The 10 Most Startling Food Facts You Never Knew

There are a lot of myths, misconceptions, and downright lies out there when it comes to food. Here are 10 surprising food facts to set the record straight!

Today’s American food landscape is littered with outdated information, half-truths, nutrition myths, and above all, questions. Should you eat meat, or not eat meat? If you don’t eat meat, should you go vegetarian, or vegan? Which is better – local, organic, or grass-fed? Is organic food really healthier for you? Is “free-range” the same as “cage free,” and why should we care anyway?

It’s no wonder we are terribly confused when it comes to health and nutrition – and that our national health is suffering as a result! As our levels of obesity, diabetes, and related modern diseases continue to skyrocket, it is obvious that whatever we are currently doing isn’t working. We need to learn to discern fact from fiction when it comes to food.

This helpful article is based on information from the Weston A. Price Foundation, which emphasizes the importance of whole, traditional foods, and some of it goes against what many of us have been taught about food by the mainstream media for most of our lives. While you may not agree with every statement, it does give us a framework from which to start looking at healthy eating in a more realistic and focused way.

1. Eggs are healthy: Eggs are nature’s perfect food, providing excellent protein, as well as the gamut of nutrients and important fatty acids that contribute to the health of the brain and nervous system. Americans had less heart disease when they ate more eggs. Egg substitutes, on the other hand, cause rapid death in test animals…. (Check out this article on Why Eggs Are Better for You Than You Think for more info…..)
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3. Saturated fats and cholesterol are vital for optimum health: Cholesterol helps babies and children develop a healthy brain and nervous system. Saturated fats provide integrity to the cell wall, promote the body’s use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones…. (For more info on this topic, see “Is Fat Really Bad For You?“,  “The Truth about Butter,” and “Government Declares Saturated Fat Okay.“)
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6. Modern soy products are dangerous: Modern soy foods, such as soy protein powders and soymilk, block mineral absorption, inhibit protein digestion, cause endocrine disruption, depress thyroid function and contain potent carcinogens. Read about the Ploy of Soy.
7. Hydrogenated and liquid vegetable oils contribute to heart disease and many other health problems: During the period of rapid increase in heart disease (1920-1960), American consumption of animal fats declined, but consumption of hydrogenated and industrially processed vegetable fats increased dramatically. Processed vegetable oils have also been linked to cancer, bone problems, growth problems, learning disorders, autoimmune dysfunction and infertility…. (Check out “Good Fats vs. Bad Fats” for more on these dangerous oils.)
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9. Not all “organic” foods are healthy: Organic pasteurized milk, breakfast cereal, chips, cookies, crackers and fruit juice are highly processed, refined convenience foods lacking vital nutrients. Although the organic label for meat and milk ensures the absence of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, such products may still come from animals in confinement and therefore lack vital nutrients for growth and immune function.
10. Breakfast cereal is a junk food: Cold breakfast cereals, even organic ones, are produced by a process called extrusion, which causes the deformation, disruption and dispersion of the proteins in grain. Studies indicate that these chaotic protein fragments are toxins, causing havoc in the gastro-intestinal tract and nervous system of test animals….

Read the full article at NourishingOurChildren.com….