Which "toxic non-foods" does your family actively avoid?

[RegGuheert]

With much help from the hive, I have put together nine categories of "toxic non-food," which is a term which I learned in this forum.

 

This is a poll to try to gauge which types of "toxic non-food" are most reviled by the hive. Please check all categories which you are actively trying to eliminate from your diet.

[Eleni]

All of them.

My kids have become rabid label readers as well. I watched both of my parents and one sibling die from cancer - and while nothing is foolproof I will be darned if I will increase our risk

[Eleni]

We don't avoid any allergens though no issues with those here. I only buy or how organic veggies and fruits. I bake all of our baked goods. Any dairy is organic- non homogenized and lightly pastuerized. I'm raising chicken for eggs. We are light meat eaters and eat lots of legumes and various grains. When we do eat meat it is pastured meat from a local source. I have also switched out all of our plastic ware for glass and bpa free stuff. Really my main motivation come from losing so many family members to cancer. The thought terrifies me and I try to do all in my power to hopefully avoid it

* please excuse any weird typos I'm on my iPhone

[Janet in Toronto]

This is probably included in most of your categories, but we avoid products marketed as low-fat or "diet". While we use processed food to some degree (e.g., canned tomatoes, store bought yogurt), we try to buy them as close to home-made as possible, with the fewest added ingredients in processing.

 

Janet

[RegGuheert]

...we are VERY actively avoiding ONE and less active with the other four:

 

- Excitotoxins: We avoid these almost entirely since I get sever headaches from MSG. Avoiding them has nearly eliminated my headaches.

 

- Chemicals used on the plant/animal: I suppose this would be second since we eat home-grown beef, venison and some chicken as well as many (most) of our vegetables. We also purchase many organic vegetable products.

 

- Preservatives: We purchase nitrate- and nitrite-free hot dogs along with the the home-grown and organics above.

 

- Allergens: I actively avoid dairy because of the calories and the effect it seems to have on my system (though I do not think I am lactose intolerant).

 

- Highly-processed foods: We do try to avoid many of these, but we do buy many products including them.

 

Beyond what we do above, we do not really actively avoid the other items. I'm not even sure how to avoid pathogens.

[Liz CA]

We don't avoid any allergens though no issues with those here. I only buy or how organic veggies and fruits. I bake all of our baked goods. Any dairy is organic- non homogenized and lightly pastuerized. I'm raising chicken for eggs. We are light meat eaters and eat lots of legumes and various grains. When we do eat meat it is pastured meat from a local source. I have also switched out all of our plastic ware for glass and bpa free stuff. Really my main motivation come from losing so many family members to cancer. The thought terrifies me and I try to do all in my power to hopefully avoid it

* please excuse any weird typos I'm on my iPhone

 

Ditto on all points - well...dh & son are not exactly light meat eaters but we constantly look for meat from pastured, grass-fed amimals.

This is quite a change from what we used to buy.

[Firefly]

We avoid all except allergens, since none of has food allergies.

[texasmama]

We are gluten free due to celiac disease. We also avoid shellfish and pork for health reasons. No MSG or artificial sweeteners of any type here. No jello. No milk (causes issues for us) but we do eat organic yogurt. We eat mostly organic and follow the "dirty dozen" to avoid foods with a high pesticide residue. Our main dietary sin is too much sugar, though we strive to avoid hfcs.

[MBM]

It's difficult to avoid exposure to many non-foods nowadays. For example, water filtration plants cannot filter out all the medications, so you, the consumer, might be drinking and storing non-excretable meds which could eventually affect you or your unborn child. Oh, and you also get fluoride, and some people would prefer to opt out of that.

 

Water also has nano particles in it, but they are in many items now, even organic products like sunscreen. The concern is that some of them can pass through the skin and the blood-brain barrier as well as the lungs. What that might ultimately do remains to be seen. They're probably not all bad, but I prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. Let someone else be the guinea pig!

 

Microban is triclosan. Some of the chemists who work with it won't use at home. One of my brothers is a chemist who won't because it builds up in the liver and doesn't leave. How's that for a vote of confidence? Btw, I classify it as a non-food because just today I saw it's being used in some of the Ticonderoga pencils, an item my youngest ate on a daily basis. Hmmm. How about pencils, too? :)

[Cricket]

I'm the only one with food allergies so I currently avoid many things. The only big no-no in our family is artificial sweeteners. I've been buying more and more organic fruits and vegetables. I'm still waiting on some info on a local organic food co-op. We will be buying grass-fed beef soon. We rarely eat out and don't eat many processed foods.

