Your FOOD

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Your FOOD Its Innocent Little Ingredients

• By Jessie Williamson

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What is health?

• Dictionary Definition
• 1.the general condition of the body or mind with
  reference to soundness and vigor good health
  poor health.
• 2.soundness of body or mind freedom from disease
  or ailment to have one's health to lose one's
  health.
• 3.a polite or complimentary wish for a person's
  health, happiness, etc., esp. as a toast We
  drank a health to our guest of honor.
• 4.vigor vitality economic health.

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What is natural?

• There are 38 dictionary definitions for natural
• Some include
• 1.existing in or formed by nature (opposed to
  artificial) a natural bridge.
• 7.having undergone little or no processing and
  containing no chemical additives natural food
  natural ingredients.
• 21.true to or closely imitating nature
• 25.not treated, tanned, refined, etc. in its
  original or raw state

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What are you eating?
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Citric Acid

• Organic acid found in citrus fruits
• Used in foods for its sour taste
• Contains natural preservative qualities
• Safe for use in all foods

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Phenylalanine

• One of the 20 essential amino acids GOOD
• 180 times sweeter than sugar, without the added
  calories
• Phenylketuronia (PKU)
• Why the mandatory labels?
• The FDAs warning

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Aspartame

• Artificial, non-carbohydrate sweetener
• Ingredient in approx. 6,000 products
• Breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and
  methanol.
• Subject of controversy regarding safety
• Rumored to be linked with cancer, brain tumors,
  brain lesions and lymphoma.

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The Sugar Glossary

• Glucose Also called dextrose. The bodys primary
  source of energy.
• Fructose sugar found in fruit and honeysweetest
  sugar
• Sucrose Cane sugar, table sugar
• Maltose malt sugarfermentation of alcohol
• Lactose sugar found in dairy (glucose)

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High Fructose Corn Syrup

• Derived from corn starch
• Combination of 55 fructose 45 sucrose
• Treated with an enzyme that converts glucose to
  fructose, making it sweeter
• Therefore use less, taste more
• Easier to blend into beverages

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Problems with HFCS

• Doesnt metabolize!
• Rumored to aid in causing obesity
• Fails to produce insulin or the hormone leptin
• Both act as signals to the brain to turn down
  appetite and control body weight
• Doesnt suppress gherlin
• Liver converts to triglycerides (aka FAT)
• Alters magnesium balance, accelerates bone loss

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Red 40, aka Allura Red AC

• A red azo food dye, used as a coloring agent
  (think orange soda)
• Looks like dark red powder
• Approved by FDA for cosmetics, drugs and food
• Previously made from coal tar, now made from
  petroleum
• Cause allergic reactions to aspirin sensitive
  people

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Benzene

• Organic chemical compound
• Colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet smell
• Important industrial solvent in plastics, drugs,
  rubber, dyes, detergents, explosives, pesticides
• Widely produced in styrene

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Benzene Health Effects

• Breathing high levels can result in death
• Breathing low levels can cause dizziness,
  drowsiness, headaches, tremors, etc.
• Damages bone marrow and destroys red blood cells?
  can lead to anemia
• CARCINOGENIC!
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is linked with benzoic
  acid

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Ascorbic Acid

• VITAMIN C!!!!
• Contains antioxidant properties
• Oxidizes readily preservative quailties
• People deficient in ascorbic acid content can
  obtain the disease Scurvy

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20 Essential Amino Acids

• Essential amino acid not synthesized within the
  body therefore, it must be obtained from food
  sources
• Humans can produce 10 of the 20
• Failure to obtain the 10 we dont produce results
  in degradation of the bodys proteins
• Cant be stored must be obtained daily

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Amino Acids We Create

• Alanine
• Asparagine
• Aspartic Acid
• Cysteine
• Glutamic acid
• Glutamine
• Glycine
• Proline
• Serine
• Tyrosine (produced from phenylalanine)

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Amino Acids We Need

• Arganine
• Histidine
• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Methionine
• Phenylalanine
• Threonine
• Tryptophan
• valine

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Solutions Tips

• If you cant pronounce an ingredient, chances are
  its not good for you
• Stay away from harmful ingredients like benzene,
  aspartame and high fructose corn syrup
• If youre iffy about it, its best not to risk it
• Look for ingredients you understand

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Sources

• http//sci-toys.com/ingredients/red_40.html
• http//www.cas.astate.edu/draganjac/RedFC.html
• http//www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/proble
  m_sets/aa/aa.html
• www.corbis.com
• Wikipedia!