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SHINE BRIGHTER. Our goal is to live better and be better.

Archives: October 2011


Sunny D(isgusting)

Posted on by diamondsonyourinside and currently has 1 Comment on Sunny D(isgusting)

Sunny Delight–Sunshine in a Bottle they say. It has been marketed to us kids since the seventies. Today it is all over kid programming–offering a refreshing, healthy beverage. Seemingly happy kids bouncing around in the sunshine, playing, laughing, unwittingly consuming crap. They serve it in schools, they serve it in Lunchables (that’s another post).  It all seems benign.

Take a moment. What do you think are the ingredients in that seemingly harmless orange bottle? My first guess was water, orange juice and obviously sugar. Well, that is partly correct. Real orange juice comprises less than 2% of this concoction. Get out your dictionary and call your doctor. You are poisoning your children. I have bolded the dangerous ingredients.

Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup and 2% or Less of Each of the Following: Concentrated Juices (Orange, Tangerine, Apple, Lime, Grapefruit). Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Beta-Carotene, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Natural Flavors, Food Starch-Modified, Canola Oil, Cellulose Gum, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Sodium Benzoate To Protect Flavor, Yellow #5, Yellow #6

In addition to the HFCS which is linked to obesity and insulin issues, there is CANOLA OIL in your juice.  Say what? WHY is there equal parts of juice as there is inflammatory building, artery blocking CANOLA OIL? If that oil wasn’t enough, they’ve added artificial coloring–which is made from petroleum.  Do I need to explain why petroleum is harmful to consume? I won’t even go into the sodium hexametaphosphate, mainly because I can’t even spell it much less know what it does.  Oh, and why does juice need starch?

Our lives are busy.  We know that.  But don’t err on the side of processed convenience if the label screams UNHEALTHY.  Don’t allow your children to control the choices at home.  When you explain WHY, they usually get the message.  They don’t want to consume poison either.  If you educate your children on these hidden dangers, they will eventually make better choices for themselves–even when you aren’t around.


GMO. OMG! WTH?

Posted on by diamondsonyourinside and currently has 1 Comment on GMO. OMG! WTH?

GMO.  A genetically modified organism.  Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie.  Not something you are eating everyday. GMOs are foods that have been genetically altered using another organism’s genes to obtain certain desired traits.  Peanut genes in a strawberry? Why do you care?

Allergies. Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods.  Soon after GM soy was introduced to the UK, soy allergies skyrocketed by 50 percent. GM soy contains a protein that was never before part of the human food supply, and might be allergenic. In fact, sections of that protein are identical to those found in shrimp and dust mite allergens. Tasty.

Development. Children are three to four times more susceptible to allergies. Also, they convert more of the food into body-building material. Altered nutrients or added toxins can result in developmental problems.  Isn’t it suspicious the developmental delays that are so prevalent these days??

Unknown Disease. Monsanto, the corporation responsible for producing roughly 90% of genetically modified seeds around the globe, will try to bring their new, GMO sweet corn to a grocery store aisle or farmer’s market near you. These are seeds that are resistant to pests–it causes organ failure in mammals. While we are a bit stronger than a rat…I deem that frightening. 

This is the first time an engineered vegetable could be served straight to your dinner table. Usually they are hidden in the ingredients of packaged foods (high fructose corn syrup, all soy items).

Since GMOs tolerate Roundup (that kills any living thing around it), these new GMOs could pass the same health and infertility problems that are linked between Roundup to crop disease and livestock infertility, on to humans who consume this GMO corn.

What do you do?

Eat organic. Limit packaged crap. Eat whole. Grow your own heirloom seeds. Know where your food comes from. Know that Monsanto is the devil.

Happy Halloween.


Energy Vampires?

Posted on by diamondsonyourinside and currently has 7 Comments on Energy Vampires?

Pull out your wooden stakes and garlic, it’s time to protect yourself from the Energy Vampires. And not just because it is Halloween.  These are people who bring you down, who can magically suck the life force from your soul while you sip your latte.  They are never satisfied, never positive and NEVER stop complaining.  They leave you tired, weary and not happy. Do you know someone like this? Even worse, are you someone like this?

Energy Vampires…

  • Are unrelentingly negative. Their negative energy appears continuous. THESE PEOPLE SUCK ME DRY.
  • It’s all about me.  These are the folks that think of no one but themselves.  Reading this, they would have no idea this was about them.  Cue Carly Simon’s “Your So Vain.”
  • Make mountains out of molehills. These Drama Queens can turn a broken nail into a Shakespearean tragedy. REALLY?  It’s can’t be that bad, can it?
  • Complain constantly about their partners, jobs, children, bad luck, the weather, EVERYTHING.  Nothing is EVER good enough. SHUT UP. PLEASE!
  • Debbie Downers. They render a room dark in minutes. Half empty folks.
  • Not me! Blame everyone else for their problems. It is NEVER their fault.

The one that makes me the most crazy is that ‘Woe is Me’ Vampire.  They are always  the victim and the world is always against them.  They can recount every horrible event since they were four.  The next one I come face to face with, I plan on sucker punching them and telling them, “GET OVER YOUR SHIT AND MOVE ON.  YOU HAVE ONE LIFE.  LIVE IT.

Tell them.  Kill them with kindness. Laugh. Create boundaries. But for the most crazy of the Energy Vampires, you may have to disconnect from them altogether if possible.  Life is too important to be around villans such as this.  Surround yourself with happy, shiny people like yourself.  Maybe the blinding light will melt those life force suckers.

As you think of the Energy Vampires in your life, what will your silver bullet be?