What Exactly Does "Natural" Mean?

I came across this little interesting tidbit when researching some nutrition information. I know there’s so much confusion in the food ‘industry’ these days… I thought this might shed a little light on the subject.

When it comes to most foods, there is no definition of “Natural”. You can pretty much throw together any combination of mystery ingredients, chemicals, and toxins, and get away with labeling it “natural” or “healthy”.

While there are strict government requirements that must be met before a food or beverage can be labeled as "organic", the Food and Drug Administration does not have a strict definition for "natural."

Isn't it funny how so many folks are ultra skeptical of the organic label, yet it's the only one that actually means what it says and is held to extremely high standards!

Only meats and poultry must be free of artificial ingredients to be labeled "natural". Other foods, including potato chips, ice cream and cookies, can be labeled as "natural" without a precise definition. A little misleading, don’t you think?

In the last couple years, several junk drinks, 7-Up to name one, have come under fire for trying to convince us that their product is “natural”. Although the company did drop a few of its toxic, artificial ingredients, it still contains high fructose corn syrup – one of the most toxic substances in our food supply… now directly linked to obesity (and childhood obesity), failing immune systems and altered mental and emotional function, as well as countless other sicknesses.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) officials say high fructose corn syrup is not natural because you couldn't make it in your own kitchen "unless you happen to be equipped with centrifuges, hydroclones, ion-exchange columns, and buckets of enzymes." The non-profit group also objects to scenes in 7-Up's TV ads that depict cans of the soda being picked from trees or harvested from the ground, as there is no fruit juice in 7-Up.

I remember those commercials. One of the many examples of why I should just keep a “barf bucket” next to me whenever I choose to watch television! Better yet, I probably shouldn’t watch any television! It would probably be better for my blood pressure to avoid it all together!

Cadbury Schwepps maintains that 7-Up is natural because high fructose corn syrup is made in a similar way to other ingredients that are called natural.

What exactly does “similar” mean? Heck, we haven’t even determined what “natural” means yet… who cares how similar they are if we haven’t a clue what they really are!

Point of the story – don’t be fooled by misleading and dishonest marketing claims that label foods as “natural”, “healthy” or “nutritious”. Flip the package and read the ingredients before determining if it’s truly healthy.

Of course, the ideal scenario is that we’re not buying packaged food in the first place! I’ll let you know if I ever become that perfect mom who can actually pull this off!

This Can't Possibly Be Healthy!

In preparation for a very low-key Superbowl celebration at our house, the kids were absolutely thrilled that they would be able to partake in “party food” with mom’s blessing!

My socialized daughter was a little stone-faced when I broke the news to her… “party food” in our house consisted of homemade organic guacamole and salsa with organic blue chips, as well as bison burgers (without buns) and the usual array of veggies. BUT, they got to eat in front of the television for a change!Woo hoo!

Hey, give me a break! We don’t usually snack on chips and dips in the middle of the day… it really was a special occasion for them! Not necessarily what the rest of the armchair quarterbacks in the country were eating, but “party food” in this house, nonetheless!

Do you know how long any menu-related disappointment lasted? Less than a minute. As soon as I recruited the kids’ help in mashing and smashing avocados and squirting lime juice, they were all for my Superbowl party! I have to admit, I talked up the guacamole so much, they may have actually been salivating in anticipation of tasting mom’s homemade recipe! I went on and on about how it’s my most favorite food on the whole entire planet… you know, Superbowl hype!

(By the way, I made the most boring version of guacamole today – only used fresh lime juice and garlic sea salt. I didn’t want to overdo it with my usual ultra garlic on behalf of the kids! I just made it sound really exciting so they’d have fun with it!)

My daughter used to eat avocados like they were going out of style. Of course, ever since her school socialization, that’s one more thing on “the list”… the “I don’t like that anymore, mommy” list. I despise that list!

So today I was tickled when she took the first bite of guacamole and exclaimed that it was the very best guacamole she had ever tasted in her whole entire life! She had inhaled nearly half the bowl when I decided to announce that this particular homemade version of guacamole was actually HEALTHY and good for her! Them are fightin’ words these days with this kid!

She looked up at me in utter disbelief and blurted out, “this can’t possibly be good for me – it tastes WAY too good!” It was hilarious! My little nutburger proceeded to chow down on her 'new favorite food', trying her best to eat it all before her brother could get his fair share!

