THIS IS A POST FROM 30 DAYS OF REAL WHOLE FOOD CHALLENGE

How’s the journey to health, wellness, and Real Whole Food?  Remember, it’s Awareness not Perfection that we’re aiming for here.  No getting discouraged over self-inflicted negative thoughts.  Changing habits is NOT easy, it takes a while; but it’s completely do-able.

Today’s LHBI food is Salad Dressings.  Have you looked at those ingredient lists??? Gross!  So what do we put on all our delicious salads?  And why do we need to put anything on a salad at all? Because we want the Nutrients from the foods.    Several nutrients, like vitamin A, D, E, and K, and all the minerals (calcium, magnesium, etc), only get absorbed IN THE PRESENCE OF FAT.    Protein is better absorbed in the presence of fat.  Fat isn’t just an energy source.  Fat has hundreds of functions in our body. ( Remember that water is our bodies biggest component, and then protein and fat are the next 2 biggest components, then minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates,which make up about 2% of us).

Back to Salad Dressings.  Let’s look at Kraft Ranch:  Ingredients: WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, VINEGAR, SUGAR, SALT, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF EGG YOLKS, WHEY (FROM MILK), MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, GARLIC JUICE, BUTTERMILK, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, XANTHAN GUM, PHOSPHORIC ACID, POLYSORBATE 60, SPICE, ARTIFICIAL COLOR, TARTARIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SORBIC ACID AND CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR). CONTAINS: EGG, MILK.

Here’s a Girards:  Ingredients:SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, CORN-CIDER VINEGAR, PARMESAN CHEESE (PART-SKIM MILK, CHEESE CULTURE, SALT, ENZYMES), EGG YOLK, SALT, SUGAR, SPICES, ANCHOVIES, CITRIC ACID, GARLIC*, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, XANTHAN GUM, SOY FLOUR, MALTODEXTRIN, ONION*, POLYSORBATE 60, SODIUM BENZOATE ADDED AS PRESERVATIVE, NATURAL FLAVORS, MOLASSES, CARAMEL COLOR, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA ADDED TO PROTECT FLAVOR, TAMARIND, DISODIUM INOSINATE, DISODIUM GUANYLATE.

Whether you go Full Fat, Low Fat, or Fat Free, commercial salad dressings are a health disaster.   What to do ?  Make your own!  You could always use a good Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Vinegar.  Have you seen the new fruit vinegars in the stores now?  Delicious!  Or you could make one of a million great dressing recipes out there.

I looked at ingredient lists of several different salad dressings.  Calcium Disodium EDTA was in almost every one.  It’s used as a preservative in food,  and a chelator in medicine.  Chelation means “removes metals” – and MINERALS.  So, when this is added to our SALADS ( a very nutrient dense group of foods) , it leaches on to minerals and causes them to be expelled.   The FDA also says it causes malabsorption of Vit C and several B vitamins.  When it’s used in Chelation Therapy, the FDA requires Vitamin Infusions .  Hmmm. Other side effects include allergic reactions; dangerously low blood sugar, blood pressure, or blood calcium levels; kidney failure and seizures. According to the FDA, 11 patients died from calcium disodium EDTA use between 1971 and 2007.

Oh, and here’s something interesting:
Calcium disodium EDTA should not be given with ceftriaxone, also known as Rocephin, according to Drugs.com. Ceftriaxone is a cephalosporin antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. When combined, ceftriaxone reacts with calcium disodium EDTA to produce calcium crystals in the lungs and kidneys, which can be life threatening. The calcium disodium EDTA may also result in the body absorbing more ceftriaxone than it should, which reduces the efficacy of the antibiotic in destroying bacteria.

OMGosh.  Why is this stuff allowed in our food?   Read your labels!  Know what you’re putting in your body!  Here again we’re seeing side effects that are common symptoms that people go to the doctor for.  What if you need to change your food as opposed to taking pharmacuticals?

What to use instead of commercial salad dressings? A good oil and vinegar are the quickest go-to, but if you want something else, Ranch, French, Buttermilk,  make your own! They’re easy and they’re quick. Good place to start: google www.marksdailyapple.com , salad dressings.  Great Recipes!