Originally written by Bertha S. Deffenbaugh on November 20, 2008 4:01 PM Anyway, most packaged foods are junk. For instance, the packaged, yucky cereals so many people have for breakfast are nothing but a dangerous pile of preservatives and additives with no nutrient content. Few people take that into consideration and keep buying them like they were going out of style.

Well now, that is something that Barack Obama could tackle - change the way Americans eat. My wife and I spent nearly 2 years in the USA, traveling about, living in hotels and eating in restaurants the whole time, and we had to leave in the end and return to Germany because the food was making us sick.

The worst thing of all was the meat. We both got chemical tenderizer rash. Even good restaurants told us that the meat was delivered to them already chemically tenderized. Eat enough of it and it tenderizes YOU!

Then there is the completely synthetic breakfast, as you say, Bertha, the cereals are dangerous. For example:

THE RAT EXPERIMENTS
Paul Stitt wrote about an experiment conducted by a cereal company in which four sets of rats were given special diets. One group received plain whole wheat, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. A second group received puffed wheat (an extruded cereal), water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given water and white sugar. A fourth set was given nothing but water and chemical nutrients. The rats which received the whole wheat lived over a year on this diet. The rats that got nothing but water and vitamins lived about two months. The animals on a white sugar and water diet lived about a month. The company's own laboratory study showed that the rats given the vitamins, water and all the puffed wheat they wanted died within two weeks---they died before the rats that got no food at all. It wasn't a matter of the rats dying of malnutrition. Results like these suggested that there was something actually very toxic in the puffed wheat itself! Proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecular structure, and the pressure of the puffing process may produce chemical changes, which turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance.

Another unpublished experiment was carried out in 1960. Researchers at Ann Arbor University were given 18 laboratory rats. They were divided into three groups: one group received corn flakes and water; a second group was given the cardboard box that the Cornflakes came in and water; the control group received rat chow and water. The rats in the control group remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats eating the box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. The rats receiving the Cornflakes and water died before the rats that were eating the box! But before death, the Cornflakes rats developed schizophrenic behaviour, threw fits, bit each other and finally went into convulsions. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves of the spine, all signs of insulin shock. The startling conclusion of this study is that there was more nourishment in the box than there was in the Cornflakes. This experiment was actually designed as a joke, but the results were far from funny. The results were never published and similar studies have not been conducted.
The Consumer Health Organization of Canada -
http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=20011005222648 

Although the cereal contains less than 3 % fat and is high in added nutrients such as 6 essential B vitamins, vitamin C, D, and iron, one of the main drawbacks in the industrial production process of such cereals is the accumulation of acrylamide - a carcinogenic chemical classified as a probable human carcinogen in 1994. This was discovered in 1950 and although the accumulation of this chemical has been reduced, so far manufacturers have failed to find a way of totally eliminating this substance from appearing in the production process. Although some other processed foods contain much higher doses of acrylamide, tests by the UK's Food Standards Agency a few years ago suggested that a serving of breakfast cereal could contribute about nine micrograms. Those eating 40 micrograms of acrylamide a day are thought to be twice as likely to get cancer of the ovary or womb as those who have lower intakes.
Cereal Junk Food - part 5 (Kellogg's Corn Flakes)
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/kellogg-s-corn-flakes/1115646/

I just cannot figure out how you guys back there survive! But it does explain a lot about the way you all behave as a nation, by golly!

Derek 

Originally written by John Bunch on November 20, 2008 10:02 PM I guarantee you I could run 10 miles right now with no problem.

My only hope is that you are 40 years younger than I am, John...

Me thinks the rice cake story has gone far enough in this presidential thread, so how 'bout continuing the munching and the crunching over here Post #162483 in the RICE CAKES thread?

Nanna

I went to my bookshelves and reached for my favorite book on nutrition, “Let’s Get Well”, written over 50 years ago by the great Adelle Davis.

Bertha

_____________________________________ 

Page 336, “Let’s Get Well” by Adelle Davis

"The multibillion dollar refined-food industry has gained such power that it keeps people in ignorance and literally controls the health of our nation. Its relentless radio, television, newspaper and magazine advertising reaches like the life-crushing tentacles of an octopus into every home. Half the space in our beautiful markets is given to health-destroying products which fill shoppers’ baskets to a frightening degree. Hundreds of magazines and newspapers depending on advertising income from the foodless food industry have carried articles and syndicated columns_ clever mixtures of truth, misinformation and propaganda _ particularly designed to prevent the slightest interest in nutrition from interfering with enormous profits."

"The refined-food industry, by giving untold millions, also controls a vast amount of nutritional research. Much of it is valuable indeed, but information that might harm sales goes unreported and problems whose solution could decrease profits remain uninvestigated."

[Adelle Davis graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, took postgraduate work at Columbia University and the University of California at Los Angeles. She received her Master of Science degree in biochemistry from the University of Southern California Medical School.  Later on she worked as a consulting nutritionist and planned individual diets for more than 20,000 individuals suffering from almost every known disease. She later gave up consulting work to devote her time to her family,writing and lecturing]

Originally written by John Bunch on November 21, 2008 1:02 AM .. and I don't consider that to be that healthy (particularly if you factor in all that second-hand smoke you get in a typical German restaurant !).

 

Do Germans smoke inside a restaurant? Gee...

America has an incredibly diverse diet and you can eat every kind of food in the world in most moderate to big cities.

True. However, I would appreciate if you could give me the name of just one restaurant where I can eat *good* Chinese food. I have been to at least 5 different Chinese food restaurants until I decided to throw in the towel. The amount of fat and tendon in the chicken is close to scandalous. In Uruguay there are very good Chinese restaurants and if you happen to find the smallest bit of tendon, they will apologize and give you your money back. What is it with US Chinese restaurants?

Re hoping that Obama "will change the way Americans eat", I really hope that was a joke.

I wish Obama would mess with the way Americans eat and also with the refined-food industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the medical "industry". Someone has to put these crooks in their place. 

Bertha

Dear All,

Off topic posts often have the same natural flow found in real life conversation which is one of the reasons why I generally do not mind or even bother commenting on off topic posts. However...

Did anyone read Post #162487 ? If not, please do.

Nanna