Finding Fertile Ground

It's so funny how many times I've been asked already if I was using any sort of fertility drugs because I'm pregnant with twins. :)

I'm just going to go ahead and answer that in a one simple word answer: No.

These twins happened naturally and spontaneously.

Ok, I'm glad I got that covered.

I was able to restore my hormones and my cycle naturally. Although...I didn't ever get the chance to actually have that cycle....cause clearly I got pregnant instead. :)

Over the last couple days I've been getting a lot of emails about my method for restoring this balance because many women are trying to get pregnant or are struggling with endocrine systems that are out of whack. I do not pretend at all to think I know what's best for everyone, but I do believe with all of my heart that the way I ate over the last several months had EVERYTHING to do with restoring that balance to my hormones. And I believe that no matter what your female issue may be for infertility or for hormonal imbalance that following my nutrition plan would help almost anyone restore that balance. 

SO, it's your lucky day cause I'm going to pretty much tell you exactly what I did and ate on an average day. 

And hey, if you're not trying to restore hormonal homeostasis or enhance your fertility, eating this way will help you lose weight, give you energy, fight disease, and age you gracefully. Not bad, huh?

OK. There were 5 KEY things about my nutrition and lifestyle that I believe are absolutely essential for resetting your metabolism and restoring hormonal balance and enhancing fertility. These things are based on what I know about food and its medicinal/nutritional properties. I did not read books on this matter. I just put into practice what I already knew to be true about nourishing the female body in an ideal way. I of course do research on the internet, but it was mostly of compilation of several years of learning and practicing and listening to my body. 

1. ALL TOXINS OUT

2. Keep the body Alkaline

3. Eat Healthy Fats

4. Eat regularly, Eat RAW, Eat Super

5. Rest, Sleep, Relax

Ok. SO here it is broken down. 

1. ALL TOXINS OUT!

This is number one because when it comes down to it, toxins are endocrine disruptors. Plain and simple. They act as evil impostor chemical messengers that confuse and lie to the body and cause it to act contrary to the way it should. Your body will also spend its energy and its immune system attacking these chemicals and toxins when it should spend its time fighting actual disease. It will stay inflamed and you will remain fatigued and foggy and sick.

What are common toxins:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup

2. Hydrogenated Oils and Trans Fats

3. Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners

4. Food Dyes and Colorings

5. MSG

6. Genetically Modified Foods

7. Pesticides and Herbicides on conventional fruits and veggies

8. Soy and Corn preservatives

9. Refined Sugars

10. Animal Products that are not organic. 

Look at your labels. PLEASE don't put this stuff in your body! Move as far away from foods with a bar code as you possibly can. 

2. Keep your body Alkaline

For ONE, disease and cancer and other illnesses cannot thrive in a body that is alkaline. The common American Diet that is high in meat and processed foods leaves our bodies VERY acidic. Over the last several months, I ate almost all alkaline foods because I was on a mostly RAW and vegan diet. Now this doesn't mean that you have to go raw and vegan but it does mean for the purposes of healing, hormone balance, and fertility, you may want to cut back on the amount of animal products you have in your diet for a while. Eat fish several nights a week. Have chicken or turkey every now and then. And if you suffer from LOW estrogen like me, add in Tempeh and Soy a few days a week. However, most people are overly estrogenic, so keep soy products to a minimun. Your meat and soy sources though should be CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! Organic, grass fed, farm raised, hormone free, antibiotic free, preservative free, etc......

For the purposes of fertility, sperm survive better in an alkaline environment, so the more alkaline your "you know what" is then the more likely there will be a happy journey from one end of the tunnel to the other. :)

How G rated was THAT?! haha. 

