Please note: There has been some confusion in the way people are interpreting my opening paragraph. Shakeology, Jay Robb Whey, and Sun Warrior Vegan DO NOT contain the harmful ingredients listed below. I'm simply compiling a list of all the ingredients I'm discovering as I search for ADDITIONAL protein shakes that could possibly qualify for our "approved" list. My apologies for not making this more clear in my first draft.
This is only a partial list of things that I've discovered when reading labels. I've purposely left out SOY from this list, as there are many forms used and there is so much debate about the benefits and risks of soy that probably an entire document could be created for just this one ingredient.
ACESULFAME POTASSIUM - Artificial sweetener (Sunett, Sweet One)
ASPARTAME - Artificial sweetener (Equal, NutraSweet)
ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS - Self explanatory ... could be anything.
DYES / ARTIFICIAL COLORING - Linked to multiple detrimental health issues.
DATEM - An acryonmy for Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono-diglycerides, an emulsifyer derived from, soy, palm, or conala oil via chemical processes.
DEXTROSE - Glucose, aka: sugar (typically -OSE at the end of an ingredient usually means sugar of some kind. Cellulose, a plant fiber, is an exception).
DIGLYCERIDES & MONOGLYCERIDES - A clever way of avoiding the words HYDROGENATED OILS in the nutritional label.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - This stuff is everywhere! Absolutely shocking to see how many products have HFCS in it.
FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL - Saturated fat. Fractionated (heated to separate) is not the same as hydrogenated (treated with hydrogen) but it is the least healthy form of palm oil or palm kernel oil. (See this a lot in protein bars but figured I'd add it here.)
MALTODEXTRIN - Starch (sources can be potato, corn, wheat, etc). Used as a sweetener.
MALTITOL SYRUP - Sugar alcohol sweetener. Often used in products labeled as "sugar free" even though it has a glycemic index of 52 which is just slightly less than that of sucrose (table sugar) which rates around 60.
MODIFIED FOOD STARCH - No way to know what is the source starch on this. Similar to the HFCS, I've been seeing this in a multitude of products.
NATURAL FLAVORING - Can be pretty much *anything* that is allowed for use in food without having to disclose *exactly* what it is. The definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations is: “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22).
SACCHARIN - Artificial sweetener (SugarTwin, Sween'N Low)
SUCRALOSE - Artificial sweetener (Splenda)
SODIUM CASEINATE - It is formed by dissolving casein in sodium hydroxide and then evaporating. Reports published in the "Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology" and the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" indicate that stabilizing casein and other molecules by alkalization with sodium hydroxide creates many potentially harmful by-products. Since the pH of the protein and by-products has been altered, your kidneys end up having more difficulty purifying the material moving through them.
___________________ Copied from RENSE.COM web site ______________________________
Hidden Sources Of MSG In FoodsFrom the book 'Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills'By Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD3-6-3
What if someone were to tell you that a chemical (MSG) added to food could cause brain damage in your children, and that this chemical could effect how your children's nervous systems formed during development so that in later years they may have learning or emotional difficulties?
What if there was scientific evidence that these chemicals could permanently damage a critical part of the brain known to control hormones so that later in life your child might have endocrine problems? How would you feel?
Suppose evidence was presented to you strongly suggesting that the artificial sweetener in your diet soft drink may cause brain tumors to develop, and that the number of brain tumors reported since the introduction of this widespread introduction of this artificial sweetener has risen dramatically? Would that affect your decision to drink these products and especially to allow your children to drink them? What if you could be shown overwhelming evidence that one of the main ingredients in this sweetener (aspartate) could cause the same brain lesions as MSG? Would that affect your buying decisions?
And finally, what if it could be demonstrated that all of these types of chemicals, called excitotoxins, could possibly aggravate or even precipitate many of today's epidemic neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease? Would you be concerned if you knew that these excitotoxin food additives are a particular risk if you have diabetes, or have ever had a stroke, brain injury, brain tumor, seizure, or have suffered from hypertension, meningitis, or viral encephalitis?
Would you also be upset to learn that many of the brain lesions caused by these products in your children are irreversible and can result from a SINGLE exposure of these products in sufficient concentration?
How would you feel when you learn the food industry hides and disguises these excitotoxin additives (MSG and Aspartate) so they can't be recognized? Incredulous? Enraged? The fact is many foods are labeled as having "No MSG" but in fact not only contain MSG but also are laced with other excitotoxins of equal potency and danger.
All of the above are true. And all of these well known brain toxins are poured into our food and drink by the thousands of tons to boost sales. These additives have NO OTHER purpose other than to enhance to TASTE of food and the SWEETNESS of various diet products.
Hidden Sources Of MSG
As discussed previously, the glutamate (MSG) manufacturers and the processed food industries are always on a quest to disguise the MSG added to food. Below is a partial list of the most common names for disguised MSG. Remember also that the powerful excitotoxins, aspartate and L-cystine, are frequently added to foods and according to FDA rules require NO LABELING AT ALL.
* Food Additives that ALWAYS contain MSG *
Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein (Including TVP)
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat
Flour
Corn Oil
* Food Additives That FREQUENTLY Contain MSG *
Malt Extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavors/Flavoring
Natural Beef Or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices
* Food Additives That MAY Contain MSG Or Excitotoxins *
Carrageenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Also: Protease Enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins.
Aspartame - An Intense Source Of Excitotoxins
Aspartame is a sweetener made from two amino acids, phenylalanine and the excitotoxin aspartate. It should be avoided at all costs. Aspartame complaints accounts for approximately 70% of ALL complaints to the FDA. It is implicated in everything from blindness to headaches to convulsions. Sold under dozens of brand names such as NutraSweet and Equal, aspartame breaks down within 20 minutes at room temperature into several primary toxic and dangerous ingredients:
1. DKP (diketopiperazine) (When ingested, converts to a near duplicate of
a powerful brain tumor causing agent)
2. Formic Acid (ant venom)
3. Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)
4. Methanol (causes blindness...extremely dangerous substance)
Common Examples:
Diet soft drinks, sugar free gums, sugar free Kool Aid, Crystal Light, childrens' medications, and thousands of other products claiming to be 'low calorie', 'diet', or 'sugar free'.
A Final Note...
Dr. Blaylock recounted a meeting with a senior executive in the food additive industry who told him point blank that these excitotoxins are going to be in our food no matter how many name changes are necessary...