 

I bought a few things at Wal-Mart this morning. I was behind a lady with her cart overflowing with things like Toaster Strudel, frozen dinners, candy, soda and frozen pizza. About 8 years ago, my cart might have looked like that. It just made me cringe! Today my cart had wild-caught salmon, blueberries and pasta. Over the years we've definitely changed our eating habits for the better I think.

[TravelingChris]

I didn't mark the poll because I avoid some of the things in the category but not necessarily all. I hardly ever buy anything with artificial sweeteners except the sweetener if I am having guests who will want it. I avoid trans fats very well. I am also mostly avoiding HFCS. I try to buy non hormone milk. I try to use most things close to the natural state but I do buy breads, cookies, soups, and a few other things.

[Pretty in Pink]

I selected all but the allergens category, as we have none.

[HollyDay]

We avoid like the plague anything with "fake sugar" or MSG.

 

I avoid as much dairy as possible due to food allergy with dd. I make most of our "convenience" foods because most contain casein. But, she does occasionally get a slice of pizza at a birthday party.

 

Whenever possible, I buy hormone free meats.

 

We rarely, I mean maybe 3 times a YEAR buy meats preserved with nitrates or nitrites.

 

I try VERY hard to avoid all processed foods, but it does slip in there from time to time.

 

I also avoid sulfates - esp on dried fruits.

 

It is SO HARD in our culture to do this inexpensively. But, we do try. I grind my own wheat, I make my own yogurt (when I make it that is), I make yogurt cheese (when I make yogurt), I make my own ice cream using coconut milk. I'm no slouch when it comes to healthy eating. So, why can't I lose weight!? Just 10lbs??? 5 would do it!

[Orthodox6]

I try to keep our home (and stomachs/bodies !) free from everything listed, with the exception that we have no allergies.

 

Why was e. coli listed ? :confused: I don't know anybody who purposely ingests that ! :D

[MyLittleWonders]

I selected pretty much everything on the list. We are gluten free, dh is dairy free (mostly; he'll cheat if he hasn't had any in a long time). We are also Feingold, so no artificial ingredients of any sort. No MSG by any name. No HFCS (I actively avoid corn syrup as well); no trans fat or hydrogenated stuff. We buy almost all organic (a few things we can't get organic - like the wonderful GF bread we get from Udi's), including meats, and try to get grass fed beef. We still buy some processed stuff (snack-stuff), but given that it has to be all natural and GF, the list is small and tends to include only ingredients I can pronounce. ;)

[RegGuheert]

 

Why was e. coli listed ? :confused: I don't know anybody who purposely ingests that ! :D

True enough! I guess I was just wondering if anyone has stopped eating some foods or has stopped purchasing from some types of producers because the method of production could allow some pathogens to make it to your table. Didn't spinach sales plummet a couple of years ago after an e. coli scare? I'm wondering how many people stopped purchasing spinach and have refused to purchase it ever since.

[Orthodox6]

True enough! I guess I was just wondering if anyone has stopped eating some foods or has stopped purchasing from some types of producers because the method of production could allow some pathogens to make it to your table. Didn't spinach sales plummet a couple of years ago after an e. coli scare? I'm wondering how many people stopped purchasing spinach and have refused to purchase it ever since.

 

Good point. I will not purchase produce from Mexico, no matter how it is raised (organic or commercial). Too many scare stories have trickled up to N. TX.

[Sputterduck]

All of them except for "other".

[Sputterduck]

Good point. I will not purchase produce from Mexico, no matter how it is raised (organic or commercial). Too many scare stories have trickled up to N. TX.

 

 

lol Well... I don't have a choice.

[Perry]

I checked all except allergens. I should have checked other, because I also avoid fish and shellfish likely to have high levels of heavy metals. I also avoid many foods because I'm opposed to the methods of production, even though the food itself might not be "toxic" - CAFO's, veal, fish farming, etc.

[ladydusk]

I checked allergens, but only because I avoid soy (except in my chocolate chips, one must draw a line somewhere ...). None of the rest are allergens for us.

 

I checked other things as well. I try to buy "ingredients" rather than processed foods, but that is mostly because of avoiding soy and HFCS.

 

I do try to buy organic when possible; I *must* find a cheaper/better way to do this, though.

[MBM]

I try to avoid most fish, too. The mercury is bad enough, but the nurdles (tiny bits of plastic garbage) can't be good, either.