I also had a dear friend who goes to my boot camp bring me ionized alkaline water every day. I had about a half a gallon a day. I truly believed this helped. It's called Kangen Water made my enagic. Many Cancer patients will purchase one of these water filters for their homes in hopes to bring their bodies to an alkaline state. 

here's a link on Kangen water

http://www.enagic.com/faq.php

Here is a great link that will tell you more about an alkaline diet and a whole bunch of foods that are both acidic and alkaline. 

http://rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

3. Eat Healthy Fats

The woman's body needs healthy fats. It is good for her hormones, good for her brain cells, good for her skin, and good for her metabolism. SO many women think fat is bad and try to keep a low fat diet, which often leads to a high carb diet, which keeps the blood sugar in an unstable state which only perpetuates the state of exhaustion, fatigue, and fogginess. Incorporate healthy fats at every meal. You don't need much. Sprinkle walnuts on your oatmeal. Use a tbs of evoo and balsamic on your salad. Put a tsp of coconut oil in your afternoon smoothie. Have avocado for dinner. Etc. Healthy fats are digested differently. DON'T be afraid of them! LOVE them. Cut out the sugars and high glycemic carbs...not the fats.

4. Eat Regular, Eat RAW, Eat Super!

Your metabolism needs a regular feeding in order to function well. Most overweight women who are infertile or hormonally imbalanced share a common habit. They don't eat until late in the day. Their bodies hate them. They don't trust them. They are confused. And they rebel. If you want to reset your metabolism and balance your hormones, you absolutely must eat regularly....starting with a healthy breakfast. 

You need to pack your diet full of RAW foods rich in enzymes and Superfoods rich in nutrition. These are both medicinal to your body and nourish every cell of your body. 

RAW foods basically means uncooked foods, fresh, and from it's natural state. Cooking can destroy a lot of enzymes thereby reducing the nutritional value of food. Great ways to get RAW foods into your diet are to juice in the morning, have a super green smoothie in the afternoon, a freshly blended soup for lunch, and a huge salad for dinner. 

Superfoods are basically foods that are high in nutrition for their calorie content. Examples are chia and flax seed, salmon, avocados, green vegetables, sweet potatoes, greek yogurt, you know.....stuff like that. 

Do NOT eat empty calories like candies and cakes. They are high in calories and low in nutrition.

Disease loves sugar so the higher your blood sugar and the more acidic your body, the harder it will be for you to heal. 

Now I will give you a snap shot of how I ate in a day. I post tons of recipes on my fit list page and amounts of the following things including pictures. This is a general snap shot. I create detailed meal plans for clients, but this will give you an idea

6:00 am: Wake up and have warm lemon water with maple syrup and cayenne pepper to stimulate the liver

7:00 am: Make 12 oz of fresh juice from your juicer for a quick natural energy boost: 

1 apple, 3 carrots, 1/2 sweet potato, 1 lemon, 2 celery, 1" ginger.

8:00 am: Breakfast: 

Superfood Oats: Gluten free oats with chia seed, flax seed, walnuts, stevia, and cinnamon

10:30 am: Post exercise plant protein shake and a brown rice cake with a tbs of homemade hummus

1:00 pm: Lunch. Huge Salads with lots of cut veggies and a homemade dressing. A big bowl of homemade soup. Pesto Stuffed mushrooms

3:30 pm: Afternoon Snack. Either a Rockin Wellness Shake with almond milk and a banana or a superfood Smoothie. My Super smoothies were always different, but one of my favorites was pear, spinach, banana, and green grapes.

Rockin Wellness is AMAZING!!!!!!!

here's the link if you want some.

http://rockinwellness.com/

6:30 pm: Dinner: Tempeh stir fry with coconut oil, braggs liquid aminos, mixed bell peppers over a bed of spinach

9:00 pm: Bedtime snack. A small cacao snack which is packed with antioxidants and more healthy fats. I'd make these homemade. I have recipes on my fit list page.

BAM! My nutrition in a day. I always meal prepped on Sunday. I'd make sure my fridge was stocked full so I never had an excuse to slack off. 

5. SLEEP, REST, RELAX!

I know one of the BIGGEST reasons that I didn't ovulate was because I overtrained, slept too little, and never had any down time. This year I committed to that. I let my adrenal glands relax a little. I backed off the training. I still exercised fully and regularly just not too much. I also aimed for 8 hrs of sleep a night, and I learned to say NO. I learned my limits and I knew I wanted to spend more time doing things I enjoyed. I could rarely get around to that if I was overloading myself with work. 

