Just One More Bite: The Food Industry is Feeding You Lies

It is a unique time. The food industry supplies more toxic & ultra-processed foods than ever before in the history of the world. But, at the same time, we have access to the most nutritious & vibrant foods known to man.

At this very moment, you can order some antioxidant-rich berries from some remote tropical region, medicinal mushrooms like Chaga from Russia, Chia seeds from Mexico, or Spirulina grown off the saltwater coastal oceans of Hawaii.

The health-healing possibilities are virtually endless.

One of the clear epidemics thriving in our society is indisputable. It's been on the rise since the 70s, and everyone shivers when they here the word. Obesity; the primary precursor to disease, sickness and a less-fulfilled life.

Why is it that over 68% of Americans are overweight or obese? I believe it all starts with addiction. We are addicted to food-like products soaked in heart-wrecking, endocrine-disrupting, and gut-killing ingredients that taste damn good.

These ingredients are formulated by the FDA scientists to operate as excitotoxins in your poor animalistic brain. Pleasure rushes in, trickles down your spine through your fingertips and toes, and continuously pokes at you...

“Just one more bite.”

Excitotoxins like MSG and glutamates are hidden in over 80% of processed foods filling the shelves of every supermarket. They are hidden by 50+ different names from calcium glutamate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium caseinate, to yeast food.

The government makes tons of dough from the dough you're chowing down on. The addictive properties of these formulations will get you hooked. The salty, savory, sweet overload reels you into making that regretful purchase over and over again.

These short-term pleasures keep you long-term sick: sniffling, coughing, sneezing, aching, headaches, dark circles, acne, and so on. This is far from normal. Just because something is common doesn’t mean it is just worthy and right. Now is the time to turn the table and reinvent your current concept of living— take back your life and live free from pain and inflammation.

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When we feel out-of-tune we make lousy, fear-ridden choices. We choose to become healthcare-dependent. We buy into the dogma that “you can’t reverse this or that” and so we opt for the “easy” route.

That magical pill, such as a statin or ACE inhibitor, is a false sense of security. Sure, they can alleviate pain or internal issues making us feel a wee bit better... but this only occurs temporarily. Most prescriptions give us an excuse to continue feasting on the very foods making us sick.

These potent pills can erupt a messy whammy to your health—they cause a plethora of side-effects. Then those side-effects require more meds to fix those issues. It's a downward spiral. Drugs do not work. You have to directly heal the gut for any other improvements to your health. As Hippocrates said over 2,500 years ago, “All disease begins in the gut.”

Diet-related diseases are the major cause of death in the United States.

Heart disease is our #1 killer with over 600,000 cases a year, followed by cancer, cerebrovascular disease (stroke), and diabetes mellitus. All of these disastrous issues can easily be reversed and cured through a consistent mindset.

Okay, so now let's take it back to those excitotoxins.

Basically these guys work side-by-side with their good friend Mr. Beta-Endorphin. Secreted by the pituitary gland, these morphine-like "comfort-food" endorphins act as a powerful pain-reliever. After we consume foods loaded with sugar and savory lab-made chemicals, these ingredients strike the bloodstream and you become it's euphoric servant.

For example, once you get that first sip of Diet Coke, artificial chemicals such as aspartame, begin igniting these excitable hormones. They eventually reek havoc causing vision depletion, cognitive impairments and the amplification of cancer cell.

Something in the back of your head knows that eating that mouthgasm of greasy pizza or savory ice cream is going to have its downfalls. But the excitotoxins and endorphins confiscate the wheel. You know why you shouldn't do it, but have no idea why you are doing it. This invisible prison is trapping you in this theoretical cycle. It is as if you are putting a belt on super tight to an extremely uncomfortable state, just to take it off for pleasure.

The key is to steer clear of these processed foods altogether and avoid the habituation-effect from ever erupting. This is easier said than done, of course. All it takes is a change in thinking. If you go from "I want that, but I can't have it" to a healthier phrasing of "I can have it, but I don't want it," you will be much better off. It is a simplistic mental paradigm shift.

What you eat must be ingrained as a lifestyle, not a temporary health pursuit. Remove the concept of 'diet' from your dictionary. This idea only holds you back from adherence into a stable way of life. It is time to change from yo-yo dieting into an adherable lifestyle approach.

