Aspartame... How it could be killing us

Well... For those of you who know me, you know I am pretty bad at actually finding time to get on this blog thing :). It just seems that when I actually have some down time, there is always sooo much to get done... that "sooo much" usually being cleaning and laundry. Oh the joys of being a stay at home mom :). Anyways! On to the topic at hand - ASPARTAME and artificial sweeteners!!!
WHAT IS WRONG WITH US?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE FDA?! Aspartame is LITERALLY poison!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Maybe I should enlighten you all a little bit on what aspartame ("nutra-sweet" or "equal") is and what exactly it does once it is inside your body! People choose "diet" things... soda, yogurt, pudding, popsicles, because their train of thought is, "Sugar is bad for me, I want to lose weight, or at least avoid gaining weight, so I'll get the diet stuff. With the fake sugar. That can only be good for me... right??!" Wrong. One part of the chemical structure of aspartame is methanol, or "wood alcohol". Methanol has studies against it, showing strong evidence of causing blindness and even death (Gen Whitt, HealthKeepers Magazine). And that's only the beginning. When you consume this methanol, your body breaks it down into formaldehyde! YES, that wasn't a typo... FORMALDEHYDE!! That nasty liquid that little animals were floating around in, inside those jars in your biology lab in highschool... the stuff that PRESERVED their dead bodies. After methanol is formaldehyde, it gets further broken down, turning into formic acid. Formic acid is the same poison ants use when they bite you. Other uses for formic acid you ask? Stripping epoxy and urethane coatings. My husband uses epoxy in his work with granite and let me tell you... epoxy is stronggg and it is not going anywhere without something REALLY acidic and strong. We are putting that into our bodies. Millions of Americans eat and drink this CRAP everyday!
Some people would say "oh well, there is so much unhealthy stuff, it's just a can of soda"... well, I beg to differ. It's one thing if my kids eat a candy bar with some sugar once in a while. Sugar is unhealthy and should be used in moderation. Sugar is NOT poison... aspartame, well... IS. Let me quote Gen Whitt again in her article from HealthKeepers magazine. "Since [aspartame's] 1981 approval [for use in the U.S.], the FDA has published a list of close to 100 symptoms of aspartame poisoning. The FDA admits approximately 80% of the consumer complaints it receives each year are aspartame related. Just a few of the documented side effects are abdominal pain, asthma, burning eyes or throat, diarrhea, fatigue, heart palpitations, and death." Wait, DEATH?! I mean come on people... we are feeding this stuff to ourselves and our kids. So if you didn't know, now you know...
Let's try healthy, whole grain, low sugar, low sodium diets instead of "diet" foods, what do you say :)?
My next post will talk to you about "why whole grain?" and offer some healthy recipes we can feed our families that are WAYYYY better than this "diet" junk :).

Food Additives - What are we REALLY feeding our kids?

I stumbled across this article today on Mighty Nest (become a fan of them on Facebook, they have some GREAT info - http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/mightynest?ref=ts). Now I tend to think that I am pretty good at feeding my kids healthy food :). We don't eat ANY white flour, no processed sugar, DEFINITELY no HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), and not really any processed foods like American cheese or frozen meals, tons of whole grains.... but when I read this article - http://www.safbaby.com/10-food-additives-children-should-avoid-and-some-safer-alternatives , I decided I should check some of my "healthy" foods for BHA ( Butylated Hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene) and was shocked to find out that even my organic, whole grain shredded wheat that my kids eat everyday for breakfast contains BHT! Not to mention some artificial colorings too! In studies on animals, BHT and BHA have been shown to cause cancer and liver problems when fed in small doses over time (see article). I mean WHAT ARE WE REALLY FEEDING OUR KIDS?! Our food is bombarded with chemicals (even organic - "organic" doesn't mean it's always good for you!!!! It could be organic but still have high fructose corn syrup, BHT, BHA, white flour! NEVER ASSUME "ORGANIC" MEANS GOOD! Usually it does, but not always!). Anyways :), our food is bombarded with artificial chemicals, yet we don't care or don't know, and keep feeding our kids stuff that is PROVEN to cause cancer in animals! Suffice it to say, I immediately threw out my "organic, whole grain shredded wheat cereal" and will be checking labels for the rest of the day :). I hope you guys enjoyed my first post! GO CHECK THOSE NUTRITION LABELS :)!

A new blog!

I decided to start this blog because I am a sahm and I am constantly researching things that are good (or bad) for my kids, healthy, organic ways of eating, cleaning, and living, and "modern medicine" in my kid's lives. So, I wanted to have this forum to discuss and share some of my thoughts and ideas! I realize that a lot of what I might post will be controversial, but I hope to be able to give moms (and dads) some insight on what really goes into our kids mouths and bodies, instead of just feeding them whatever, and giving them whatever medicine and shots our doctors tell us to. I hope you enjoy, and I would love any feedback anyone has :)!