_____________________________________________________

So, There ya go! If you can keep toxins out, fill your body with superfoods, keep your body alkaline, sleep more, and have less stress then you are WELL on your way to healing. People say "everything in moderation" but I say that's BS! If you are sick, your primary focus should be total and complete commitment to being clean...totally and completely. :)

For example, just a 2% increase in daily hydrogenated oils and trans fats can increase your risk of cancer and heart disease by up to 60%. That's only 20-40 calories coming from hydrogenation a day!!! If you think your coffee creamer is the only bad thing you do a day so you think you'll be fine, you need to think about cutting it out because disease doesn't happen in a day. It is a cumulative effect from years of bad habits. Why do you think people don't start coming down with immune issues til their 30's, cancer til their 40's, Alzheimer's til their 50's?...cause yes....it's happening that early these days. 

If you are someone who is desperate for change and are perpetually frustrated because you are doing "MOSTLY" right but getting nowhere, try doing "ALL" right. Sometimes you just gotta put your nose to the grindstone and stop making excuses that are socially acceptable like "everything in moderation." You don't give your kid one cigarette a day. Why do you need one cookie a day? 

Want a cookie? GREAT! Google is your best friend. In the google search, write Raw, Vegan, Healthy, Organic, Superfood, etc....cookies. Find a recipe. Make it in bulk and have one a day! 

That's how you get healthy. You find alternatives. And getting healthy doesn't happen overnight. It is a process. Stick to the safe and in the meantime, try expanding your wings every week to find a new recipe or a new food that you love and can incorporate to create variety. Crowd out the bad with the good. Take your time. Healing is right around the corner!

XOXO, 

Cheers to health!!!!

Our Double Blessing!

It truly is amazing how your whole life can change over night. Just a month ago, I was expanding my wings. I was flying to new heights and my plans for the future were clearer than ever. My life was perfect. I felt like I'd done so much hard work for years and was finally ready to make it fruitful. Both of my children as far as I am concerned are nothing short of perfect. They are healthy and adorable and mostly obedient and life is predictable. They would both be in school in the fall. The baby days were finally over and freedom was right at my finger tips. Golden. Why would I do anything to mess with a perfectly flawless situation?!

Bryan and I had always imagined 3 little children, but the timing was never exactly right for that 3rd child and after a pretty devastating miscarriage 2 years ago, I emotionally decided to be done. 

Now don't get me wrong....in an ideal world, I would already have 5 kids. I would live close to home or in a commune on some land with my best friends and all their kids and live the hard core mom life because as you can tell from my relationship with Catie and Lily, I am obsessed with being a mother. I am so in love with my children and I think being a mom is so rewarding. I love babies. I love children. I love big families. Unfortunately, being military....I just decided Oh well! That life is not for me. Catie, Lily, and baby #3 who is in heaven were all surprises. If I were to have planned any of them, none of them would have been here. haha.

How in the world does someone get pregnant 4 times by accident? Well, let's just say that my husband and I are EXTREMELY careful and few times we haven't been.....well.....BAM, babies were conceived....even if it was nowhere near time for me to conceive on the calendar. Apparently the two of us are very compatible for the making of babies. :)

This most recent pregnancy is the MOST shocking though. As you can read from a blog post earlier this year, my female hormones have been off. My last period was last summer so it had been about 6 months. I had something called hypothalamic amenorrhea which many athletes and fit women get because of overtraining and low body fat. In essence you stop ovulating even though your ovaries are perfectly fine and you stop menstruating. If you don't ovulate, you can't get pregnant. Here's the story on that.
http://nostrainnogain.blogspot.com/2013/01/hormonal-homeostasis.html

Several months ago, I felt convicted about bringing myself to this imbalance and decided to commit to restoring hormonal balance. It meant for me to train a bit less hard, eat to heal and nourish, and find time to relax. And I did EXACTLY that. Many of you who follow me on Facebook or who are friends with me have witnessed this first hand. It has been a truly amazing experience. For 3 months, I ate healing wholesome, REAL, raw foods. I ate a completely alkaline diet. I quit counting calories. I made all my food fresh. I stayed away from everything toxic even down to getting rid of the gum. I also felt truly relaxed. No pressure. Now, I had always felt pretty awesome, but eating THIS way made me feel like I could FLY. 

