jampot
10-06-2009, 07:54 PM
After learning about the potential health risks of soy - cancer, infertility, thyroid problems etc. I thought I'd try to find out a bit more about other foods which have 'healthy' images and that I thought were ok, and even beneficial, to eat.
I've never been a big Quorn fan but will be avoiding it totally after discovering that it was initially invented and developed by Marlow Foods with help from ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), which was then bought up by AstraZenaca one of the Big Pharma companies.
Rather than being the natural-sounding 'its made from mushrooms' product its portrayed as, Quorn is a highly processed mould, not mushroom, made by the chemical/ pharmaceutical industries, who I doubt have our best interests at heart. There are already reported gastrointestinal related side effects of quorn, now I know who makes it I wonder what else it can cause. Here's a link to a good site with info about the links between quorn and vomiting and diarrhea:
http://www.cspinet.org/new/quornpr_050102.html
When I switched to low-carb eating I began to use Xylitol instead of sugar. Like Quorn, Xylitols 'its made from birch trees' claim makes it sound natural and having low impact on blood sugars and not causing tooth decay makes it seem like a good alternative to sugar. It may originally come from birch trees or fruit or veg sources but to extract it and turn it into crystals is a lengthy process involving toxic chemicals. Its not natural but an extremely refined sugar and while the only reported adverse effects in humans are gastrointestinal ones, it can be potentially lethal for dogs: seehttp://vetmedicine.about.com/od/toxicology/qt/xylitol_tox.htm
How is Xylitol Made? (this info is taken from http://www.naturalnews.com/022986.html)
A search of patents online explains one process for making xylitol, tell me if this sounds healthy? You begin with some source material containing xylan. One commonly used source is corn imported from China.
1. First the xylan needs to be broken down in a process called acid hydrolyzing. The results of this process leave us with xylose and acetic acid. The process of hydrogenation is carried out at higher pressures and temperatures ranging from 158 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Hydrogenation needs a catalyst, so a substance called Raney nickel can be used which is a powdered nickel-aluminium alloy.
2. The acetic acid needs to be removed as the material safety data sheet describes it as, "Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator), of eye contact (corrosive)."
3. Then the hydrolyzing acid and organic residues must be removed, this is done by heating the mixture and evaporating it.
4. The resulting syrup, now free of acetic acid, hydrolyzing acid, nick-aluminum and other residues.
5. The syrup is crystallized by stirring ethanol into it.
6. The crystalline xylitol is now separated in a centrifuge from the ethanol and from the sorbitol remaining in solution.
7. Viola, you have xylitol.
I've never been a big Quorn fan but will be avoiding it totally after discovering that it was initially invented and developed by Marlow Foods with help from ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), which was then bought up by AstraZenaca one of the Big Pharma companies.
Rather than being the natural-sounding 'its made from mushrooms' product its portrayed as, Quorn is a highly processed mould, not mushroom, made by the chemical/ pharmaceutical industries, who I doubt have our best interests at heart. There are already reported gastrointestinal related side effects of quorn, now I know who makes it I wonder what else it can cause. Here's a link to a good site with info about the links between quorn and vomiting and diarrhea:
http://www.cspinet.org/new/quornpr_050102.html
When I switched to low-carb eating I began to use Xylitol instead of sugar. Like Quorn, Xylitols 'its made from birch trees' claim makes it sound natural and having low impact on blood sugars and not causing tooth decay makes it seem like a good alternative to sugar. It may originally come from birch trees or fruit or veg sources but to extract it and turn it into crystals is a lengthy process involving toxic chemicals. Its not natural but an extremely refined sugar and while the only reported adverse effects in humans are gastrointestinal ones, it can be potentially lethal for dogs: seehttp://vetmedicine.about.com/od/toxicology/qt/xylitol_tox.htm
How is Xylitol Made? (this info is taken from http://www.naturalnews.com/022986.html)
A search of patents online explains one process for making xylitol, tell me if this sounds healthy? You begin with some source material containing xylan. One commonly used source is corn imported from China.
1. First the xylan needs to be broken down in a process called acid hydrolyzing. The results of this process leave us with xylose and acetic acid. The process of hydrogenation is carried out at higher pressures and temperatures ranging from 158 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Hydrogenation needs a catalyst, so a substance called Raney nickel can be used which is a powdered nickel-aluminium alloy.
2. The acetic acid needs to be removed as the material safety data sheet describes it as, "Very hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Hazardous in case of skin contact (corrosive, permeator), of eye contact (corrosive)."
3. Then the hydrolyzing acid and organic residues must be removed, this is done by heating the mixture and evaporating it.
4. The resulting syrup, now free of acetic acid, hydrolyzing acid, nick-aluminum and other residues.
5. The syrup is crystallized by stirring ethanol into it.
6. The crystalline xylitol is now separated in a centrifuge from the ethanol and from the sorbitol remaining in solution.
7. Viola, you have xylitol.