Kristi Whitley

Healthy Living

​Don't Buy This 
This series is the opposite of My Favorite Products. It will carry a central theme that is the most important thing I can teach you about buying food. READ THE INGREDIENT LIST. The point of the front of the package is to get you to pick it up off the shelf in the grocery store. THAT'S IT! The front of the package is a marketing tool, not an educational one. I will prove my point with this next series of articles. 

Check out the ingredient list in this Quaker poison granola. 















Ingredients are always listed in order of volume or quantity contained in the food, from greatest to least. The #2 ingredient is wheat. The gluten in wheat is inflammatory and causes leaky gut. Non-organic wheat is contaminated with roundup which kills beneficial gut bacteria. Why use any other grain besides oats here? Could it be price?

The #3 ingredient is brown sugar. There are 10g per 1/2 cup serving. Refined sugar is inflammatory, leading to diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. Look for more nutritive sweeteners like honey, dates or date paste, or maple syrup. If not those at least choose others that have a lower glycemic index which will have less effect on insulin release like stevia, brown rice syrup, erythritol or coconut sugar. 

The 4th ingredient is canola oil. This oil is an inflammatory omega 6 processed food. Coconut oil would have been a much better binder to use in their granola. 

The "piece de resistance" is dry milk and whey protein. Really? Whey is a protein in dairy. Dairy protein is linked to cancer. Just two servings a day increases a man's risk of prostate cancer by 30%. That means if a man eats this granola with milk on top he increases his risk of prostate cancer by 30%. How much more does he increase his risk when he adds cheese to his sandwich at lunch, puts butter on his roll at dinner, and then eats ice cream for dessert? =O

Click here for my Nutty Granola or Dehydrated Raw Granola


This makes me so mad! Talk about misleading packaging! Look at the ingredient list. See anything wrong?

The second ingredient is casein! Milk protein! Besides misleading us to believe the product is "Veggie" then including animal products, casein was used by Dr. Colin Campbell in his research to manipulate tumors in animals. When he gave them casein they would grow liver tumors. When he took it away the tumors would shrink. Casein should be classified as a carcinogen by the FDA but the USDA protects the dairy industry. This has nothing to do with wether or not dairy is organic. All dairy contains casein. The rest of the ingredients are nothing to brag about either. Carrageenan is a controversial potential carcinogen as well. Avoid this product like the plague.


Fortunately, there are several good non-dairy cheezes on the market now. I use Diaya. Whichever non-dairy cheeze you buy, PLEASE read the ingredient list! The front of the package is just for marketing purposes. 

Don't buy these just because they say "Gluten Free" on the label.

In the case of the first three products it is 99% marketing. ****Disclaimer**** if you have Celiac Disease, disregard this entire letter!


Unless you have Celiac disease you have no reason to need a Certified Gluten Free product. The certification process insures that not only is the item gluten free  but everything and everyone that touched the item in the processing plant was gluten free. These products can be twice as expensive as the same item that is not certified gluten free.


Even if you are intolerant to gluten or allergic to gluten you will not likely have a reaction. There is just a possibility that these items were packaged on a machine that also packaged glutenous products. 


For example, almonds don't contain the gluten protein which is found in wheat and a few of its grain relatives like barley, spelt, and rye. Therefore, because nut and seed butters should only contain peanuts, almonds, sunflower seeds etc. there is no reason to even print "gluten-free" on the label. Always read the ingredients when you buy ANYTHING! You will be surprised what manufacturers put in products like almond butter. I have found high fructose corn syrup, inulin ( a filler), sugar, and natural flavors (which can include MSG). Take away...READ THE INGREDIENTS.


Another reason not to buy products just because the label says "Gluten Free" is that they are full of other unhealthy ingredients. Duncan Hines Gluten Free Vanilla Cream Cake mix is for people with celiac disease who are trying to kill themselves. Check out the ingredients. 


Cake Mix (Sugar, Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Cassava Flour, Leavening *Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Corn Starch), Rice Starch, Salt, Xanthan Gum) Glaze Mix (Powdered Sugar (Sugar, Corn Starch), Vegetable Oil, Shortening (Palm Oil), Cocoa Processed With Alkalai, Natural Flavor) Creme Filling Mix (Powdered Sugar (Sugar, Corn Starch), Food Starch-Modified, Gelling Agent (Carrageenan, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate), Natureal And Artificial Flavor, Yellow 5, Yellow 6)


Sugar, sugar, more sugar, starch, oil, chemicals, and some sugar. Ick. ("natureal" is their typo, not mine. I cut and pasted from their website.) Yellow 5 & 6? I add that to my recipes all the time. 


All the gluten free cookies and cakes I researched where similar. Sugar and Starch. Most are not vegan. Most have a soy isolate in the ingredients. Not healthy at all! If you need healthy desserts just check out my recipes here. 


​Bottom line...be a savvy shopper. Read ingredient lists. Don't believe anything you read on the front of the package. Buy whole food and cook. Avoid all pre-packaged and processed food. You will always know exactly what is going into your body. 

​xx, K



Don't Buy This 
 
Don't get me wrong! I have nothing against cranberry beans!
The problem here is with the label "Non-GMO". It's even "verified non-gmo". That is one of the newest marketing ploys to get you to think that these beans are healthier than other beans. 

"Non-GMO" means the beans are not genetically modified organisms. That is important when buying corn, soy, and some rice products. It is important because these crops are genetically modified to resist the herbicide Roundup. Roundup is sprayed extensively onto these crops. Roundup has been shown to kill beneficial gut bacteria. It is suspected to be one of the causes of autism, the bee population decline, and God only knows what else.  It is so prevalent in our food that tests have shown it is in 60% of nursing mother's breast milk. So, a "Verified Non-GMO" product is good, right?

Here's the rub...the ONLY beans that are genetic modified are soy beans! This label is absolutely meaningless. These beans are no different from any other bean right next to it on the shelf. Don't pay more for a product unless it contains soy, corn, or rice that is Non-GMO. Shop smart, people! And keep reading my letters to get all the inside scoop!