Health Gallery Nutrition Center

Addictive Ingredients Are Being  Placed Into Your Food!      Some days, your fine when it comes to eating--your appetite is completely in control.  Then, at other times, you start to eat and no matter how much you want to stop snaking, you canÕt.  ItÕs as if something takes hold of you and you just keep eating and eating.  You just  canÕt get enough!       If this sounds like you or someone in your family, you unknowingly may have become addicted to the hidden additives in foods.  Eating processed foods that food manufacturers have placed ingredients in for the purpose of affecting your appetite  can result in dangerous weight gain, fatigue and cause chronic headaches.  The smoking industry placed addictive additives in cigarettes and cocaine in Coke products  to hook their users.  When the FDA finally stopped the cocaine additive, the Soda Pop Industry added caffeine and more sugar as well as other taste enhancers to hook more users!       Have you felt like you wanted to eat again soon after eating at a Chinese Restaurant?  Could be MSG! Mon- osodium Glutamate (MSG) and other flavor enhancers that trick the tongue and set you up for binge eating.   A lot of people have endured the pain, shame and self-blame of overeating when they are just plain addicted to JUNK FOOD!  They have tried--and failed ---diet after diet.  What they donÕt know is, the food giants have set them up for failure by loading ordinary foods with hidden sugars and additives that stimulate the appetite and keep them eating until the package is empty.  Their motivation is to sell more products.  The smoking industry had the same motivation when they added addictive additives to their cigarettes.      Adding MSG to convenience foods tracks you into thinking that low-fat, sugar-laden and salt-laden foods taste better than they really do.  As a result, youÕll load up your shopping cart with nothing but nutritionally bankrupt foods--just as the food companies planned!  You can find MSG in canned tuna, canned soups, baby foods, hot dogs, bouillon cubes, chicken stock, packaged convenience foods, frozen entrees--practically everything in the grocery store that is in a box or can.      People reach for Slim-Fast thinking it may help them lose weight.  They donÕt realize that the major  ingredient is SUGAR!  Slim-Fast contains twice the amount of carbohydrates than protein, plus itÕs very costly compared to other protein drinks that contain more protein and lower carbos.       There is another, even darker side to glutamates and other food additives (such as the artificial sweetener aspartame):  They contain Òexcitotoxsins.Ó  What are excitotoxins?  According to Dr. James Balch, M.D., they are a group of  compounds that can cause special neurons with the nervous system to become ÒoverexcitedÓ to the point that these cells will die. ThatÕs right, cells in your brain are Òexcited to deathÓ!  Excitotoxics begin silently damaging the nervous system years--and even decades--before clinically recognizable disease is evident.       For example, when an unborn child is exposed to MSG in the motherÕs diet, behavioral and learning difficulties may not become evident until the child starts school.  Could this be the cause of A.D.D. or A.D.H.D. behavior by school age children and the increase use of behavioral drugs like Ritalin? The Los Angeles Times (July 6, 1999) reports that Ritalin is being given to about two million American school children.  The use of these drugs have more than doubled in the past 10 years.  Why? The Sour Side of Aspartame!!!!!  According to laboratory research aspartame was first rejected by the FDA for human consumption produced a very high incidence of brain tumors; uterine and ovarian tumors.  Apparently the tumors are caused by diketopiperazine (DKP), a substance that forms as aspartame breaks down.  The longer a product with aspartame sits on the shelf or exposed to heat, the more it breaks down into DKP.  Could this be the reason why the soft drink companies have started to put dates on diet colas! For Which Conditions can 5-HTP Be Used? Formal  human research with 5-HTP has so far been limited, however over the past three decades, scientists have tested 5-HTP for use in treating the following conditions:  *** Obesity and overweight-Brain levels of certain neurotransmitters and hormones influence appetite, thus weight loss is experienced. *** Depression-Mood depends on the levels and interactions of a number of different chemicals within the brain.  Depression is mostly due to an imbalance in or shortage of some of these chemicals, which are also known as neurotransmitters. *** Anxiety disorders-If the right dose of 5-HTP is taken, a feeling of peacefulness and steadiness comes on, without excessive sedation. *** Insomnia-For many people, 5-HTP is also effective in inducing sleep.  However, itÕs not like taking a prescription sleeping pill that would knock you out. Essential Fatty Acids...Flax Oil is the supreme source of essential fatty acids.  EFAs cannot be manufactured by your body.  They must  be consumed in your daily diet and serve to help control cholesterol, plus help prevent cardiovascular disease.  EFAs play a major role in transporting oxygen to every cell in your body.  By virtue of the electromagnetic charge of EFAs, they aid in detoxifying your intestinal tract, kidneys, liver, lungs, and skin.  EFAs are critical for weight loss  while on a low carb diet. Pycnogenol Pine Bark Extract Improves Blood Flow...and thus reduce risks associated with coronary heart disease, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology.  In the study, researchers used rings of aorta from rats to find that Pycnogenol helped to dilate blood vessels so that they can open and transport blood more efficiently. Sugar Control Nutrients...Research suggests that alpha-lipoic acid stimulates insulin activity, reduces insulin resistance in diabetics, and enhances the burning of glucose.  German researchers recently reported that alpha-lipoic acid increased cellular uptake and burning of glucose by 50 percent.  It is also a powerful antioxidant and excellent nutrient for the liver.  Chromium picolinate helps insulin burn sugar.  Research in China with U.S. scientists reported patients taking large doses of chromium--1000 mcg daily for four months lowered glucose and insulin levels to normal.   Thought For The Day:  If you think making changes to your diet and life style maybe impossible, remember:  Try to do something impossible--rather than do nothing and succeed!  Make your own day--GREAT!