I had an intuition that things were getting back in balance, and JUST out of curiosity...when I went home for Christmas, I decided to get one of those ovulation kits. It was NOT to see when I was fertile. I just wanted to follow my cycle for a whole month to see if I would ever ovulate because if I did this would mean that things were working again. I did this for 3 weeks straight (missed a day here and there) but NOTHING. No ovulation. So one day my husband and I were careless in the middle of January. 3 days later I decided to take one of those tests again and lo and behold I was ovulating. 

I was elated!!!! I was a woman again!!!!! I felt like my body was a health experiment and I had found the formula. What I was doing was working!!! But I ran to my husband and said...."Stay away from me because I could get pregnant right now." And we did JUST that. Those tests say you can get pregnant within 2 days after seeing those lines. We messed up 3 days prior, so surely we were fine! Over the next week or 2 I twiddled my thumbs and waited to have another period. I know. Weird. I was excited to have one.

I started to feel like I was PMSing....you know, I had all those symptoms. But the period never came. The panic set in. It was about time for me to get my hormones tested from the dr again anyway so I scheduled an appointment, got my blood work done, and they called back and said, "Well, Mrs. Strain....it looks like your hormones are working GREAT now cause you're pregnant!"

WHHHAAAAATTTTT?????????? 

I had this overwhelming mixture of awe, confusion, shock, fear, and excitement. I was NOT ready for this. This changed everything!

They scheduled me for an ultrasound right away when I told them that my last period was in July of 2012. They were like, "GO NOW!" They wanted to date me even though I knew how far along I was. I delayed going to get an ultrasound actually. I had the number. I could schedule the appointment, but I wanted to wait. I didn't want to go in until I knew they could see a baby and a heartbeat. I've been to an ultrasound where they didn't find the heartbeat because I'd lost the baby. I didn't want to experience that again. I wanted to know for sure that I had a real live baby in there before I started telling people too. 

In the meantime, I started showing really early. And I was getting SICK!!!!!! I was breaking out like a 13 year old, I was having raging headaches, and my breasts went from a D to a G!!! I was reeling with pregnancy symptoms. I was feeling pretty miserable. I had to start telling a few people because I was showing and it was getting pretty obvious. They were all like YOU're having a BOY because I didnt get sick with my girls. I felt awesome with them. It did come up a few times in a very "funny" way that it could be twins, but as far as I was concerned that was the WORST thing that could happen to me and I didn't have to worry about that because it doesn't run on my mothers side of the family and I am the LAST person that God would give two babies at once to.

This was me at just 5 weeks before I even knew I was having twins. haha

Well, I finally went in for an ultrasound on February 13. I had my sweet little Lily with me holding my hand. As I lay there on the table and the tech started doing her thing, I proceeded to say these EXACT words, "Ok. Please just tell me you see a heart beat. But whatever you do, do NOT tell me you see more than one." And then I laughed. 

She says, "Do twins run in the family?" 

I said, "No."

She then turns the screen toward me and says, "Well, now they do!" 

Twins at 7 weeks

And there they were.....2 babies. 2 heartbeats. 

I fell apart. I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. And when Lily said, "Mom, that's a lot of babies!" I wept. I told the tech I wasn't ready. This couldn't be happening! I then went into shock and laughed...A LOT! When I told Bryan, his response were 2 small but powerful words, "Holy ______!"

After we let it sink in and realized that this was now our situation, we fell in love with the idea. We saw the beautiful but scary and exhilarating reality of it. This wasn't our plan, but it was God's plan. He has saved these babies for us. And I almost feel like I'm getting back the 3rd one I lost 2 years ago as weird as that sounds. Bryan and I get 2 more children. THIS is AWESOME! When I look at the two girls I have now, why in the world would I not want more kids?! When all the logic and the fear of having 2 babies at once leaves, I am left with the simple and beautiful truth that there are 2 lives growing inside of me. These are my children. They are alive. They growing. I am their mother. Their well being depends on me and I have given myself over to that reality. My priorities are now to ensure their health and livelihood to the best of my ability. 

That leads me to my next fear. I am terrified of having an unhealthy child. I am doing all the right things and taking very good care of my body, but I know that at some level there is nothing I can do but trust God. I know SO many healthy women who lost babies or had babies with health issues. We can only do the best we can to ensure the health of our children, but for the most part, the health and condition of our children is in the hands of God and I have to be prepared for any scenario. 

