Understanding GMOs: Part 3

Image via kabntr.org

BY: SHANNA WAHLQUIST, CONTRIBUTOR

Hello! Welcome to Part 3 of our "Understanding GMOs" Series. So far, we've discussed what GMOs are, how they are created, why they came into existence and how they are regulated in our food system.

Ready for the next installment? Here goes!

Wait, I can't believe you left me hanging last week!! Tell me this - am I currently eating GMOs? How can I tell what is a GM food product and what isn't?

Unfortunately, if you've consumed corn, soy, sugar, packaged foods, juices, ketchup, cereal, energy bars, chips, jellies/jams, rice, flour, fruits, vegetables, greens, grains and meat, etc. since 1996, then YES! You've been eating GMOs. They've steadily made their way into our food supply, unbeknownst to consumers. Eating organic or talking to your local farmer to learn how they treat their crops is really the only way to know these foods are safe to eat. You'll want to select organic, grass-fed, free-range/pastured meat that has never been fed grain (we touched on why this was important last week). Some companies raise their livestock on grass, only to grain feed them before slaughter. Not good!

Holy Moly! That's a lot of contaminated foods! How many types of GMOs are out there?

There are basically two types of GMOs. The first are GMOs created to be insect resistant. The second are designed to be herbicide resistant. There are some crops that are both. As you saw in Part 2, there are over 140 food crops currently registered with the FDA as being GM food products.

Image via marycrimmins.com

Are GMOs related to disease?

Multiple studies are showing an increase in most known chronic diseases as GM food crops and their associated herbicides (Roundupä) have been increasingly used and introduced. We're talking several types of cancers, diabetes, infertility, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer's, autism, ADD/ADHD, emotional disorders, depression, mental illness, etc. Even veterinarians and farmers can tell the difference between animals fed GMO feed and those fed non-GMO feed. It's really quite sad. Many of these diseases are associated with the Western Diet, also known as the Standard American Diet (SAD), masking the involvement of GM foods as a potential direct cause.

There is a lot more data out there regarding GMOs (and their associated herbicides, specifically), which point toward disease at the cellular level, but it's just too much to share at this point without overwhelming you with data.

Image via sustainabilityforum.wordpress.com

Ok, my heart can't take it anymore. How do I know where the GMOs are? Am I currently eating any? Or worse... am I feeding them to my children?

I know the feeling. Panic starts to set in when we start examining what we're feeding our kids. Trust your gut - it's trying to tell you something!!!

It would be safe to assume GMOs are in just about everything, especially anything that is processed or packaged. For now, the best plan of action is to eat organic and shop locally from farmers you trust. According to surveys, the general U.S. population is not opposed to GMO labeling on food products
(so that they can be more conscious consumers); however, it's not going to happen soon enough.

As for the health of our children, increased infant mortality rates, lower birth weights and the increasing onset of diseases like autism and diabetes are why more research into the dangers of GMOs is necessary. Studies have already proven that endocrine dysfunction is especially damaging to fetuses, infants and children, and guess what? Endocrine dysfunction is a known side effect of the active ingredient in Roundupä (yup, the brand-name stuff you can find on the shelves of any home improvement store! Ahhh!).

And while we're on the topic of children, don't think your furry babies are immune to GMOs. Take a closer look at your pet food...

I hope I haven't unsettled your stomach too much before all the food-focused summer festivities! Take a deep breath and just remember to be conscious of where you buy your food for those upcoming BBQs!

Next week, I'll be back to talk about the first type of GMOs that I mentioned - insect resistant GMOs. Stay tuned till then!

References for this series:

1     http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/glyphosate/glyphosate.html 

2   "Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States” N.L. Swanson, 4/24/2013, Seattle Examiner.com

3   A Samsel and S. Senef Glyphosate’s Suppression of Cytochrome P450 Enzymes and Amino Acid Biosynthesis by the Gut Microbiome: Pathways to Modern Diseases.  http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

4     http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/

5    http://vimeo.com/65914121

6    http://www.responsibletechnology.org/resources/powerpoint-presentation-on-gmos

7   V. E. Prescott, et al, “Transgenic Expression of Bean r-Amylase Inhibitor in Peas Results in Altered Structure and Immunogenicity,” Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry (2005): 53

Shanna Wahlquist is a Certified Holistic Health Coach specializing in empowering women to adopt a sustainable and healthy lifestyle without “dieting” or feeling deprived, and supporting them in balancing their gut-mind-body relationship, which she believes is the foundation of every chronic disease and ailment.  She is the mother of two toddlers, ages 4 and 2.5 years old; her happy place is in the ocean surf, and her guilty pleasure is red wine – especially if it involves a limo with a group of friends! Shanna found her path to holistic healing after discovering the benefits of vegetable juicing in February 2012, a journey inspired by her desperation to discover the cause of the sudden onset of recurrent chronic respiratory illnesses suffered by her children. She used that experience as a launchpad for a career change and ended up discovering her true authentic self and life’s purpose. She’s always had a passion for science, food, healing and stewardship, and has created a business where she can enjoy them all simultaneously while making a difference in the lives of her family, friends, clients and community. You can find her on facebook at “NourishingMySoul”,  her blog at www.shannawahlquist.wordpress.com or her website, www.shannawahlquist.com.

