Original Recording - Ep.68
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Sheree: [00:00:00] Keeping the sugar intake low enough in things like cereal and not exposing children to eating more than 19 grams of sugar per day to decreasing the risk of all [00:00:08] chronic diseases later in life. So how can we start to be educated around this? And We've got a lot of people are aware of the sugar now, but they're not even sure what to look for, or [00:00:16] when companies are getting smarter and they're changing the sugar, or they're even changing the dyes to be natural colors or natural flavors.
And are they really like, what is that [00:00:24] really coming from? And the sugar is becoming sugar free, but they're all out of flavor. official sweetness, which is causing just as much damage.
Welcome to the [00:00:32] wild and well, a collective podcast where we believe empowered health is your superpower. We have combined our expertise in medicine and nutrition to bring you the [00:00:40] latest research, expert insights and success stories of people on a mission to live a big life. So buckle up and get ready to learn how [00:00:48] to live wildly well.
Christa: So today's topic is something that I [00:00:56] know Sri and I are both really passionate about. And I think in the wake of this recording, it's all around politics. And I will personally say that I am [00:01:04] not really wanting to get super revved up about politics in general, but there are certain topics that politics do play a role in that I do [00:01:12] get pretty fired up.
Like it's just a visceral thing for me. And one of those topics is [00:01:20] Um, you know, all of regulations around food in the U. S. That is something that I [00:01:28] can get behind. That is something that I'm willing to spend time on. That's something I'm willing to put my life energy force into, um, you into helping to create a [00:01:36] change, because I think it really is important, not only for us for our parents, but also for our children and our future generations, our fertility, et cetera, like [00:01:44] there's so much and and, it's difficult sometimes.
And I know that there are people out there doing it, that's amazing that are going in front [00:01:52] of. big food in front of big pharma, all of those things, but I think, and I solidly believe this, even in my medical practice that [00:02:00] the key to making some change is really getting to as many people, individuals, so that individuals are educated around these types of [00:02:08] topics, because individuals can make different decisions around what they purchase based on their knowledge of what it's doing to their body.
So this whole [00:02:16] topic is really passionate to me and I know it is to you, Sheree, as well.
Sheree: Yeah, it's something that I think again, we come back to our basis [00:02:24] of our podcast is the empowered health is your superpower. And the more, about the ingredients that you're putting into your body.
I quite often say to my clients, like, if you don't [00:02:32] understand what that ingredient is, if you can't read it or pronounce it, your body has no idea either. So food diet number read [00:02:40] 40. Like, what does that even mean? it's really looking at, okay, what is this doing to my body? How can I make some healthier changes like [00:02:48] find some alternatives so that we can support ourselves.
We're not coming out and just going to be giving you a whole lot of reasons to be in fear around the food [00:02:56] either. Like we've got some real solutions for you, but also bringing to awareness what you might not know you. Like Krista said, putting, like, feeding your children [00:03:04] or putting on your child's plate.
And so if we start with this idea around cereal, right, because this is a concept that, if you really think about it, [00:03:12] is massive in the Western world. It is something that we were the first part of the world to have a freaking cereal aisle. A lot of the other, [00:03:20] Countries, a lot of the other you've got the European side of things, or you look at the aid, like the Asian cultures, they're eating leftovers for breakfast.
They're heating up [00:03:28] things that are just whole real foods that they might have like around the house. They're not typically reaching for the cereals. This is a concept that's been introduced. [00:03:36] Okay. For a few decades now, but it's not something that was always there. So it's moving away from.
This idea that we have to be eating [00:03:44] cereal for breakfast or toast or a lot of the stuff that doesn't actually serve our bodies and seeing what we can replace it with.
Christa: I think it's important though, because [00:03:52] people aren't aware and. At one point I had toddlers, right?
I had a two year old, a four year old, a six year old. Like my kids are eating cereal. [00:04:00] That's just the facts. And I agree, I think that we do need to be shifting away from those kinds of cereals or those kinds of meals, for our first [00:04:08] meal of the day. But the fact is people are still eating them.
What a lot of people don't know is what's in them, and it's becoming more and more [00:04:16] public. And this doesn't really stop at cereals either. When we're talking about things like food dyes, and that's really just designed to make foods look more [00:04:24] appealing, more colorful, but That it's really with disregard for what it's actually doing to your body.
And I think the [00:04:32] people that are most susceptible to this are young people. Because, we make different decisions as adults. But kids and commercials, they're all really [00:04:40] allured into. The cartoon characters that are on the Fruit Roll Ups. And that are on the cereals. And that are on the the snacks and we are, [00:04:48] speaking for my family, it's not like we have some kind of organic pantry.