From what they can see from my ultrasound, the babies are sharing a sac which most likely means that my egg split and they will be identical. Its crazy that one egg can become two babies and those two babies can develop perfectly. It is WILD.
The Dr's say my babies are not genetic twins, they are miracle twins. :) I like that.

The other possible issue is the lack of a membrane between the two babies. They didn't see one at the first 2 ultrasounds so I will be seeing a perinatologist in the next few weeks for a high resolution ultrasound. What does it mean for there to be no membrane? Well, it means that they could be sharing the same amniotic fluid. They will not be separated from each other so they can swim around each other and their cords can get tangled. There is only a 50% survival rate for these kinds of twins and they only happen in 1 and 65,000 twin pregnancies. It is very rare. 

The good news is....they saw 2 yolk sacs which is almost ALWAYS indicative of a membrane, so I am trusting that they will find one and that my babies will be fine. With that said, please keep my babies in your prayers. Because they are not fraternal, there is a higher risk for them anyway. When twins share a sac, they also share a placenta. SO my goal is to eat and nourish my body so they can receive maximum nutrition from my one placenta. 

Nonetheless, what we know RIGHT now is that these babies are healthy today. They have strong heart beats and they are swimming around like happy little nuggets. I am about 9 weeks pregnant, so anything can unfold at this point. I know I'm not in the clear, but i do know that God is good. And when I think of the worst possible case scenario, I'm STILL ok, because there is STILL heaven. I have no reason to fear or lose hope. 

I am excited for this journey and I can't wait to share it with you all!!!!

Wednesday Workout: 100 Rep Workout!

A. Cardio

1.  25 Jumping Jacks

2.  25 Skaters

3.  25 Jump Ropes (4 count)

4.  25 High Knees (4 count)

B. Upper Body Conditioning

1.  25 Bent over Rows

2.  25 Bicep Curls

3.  25 Tricep Kickbacks

4.  25 Upright Rows

·       Repeat 4 times

Repeat Cardio Round

C. Core

1.  25 V Ins

2.  25 Right Oblique Crunches

3.  25 Crunches down the middle

4.  25 Left Oblique Crunches

·       Repeat 4 times

Repeat Cardio Round

D. Lower Body Conditioning

1.  25 Traveling Side squats (lead right leg)

2.  25 Deadlifts

3.  25 Traveling Side Squats (lead left leg)

4.  25 Calf Raises

·       Repeat 4 Times.

Finish with 25 Burpees

Hormonal Homeostasis

I feel it's time to start addressing a big scary subject....
HORMONES! 
 It is a subject I have taken great interest in over the years as it has been the biggest personal struggle I've had with my own health.

I have done a lot of research on hormones over the years simply to understand my own bizarre imbalances, but in doing so, I have acquired a wealth of information and insight into a broad spectrum of hormonal imbalances and how they are profoundly affecting the lives of MOST women.
Whether its PCOS, Endometriosis, Irregular Periods, Infertility, PMD, etc...it seems to ALWAYS be something with almost every woman I meet or work with.
 It appears the source of these imbalances are related to a combination of lifestyle habits, diet, and environmental factors. For the most part, they are related to things we have some degree of control over, BUT...no shocker here....they are being treated, controlled, manipulated, and masked by synthetic "solutions" that are making the problems worse because they are interfering with the body's natural ability to find its own balance.

NOW, of COURSE I am not suggesting that if everyone were left alone with their endocrine imbalances, they would be ok and naturally everything would work out. Many are left with no choice but to be medically treated. And things don't naturally workout if you are living synthetically. Hmmmmm. How's THAT for philosophic? ;)
Anyway, I am a professional in the field of disease prevention and health promotion. I am not a doctor. I will stick within the realm of what I know, and when it comes to issues regarding health, my blog topics are only to share my own stories, create conversation, educate others, and inspire people to take responsibility for the choices they make about their bodies and the health of their families.

OK. With all that said...let me give you a little info on my own issue.

I have a condition that is actually very rare and is on the opposite end of the spectrum from what most women are suffering from. It is called Hypothalamic Amenorreah. Sounds special, huh? ;)

What is Hypothalamic Amenorreah?