Food Rules: The CliffsNotes of Nutrition

Image courtesy of bookswim.com

Rules were generally made to break, right? Your mother tells you to keep your dirty little hands out of the cookie jar because you've had enough, and what do you do? Wait until she's not looking and stick your dirty little hands in the cookie jar. You're not even discouraged when she hides the jar on top of the highest shelf in the kitchen, thereby requiring you to scale a kitchen countertop the size of Mt. Everest. You might not even want a cookie, but because she laid down the ground rules, you just HAVE to have one. It's your calling, your mission in life at that particular moment.

Well, I hate to say it, but your mom, your dad, your teachers... they were all correct. Rules ARE for your own good, especially when it comes to food. Last week, while at the powerHouse Arena bookstore in DUMBO, I purchased a copy of Michael Pollan's book Food Rules. It's one of those quick reads that you can easily finish in an hour, but it's packed with useful and enlightening information about (you guessed it) food!

For the next few weeks, I'll be sharing tidbits from his book because they are definitely worth sharing with an audience such as you! I'll start with this one...

"AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS THAT 

MAKE HEALTH CLAIMS"

This seems pretty straight-forward, but how many times have you given yourself a pat on the back for eating a product that advertised itself to be 'low fat', 'natural', 'healthy', etc.? I know I have! Just think Lean Cuisine, Snackwells and Baked Lays.

The underlying problem with these products is that they are processed foods, and unfortunately, processed foods are not regulated by the FDA as responsibly as you might assume. The very fact that they come in a package should tell you something. If you take a moment to review the ingredient list, you'll see that most of these foods are full of genetically modified ingredients. 

Image courtesy of leancuisine.com

Check out this ingredient list for Lean Cuisine's Chicken Fettuccini. You, like me, probably can't pronounce most of the ingredients towards the end, much less figure out what they are. Also notice the word 'modified' more than a few times in this list...

Ingredients:

BLANCHED FETTUCCINI (WATER, SEMOLINA, WHEAT GLUTEN), SKIM MILK, COOKED CHICKEN TENDERLOIN (CHICKEN TENDERLOINS, WATER, SEASONING (MODIFIED CORN STARCH, SUGAR, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, YEAST EXTRACT, DEXTROSE, SPICE, ONION POWDER, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA), SOYBEAN OIL, ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, SALT, SODIUM PHOSPHATES), BROCCOLI, WATER, 2% OR LESS OF CREAM, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SALT, ENZYME MODIFIED PARMESAN CHEESE PASTE (PARMESAN CHEESE (CULTURED PART-SKIM MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE (FROM MILK), REDUCED FAT MILK, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, ENZYMES, NONFAT MILK, CULTURES), PARMESAN CHEESE PASTE (GRANULAR AND PARMESAN CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, SALT, LACTIC ACID, CITRIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, ROMANO CHEESE PRODUCT ((PASTEURIZED COW'S MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, SALT, LACTIC ACID), BUTTERFAT, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CHEESE FLAVOR (CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), WATER, SALT, ENZYMES, CULTURES, PHOSPHORIC ACID, XANTHAN GUM), SPICES, MONO-&DIGLYCERIDES, XANTHAN GUM, FLAVOR (MALTODEXTRIN, FLAVORING AND MODIFIED FOOD STARCH), YEAST EXTRACT, SEASONING (WHEAT STARCH, EXTRACTS OF ANNATTO AND TURMERIC COLOR, NATURAL FLAVOR).

Contains: MILK, SOY, WHEAT INGREDIENTS

If your great-great-great grandfather and his clan didn't need genetically modified ingredients in their food, then you probably don't need them in yours either. These processed foods are modified to increase their shelf life. They're basically immortal. You know as well as I do that REAL food goes bad. If your food is not going bad, you should probably err on the side of caution when grabbing it off the shelf at the grocery next time.

Image courtesy of wellandgoodnyc.com

I'll leave you with one last excerpt from the book:

"Generally, it is the products of modern food science that make the boldest health claims, and these are often founded on incomplete and often bad science. Don't forget that margarine, one of the first industrial foods to claim it was more healthful than the traditional food it replaced, turned out to contain transfats that give people heart attacks. The healthiest food in the supermarket - the fresh produce - doesn't boast about its healthfulness, because the growers don't have the budget or the packaging. Don't take the silence of the yams as a sign they have nothing valuable to say about your health."

Now I'm not saying you should never buy food that's packaged. Don't worry about looking over both shoulders for me in the grocery store. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not on the Processed Food Police Task Force. If truth be told, I am guilty of buying processed food myself. It's just hard to avoid sometimes!

But my goal after reading Michael Pollan's book is to make a conscious effort to investigate what I'm putting into my body. The corporations that produce these 'foods' don't have a vested interest in my well-being, or yours. It's up to us to take an active role in what we purchase and consume.

Those Lean Cuisines weren't any fun to eat anyways, right? 

Good! I'm glad I didn't spoil your lunchtime fun!


GIVEAWAY ALERT!
I'd like to give one lucky reader a copy of Food Rules! Here's how you win...
Leave a comment on my Strictly Nutritious Facebook page sharing one food rule you live by OR pin it to win it! Pin a picture of the book Food Rules with a link to today's post, then paste your pin below in the comments section!

Winner will be announced tomorrow!