New USDA MyPlate Food Guidelines Image

The new federal government’s evidence-based nutritional guidance to promote health, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity is a giant step forward with the new MyPlate from the Food Pyramid it has been promoting for the last five years which has been responsible for too much of the obesity and disease in our children and adults alike.

This shift has come about thanks to such organizations as Organic Consumers Organization, Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the Environmental Working Group, all in spite of the vast multi-million dollar lobbying campaign to protect the Food Pyramid by major food processing corporations.

Our government was forced to face the fact that more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States were overweight or obese, and that we are the sickliest developed country in the world!

As a result, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption, placing a heavier emphasis on vegetables and fruits, and increasing physical activity. The new guidelines promote a shift in food intake patterns to a more plant-based diet that emphasizes vegetables, cooked dry beans and peas, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, seafood, fat-free and low-fat milk and milk products, and only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry, and eggs.

Although our government has made a giant leap in admitting that obesity and disease are food based, it still bends to the will of the food processing and corporate farm industries.  Both the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, who jointly approved the new food guidelines, tell you, as a concession to the food processing industry, to minimize your intake of trans-fats instead of telling you never to eat any trans-fats.  For good health, there can be no allowable level; trans-fats should be banned here as it is in other countries.

The government conveniently says nothing about the thousands of chemical additives and synthetic food coloring they allow food processors to use without having to list these additives on their labels. Many of these additives unfortunately are carcinogenic and/or promote obesity and poor health.

In addition, our government speaks nothing about the highly carcinogenic chemical pesticides and herbicides being used on the crops grown by the large corporate farms and sold in your local food market. (That is why we tell you to eat as much organic as you can.)

The following is a statement from our Secretary of Agriculture:

“The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are being released at a time when the majority of adults and one in three children are overweight or obese and this is a crisis we can no longer ignore,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement released with the new guidelines. “These new and improved dietary recommendations give individuals the information to make thoughtful choices of healthier foods in the right portions and to complement those choices with physical activity. The bottom line is that most Americans need to trim our waistlines to reduce the risk of developing diet-related chronic disease. Improving our eating habits is not only good for every individual and family, but also for our country.”

The new guidelines include 23 specific recommendations for the general population and six recommendations for specific groups such as pregnant women.

Among the recommendations are:

• No one should consume more than 2,300 milligrams of salt per day. Those who are age 51 or older and those who are African American or have high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should consume no more than 1,500 milligrams per day. This second group accounts for about half the U.S. population.
• Everyone should consume less than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fats by replacing them with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
• Everyone should consume less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day.
• Minimize trans fatty acid consumption by limiting foods that contain synthetic trans fats, such as partially hydrogenated oils.
• Reduce calories from solid fats and sugars added to food.
• Alcohol should be consumed only in moderation, which means up to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. A good rule of thumb is that half the food on your plate should be fruits and vegetables.
• Consume more fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as yogurt and cheese.
• Consume more seafood and replace some meat and poultry with seafood. Breastfeeding women should consume 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week from a variety of seafood types. But breast-feeding women should limit their intake of white tuna to 6 ounces per week because of its high mercury content and not eat tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel at all for the same reason.

“Helping Americans incorporate these guidelines into their everyday lives is important to improving the overall health of the American people,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a written statement. “The new Dietary Guidelines provide concrete action steps to help people live healthier, more physically active and longer lives.”

It is sad to think that the above guidelines have taken many months of work, millions of dollars, and hundreds of hours, and we still do not have a food program from our government that will truly insure your total health program.

Actually, the guidelines to good health are very simple.

• Eat as much organic as you can.
• Do not eat any processed food.
• Never eat the food in fast food restaurants.
• Minimize your intake of sugar and never eat artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup or syrups high in fructose such as agave syrup.
• Drink lots of filtered plain water.  Say no to soda or power drinks.  Drink no bottled “supposedly better” water unless nothing else is available.  Bottled water packaged in plastic bottles are generally unhealthy to drink.  You are better off with filtered tap water.
• Do not eat anything white.  No white flower, white pasta nor white rice.
• Eat whole grain bread, pasta, and brown rice.
• Do not eat farmed fish such as Atlantic salmon for example.  Eat wild fish.
• Eat lots of mixed greens.  About 70% of your diet should be raw.
• Eat grass fed beef whenever possible, free range chicken and eggs.
• Cooked vegetables should be steamed and no longer than 4 to 5 minutes or you destroy their enzymes.
• Eat beans (soak them overnight and they will be less gassy) peas and raw nuts.
• Eat lots of raw fruit.  Mostly organic if possible.
• Buckwheat pancakes are a good treat and so is steel cut oats for oatmeal.
• Packaged ready-to-eat cereals are a no-no.  They are bad foods!
• Drinking a cup or two of coffee is ok.  Work to get organic fair traded coffee.
• Having an alcoholic drink is ok, but no more than 2 for men or one for women in any single day.

With today’s food supply, getting the full spectrum of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, phytochemicals, and fatty acids is almost impossible, and in many areas around the country, totally impossible.  That is why we are now distributing reasonably priced organic SweetWheat® to fill in that deep hole of nutrient deficiency.

SweetWheat® will give you all 105 vitamins and minerals known to man, and an abundance of phytonutrients and amino acids.  People allergic to wheat can eat Sweet Wheat as it contains no glutton.