I'll let someone else explain it. Copy and Paste....

 http://www.fertilityauthority.com/trouble-conceiving-and-infertility/hypothalamic-amenorrhea

Hypothalamic amenorrhea is amenorrhea due to a problem involving the hypothalamus, which is the portion of the brain that links the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland.

What Happens in Hypothalamic Amenorrhea

The hypothalamus controls reproduction —it produces gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH signals the production of other hormones needed for ovulation and after, such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). FSH and LH signal the ovaries to produce estrogen, which thins the cervical mucus and, along with progesterone, prepares the uterus for a fertilized egg.

If the hypothalamus stops producing GnRH, the amount of FSH, LH and estrogen will be reduced, and ovulation and menstruation will stop. This can result in infertility.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Let me nutshell this for you....

Basically, your hypothalmus sits above your pituitary gland. It sends signals to your pituitary that tell it to produce certain hormones. Hormones for instance that tell your body to ovulate and have a menstrual cycle. 

NOT that I am trying to reproduce!!!! BUT if I wanted to, I couldn't at this point because my body won't ovulate. Why? Because a portion of my brain has gone KAPUT!

Many women have problems with their pituitary gland and their problems can be addressed with certain hormone treatments especially if they are trying to conceive. My problem however begins in the hypothalamus. And there are NO medical treatments for it. When my hypothalamus decides to stop holding back that special little signal that tells my pituitary gland to function, it will, but there is no magic pill for this. In the far distant past, I have undergone different hormonal treatments...none of which have worked and all of which threw my hormones even MORE out of whack.
My cycle usually returns after I've really been stress free and nourished my body with foods that are higher in healthy fats. 

As I said before, my situation is rare. MOST hormonal imbalances are due to Estrogen Dominance or an Insufficiency of Progesterone. Nonetheless, WHATEVER the cause, when our endocrine system gets out of whack, it leads to a myriad of health problems, both physical and mental, that impact our quality of lives. When one thing is off....EVERYTHING is off. And if you know me at all....you know I like everything to be ON! :)

As I commit to going RAW and eating to heal, I am hoping to restore my on hormonal homeostasis. I want to begin addressing hormones in general...I want to look at how they get out of whack and how to get them back on track. I want to start looking for natural remedies and educating others as I learn for myself what the female body really needs in order to thrive in her feminine nature. And femininity, my friends, is a strong and powerful attribute to have. 

I believe that balance in our bodies can be restored by a balance in our lifestyles. Make healthy choices about the foods you eat, the way you exercise, the products you put on your skin, and how you manage stress.

I'm looking forward to the journey back to balance!          

CHEW on This....

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit...
Well, I am HAPPY to announce that I have officially made it 21 days without 1 single piece of sugar free gum!!!! 

You may find that RIDICULOUS and anti-climactic, but GUM was that one vice that I couldn't quite let go of after years of cleaning up my eating habits. 

I remember trying The Green Extra Gum for the first time in college over 10 years ago and I was immediately HOOKED. I've been chewing some form of gum non-stop ever since. And it's almost ALWAYS the Green Extra, but I'd take what I could get.

As my health habits changed in recent years, and I began to understand that I was essentially chewing on EXTREMELY toxic ingredients which were being delivered straight to my bloodstream pretty much 24/7, I started to feel a bit guilty. 

I knew better. WAY better
I also began to realize that chewing gum was a crutch for me. It was my "go to" way of satisfying a craving that was usually linked to a restriction of some sort.
As I have moved into a RAW way of living that follows the principle of eating to heal, I no longer feel restricted, and I have finally been able to kick the gum habit.

This is SERIOUS business you guys. All of the ingredients in your sugar free gum are endocrine disruptors that mess with your hormones, metabolism, and brain chemistry. Not to mention they are full of carcinogens and neuro/reproductive toxins.

The way I chewed this gum up until 21 days ago....well, let's just say that I may as well have been hooked up to an IV drip. That's embarrassing to admit, but if you want to get all AA about it....honesty and admission is the first step to change. ;)

I truly believe that kicking this gum habit has brought about immense changes in my health already.

My sugar cravings are ZERO

I have less headaches, 

and

My digestive system is much more at ease.

Please read the following information about gum if you are chewing it regularly! It will open your eyes and hopefully help you kick the habit too!