That is not the case. I have three teen boys now. But what frustrates me is what's [00:04:56] in these foods and it's not regulated. So it's difficult then to make quick decisions in the grocery store. I think it's important start looking [00:05:04] at labels. And when you're looking at the labels, what does that mean?
So, Red 40, yellow five blues, greens, anything that has a color in the ingredient. [00:05:12] It really has been linked to and there's scientific evidence of this, which blows my mind, but it has been linked to things like [00:05:20] ADHD, even to childhood cancers, right? So this is an important thing to start looking at these labels [00:05:28] because the fact is, this is the routine.
This is a routine for a lot of kids. And so it's not that you have to make every single meal completely [00:05:36] shifted, but starting to understand what the words on the back of those labels mean and how to navigate that. I think it's going to take more time when you go to the grocery [00:05:44] store.
Initially, you're going to have to start making different choices, looking at different brands. The good news is. People are, companies I think are [00:05:52] responding and there are companies coming out that are committed to cleaner ingredients, but until [00:06:00] you know the difference, you've got to really educate yourself on these things so that you can make a better choice.
Sheree: Yeah, I love that. And I love that you've given some [00:06:08] specific examples. I know that that red 40, the blue one, the red, the yellow one, the yellow five, there are some really specific dyes that have been linked to, like you [00:06:16] said, those childhood cancers or even the endocrine disruption, a weakened immune system.
You couple that with a lot of the time that there's some vegetable oils [00:06:24] that have been thrown in there, whether that's canola, whether that is a rapeseed oil, like all of these things that we're Right. Kind of condition to not look [00:06:32] deeper into and if you think about it, you're building up, especially in those first years of life for your child, [00:06:40] you're building up their immune system, you're building up their hormonal system, you're supporting and setting them up for life.
Like [00:06:48] they're at their most susceptible during those first couple of years. You're really building your microbiome in those first two years of a life and sitting there, help up for [00:06:56] the rest of their life, you're preventing against chronic diseases. There's even been studies that have linked.
Keeping the sugar intake low enough in things [00:07:04] like cereal and not exposing children to eating more than 19 grams of sugar per day to decreasing the risk of all chronic diseases later in [00:07:12] life. So how can we start to be educated around this? And We've got a lot of people are aware of the sugar now, but they're not even sure what to look for, [00:07:20] or when companies are getting smarter and they're changing the sugar, or they're even changing the dyes to be natural colors or natural [00:07:28] flavors.
And are they really like, what is that really coming from? And the sugar is becoming sugar free, but they're all out of flavor. official sweetness, which is causing just [00:07:36] as much damage. We're talking about ADHD that is on the massive, massive rise. Look at the autoimmune conditions that are on a huge, huge spike.
[00:07:44] And we have to start looking at what's changed. I saw a post on social media the other day in relation to Halloween. And it was like the [00:07:52] difference between sorry, Reese's pieces, but like the Reese's pieces, peanut butter cups, where they were 40 years ago to where they are now, they went from [00:08:00] having five ingredients to having about 20.
And so it's just even something as simple as that. When you pick up a cereal box and go, [00:08:08] There is literally 2025 ingredients in the cereal. Do is that what I should really be putting in my body versus I'm [00:08:16] going to grab, maybe I have some eggs instead. And, this isn't just for children, but I think, we could be talking about cereal.
That's often what we lean into. It's the [00:08:24] same thing though. If we're looking at, Oh, for example, a really healthy whole grain that we're so conscious of, it can be a really beautiful [00:08:32] breakfast food, but it's, if it's not organic, it's sprayed with Roundup and you've got all the glyphosate that's going in that thing causes a lot of endocrine disruption [00:08:40] and liver loading.
And so like, what would you say to people who are going, okay, great. Where do I start? Like, what is your first tip, [00:08:48] Krista?
Christa: Yeah, think it is, you know, just going back to awareness before we get into tips around it. Like, first, I wanted to really sink in. [00:08:56] We have moved our guidelines of when to get a colonoscopy.
From 50 to 45. [00:09:04] That's huge. A five year shift from like national guidelines is pretty massive, I would say, [00:09:12] because that means there's something going on. People are, there's got issues that are happening way, way earlier. There's quite a few [00:09:20] kids diagnosed with autism far more than there were.
Decades ago. So I think we've got to look at that. Breast cancers are on the rise in younger [00:09:28] women. So what has changed? And so I think that number one, you really need to be aware of like, okay, one plus one equals two. Like, [00:09:36] come on, what did, what is happening here? What's the common thread here? Probably the shift in what is included in what we're consuming, what we're, our environment and our [00:09:44] environment largely is what we eat, right?
