Are we breaking the rules of nature?

So this past weekend I watched the movie "Food Inc" (http://www.foodincmovie.com/) is about where food comes from and I can tell you A) you should watch this movie and B) you will probably not look at food the same way ever again.

One of the topics discussed throughout the movie was Genetically modified food/organisms (GMOs). We've been hearing about this type of thing for years but to be honest I have never given much thought to it, until I started eating clean and actually looking into and caring where my food comes from...so I thought that this would be a good topic and hopefully one that makes you think about what you're eating.

What the heck is a GMO?
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) — also known as genetically engineered organisms — are living things whose genetic makeup (their DNA structure) has been changed by the addition of genes from another living thing. This tampering is done primarily to make plants and animals more useful in food production.

Crops can be genetically modified so that they resist insects, herbicides, and disease or so that they contain extra nutrients or even vaccines. Animals can be genetically modified to produce lower-fat meat, resist certain diseases, or create less waste.

GM crops are common in the United States, and no labeling is required; in fact, it’s believed that upwards of 70 percent of foods in U.S. supermarkets contain some element of genetic engineering. It’s highly likely that you’re eating GM ingredients in your food without even realizing it. Some of the foods and ingredients currently subject to genetic manipulation include:

Soybeans: Soy is one of the main sources of genetically modified ingredients in food and can be found in everything from chocolate to potato chips, margarine to mayonnaise, and biscuits to bread.

Canola: Canola oil comes from certain types of canola plants. GM canola may be used for oils in making potato chips and animal feed.

Corn: GM corn is used as cattle feed (which is weird because cows should eat grass) but also is used in all sorts of packaged food, such as breakfast cereal, bread, corn chips, and gravy mixes.

Milk: Cows are injected with a genetically engineered growth hormone to increase milk production.

Pros and Cons of GMOs

PROS

Crops
> Enhanced taste and quality
> Reduced maturation time
> Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
> Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
> New products and growing techniques

Animals
> Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
> Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
> Improved animal health and diagnostic methods

Environment
> "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
> Conservation of soil, water, and energy
> Bioprocessing for forestry products
> Better natural waste management
> More efficient processing

Society
> Increased food security for growing populations

Cons / Controversies

Safety
> Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
> Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
> Access and Intellectual Property
> Domination of world food production by a few companies
> Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries

Ethics
> Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
> Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
> Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
> Stresses on animals. Example of this would be fast maturing chickens which cannot handle the amount of weight and quick development. In some cases leading to heart failure, breathing problems and in some cases mobility problems.

Labeling
> Not mandatory in some countries
> Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts

Society
> New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

So how do I know what am I eating?
The best way to find out whether your food choices contain genetically engineered ingredients is to choose local options so that you can talk to the producers and find out from them exactly what went into the food. If you can’t do that, then try talking to the managers or owners of local grocery stores — they may not be able to tell you about production methods, but the fact that you asked them may help to convince them that they should pay more attention to this issue.


*GMOs for dummies, Copyright © 2009 & Trademark by Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Water-drink it up!

Well, I trust you all survived the holidays...some of you may be a few pounds lighter and some may be a few pounds heavier. The good news is, if your scale did go up unless you were eating WAY more  (remember 3500 calories = 1 pound of fat) than you normally do some of it can be attributed to water retention...because you probably consumed far less water than you should have been consuming.

There is a vital connection between drinking water and fat loss. A sufficient supply of water keeps fat away. Incredible as it may seem, water is possibly the most important factor in losing weight and keeping it off.

Why water is important

Other than the obvious, to avoid dehydration here is why water is so important.

1. It is believed that when we metabolize or burn 16 ounces/454g of fat, our body generates 22 ounces/624g of water, which - surprisingly - must be flushed out by drinking water. By drinking too little water, the body feels threatened and enters a self-protection mode and will hang on to every molecule of water in the body resulting in fluid retention and no weight loss on the scale.

2. Water can help suppress the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat. By drinking water and correcting fluid retention more fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize fat at an accelerated speed. Not to mention most people confuse being thirsty with actual hunger which can easily happen if you have not had enough water during the day.

3. The kidneys cannot function properly without enough water. If the kidneys do not work to capacity, some of their load is dumped on the liver, resulting in less fat being metabolized.

4. Water helps wash out by-products of metabolism, prevents an accumulation of body and drug/chemically induced toxins, it helps in maintaining all normal body functions such as temperature control, electrolyte balance and the prevention of constipation. Ample water is also important in preventing sagging skin during fat loss. An overweight person needs more water than a thin person, because they have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, drinking water is essential to weight loss and maintaining good health during the stress of dieting.

6. People normally receive a large portion of their water needs through their food, which can be 70 - 90%. While "dieting" the food intake is reduced and thus the person is not getting their normal water supply, let alone the extra water needed to flush out the metabolic by-products. This results in a hidden hunger in "dieters" as the body is craving food for it's water content, but the person also ends up with calories contained in the food.

7. Water is essential to keep skin healthy. If the body can't get rid of the by-products of metabolized fat via kidney excretion, the skin is called upon to excrete these by-products. Your skins elasticity is also greatly influenced by you water intake. 

*******

I drink a minimum of 3 litres of water a day, on top of that I usually have 2 green teas. If you hate the taste of water, try adding lemon, strawberries or cucumber to it.

Pop does NOT count as water! in some cases your pop is adding 150-200 or more empty calories. Coffee doesn't count either although there are some people who would argue this. Coffee is a natural diurectic. Diuretics, increase the dehydration process...which defeats the purpose.

So, drink up!