XO!

The following information is from the site healthwyze.com http://healthwyze.org/index.php/component/content/article/383-why-a-stick-of-gum-is-more-harmful-to-your-health-than-anything-that-you-eat.html

The Truth About Sugar Free Gum.

If you thought that either toothpaste or red meats laced with sodium nitrate were the most dangerous things at the grocery store, then you should guess again.

People do not typically swallow gum, and thus they give very little attention to their ingredients.  After all, if it is not swallowed, then ingredients should not be a concern, right?  Wrong.  The ingredients in gum go into the bloodstream faster and in higher concentrations than food ingredients, because they are absorbed straight through the walls of the mouth, and they will not undergo the normal filtration process of digestion.

Gum is typically the most toxic product in supermarkets that are made for consumption, and they are very likely to kill your pet.  Commercial gum products contain roughly the same list of toxic ingredients, with differing labeling, which is virtually always designed to be deceptive.

Common Ingredients of Gum

After looking at several different brands of chewing gum, we found that these were the most common ingredients:

• Sorbitol • Gum Base • Maltitol • Mannitol • Xylitol • Artificial and 'Natural' Flavoring • Acacia • Acesulfame Potassium

• Aspartame • BHT • Calcium Casein Peptone-calcium Phosphate • Candelilla Wax • Sodium Stearate • Titanium Dioxide (so cancerous that external skin contact is enough)

When you consider that all of these ingredients are absorbed directly into the bloodstream unaltered through the mouth tissues and saliva, it is at least slightly disturbing to most rational people.  It should be.  We will be analyzing some of these ingredients in-depth, because we intend to debunk the myth that chewing gum is harmless and even good for you (ie. "it strengthens the teeth").

The "Sugar Free" Sugar Alcohols

Sorbitol, Maltitol, and Mannitol are sugar alcohols.  These are usually made from sugar, and they frequently increase the blood sugar just as much as eating sugar straight.  However, they allow manufacturers to make deceptive  "sugar-free" claims, since these ingredients are not pure sugar anymore.  (Nothing up this sleeve)  While such sugar derivatives are technically "sugar free" when the manipulative word games are employed, they nonetheless remain dangerous for diabetics, who by the way, are the very audience that these gums are marketed to.  Let's not forget that the sugar alcohol containing gums are also marketed to improve our dental health, either; since they are so "sugar free", after all.  The sugar alcohols are even more chemically bastardized than "white" sugar is (more toxic), so we have reason to believe that these forms of sugar will stimulate even more weight gain and inflammation than regular sugar.  All the evidence points in that direction.  Furthermore, these chemically bastardized sugar alcohols are documented to cause abdominal pains and diarrhea, whilst aggravating various health conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome; so the immune system takes a huge hit from them.  This immuno-suppression will, in turn, cause greater yeast development in the body to actually cause cavities.

There is no wonder about why such gums are so well loved by the American Dental Association.  It's like the thing with fluoride supposedly "stopping cavities" instead of actually causing more, along with various other dental problems.

Gum Base

Instead of telling customers what they are really eating, 'gum base' is used to generalize a list of ingredients that is never published.  As the name implies, it is the foundation agent of chewing gum.  We have tried exhaustively to find exactly what 'gum base' is made from.  On one website after another, we found the following babble, which is obviously meant to derail serious research:

"Gum base is produced through a blend of raw materials which can be categorized in five classes:

1. Elastomers, act as the key ingredient and provide elasticy
2. Resins act as binders and softeners
3. Plasticizers render the elastomer soft to ensure thorough blending of the gum base
4. Fillers contribute to the overall texture
5. Antioxidants prevent oxidation of the gum base and flavors during shelf life"

Since this was repeated identically at all websites that we looked at, we can only assume that all of these companies are actually owned by the same people, or at least they are working together as a cartel to cover-up an honest disclosure of what is in their gums.  We found out that the gum base is usually a commercial trade secret.   None of the websites told us the full ingredients.  For instance, exactly what plasticizer is used?  Are people chewing on super-toxic PVC?  The plasticizing agents could contain dioxins for all we know, and quite frankly, they probably really do.