 

[Misty]

I selected everything! We can't have gluten, casein, or soy and we avoid all the other stuff as well. However, I'm still trying to kick my Dr. Pepper habit.. I do buy the kind made with sugar (not HFCS) if that matters..:tongue_smilie:

[EmmaNZ]

Wow! I'm impressed. I would love to start eating 'more healthily' (I don't think we do too bad, but there's always room for improvement!). To be quite honest though I wouldn't have the first clue how to start avoiding most of these things - any tips for a beginner?

[IsabelC]

We're trying to cut down or eliminate most of them, except not allergens as we don't have any food sensitivities or allergies here.

[Peela]

I ticked all except allergens, but on 2nd thoughts I should have checked that too since dh has become wheat sensitive and we now eat spelt bread. Ds14 is allergic to cows milk but still insists on drinking it so I cant really count that.

 

Maybe I shouldnt have counted the bacteria one. If I buy organic, I often dont even wash it (or I rinse it minimally) because I think we dont get enough bacteria in our systems from the soil. We are meant to be bacteria colony breeding grounds- it helps our immune systems. I am not germ phobic because I think we all need a bit of dirt and bacteria in our diet. But we havent had the issues you have had over there with spinach etc, and I dont mean the type of bacteria that grows on meat or dairy that is left out overnight :) If I buy conventional produce, I wash it well, but its more for the pesticide residue than the dirt. (except I don't like dirt in my spinach- blech).

[Rosie_0801]

Wow! I'm impressed. I would love to start eating 'more healthily' (I don't think we do too bad, but there's always room for improvement!). To be quite honest though I wouldn't have the first clue how to start avoiding most of these things - any tips for a beginner?

 

Read labels! And more to the point, learn what the innocent sounding ingredients actually are :glare:

 

Rosie

[ElizabethB]

All of them, but I'll accept bad packaging if I have to.

 

I am allergic to so many things and also get headaches from MSG. I tell people only half jokingly that I can't eat anything that resembles food. (Food as most people know it.) So, there isn't much out of a package or with anything weird added that I don't have to avoid.

 

I also now avoid corn fed things, I've found I'm allergic to corn-fed beef but not grass fed beef. I became allergic to buffalo about 3 months ago, coincidentally about the same time it started appearing in many regular supermarkets, so maybe I'm only allergic to corn-fed buffalo.

 

Since I was a biology major in college, I am especially paranoid about cooking everything, but especially beef and pork thoroughly because of the nasty diseases you can get from them if not fully cooked. (Not that I can eat pork anymore, anyway, but when I could...)

 

Ladydusk--you can get soy free chocolate! Enjoy Life has a brand of chocolate chips I can eat that many Whole Foods stock, and there are also a few organic chocolate chips that you can order that are allergen free.

[creekland]

I voted other because we don't actively avoid anything. My family has no allergies - that helps. We generally try to eat healthy and eat a lot from our garden (organic) and what we hunt (mostly deer), but aren't rabid about it. When we want a hot dog, I'll buy the best tasting ones and not worry at all about what's in it. We just don't do hot dogs often.

 

I won't buy diet stuff - artificial sweeteners (but it's in our toothpaste). I won't buy margarine, but I'll eat it if we're out and that's what the option is. I like not having to worry. :001_smile:

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I actively try to avoid: artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, HFC, MSG, growth hormones, processed soy of any kind, fake meats or meat by-products, hydrogenated fats. I also must avoid anything with calcium carbonate in it, it makes me sick. Stuff heavily loaded with artificial vitamins makes me nauseous also.

 

I haven't got to the preservatives and nitrates yet, that will be harder for us. But I have limited their intake to lunch meats- sliced ham and turkey only, and bacon. BHT is in most cereal packaging and I still buy cereal, but mostly whole grain without other additives.

 

We don't avoid allergens because we don't have any problems with them. I've started working on the leaching thing by trying to buy stuff in glass jars, but that is getting harder, everything seems to be changing over to plastic.

 

I don't buy much organic fruits and veggies, but I do grow a lot on my own and we are working on getting our yard to be a regular fruit bonanza during the growing season. I just ordered a mulberry tree and two juneberry bushes. We also have a peach tree, two cherry trees, and raspberries. In the fall I'm going to plant pomogranites.

[Sherry in OH]

One of my children is sensitive to red dye #40. I am vigilant about avoiding that one.

 

I try to avoid artificial sweeteners, msg, hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and animal by-products such as gelatin.

[Audrey]

All except for allergens as we have none.

 

Other: seafood, which would normally be food if not for the levels of mercury in many fish and the fact that overfishing is reprehensible.

[Needleroozer]

Checked all nine boxes. Severe allergies and sensitivities here.