Who loves Fiberwise!??
This stuff is amazing! I call it my “flat belly drink” because it has helped me with bloating so much.
Sometimes I take it in the mornings, and other days in the evening or before bed.
I love that with 15g of fiber per serving, it’s good for my heart health and also helps me feel full and satisfied.
Plus it keeps my digestive system happy and functioning properly.
How has Fiberwise helped you?
Want to know what really opened up my eyes to how food companies exploit us? I have spent years investigating the differences between European and American food products, and what I found, surprised me.
A college friend decided to live in London for a few years. While she was there, I often had her go to Tesco and other European grocery stores to take pictures of the food product ingredient lists for me and send me boxes of popular US brand products. I’d compare them side-by-side with the same brand of American products and saw completely different ingredient lists.
It appears companies like Kraft-Heinz, Kellogg’s, PepsiCo, and Quaker sell safer, better products oversees while making inferior versions to sell to Americans. The evidence of this runs the gamut from fast food places to boxed cake mix to cereal to candy and even oatmeal— you can’t escape it. This is what set me down the path of advocating for change in the food system and I’ve never looked back.
Here are six American brand products that are completely different overseas…
1. McDonald’s French Fries— McDonald’s makes their iconic french fries in the U.K. with a few simple ingredients: potatoes, oil, dextrose, salt—but in the U.S they’re made with “natural beef flavor” and sodium acid pyrophosphate, and are fried in oil laced with the anti-foaming agent dimethylpolysiloxane – the main ingredient in silly putty. They’ve somehow figured out how to cook their fries without all these extra ingredients overseas, so why not here?
2. Quaker Instant Oatmeal Packets— Did you know Quaker Oats Strawberries & Cream has ZERO strawberries? In the U.S. Quaker mimics the look and taste of real strawberries by using “Flavored and Colored Fruit Pieces” comprised of dehydrated apples, artificial strawberry flavor, citric acid, and the artificial dye Red 40. Meanwhile in the U.K. Quaker doesn’t even attempt to sell that garbage and doesn’t make any products like this. The closest counterpart they have is a product called “Oat So Simple” that has REAL strawberries in it—light years ahead of the popular U.S. version made with artificial dyes and artificial flavors.
3. Mountain Dew—Pick up a bottle of Mountain Dew in the U.K. and you’ll find that it gets its bright yellow color simply from beta carotene (a natural color derived from carrots and other plants). Meanwhile, PepsiCo sells a very different version of Mountain Dew in America. Here in the States, instead of using natural colors to give it a tantalizing look, Mountain Dew is artificially colored with a petroleum-based dye called Yellow #5. Although artificial dyes are common in America, that doesn’t make them okay to eat. They’ve been linked to several health issues and may be contaminated with carcinogens. They certainly are not as safe as beta carotene. And it gets worse…
The U.S. version of Mountain Dew contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO) – which is an ingredient BANNED in Europe. Way back in 2014, PepsiCo announced they would remove BVO from all of their American drinks following a successful petition by activist Sarah Kavanagh. But they still hadn’t removed BVO from Mountain Dew, nearly five years later. Yet, they continue to sell BVO-free Mountain Dew in other countries.
4. Heinz Ketchup— Heinz ketchup is GMO-free in the U.K., but full of GMOs and High Fructose Corn Syrup in the U.S., along with lab-produced “natural flavoring” that helps create an addiction to their product. Think of this next time you’re dipping your fries in and can’t stop! While Heinz makes a “Simply Heinz” version of ketchup in the U.S. (still with natural flavors but a cleaner ingredient list), why don’t they just make this their regular ketchup? There is no need for the heavily processed version that you’ll find in most restaurants and homes in America.
5. Doritos— Both versions of Doritos are horrible, but American Doritos are covered in artificial dyes made from petroleum (Red #40, Blue #1, and Yellow #5). These dyes have been found to be contaminated with carcinogens, such as benzidine. In the U.K., these dyes require a warning label that says “May Have an Adverse Effect on Activity and Attention in Children”. They don’t use artificial dyes in Doritos overseas and instead color Doritos more simply with paprika extract and annatto. The Doritos in the U.K. are also non-GMO, while the American versions are made with GMO corn contaminated with glyphosate weed killer..
6. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Cereal— At first glance the ingredients in Frosted Flakes in the U.S. and U.K. look nearly identical. The main difference is the addition of the preservative BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) in the U.S. version. Controversial research links BHT to cancer and it’s believed to be an endocrine disruptor that interferes with your hormones. BHT isn’t permitted in cereals in Europe, so Kellogg’s reformulated their cereals to sell them legally overseas. Following the 2015 petition to get BHT out of American cereal. Kellogg’s removed BHT from several brands (like Rice Krispies), but still use it four years later in Frosted Flakes despite selling it BHT-free in the U.K.
Why don’t these companies just sell the same, safer, products everywhere?
I’ll tell you why. Europe takes a “precautionary principle” approach towards food additives that are potentially risky. They ban or add warning labels to these additives for their citizens. The U.S. takes the opposite approach. It does not remove additives from our food supply until they have been proven dangerous – which can take a very long time and a lot of red tape. This means Americans are literally the lab rats. Basically, the U.S. government allows food companies to largely police itself, deciding which ingredients, chemicals, and additives are “safe” to use in their products.