After much more research, we found one Chinese company who told us about their ingredients.  Wuxi Yueda Gum Base Manufacture Co, Ltd said:

"It is made of several food grade raw materials, which are rubber (food grade), glycerol ester of rosin, paraffin waxes, polyvinyl acetates, talc powder and calcium carbonate."

Glycerol ester of rosin is often made from the stumps of pine trees.  It is used industrially to create fast-drying varnishes.  The Internet is riddled with stories of people who had severe allergic reactions to it, usually causing a swollen throat that led to difficulty breathing.  Glycerol ester of rosin is now being added to soft drinks, though federal limits ensure that its quantity remains under 100 p.p.m..  This safety limitation does not apply to chewing gum.

Talc has been linked to lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and fibrotic pneumoconiosis with just transdermal exposure.  It is very rarely put into products that are to be consumed.  In fact, the only other consumable products that we have seen containing talc is diet aids (most are extremely toxic).  Talcum powder was once used on small children, but it has now been replaced with cornstarch, due to safety concerns.  It's too dangerous to touch the skin, but absorbing it straight into the bloodstream  -- that's okay!  It sounds like we must be talking about vaccines again, doesn't it?

Polyvinyl acetate is not quite P.V.C..  It's P.V.A..  P.V.A. is frequently referred to as 'Carpenter's glue' or simply 'white glue'.  Remember that this is not being used as an industrial product, but as something that children are frequently given to chew on ('gum base' is in bubble gum too).  This goes quite well with the paraffin wax, which is derived from refined petroleum.

Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium (otherwise written as Acesulfame K)

Aspartame is one of the most controversial additives of all time, and sits alongside M.S.G. and saccharin in terms of both consumer trust and safety.  Its presence in foods has nothing to do with safety, but everything to do with politics and money.

Aspartame has been linked to just about every health condition known, from seizures to brain tumors.  Some epileptic patients have recovered from their condition simply from the elimination of this toxin from their diets.  It is found in diet foods, diet drinks and sugar-free products as an alternative to sugar.  Aspartame is a cure that remains worse than the disease.  Aspartame is an excitotoxin, which means that it over-excites the neurons in the brain, until they burn out, causing lowered intelligence and a host of neurological problems.

Dr. Russell Blaylock is the leading expert on the dangers of aspartame.  He helped produce the documentary, "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" which catalogs the health problems caused by Aspartame.  Aspartame can cause diabetes, fibromyalgia, lowered I.Q., obesity, multiple sclerosis, asthma, insomnia, muscle spasms, and a total of 92 known symptoms.

Acesulfame Potassium has similar properties to aspartame, and is believed to be a cancer risk.  The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has petitioned the F.D.A. for a stay of approval, due to the lack of testing done on this substance.  Studies on animals have shown a correlation between acesulfame potassium and various tumors.

Calcium Casein Peptone-Calcium Phosphate

While we would love to be able to provide lots of information on this ingredient, we can't.  We simply don't know.  It's only appearance is in Trident gum (the worst brand), and thus we were unable to find studies or any other information about it.  It could be a whitening agent.  It's important to note that casein is a milk-extractive that was linked with the Chinese baby formula poisonings.  Trust this ingredient at your own risk, but we would never put something in the mouth that has its research hidden from the public.

BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene)

B.H.T. is a preservative which has been linked to cancer, and is banned in the United Kingdom and Japan.  It is unbelievably sold as a "dietary supplement", and some people believe that it has anti-viral effects.  So does gasoline and rat poison for that matter.  We do not recommend it, because of the safety implications.  It causes kidney and liver damage.  Benjamin Feingold (creator of the 'Feingold diet') linked it to hyperactivity in children in the 1970's, as a large component of A.D.H.D..

Epilogue

For the sake of brevity, we will not continue to examine all of the ingredients in most chewing gum.  Chewing gum is easily one of the most toxic products available, and it is difficult to ever know exactly what it contains due to vague terms such as 'gum base' and 'artificial flavors'.  They're trade secrets, and probably include hundreds of ingredients that they are unwilling to disclose.  You have no right to know.

You can purchase natural gum, which is made from chicle, a tree that is native to central America.  There was a time when all chewing gum was made in this manner, but it is more expensive, and thus less popular among companies.  Natural gum can be purchased online or from health food stores.