Is Yogurt As Bad As Soda?

I have been contemplating starting a blog for a while. I like the idea of it but wasn't sure what I would have to say. I'm really into sports injuries and helping my patients get back to their sports, their lives, their families etc.. But lately I've had this chip on my shoulder and its growing and growing and I think it's about to explode.

You see, I've changed the way I eat BIG TIME over the past 3 months in response to some interesting blood test results I had. Let's just say they weren't as good as I thought they were gonna be and wishing they got better didn't help so much. As such, I've been reading and reading and brushing up on my nutritional knowledge and have realized a few things. The main one is the big food manufacturing companies know we are sleeping and they're taking advantage of us.

This FAT epidemic in the United States started about 30 years ago. Just about the time a then little known substance called High Fructose Corn Syrup was introduced into our food chain. Initially it was just in sodas. Now, it's in everything from Ketchup to Yogurt. Yes yogurt has the same nasty man-made sugar crapola that Coke & Pepsi and other sodas have. And..This stuff is killing our friends, our children and us.

So, this got me ticked off enough to start writing about it and that's why you're reading this today. Simply because I've had enough.

Two main things in our foods are causing us to get fat and unhealthy and both of them are man made. (1) High Fructose Corn Syrup and (2) Hydrogenated Oils. It doesn't matter what kind of Hydrogenated oil it is or if it Partially Hydrogenated or just Hydrogenated.

Why are these things so bad for us? Simple. We weren't mean to eat them and they are replacing fundamental aspects of our diets. Sugars and Fats. The basics of what we eat are either Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins. Most of the what we stuff into our faces nowadays has High Fructose Corn Syrups and or Hydrogenated Oils. Our bodies turn Hydrogenated oil into Trans Fats. And, don't believe those labels that say NO TRANS FATS. Turn the package over and read the ingredient list. If there is Hydrogenated oil in the ingredient list, there are trans fats in the crap in the package for sure.

Our bodies basic system of energy is based on sugar. The real kind. The kind you find in fruits & veggies. Our hormones are largely based on Fats. The good kind, the kind that come from natural foods. We need fats in order to make hormones. The good ones of course are Mono and Poly unsaturated fats. The bad one is saturated fat. The kind you'll find in most meats. For the most part, the cleaner and leaner the meat the less the bad fat therein.

So industry has replaced 2 of the basic things our bodies need to survive with an incredibly inferior man-made version of sugar and fat. Why? Because they are cheaper to manufacture and increase their profits many fold. And, all this only for the mere cost of your health.

The only purpose hydrogenated oils and trans fats have on this earth is to prolong the shelf life of the products they are in and to provide the company that uses them with high profit margins. These things are responsible for increase obesity, increase bad cholesterol, increased number of heart attacks, strokes etc..etc..etc..

The only purpose High Fructose Corn Syrups (HFCS) have, well, it's kind of the same thing. Except these HFCS directly raise your triglycerides & cholesterol. Do you know what happens when your cholesterol & triglycerides get high? You now enter the arena of heart disease. Yep, you are now at risk for a heart attack, stroke and many other wonderful things like that.

To give you a little evolutionary history lesson, let's step back about 100,000 years. As we evolved from cave-man to Hu-man our foods also evolved with us. Over that time our metabolic system has adapted to eat certain foods and process them to nourish and sustain us. Basically, we and our foods have evolved together. Now, you throw High Fructose Corn Syrup and Hydrogenated oils into our physiology and our bodies don't recognize it, nor do we have a mean to properly process it. Our physiology as homosapiens (the human species) has no metabolic process to process them period! Therefore, since our bodies were made to adapt, they deal with it, store it in strange places and eventually, it kills us.

Now, this isn't even what got me all upset. Here's What did?

Well, this morning I take my kids to school and even though I made them breakfast this morning, they were still a little hungry so we got on the breakfast line to give them a little something to "nosh" on. I picked up a yogurt and what did I see? Yep, you guessed it, High Fructose Corn Syrup. So, we put it down and picked up the apples. There wasn't a label on the apple so I figured it was healthy for my children to eat.

But yogurt? I thought that was a healthy snack? Nope, not any more. Although there are a couple yogurts out there that have regular sugar in them (Thank you Stoneyfield Farms for keeping it real!!) , you must....YOU MUST take your health into your own hands and read the labels on everything. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!!!!!!!

You would do yourself a favor and shop around the outside of the supermarket and don't go up and down the isles. Because it's around the perimeter of the grocery store or supermarket where all of the fresh fruits, veggies and meats are.

So the bottom line, your health is your responsibility. Pick up the package, read the label and save your own life and the life of your family. Don't expect anyone to do it for you.

If you want to read more about how to eat like our bodies are supposed to, get healthy and learn
what foods to absolutely stay away from, what to eat and when to eat it, read Dr. Mark Hyman's book Ultrametabolism. It just may save your life.


Oh....one more thing - Parents, don't be selfish with your new knowledge. Teach it to your children. You just might be saving their life too!



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Dr. Narson is a 2-term past president of the Florida Chiropractic Association’s Council on Sports Injuries, Physical Fitness & Rehabilitation and was honored as the recipient of the coveted Chiropractic Sports Physician of the Year Award in 1999-2000. He practices in Miami Beach, Florida at the Miami Beach Family & Sports Chiropractic Clinic.

www.NaturalSportsMedicine.com