Monthly Motivational's

Each month I wish to inspire you to become a better you. I will share various information and tips which have helped, inspired or motivated me along my journey. I sincerely hope they will assist you, in some small way, with your life’s path.

BOOK

The “book”, "movie" and “food tip” sections today are all related.

The book I recommend is “Additive Alert” by Julie Eady. In this book it discusses all the food additives, flavours and colourings that are in our everyday food.

Apart from being very insightful, it is also quite frightening. The ingredients in our food is not what we think. The big companies who produce our food do it as cheap as possible and not for the best interest of the consumers, but the best interest of the shareholders.

This book lists the various ingredients that are negative to our health and well-being, the potential side-effects, the research, what they are derived from and if it has been banned in other countries.

Here is an example of the the corruption involved in the industry. (This one is for my sister who loves her diet coke.) Aspartame is an artificial sweetener. There is significant data showing a link to this product and brain tumours in rats. For 20 years the manufacturers, Searle laboratory, kept pushing for its approval but had been refused. In 1981 it was finally approved by the US FDA. The Commissioner of the FDA at the time was a gentleman called Arthur Hull Hayes. One month after approving Aspartame could be used for human consumption, he resigned from his post and became a senior consultant for the public relations firm that managed Searle’s account for Aspartame.

I won’t go into the details of the negative effects this product has on your body, but it is easy enough to look up or read this book. It is recommended that it is not consumed when pregnant or by children because it easily passes through the blood brain barrier which has a direct effect on your brain. It is a horrible product that should be banned outright.

And if you think that we are being protected by our government and its regulations, then think again. The TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration), the FDA of Australia, don’t have our back. There is a section in this book where Julie has written to them asking for a “please explain”, regarding some of the ingredients that we consume. Below is an extract from their dialogue.

Julie: “Can you tell me if there are any health or safety concerns associated with any permitted food additives?”

TGA: “No. Anything which is approved for use in Australia, is considered safe, so we cannot provide any information about any supposed safety concerns. If it is approved, it safe…”

Julie: “But what about something like Amaranth (123) - a banded Carcinogen in the USA that still permitted in Australia?”

TGA: “The US has a different system – all additives permitted in Australia are considered safe whether or not they are banned overseas. I cannot comment on other countries systems…”

One of the other comments the TGA makes is “… Just because something causes cancer in rats and mice doesn’t mean it will cause cancer in humans…”

I had to laugh at this, about its hypocrisy, because that’s exactly what we do in research. If it affects the research mice or animals in a positive or negative way, then we use that as a basis as to whether it will have the same effect on humans. The system is a joke.

If you want to make sure that you are consuming the best possible food and drink for you and your children, then you must take responsibility and be educated as to what you are putting in your mouth, because the companies that produce the food and the government that is there to protect us, WILL NOT.

It is up to you.

MOVIE

So, let’s continue on the food theme. Download, borrow or beg to watch “That Sugar Film”. This is produced in Australia as a documentary about a person who eats clean and lives healthy. He then decides to go onto a diet that contain sugar and he documents the effects it has on him and his body.

It is a truly insightful film that looks into the food industry, the effect on individuals and communities and the science behind it all, to ensure we consume this product.

Again, do yourself a favour and have a look at how we can be affected by sugar.

FOOD TIP

Kim & I try and eat well and ensure the food we eat is as clean as natural as possible. It is pretty rare we eat processed food. We know what nasties are in that food because we educated ourselves over time. If you want to really understand what you are eating in the processed food, then get yourself the app, “Chemical Maze”. It is about $8, but it is worth it.

once you have the app, you can type a word or number from the ingredients listed on the back of the pack and it will give you what it is derived from, what it does, potential effects, possible uses and potential symptoms & ailments.

An example would be, Cochineal or 120, which is the same. It is a red food colouring. It is from the dried bodies of the female coccus insect. This is prohibited in foods in infants and could cause asthma or an anaphylactic reaction.

Sunset yellow or 110, is a yellow food colouring. It has been banned in Norway and Sweden but is still allowed in our foods here in Australia. It is derived from petroleum and is listed as “potentially hazard to your health” by the people from Chemical Maze. Some of the symptoms may include diarrhoea, asthma and hyperactivity. It is also suspected of causing liver toxicity. It can be used in cosmetics, medicines, ice cream, jams and sweets.

Tim Tams, everyone’s favourite biscuit in Australia, has been banned in many European countries because of the potential carcinogenic ingredients. The chocolate that covers these delightful biscuits is not chocolate at all, but in fact a mixture of oils, colourings and flavourings to mimic the flavour and texture of chocolate. In my opinion this is fraud.

Some of the food synthetic colouring used in the Tim Tams include 102, 110, 129, 133, and caramel 150C. All of these ingredients, according to Chemical Maze, are dangerous and should be avoided.

In the Tim Tam (Arnotts's) web page, they have actually written they will endevour to have the Artificial ingredients (as listed above) removed from them and replaced with natural ingredients by 2016. That was still there this morning. Obviously nothing has changed.

MENTAL HEALTH TIP

Do something you love & Be Creative. You don’t have to be great at it. Just love it. It will transport you to a place of happiness and joy. Creativity is a major part of life and you must fulfill this otherwise there is a hole left where joy can be.

LOVE

Passion – it is a word that resonates with me on many levels. Find your passion. Live life full and love with passion. Feel the word when you say it… “Passion”. Yep…love that word.

TED TALK

“James Veitch: This is what happens when you reply to spam email.” This is pure gold. It is funny and intelligent and a great way to hit back at the email spams that you can get from somewhere like….Nigeria. Do yourself a favour and take 10 minutes and watch this brilliant video.

QUOTE

“Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

George Bernard Shaw

LOOKING FORWARD

Someone who is very close to me is struggling a bit with life at the moment. I know it is their journey and they have to find their own way, but I still feel their pain. I know how much love and beauty they bring to this world. I am looking forward to the day when they can embrace themselves and the world, with pure love and joy, and I’m sitting next to them enjoying it with them. They deserve to be happy and to stop carrying what ever baggage that is weighing them down. Everybody deserves that.

"It's Time."