Go to our web site at www.GoodHealthSupplements.com for more information and to purchase and give yourself a real health and energy boost!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2011 – All Rights Reserved

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

Agave plant used to make Agave Syrup

Warning!  You’re Being Had!

It never ends. You know how bad High Fructose Corn Syrup is and how we have been blindsided by clever marketing into thinking HFCS is a healthy sweetener.

Well once again we are being blindsided by the clever marketing of a new so called “natural” sweetener implying it is a safe substitute for High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Science has proven conclusively that High Fructose Corn Syrup is a major cause of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease because of its 56% high fructose content.

This new so called “natural” sweetener is from the agave plant.  Ferment it and you have Mexico’s favorite alcoholic beverage — tequila.

Blue agave, agave “syrup”, or agave “nectar”, is nothing more than a laboratory generated super-condensed fructose syrup devoid of all nutrient value and offering metabolic misfortune.

Agave syrup is much worse than the High Fructose Corn Syrup it’s replacing.

It has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener —- 70% to 97% depending on the brand.

Your body burns glucose for energy, not fructose.  Nearly all of the fructose is  broken down by your liver and directly converted to dangerous fats, not energy.

This is why fructose is the leading cause of obesity.

It is important to understand that fructose from fruits and vegetables are a completely different animal.

Natural fructose contains fiber, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, whereas fructose sweeteners have no nutritional value at all.

Here are some more menacing facts about synthetic fructose like HFCS:

• Fructose elevates your uric acid level.  This is more dangerous than elevated cholesterol levels as it causes chronic low-level inflammation increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis and premature aging.
• Fructose “tricks” your body into gaining weight by fooling your metabolism.  It actually impairs your body’s normal appetite-control system.
• Excessive fructose decreases HDL, increases LDL levels, elevates triglycerides, elevates blood sugar, and raises your blood pressure.  This is classic metabolic syndrome.

Let me be clear that small amounts of fructose are not the problem, it is excess fructose, over 25 grams per day, that is the problem, and the average person consumes at least 70 grams of fructose per day.

Despite manufacturer’s claims, agave syrup is not made from the sap of the agave plant as is maple syrup.  Agave syrup is made from the starch of its pineapple like root bulb.

The root is comprised mainly of starch, similar to corn, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules.

The process in which the starch and inulin are converted into agave syrup it very similar to the way cornstarch is converted to High Fructose Corn Syrup.

The process uses genetically modified enzymes and is chemically intensive involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals.

Here is a partial list of the chemicals involved:

• Activated charcoal
• Cationic and ionic resins
• Sulfuric and/or hydrofluoric acid
• Dicalite
• Clarimex
• Inulin enzymes
• Fructozyme

The public has been deceived into thinking that agave syrup comes from the pure sap of the agave plant just like maple syrup comes from the sap of the maple tree.

The result of this deception is the strong growth of sales of agave syrup to the public, bakers, and food processors.

This deception needs to be exposed and the purchase of agave syrup by consumers and food companies needs to be stopped or the health of millions of people will go down the drain.

Personally, we too were deceived.  We bought agave syrup thinking it was a safe substitute for maple syrup and other sweeteners as we do not use any products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup.

When we uncovered the fraud, we dumped our agave syrup down the drain, as should you.

We all need to help protect the health of our families, friends, and neighbors.  Pass on this information because when it comes to health, we need to help ourselves.

Don’t look to our government, FDA, USDA, or medical doctors for help.

Unfortunately, the very people who should be helping us, are the very ones who are causing the greatest damage to our health.

You need to take charge of your own health.  Don’t buy products containing High Fructose Corn Syrup and do not buy agave syrups or any products containing agave syrups.

Our only defense is to boycott those food processors as their only goal is to make money and could care less if they poison our bodies along the way.

The only way to beat them is by withholding our dollars.  It catches their attention in a hurry, making them sit up and listen.

For a long time I have been warning you about the dangers to your health of ingesting High Fructose Corn Syrup.

More and more studies have proven the folly of consuming products that contain HFCS to the extent that some of our major food processors are finally paying attention and switching away from HFCS as their sweetener of choice.

Pepsi-Cola being one of them.  But, if they switch to agave syrup, we will be worse off when using their products.  I use Pepsi-Cola as an example but no one should be drinking soda! Period!

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2010 – All Rights Reserved

Note: Good Health Supplements are dietary supplements and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals as necessary on any matter relating to their health and well-being. Individual results will vary and statements mentioned are anecdotal and may not represent typical results.

This week there has been several articles written about obesity and the medical costs associated with treating this major health problem.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday, July 27th, 2009 that new data is showing that costs have topped $147 billion in 2008 alone.

Costs have doubled in the past decade to treat obesity and per a Wall Street Journal article”…the prevalence of obesity rose 37% between 1998 and 2006, and medical costs climbed to about 9.1% of all U.S. medical costs, the researchers said”…and…”obese people spent 42% more than people of normal weight on medical costs in 2006, a difference of $1,429, the study found. Prescription drugs accounted for much of the increase.”

To help shed more light on this topic here are several current news articles that span a wide mixture of opinions on the obesity topic.

• Please Explain: Obesity
• Rising Childhood Obesity
• More on Obesity: Is the Government to Blame?
• The Thins Versus the Fats
• Do ‘Fat Taxes’ Work?

To your good heath & longevity.

Ira Marxe
“The Good Health & Wellness Guy”

Copyrighted © 2009 – All Rights Reserved