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Back Road BearsSo, are the food manufacturers and the drug companies in kahoots with eachother to make us sick so we have to seek medical attention and drugs???
Posts: 1,836So, are the food manufacturers and the drug companies in kahoots with eachother to make us sick so we have to seek medical attention and drugs???
Well on one had kinda sorta....this is what bothers me from recent news. Organic/Natural is becoming what people want and the regular old food companies want a piece of that action. You'll now see Prego Organic and Kraft Organic and big names going organic, which is awesome right?! Yes, but they also have big dollars and with those big dollars they're now going after the government to "amend" organic food guidelines, or what constitutes organic. That bothers me. I want to buy organic knowing that it's truly organic and not just a production or labeling loophole that the big names were able to squeeze through with the almighty $$. Again, it's about knowing what you're buying and who you're buying it from.
Tobacco companies never ever admitted to the health issues until the past decade or so. They had big money all over the place and still do. Just because it looks good and "they" say it's not going to hurt you, doesn't mean its all truth. It's all about knowing for yourself and taking care of yourself and those you love 
~Chrissi 
Just Us BearsRenae and Jane,
I want to thank you for sharing your stories....you may just have saved a few lives and improved many by doing so.
These days with so much c**p on the internet it's so hard to know what to believe and what not to believe. I too have had the Aspartame email maybe 18 months ago and although a lot of it made sense I guess I tended to think it was probably a load of rubbish seeing as there seem to be so many irregularities with what you read and hear via the net. Truth be known, it was easier to ignore.
But we can't hide from the fact that we are putting stuff into our bodies that is unnatural and that's not the way we were designed. Wouldn't it be great if the powers that be decided we could have the good stuff cheaper so people can actually afford to eat well. 
I have been on a healthy eating plan for 12 weeks now and have dropped 8 kilos. I should be feeling great because I'm eating heaps of healthy fruit, vegies and home made whole grain bread...but I feel tired and a little depressed. Why? I'm eating well and exercising heaps.
I am wondering now if the culprit is Aspartame. I have been guzzling diet coke like it's going out of fashion purely because it stops me feeling deprived. I have also been eating diet yoghurt sweetened with Aspartame and low fat ice cream sweetened with same.
Thanks to you, I'm going cold turkey as of today and I will let you all know how I feel in a week or two. 
Incidently, I know that on nights in the past when I have made a meal using a bottled flavouring sauce or bought pre-flavoured chicken wings or eaten flavoured corn chips before bed....I can't sleep and neither can hubby. It's like everything is ultra sharp and you can't relax. It's the same with crumbed foods or basically anything with extras added.
So we stay right away from it all now. My kids take a home made bread salad sandwich to school with a piece of fruit and a dry bikkie with cheese. Their friends give them a hrad time because they are eating healthy food. Many of my 12 year old daughters friends skip breakfast, each chips for lunch followed by a soft drink (pop) and hate fruit and vegies.
I really have to wonder...there has to be a relationship here between all the junk kids today are eating and the increase in the number of kids with ADDH and ADHD and learning disabilities. I know that's a very general comment to make and I'm certainly not suggested this is the case for all kids with these problems...but I do wonder if some children exhibit similar symptoms and are therefore mis-diagnosed. After all if being on aspartame can mimick the symptoms of heart failure or M.S then why not? Who knows...glad I'm not and doctor!
My kids love their fruit and vegies...even the ones lots of kids won't eat like brocolli and cauliflower. I like to think it's because they've always been offered (but not forced) to them so they eventually learn to like it. One of Anna's friends had never tried an orange before coming to our place and she never eats veggies. When Anna stayed over at her house one night, her mum announced they were going to have something healthy for dinner for a change. Imagine Anna's confusion when the meal was crumbed chicken nuggets from a box and hot chips. Gotta wonder what they would classify an UN healthy meal! 
Jane and Renae...I am sorry you suffer from long term after effects from Aspartame, but I am grateful you shared. :hug:
Jellybelly BearsJane, sorry about everything you've been through! :hug: It just totally sucks big time!!
Daphne, so splenda is bad too then? Oh well...sigh....
