Which would be WORSE for your health (or your child's health): Eating bacon and fried eggs for breakfast everyday OR chewing a piece of Orbit gum everyday?
Well, let's take a look at the facts and then I'll let you decide for yourself.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT ORBIT GUM:
Orbit gum contains ingredients that have been KNOWN to cause cancer. I realize that today we like to throw the statement around that "Everything causes cancer!". However, there isn't truth in that. Organic food actually heals cancer. (Take a look at the documentary I recommended a few days ago.) And processed foods with man-made ingredients (like what's in Orbit gum) actually CAUSE cancer. But it's not just about cancer. Some of the ingredients in Orbit are known to contribute to multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, and Hypoglycemia.
Here's the ingredient list found directly on the Wrigley (Orbit's maker) website:
INGREDIENTS:SORBITOL, GUM BASE, GLYCEROL, MANNITOL, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, LESS THAN 2% OF: XYLITOL, ASPARTAME, ACESULFAME K, SOY LECITHIN, COLORS (BETA-CAROTENE, BLUE 1 LAKE), BHT (TO MAINTAIN FRESHNESS). PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE
I don't have time tonight to go through each of those ingredients and tell you what they are and why I wouldn't put them in my body. However, I would be as bold as to say that the most dangerous on the list are aspartame and BHT.
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener used in place of sugar. (You might know it by the name of Equal or Nutra-sweet.) Sugar has calories, aspartame does not. However, sugar is derived from a plant where as aspartame is man-made. Aspartame can cause any number of health problems from recurring headaches/migraines to depression. It is the soul reason that you see the warning at the bottom of the label in all caps: PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE.
In a nutshell, that warning is for people who cannot consume aspartame - people who have phenylketoneuria (or PKU). These people are missing the enzyme necessary to break down aspartame and get it out of the body. Therefore it accumulates in their body, building up and building up and eventually can cause mental retardation. (Anybody else wondering how many babies out there were born mentally retarded because Mom drank diet sodas? Take a look at this story for an example.)
However, aspartame may not be the most dangerous ingredient in Orbit. That honor might need to be reserved for BHT. It's the preservative used to make sure good ol' Orbit doesn't grow old and moldy. BHT has been proven over and over to cause cancer and yet it is continually used in products. (My latest find was taco shells!!)
On the Wrigley website, they state in their Commitment that they "have always cared deeply about [their] people, [their] business, and the world in which [they] live and work." This simply cannot be true given that their gum contains food colorings, artificial sweeteners, and a known carcinogen.
And what's worse? It hasn't always been that way. Take a look back at the ingredient list for Orbit gum during the second World War: gum base, sugar, corn syrup, softeners and artificial fruit flavors. See any aspartame or preservatives in there?
Let me encourage you if you still ever have the urge to pop a piece of artificially sweetened gum in your mouth or sip on a diet drink to DO YOUR RESEARCH. Know what you're putting in your body before you put it in there. Food can either heal or kill ... your choice.
That being said, it may seem that my answer to the above posed question would be Orbit .... that Orbit would be worst choice out of the two to put in your body each day. And you would be right UNLESS that bacon contains nitrites and the eggs are not organic. Here's why:
We all see "fry" and immediately think "no, no!"; however, consuming something that is fried (like an egg) is not bad for you every once in awhile as long as it meets the above requirements.
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT BACON:
Most bacon you can purchase at your grocery store is preserved using nitrates to maintain color and freshness. Otherwise we would all have botulism. (Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration.)
I won't deny that bacon is high in sodium and that it has a fairly large amount of saturated fat. However, it is the nitrites that you must watch for. Being cured in salt gives bacon the high sodium count and if they would stop there, that would be the only concern. (And if only consumed on occasion, it would be fine.) But, it's when they lace it full of nitrates trying to preserve the color so it will last longer on the grocery shelf - that's when they cross the line and you're not just playing with a high sodium count anymore.
Nitrites are a known carcinogen - specifically for pancreatic cancer.
However, I just fed my kids bacon and fried eggs this morning using Applegate Farms bacon. Take a look at their ingredient list: Organic pork, water, sea salt, Organic evaporated cane syrup, and celery powder. You won't find any nitrates or other preservatives there. And it was a nice break for the kids from gluten free waffles, cereal or "oat"meal.
But, what about those eggs? Why would it matter if the egg was organic or not?
IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT EGGS:
Because non-organic eggs come from "robot" chickens. (These chickens are kept in cages - they never even see the light of day or touch the ground.) They simple lay eggs. They are shot full of antibiotics to keep them from catching disease from the filth they live in and they're also given steroids to boost their egg laying capabilities. I love the way this guy put it: "As you can imagine this kind of environment is highly stressful, and just like chronic stress effects us, it effects animals too, so out come the antibiotics and steroids again."
So, to put it simply - my question was a trick question in a sense. Orbit gum would be the worst by far if your bacon wasn't preserved with nitrates and your eggs came from an organic farm with free-range chickens (meaning they aren't locked in cages - they roam the grass). However, if your bacon is full of cancer causing preservatives and your eggs came from stressed out chickens full of steroids and antibiotics, I don't know which is the lesser of two evils for you!
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