• Almost all pesticide-laden foods. 
• Most foods containing refined carbohydrates. 
• Most foods containing MSG (monosodium glutamate) or one of its many aliases, such as hydrolyzed whey protein, or other equally unhealthy neurotoxic additives such as disodium inosinate, maltodextrin, autolyzed yeast extract, etc.
• A range of foods containing a neurotoxin so powerful that it has been listed by the Pentagon as an agent of chemical warfare (aspartame).
  

• 18 can damage the skin, eyes and lungs 
• 17 cause genetic damage or birth defects
• 12 cause cancer
• 10 cause reproductive problems
• 6 disrupt normal hormone function
• 5 are neurotoxins,⁵ which is the most common harm shown clinically in those whose only contact with pesticides is through food consumption
  

It is not only fruits and vegetables that are contaminated with pesticides. In fact, meat and dairy concentrate pesticides much more, especially in the fat tissue of farm animals. The EPA concluded in 1992 that Americans were exposed to 300 to 600 times the "acceptable" level of the toxic chemical dioxin every day in food and water. Chicken, eggs, red meat, fish and dairy products were the most frequently contaminated foods.6

Another pesticide, Dursban, was found in the urine of over 90 percent of Minnesota school children. Dursban has been a known cause of birth defects and cancer for many years--yet it is still found in at least 22 foods tested by the USDA.7

And everything discussed here so far is within the scope of a "moderate" diet, not one that includes extreme binging or food faddism. But there's more:

Every day nine of 10 children aged 6 months to 5 years are exposed to combinations of 13 different nerve-damaging insecticides in the food they eat, even after washing and processing of the food.8

It is imperative for your health that you begin to eat organic produce right away, but it is even more urgent that your meat and dairy be organic. If supermarkets near you don't have it, demand it. If they still won't get it, become a local weekend distributor yourself.

The Scoop on Refined Carbs

As for refined carbohydrates, even small amounts of these reinforce your addiction to them, refresh your Candida, cause you to feel fatigued, stress your adrenals, pancreas and brain, and give you nothing in return. They are the emptiest of empty calories, as Dr. Atkins called them. He had a rule for determining how many refined carbs you could have in moderation: "Take a piece of paper. Take a pencil. Draw a large circle on the paper. Read the answer. That's a zero."9

What's Wrong With Aspartame?

Adverse effects of aspartame include brain tumors, grand mal seizures, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and Alzheimer's disease, among many other neurological disorders and illnesses. Ninety different documented symptoms have been reported in humans. The way that aspartame works is that it allows a very large influx of calcium into neurons, which produce overexcitement to the point of killing the neuron. For this reason, aspartame and similar chemicals are called excitotoxins.

You may have loved ones with a diet soda habit (or you may have one yourself). As you approach them about making healthier substitutions, they will put up a little defensive wall, which has written on it "everything in moderation." Then they will argue that only one (or two) diet sodas a day is a moderate amount. However, toxic effects of aspartame have been produced at amounts much less than in one can of soda.

But regular soda is not a good choice either. Soda contains phosphoric acid, which has a pH of 2.8. Cola is so acidic that if you leave a nail in it, the nail will be dissolved in four days. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of cola, and it will be gone in two days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium out of bones, and is a major factor in the rising incidence of osteoporosis. Give your body a break: drink water instead.

© 2006 Colleen Huber. All rights reserved.