Not-So-Sweet Sugar

A common additive in our food is Fructose, or "fruit sugar." In concentrated amounts, this is one of the most addictive compounds on this planet. The average adult AND child consumes over 35 lbs of fructose and over 150 lbs of all sugars annually!

Everyone should know by now that High-Fructose Corn Syrup is the main culprit of our health-declining society. HFCS is an isolated nutrient from corn and adds an unnatural amount of fructose to your diet, which the human body has not evolved to handle properly. It is easily converted to fat for storage (mainly unhealthy visceral fat around organs) and metabolizes differently than typical carbs or sugars.

It's as if you were to pour rocket fuel in a Prius. It will "burn out" the engine and eventually the car will cease to start-up.

I consider HFCS as the cocaine of foods. For example, the coca leaf, when chewed, acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue. However, once you unnaturally synthesize this into potent amounts, it becomes extremely toxic. The same goes for fructose and many other ingredients on the market.

Remember, convenience foods are the cause of inflammation and autoimmune disease (rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, thyroid disease, Crohn's disease, etc). All diseases begin with the gut! You'll be better off buying 1-ingredient foods such as herbs, spices, fruits, veggies, fatty fish, and grass-fed meats.

Avoid putting these on your grocery list if you seek an improved body composition, mood and overall livelihood:

- Soda

- Candy

- Salad dressing

- Frozen junk foods (microwaveable meals)

- Canned fruit

- Fruit juice

- Sweetened yogurt

- Breads

- Granola bars (Ex: Nature Valley)

- Breakfast cereals

- Coffee creamer

- Ice cream

- Most peanut butters (Ex: Jif, Smuckers, Peter Pan)

Sugar gets a bad rep because it feeds all the harmful microbes in the gut (and throughout the body) leading to yeast and candida overgrowth. Overtime, toxins are built-up in your system and eventually they eat away at your gut lining. They create tiny permeable holes manifesting uncomfortable leaky gut syndrome and autoimmune disease. The undigested food particles enter into your peripheral system, organs, and blood. Then, your body counteracts this inflammation with an immediate immune response.

Wheat

Wheat is a major contributor to this leaky gut issue, which is why celiac disease has been popping up left and right. Human beings began cultivating wheat and grains about 10 thousand years ago in the present-day Middle east. This may seem like a long time; however, our microbiomes haven't adjusted to these compounds completely.

Wheat contains high amounts of lectins or mild toxins that act as the plant‘s built-in insecticide. All plants contain lectins as a protective compound, but wheats are not broken-down as easily in the gut compared to tomatoes, kale, squash, or other vegetables & fruits (*note that all plants will indeed contain constituents that can be harmful to humans in some way, yet it depends on how much is eaten and how they are prepared).

Wheat also has an abundant amount of phytates and gluten, which are also linked to gastrointestinal stress and inhibit bioavailability of nutrients.

Moderation is key— yet the problem arises when you make every chip, cracker, snack and fast-food item chock-full of these refined-grain products.

Now before I come across as bashing all wheat and grains, there is a good side to them. It’s all about preparation— it is EVERYTHING. For instance, sprouted, slow cooked, and fermented ancient grains are free from these harmful lectins and phytates. They are broken down through these processes and don’t disrupt your gut (or life).

Consume these grains as an alternative to wheat:

- Teff

- Quinoa

- Bulgar

- Buckwheat (not actually a wheat!)

- Sorghum

- Spelt

- Kamut

- Farro

- Amaranth

- Freekeh

- Wild or brown rice

We need to rise as a society and speak up on these issues leading to such prominent illnessess, or else the entirety of the ecosystem and way of life on earth will collapse.

To live a virtuous and healthy life, we need to keep insulin levels stable, or it will turn into a destructive fat-producing hormone. Making a few of these changes will prevent the hustle into an early grave.

It is completely healthy to eat a slice of chocolate cake or drink a Dr. Pepper on occasion. Just avoid those toxic habits day in and day out and you will live one epic life (and so will your friends and family)!

Its not always what you're eating; it's what's eating you.