take it step by step. Come back tomorrow to learn about refined sugar and how it can cause a toxic body.

(Picture Credit: TreeHugger)

4 Ways to Eliminate Microwave Oven Toxins

You get the picture now...microwaves are useless and awful. And when you eat or drink microwaved food or drinks, you are helping to create a toxic body.

Follow these tips to help avoid microwaved food/drink toxins:

1. Get rid of your microwave! Replace it with an air-convection oven.
2. When dining out, ask if the restaurant uses a microwave to cook or reheat foods. Request instead that your food be grilled, steamed, baked, or broiled...or just eat a salad.
3. Cook the old-fashioned way. That's right--microwaves weren't always around.
4. Don't heat beverages such as coffee or water in the microwave.

Are you ready for a microwave-free existence? It will go far in helping you to have a toxin-free body.

(Picture Credit: SMECC)

Four Scary Statistics About Microwaves

Convenient? Yes. Healthy? No. Microwaves have many toxic effects...just check out the following statistics:

1. A clinical study performed by Dr. Hans Ulrich Hertel and Dr. Bernard H. Blanc showed the degenerative properties of microwaves and concluded that microwave cooking alters the food's nutrients, leading to changes in the human body's blood that could actually damage the body.
2. Dr. Lita Lee reported that using the microwave to heat up baby formula actually changes certain trans-amino acids into synthetic substances. L-Proline, in particular, transforms into a poisonous substance that's harmful to both the nervous system and the kidneys.
3. Microwaves were banned in the Soviet Union in 1976 because of research done in the 1950s which suggested that those who eat microwave-cooked food are more likely to develop intestinal and stomach cancers.
4. In the article, "Micro-wave Madness: The effects of Microwave Apparatus on Food and Humans," it is stated that intestinal and stomach cancers are especially high in those who eat microwave-heated foods.

I don't know about you, but I'm freaking out...who knew that microwaves were this dangerous?

(Picture Credit: Confessions of a Food Fanatic)

The Wrong Way to Cook Food: Microwave Ovens

Believe it or not, there definitely is a wrong way (several, actually) of cooking food. Proponents of the raw food diet believe that they are getting the best version of the food they eat because all of the nutrients are untouched.

Grilling meats can be harmful, as it can produce heterocyclic-amines (HCAs), cancer-causing agents. Furthermore, fried or baked starches have also been linked with the formulation of carcinogens.

But the worst way to cook your food is with a microwave oven.

Microwave radiation causes fat, water, and sugar molecules to rotate quickly, causing friction that generates the heat that cooks your food from the inside out. While this sounds pretty convenient, the radiation actually destroys the chemical bonds that actually make the foods nutritional in the first place.

Check back tomorrow for some scary statistics about microwave ovens.

(Picture Credit: HubPages)

Doing Your Best to Stay Away from MSG

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it can be tricky trying to stay away from MSG, mostly because of the sneaky way that many food manufacturers label their products. Follow these tips to avoid the nasty toxins in MSG:

• Read labels--all labels!
• When dining out, ask if the restaurant uses MSG.
• Skip the fast food. The majority of fast food restaurants use MSG to make their fries and drinks more tasty.
• Cleanse that colon! MSG can cause the mucus membranes in the gastrointestinal tract to swell. Colon cleansing will help you to prevent and avoid this.

(Picture Credit: Do Not Enter)