We consume the environment all the time and we expose our body and. To these chemicals and food [00:09:52] sends messages to cells. And so when we're looking at part of what we're eating containing high amounts of glyphosates because of [00:10:00] crop spraying when we're looking at guys, all of that, it's sending wonky signals.
And we're also seeing a higher occurrence of precocious puberty, Kids [00:10:08] entering puberty earlier, and that is telling us, okay, our bodies are exposed to something that's triggering that hormonal turn on [00:10:16] sooner than it should be. So the evidence is clear that something has shifted. Our overall health has shifted.
Obesity is everywhere. [00:10:24] It's literally everywhere. it's difficult to make some of these choices because these foods are made to taste really, really good. Not only do they look [00:10:32] good, they taste really good, and then there's greenwashing too, because, for instance, Cheerios has for, I don't know, decades had high fiber heart health.
[00:10:40] But you know, when you peel back the layers of that, the crops that are used to create that cereal is covered in pesticides, right? So it's [00:10:48] not actually healthy. So we're being fed and marketed lies. And I think that, number one is always awareness. And then number two [00:10:56] is, okay, great.
Here's the information that we have. What do we do so that we can make changes? Our kids can be eating different foods, but it's [00:11:04] not super And I always start out with, 80, 20, right? Don't freak out and say, okay, I can never have this again. I think that's [00:11:12] unreasonable. So I do think that we have to.
Take that into account, but how can 80 percent of the time be making choices from the grocery [00:11:20] store, be able to, 80 percent of your organic or your produce is organic, right? That's another place to start even with the healthy foods, make sure that [00:11:28] they're organic because of the pesticides, et cetera.
And then start to really look into labels and using apps that can help you navigate this, [00:11:36] because I think it can be overwhelming. I know of a couple of apps, tell me if you know of some, but I like Yucca, Y U C C A. That is an app that you can download on [00:11:44] your phone, it can go, You can scan things from deodorant to cereal boxes.
It will tell you is this good, is it not. [00:11:52] Another one is called Think Dirty and that's another that just scans barcode. So there are some tools out there to help you navigate what's [00:12:00] healthy, what's not healthy.
Sheree: I love that. And I think that's some really practical things that people can go to. And it's interesting.
You mentioned like the heart [00:12:08] health and that, that people are often misled by. And this is where I really feel for people. Like we're not sitting here on our high horse judging by any means. We're sitting here [00:12:16] going like, we feel your pain and it can be so confusing to what's out there. The amount of times I've even picked up things being like, yay, they've done this.
And then you turn over to turn it [00:12:24] over because you know what to look for. You're like, Oh no, I will not be purchasing that today. And. In New Zealand, we've got a [00:12:32] five star health rating and there's like, for example, really popular cereal over here is called Nutri Grain and they get the thing that blows my mind is [00:12:40] that they get a star or they get a half a star based on the ingredients they might add in.
So they might have added calcium. They might have added folate. [00:12:48] They might have added like these, so called great ingredients and that's been there. They've got enough fiber. They don't lose a star based off the fact that there's 40 or [00:12:56] 50 grams of sugar per serve. So we've got, like, you're going, oh, but, this Nutri Grain cereal is a 5 or a 4.
5 health [00:13:04] star rating. How, like, how? But as a consumer, you pick it up and go, okay, well, that makes sense. Or like they've got the little [00:13:12] heart health tick and it's like, okay, cool. That must be good for me. And all they're not losing points based on the ingredients. They're only getting points for [00:13:20] what they add.
And so companies are really smart and they've cottoned onto that. People will even pay now to put snack, a gluten free label on [00:13:28] something. And they do that with things like potato chips. And it's like most potato chips first and foremost are gluten free apart from the odd little flavoring thing.[00:13:36]
But because the conception or the perception, I should say around. Gluten is that it's gluten free is healthier for you. Companies are now [00:13:44] paying to put it on the, like on packets. And so there's actually a really beautiful company that I've noticed in the States. I tried it while I was over there last year [00:13:52] called Lovebird and the company, like if you want to follow them as like eat lovebird on Instagram and there's a dad, it's on a massive mission to bring more awareness to [00:14:00] this.
And he's got an alternative to something like Cheerios that you can go and get. It tastes nice. Some of them have got the cow, so you can get a chocolatey flavored [00:14:08] one. If you want an alternative, something like Cocoa Pops and that there are brands out there. So if you are going, well, my kid's not going to eat [00:14:16] anything but cereal, then Becoming more aware of brands like this, using the apps like Think Dirty to go and see what you can choose.
I remember, just before we [00:14:24] jumped on, Chrissy, you were saying about how you were spending time when your kids were little looking for things to avoid the BHT. Like, do you want to share that a little bit? [00:14:32]
Christa: I remember over a decade ago looking for something that didn't have the preservative BHT because that [00:14:40] has been related to health problems, and I found it near impossible.