Hayley, cograts on the weight loss and also on your kids eating so well. I hope you can come off the artificial stuff. I've been told that its more the fat in our diets that causes us to put on weight not the sugar anyway, so hope it doesn't take away from your hard work!
It's so hard isn't it..to know what to eat what not to eat...I mean so much of our food is processed, additives, preservatives...even face creams and shampoos are bad for us! It is scary isn't it...unless you live in a no chemical, grow your own, make your own I don't think were ever going to be free of it all...Its a shame..
Actually this brings me to another thought..I've talked before about myself and my illnesses and also my sister is very ill too...were both in our 20's and from our late teens have been like this. Anyway, we grew up with a really health concious mother...she did everything right when pregnant, no smoking, drinking etc etc...we ate sooo well...lots of vegies, and good unprocessed food, garlic lol (european lol) we went to school with salad sandwhiches and apples...good food and a mega treat was mcdonalds or some lollies once a month. Sooooo....why did we end up so sick? We ate really well, were outside playing a lot, active kids. I had a lot of illness like childhood diseases colds infections etc, but why did all this go wrong...its strange and can't all be blamed on what we put inside us..sure some things like sweetners are known to do this and that, but there must be other factors too, I suppose genetics....interesting study here! 
Anyway...after all of this and all I've been through, I do read warnings and things and am interested being so health concious in my teens (wanted to be a nutritionist), but now I think what the hay...I did everything right and look where it got me so eat and be merry...lol. Don't know what its doing to my health, but I'm certainly happier 
Back Road BearsSarah,
I agree with you on all accounts.
I think it's hard for us to find a balance in our eating habits. One that is healthy.... not what WE may think is going to make a difference in our health but one that TRULY does.
Sarah, like you, I grew up with a very health conscious mother... no McDonalds, no soda pop, no sweets unless I went to grandma's, wheat germ and sprouts on EVERYTHING, a huge pile of all natural vitamins every morning. Anyway, I also have a host of health issues as an adult and so does my mother. So, yes, there are many more things that factor into the health challenges we may face than just FOOD!
Has anyone ever thought about what STRESS can do to you????? Lack of sleep? (Headache and migraine for both is a huge symptom!) It's a domino effect of symptomes, stress is.
I still agree that aspertame and sucralose are awful for you. There are lots of other chemicals in our foods that we haven't discussed..... which are probably just as awful but haven't gotten the media attention or aren't as widely marketed. And after all I've read it seems some people aren't bothered by these artificial sweetners at all due to how their body metabloizes them. There is no cut and dry as to how these will effect people. So, I think each of us must do/eat what we are comfortable with.
Being armed with the knowledge from this thread alone will give us something to think about if any of the typical symptoms do present themselves in our own bodies or in someone we know in the future.....
So, I too am glad you brought it up Jane and Renae!
Posts: 3,540One of the single most important leaps forward for humans in the sugar based front was the introduction of high fructose corn syrup. Compared to plain ole sugar, this stuff is rocket fuel....and is HIGHLY addictive...and is in about everything you could possibly imagine to give to kids from their breakfast cereals, to sodas (why does a kid need soda?) to fruit juices, to chips/crisps, to sauces and salad dressings. Why all the high fructose corn syrup in so many foods? Indeed why sugar in something all ready sweet, or something you wouldn't need sweet, like say blue cheese salad dressing? Because we're hard wired to like sugar, and the food companies know you can hide inferior products with a little bit of sugar. Not to mention, sugar and the high fructose corn syrup are ultra ultra cheap, and used as a filler, makes their bottom line that much better.
Since kids are being bombarded with a MUCH higher level of sugar than most of us ever saw throughout our entire childhood, it really is no wonder there are "learning disabilities" and "behavior problems". Not all by any stretch of the imagination, but I challenge parents to take the sugar out of their child's diet for a minimum of at least one week (two weeks would be far better to see results) and see if the child might become calmer, or more focused, or less aggressive etc etc. A child tends to be high energy anyways, so why add fuel to the fire? It does no harm to cut the sugar out and see if it improves the child.
