Label Warning!

As it turns out, cellulose -- an indigestible fiber starch -- is one of the main ingredients in processed low-carb foods.

And what�s another name for cellulose?

Sawdust!

Yes, cellulose gives us those low net carbs that food manufacturers like to cite on labels.

The bad news: Cellulose provides no nutrition -- and maybe even a lot of gas. Termites can digest wood, but humans can�t!

This is just one example of how the food industry uses slick marketing techniques to confuse, coerce, and bamboozle you into thinking that you�re doing something good for yourself by buying their new �health food� products that are simply slightly modified junk foods.

They�re taking advantage of our nutritional naivety -- and this country�s labeling laws.

Want another example?

Just take a look at the new labeling laws for trans fats.

These unhealthy chemically altered fats are found in almost every processed food, even though they�re known to be one of the causes of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and dementia. Clearly, trans fats aren�t fit for human consumption and should be completely eliminated from our food supply.

So does our government protect us from these toxic fats?

Of course not!

Instead, through powerful lobbying efforts, the food industry was able to put a big loophole in trans fat labeling laws.

That means you can now buy the same old junk food -- with �zero� trans fats. But read the label�s fine print, and you�ll find the words �hydrogenated fats.�

The catch: Unless you know food chemistry, you probably don�t know that hydrogenated fats are the very same thing as trans fats!

Is this false advertising?

Well, not exactly.

According to the new law, manufacturers can claim that their products are trans-fat-free if they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fats PER SERVING (1/2 cup).

But we know that most people eat the whole box or package of food and rarely eat just one serving. Most packaged foods contain 2 to 4 servings, which are usually never shared.

That means you are getting a lot more trans fats per snack or meal!

Plus, another loophole in these labeling laws allows companies with a storehouse of printed labels to use them until 2007, even if they don�t indicate the amount of trans fats in the food. That means that a company could have printed a year�s worth of labels on December 31, 2005 -- so it can use them on foods with large amounts of trans fats for a whole year.

Sneaky, right?

You think you�re getting trans-fat-free food, but you�re really eating trans-fat-FULL food!

And if you�re eating these foods on a regular basis (as the $33 billion that the food industry spends on consumer marketing helps ensure), then you�re still eating a lot of trans fats.

The result?

The government looks like it�s doing the right thing -- but you�re really just eating the same old junk with a new label that makes it look healthy.

The government wins -- and you lose!

Trans-Fat History

The health implications of trans fats were recognised as early as 1958, when Dr Ancel Keys reported that he believed that hydrogenated vegetable oils with their trans fats components were responsible for the sudden and significant increase in ischaemic heart disease over the previous decade. The response was predictable - the oil manufacturers buried the research and began the false attack on animal fats.

More recently, University of Maryland researched Dr Mary Enig proved in 1978 that the increased cancer rates were directly associated with total fat intake and vegetable fat intake but not with consumption of animal fat. Dr Enig, who is a consultant clinician, specialising in nutrition has since spent the last 25 years warning of the dangers of trans fats and the relative safety of animal fats.

In fact, even the Harvard School of Public Health has issued a warning regarding the comsumption of margarines, snack foods and other foods containing hydrogenated oils (and their trans fats), in favour of butter.

There are stories of doctors who performed surgery and found several inches of a thick fatty substance in patient's arteries. Later this was identified to be the fatty, hydrogenated oil laden fast food breakfast of that patient the day before surgery. Not a pleasant thought at all.

Foods that usually contain high levels of hydrogenated oils:

But remember, check the labels yourself! Looks for the word "hydrogenated" -- and remember; NO amount of hydrogenated fats are safe!

Why are trans-fats even created if they're so bad?

Hydrogenated oils are great as preservatives precisely because all the enzymatic activity in the oil has been neutralized during the hydrogenating process. Remember that this hydrogenated oil is only one molecule away from plastic and plastic does not breakdown, it lasts for millennia which is one reason that even our oceans are starting to turn to plastic.

If un-hydrogenated oils put into foods they would go bad very fast. This would increase the cost to the manufacturer. That's because natural oils have enzymatic activity occurring in them which is what causes them and all foods to rot at room temperature. Any food that does not rot at room temperature is considered a "dead" food and should not be consumed.

In fact the faster a food goes bad, the healthier they usually are. That's because the enzymatic activity which causes the foods to rot at room temperature also means that the enzymatic activity within your own body will be greater as well. Food is basically meant to digest itself so eating foods high in natural enzymes such as fresh vegetables, fruits and other raw foods means less stress on your own digestive system. This is especially true when foods are eaten in proper combinations and in line with the laws and rules of Trophology (The science of food combining).

How can I avoid this poison?

To help avoid hydrogenated oils, most of your foods should be raw and as close to their natural state as possible. This means more fruits and vegetables including organic local meats as fresh as possible. The more real foods from nature that you eat, the less packaged and processed foods you'll consume. It's the packaged and processed foods that are most likely to be made with hydrogenated oils to help increase their shelf life.

This really means a change in the way that we think about food and what we classify as food. True foods are those from nature, in their natural pristine state, not those that come out of a factory or a box. You can't rely on the government or any other source to tell you what is ok to put into you or your families body.

It absolutely means becoming a label reader and checking everything you buy that's packaged and processed. You especially want to make sure that hydrogenated oils and other negative ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup are not listed as ingredients, even on packages that have the word "organic" on the box.

Just because a package has the word organic on the label doesn't mean that it's necessarily a healthy food. Packaged and processed foods with organic on the box would really be considered "less damaging" but not truly healthy. To be truly healthy means that a food is full of enzymes, phytonutrients, and life force with all their natural vitamins and minerals present.

Now that you've read the dirt do you want to test your knowledge or take a survey to evaluate your own health? click here.