I would say probably 90 percent of the cereals that I [00:14:48] looked at all contained BHT, which. You know, I feel the pain. Like, it's okay, I have toddlers. I had a two, four and six year old, like they want their [00:14:56] cereal. And for me to try to get a healthy choice for them that they also enjoyed was a challenge.
And even now making lunches for kids, it's, [00:15:04] you want to have a variety of fun in the lunchbox and it just takes more. And we're not perfect either. We definitely still have [00:15:12] gummies and we have some things that, are not, Perfect. But I think two things here. I think that for the most part, we should start looking [00:15:20] for foods that come from a natural source that will eliminate any companies period dot, right?
Cause there's no [00:15:28] company that's making broccoli. Now there's companies that produce it and get it to where you're going, but food. And so if you start to focus more and [00:15:36] more on. foods that come from the ground or they have a mother. Those are the two things that I always say. If they're natural, then you're cutting out a [00:15:44] lot of the chemicals, period.
Now, even with meat, so you've got to pay attention to how are they processed? Are they, antibiotic free? Are they [00:15:52] marinated? That can be really appealing, but the marinades oftentimes have chemicals and sweeteners and all sorts of things you don't want to know. So just [00:16:00] getting things in their natural form as best as you can, really changing your taste buds to prefer those things.
Because [00:16:08] when we are buying processed foods, it really is, it's a science project and they're scientifically created to really trigger your brain, to light up your [00:16:16] brain. You want more of it. They're addicting by nature, on purpose. And so I think some of it is making some decisions of like, okay, I'm not going to [00:16:24] grab.
This candy bar, I'm going to grab a piece of fruit with yogurt, those are more healthy options that them in themselves will have [00:16:32] less chemical impact on your body than doing something that's, made in a factory, period.
Sheree: Yeah. And I think, if you're [00:16:40] like feeling quite overwhelmed, the less ingredients, the better the ingredients you can read and understand.
And if you [00:16:48] also like the most, the ingredient that is the highest in the food is the first one. It's literally from order to least to most [00:16:56] to least in the food. So if you pick up a cereal box and you turn it over and the first ingredient on it is sugar. Or one of the other 49 names for sugar.
[00:17:04] That's probably like an under exaggeration. Now there are so many different names it might be fructose. It might be whatever, but if that's the first, second or third ingredient, that cereal is [00:17:12] going to be abundant in sugar, and so it's really looking at what like quantities it is.
And if it, if you get to the end and there's a [00:17:20] very small amount of something, we are talking about picking your battles here, so you may not be able to go all the way with being a hundred percent cleaner, even, even buying organic. [00:17:28] Maybe it's buying. Fruit and vegetables and then doing the little soaking trick with the apple cider vinegar and some salt and warm water and getting some of those [00:17:36] pesticides off because sometimes there's just not enough options or maybe you live in a place where you can't actually access organic fruits and [00:17:44] vegetables as easily.
So, I really think it comes down to picking your battles, shopping a bit smarter, knowing that if you shop around the perimeter of the [00:17:52] supermarket, the chances of you buying things that have more and more whole foods and in nature is just skyrockets up because it's [00:18:00] in the aisles that you've got all of those processed foods.
They're the shelf stable ones, and that's the one that's the reason they've got all of those preservatives and nasties [00:18:08] in them, aside from the ones that are just trying to be more attractive and colorful and draw you in. Yep.
Christa: Yeah, I think there is an [00:18:16] easy answer. But the 1st, like I mentioned before, it's just being aware, being aware and waking up to the fact that you do have [00:18:24] control over what you consume.
You do have control over what you purchase. you do have more control than you think you do. So when you [00:18:32] start to go down that spiral of like, being, strong armed into eating all of these chemicals, nobody's making you purchase any of these things. I think it's just [00:18:40] maybe spending a bit more time for a couple of weeks educating yourself on labels.
So maybe the thing that you typically grab off [00:18:48] the shelf isn't the healthiest. And so you're going to have to spend a bit more time next go looking at different products that maybe contain. Healthier options [00:18:56] and staying abreast of what's happening and what you know, there's a lot on social media. I would say now about educating you [00:19:04] around, the chemicals that are in foods and so listening to the people that are speaking on that supporting in the way that you can, whether it's by not [00:19:12] purchasing something, whether it's by signing a petition whatever you can do.
I think it's important for all of us to take some responsibility [00:19:20] on this and not fall victim to where big food has gone in this country and just voting with your dollar, voting with what you [00:19:28] purchase, voting with what you consume.
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