Sarah, I'm very sorry, but I can't remember all of your medical problems...however, since you queried about why on earth you and your sister were/ are so ill after being raised so healthy. Yes, genes can play a part, but while you were sick, did the doctors place you on antibiotics? Were you given a probiotic afterwards? Antibiotics will take out all good and bad bacteria from your intestinal tract. Its not a bad thing in light of killing off a greater infection, but you need to 'reseed' your tummy with good bacteria afterwards. If you don't, your tummy bacteria becomes unbalanced, leading to a possible (probable more likely) candida or yeast infection. The symptoms from a yeast infection are numerous, and very very common. It can be easily brought back into balance using Candex to kill off the overbloom of candida and probiotics to reintroduce your tummy bacteria.
Note, this is not an end all, be all, but many diets are blighted because the body does not have the proper tummy bacteria. Without this, you are forking over your nutrients from your food to the candida and 'bad' tummy bacteria....and its not going to your body. If you find you wake in the mornings with your body screaming for sugar, try a piece of cheese, or a small bit of protein, and then see if the craving subsides. Actually even before the protein, try a glass of water to rehydrate....afterall, you've been without water for nigh on 8 hours! If you find other times of the day your body is screaming for sugar without you feeling like you're even hungry, I think you'll find its the candida 'talking' and not really your body. You'll know the craving too...its as if your body will drop dead away if you don't get sugar NOW! And there's very little will power in the world to stand up to that.
You may find eating smaller, more frequent meals will help to keep blood sugar levels up so you don't run into these problems. Again, if you ARE eating these smaller meals roughly every 3 hours and you're still craving the sugar...there's a good chance its the bacteria imbalance, and the candida screaming.
There are many, many things that can throw a body out of balance. Much like a car, when one system is having problems, it begins to throw stess onto the other systems. The car will often continue to run, until it just completely gives out and breaksdown. The key is to keep looking to help the body come back in balance ...and that's so often easier said than done 
Jellybelly BearsHi Debbie, I have experience with my little niece and nephew...give my niece lollies and she is hyer...she loves lollies and her dad is so bad and gives them to her. I think moderation is really the key in all things...My nephew doesn't like sweets and he is much quieter.
About the antibiotics...I've heard before about them being the cause of auto immune illnesses so its interesting you bring it up. My sister wasn't ill as a child so didn't take them so that sort of blows that theory up for us lol. But yes, i take acidopholus daily and can't live without it.
Water!! totally agree with you...we only drank water or milk (i know milk is supposed to be bad too lol) Even now when I went to hospital earlier in the year they said I was dehydrated...we all need to drink more. So many problems clear up when we are properly hydrated!
Daphne, so funny that our moms are so alike! Yep, I think stress has to play a big role...I had a stressful upbringing...could be that....And a good nights sleep now is rare for me so could be another factor....
Anyway..this is really a topic that I'm interested in and I know its deviated from aspartame so sorry to write so much...
Posts: 3,540Nothing to be sorry about, especially as many people will be reading this, but not posting. And the more people can get extra information about things to try or change, the better for their health.
I think one of the hardest things doctors have to face is that people are all different. A certain type of diet may work for one person, but be totally inappropriate for another. Ditto all the situations. And you and Daphne are TOTALLY right about stress being a huge factor as well! If you had a stressful upbringing, and are sleep deprived, your body is once again releasing hormones you really don't want (cortisols from being in 'survival' mode from the stress) and repressing hormones that you do want. Some hormones are released only at certain times of night during your sleep. Hubby felt rooked because he read it was 'only' released during those hours (something like 2am to 3am) and not during a period of your sleep cycle. He tends to be a night owl, so was a bit miffed to read this I figure it explains why some people stuck on a night shift for so long feel so out of it. I think they're lacking in hormones....not to mention simply having their circadian rhthyms completely messed with.
:hug: For soothing jangled nerves, if you like the smell of lavendar, you might tuck some under your pillow.
Jellybelly BearsDebbie, I'm definitely a night owl!! wish I wasn't. My sister is into all the herbs and stuff and lavendar does help
Renae, it is so bad when docs just don't listen...ughh...we've been through the mill with doctors too...sigh ((hugs))