Mission complete for today. We made it through Superbowl Sunday relatively unscathed! In fact, my kids have a new, fun, healthy definition of “party food”!

Wake Up And Smell the Diet Coke "Plus"!

Diet Coke ‘Plus’ with added vitamins? Have we gone totally insane???

Does anyone else see the insanity in this ridiculous marketing scheme? If we were that concerned with getting our healthy quotient of vitamins and minerals, wouldn’t we look elsewhere? Gosh, I really hope so!

Diet Coke and all other conventional pops are junk, plain and simple. If you are trying to achieve better health they don’t belong in your body. How can you take one of the most toxic ‘foods’ on our supermarket shelves and suddenly try to spin it as a “health food”? Craziness. The sneaky and misleading marketing makes me want to toss my cookies! Vitamins come from ‘real’ food – not toxic chemical water.

I know, I know… this is just one of countless examples of shady, underhanded mass marketing when it comes to health and nutrition. It still ticks me off though!

Just thought I’d see if anyone else is seeing what I’m seeing!

The Results of the 30 Day Cleansing and Fat Burning System are IN!

Well, January 31st marked the last day of my Isagenix 30 Day Cleansing and Fat Loss program. Once again, this Isagenix system never ceases to amaze me!

Things were different when I began the program this time around. I could tell that my body had changed (for the worse) in the weeks following my mom's passing. I felt gross... and toxic... and fat. When I stepped on the scale to "weigh in" at the beginning of the 30 day program, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't weigh as much as I had thought I would.

It was a short-lived happiness though when I saw my body fat percentage! How did that happen?! Also, I remembered that muscle weighs more than fat. OK, now this was really not good. In the weeks I had spent in the hospital with my mom and following her death, I had obviously lost some muscle mass as a result of slacking off on my fitness routine.

Interestingly enough, I was able to maintain my cardio routine of running, but not so much my resistance routine. I was still running approximately 4 or more times per week. Pretty good, wouldn't you think? Based on my measurements and stats, this is certainly not good enough!

So what do you know... cardio without much resistance training DOES prevent you from burning fat efficiently! I experienced this first hand. I'm like my own little science experiment at times!Although I hadn't really gained any weight, I had gotten 'fatter' and my body shifted in a rather obnoxious way!

The other thing I experienced first hand is the fact that STRESS makes you fat! The short version of the story is that the physiological response to chronic stress is for the body to hold weight centripedally... that means in your midsection! Stress creates a toxic environmment. toxins "live" in fat. Since I was way more stressed than usual for a long time, my body hung onto extra fat in my abdomen. As if the stress isn't bad enough!

Once I got back into my healthy environment, things started to change. Adding workout strategies from my personal gurus, Mike Geary (www.SmokinHotAbs.com) and Holly Rigsby (see her fabulous program on the right side of this page, "Fit Yummy Mommy"), helped me feel a million times better, and I very quickly felt my body changing back to its pre-stressed form!

BUT, I could have exercised 'til I was blue in the face and it wouldn't have done the trick completely because I was still TOXIC! If you have any accumulated toxicity from the way you eat, move (or don't move!), sleep, think, the environment around you... then your body simply cannot get rid of those last few pounds of toxic fat. It needs the fat to contain the toxins, simply stated.

So in my Isagenix 30 day program, although I only lost a handful of pounds this time, I really only had a handful I needed to get rid of in the first place! The great news is that I dropped some major FAT!! Bigtime results again -Yahoo! I can see a definite difference in all the right places!

AND, I'm ecstatic to say that I no longer feel gross or toxic! Thankfully, that was very temporary and most likely directly related to the toxic hospital environment. I feel healthy again!

As we continue to teach our Practice Members in our Wellness practice, it's no longer a question of "Do I need to cleanse?", but rather "How often do I need to cleanse?" Everyone needs to cleanse... unless you've lived an absolutely perfect life in the way you eat, move, think and what you've been exposed to in the environment!

For more information or to order your Isagenix 30 Day Cleansing and Fat Burning Program, go to www.MarcandColleen.Isagenix.com. Or, email me at powerzon@sbcglobal.net with any questions or concerns you may have. I'm happy to help get you started.

Remember, check with me first if you're ready to order - I can make sure you get the right program AND the best price!