Have you ever really stopped to think about what you read on food labels? What IS that stuff? Most of the ingredients you find in products on grocery store shelves are chemicals–even in so-called ‘natural’ foods. Petro-chemicals (petroleum by-products) make up the majority of food colorings. It’s even a big deal when a packaged food products is flavored with ‘natural’ flavorings!

What is truly ‘natural’ is raw, uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts, and tubers. Sadly, most people can’t even imagine a diet that consists of only raw foods. Think of it — no need for a stove, oven, microwave. Too ‘radical’?

The food industry grew from a need for foods that didn’t spoil. Cooking a fruit or a veggie extends the shelf life–the amount of time before a food spoils. Add a few ‘preservative’ chemicals here and there, some coloring to make it look good, wax to make it shine, and pretty soon we have manufactured food products as the ‘norm’ that are so far from healthy that ‘healthy’ now seems radical!

So what can we do to lessen the onslaught of the ‘junk food tide’? Thankfully, a few things:

• increase the amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet
• cook fruits and veggies less than you normally would
• if you have to cook veggies, steaming is better than boiling
• begin to wean yourself from hormone-engorged meat and dairy products
• start growing your own veggies — many veggies from the stores are ‘enhanced’ by gene-splicing technology. Why eat a veggie with bovine genes spliced into it?

Start to become more conscious of what you put into your body. Drink more water. Cut down on chemicals. Treat yourself to fresh fruit for a snack. Leave the Twinkies on the shelf.