This clearly isn’t a wise approach – is it?
If a company can get away with using cheaper ingredients, they will. Given a choice, they’ll always opt for the cheaper flavor enhancer, and the cheaper color additive, and the cheaper preservative, and the cheaper GMO ingredient, even if these cheaper alternatives have a negative impact on our health.
The truth is that nobody is watching out for us. When they tell you they know their processed foods are safe, they are telling you a lie. It tells me that I need to read labels more carefully and make more of my snacks “from scratch”,
What are you going to do?
There is absolutely nothing more calming than an early morning walk on the beach.
Today, I stopped by Walgreens to refill a subscription and pick up a snack, and what do I see? An aisle with all these bottles of vitamin supplements for sale. With those markdowns those supplements are more than likely getting old—or close to their “Best by” date.
I never need to worry about “Best by” dates because I get my nutritional supplements from a responsible manufacturer. My favorite supplements are freshly delivered to my door within two weeks of manufacture. Each month I receive a full 30-day supply of all my supplements in handy AM and PM packs. And it’s more cost-effective too! I am so grateful I found this company.
So, I bought the Clean and Gleam spray mop from my online Wellness shopping club and my hardwood floors have never been cleaner or shinier! This product is safe for my family and dog.
Why? Because the floor cleaning and polishing products are plant-based with no harmful chemicals or toxins. I am so thankful I made the switch to cleaner, greener products that are not only safe for my pet, but myself as well
I read an article recently that supported something I already knew: American produce has lost a lot of it’s nutritional value… in some cases up to 80% or more.
For example If you wanted to match the vitamin A content of an orange grown in 1940s, you would have to eat eight oranges grown today.
The potato, for instance, has lost 100 percent of its vitamin A content, 57 percent of its vitamin C and iron, and 28 percent of its calcium.
Why?
Erosion of the topsoil plus degraded soil quality. There are other reasons, but these are the 2 primiary causes of the loss of nutrition in fruits and vegetables. Years ago, farmers rotated crops, allowing time for the soil to replenish itself. But in recent times, American farmers are under financial pressure and their fields are not given the adequate amount of time to replenish the mineral content needed to sustain healthy produce. For reference, 3 inches of topsoil require 1,000 years to build, but only a few modern farming seasons to destroy.
One other note: according to one study, organic food could have a nutritional advantage over conventional food because organic produce has between 20 to 30 percent more nutrients. But that’s still not enough to make up what we our bodies need.
Hence, the need for supplements. But can you trust your supplements that they are actually getting absorbed into your body?
Stay tuned for me to teach you what to look for when it comes to your supplements!
Be Happy & Be Healthy!
I found an online shopping club nearly 20 years ago with products that contain ingredients like those found at Whole Foods…but with competitive prices and shipping that rivals Walmart and Amazon Prime.
All I need to do is PICK, CLICK and my shopping’s done! All my essentials are delivered to my front door step within 48-72 hours. I no longer waste time or money by driving to the store or stores especially with today’s gas prices!
Now, who doesn’t like to save time and money?
I’m all about QUALITY and I find it’s even better when it’s at an excellent price.
The organic coffee Is so much better than what I got at Whole Foods… and it’s cheaper!
The Tub + Tile bathroom cleaner worked better than Scrubbing Bubbles, 409, and Ajax—not to mention it is so much safer!
The Tough N Tender crushed Mrs. Meyers cleaner and it smelled better, was more affordable and, it’s nontoxic so I could breathe a little easier all-around.
The Sol-U-Guard rocked my world when I found out it was better than Lysol. Remember when everyone was fighting over Lysol during COVID? This Sol-U-Guard is so much better than the competition. Plus, it is food safe while the coveted can of Lysol is not.
The next thing I knew, my shopping club products had taken over almost every area of my home including my essential oils, my skin care routine, deodorant, toothpaste, Band-Aids, fresh Riverbend Ranch Beef—even my sunscreen and my natural insect spray were from the shopping club. This store has almost fully replaced my shopping trips outside of fresh produce, chicken and fresh dairy products.
I fell in love with the fact that this is an American company, owned by a Americans and that everything is made right here in America!
Needless to say, one thing led to another, and I found myself digging through this company’s ingredient philosophy, the science behind their products, and even further into the research that supported everything they claimed. I fell in love.
It’s changed my life—I can breathe again, in more ways than one.
Do you use Mela Out?
This stuff has been so helpful in winding down every day and getting a good nights sleep.
There are lots of different types of magnesium, and this type is the one that helps reduce STRESS.
Lowering stress and sleeping well are two factors that can help to improve overall health and weight loss goals.
If you haven’t tried this before, I highly recommend!
Next time you are tempted to call a successful person “lucky” know this:
Hard work outweighs talent every single time! Success is a choice!
No doubt throughout the week, you took care of family members, coworkers, and everybody but yourself. In reality, it’s not that we don’t want that massage or facial. The challenge for most of us is the lack of a routine that focuses and benefits ourselves.
So if booking massage just isn’t a reality for you, why not….
Just changing your environment can be incredibly therapeutic so take some time TODAY to take care of YOU!
Hayseeds Creative 