Customer Reviews

Food Additives: A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not 1999

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

About 1 year ago, I began having a lot of pain in my joints. After several doctors, I still did not have an explanation of why my joints hurt and why I was gaining weight eventhough I had always exercised and watched my diet. One doctor mentioned that red meat could trigger arthritis. I decided to find out more about nutrition and since I have a severe peanut allergy, I wanted to find out if any of the "safe" foods I was eating could contain peanuts. When I bought "Food Additives : A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not, 2001 Revised Edition",
I was shocked to find out that many of the additives that I assumed were safe actually contained peanuts. This book has become my "nutrition bible" I carry it with me wherever I go. Since using this book, I have been able to avoid many additives that could be harmful to me. Within 1 month, I was able to begin an exercise program again without pain and I actually lost the weight I had gained. Christine Hoza Farlow's book is very easy to use and small enough to fit in your pocket or purse. The material is straight forward and lets you make quick choices that fit your nutritional needs whether you have allergies or simply want to avoid all the carcinogens that are popping up everywhere. I have several other books about food additives, but I still seem to go back to this one. If you're looking for a simple approach to understanding labels, A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not is definitely the book for you!

This book is very convenient because in just fits in your back pocket. It serves as a guide for food additives found in almost all food. I liked the convenience of this book, as I was able to slip it into the back pocket and refer to it as I shopped. Although I enjoyed the book, it is very basic, generally publishing most info from the FDA guidelines on food safety. The only problem with that is that the FDA leans towards the "everything is safe [fit for consumption] until it is absolutely proven to be harmful" philosophy (GRAS); instead of, "it is unsafe [unfit for consumption] until it is absolutely proven safe. This philosophy benefits the food industry and not the individual consumer.

Why does the congressional Food Protection Committee receive funding from the food industry and still claim that they are looking out for your best interest? Dr. George Schwartz who found a pamphlet published by the FDA on the safety "facts" on MSG had in fact been compiled and published by The Glutamate Association (Blaylock, Excitotoxins. 1997. Health Press).

With these kinds of inconsistencies we all must become aware consumers of food, water and other products, because money is the issue, not safety.

This book is a great start, but I would suggest further reading to get a better idea of what is in our food.

A Solid Book! Great Info! 5 - stars

The size of this book is excellent for carrying in your pocket or handbag, and facilitates use in the supermarket. The contents are generally good, and very helpful, but I believe the author should review it with an eye for being under-critical about some listings. For example, there are those of us who, due to recent reports, believe that the yellow artificial sweetener should be consumed with great caution, if at all, but the book does not address this. Considering the fact that this is a book concerned with health, I would strongly urge the author to be more critical in the evaluation of food ingredients. Those of us who are highly sensitive to food additives require stringent guidelines.

Even though you know instinctively that many food additives are bad for you, you will be shocked when you actually read what these things can do to you. The rating system is very helpful to know which items are poorly tested and unsafe to eat, versus those that may only cause an allergic reaction. The book is small and I carry it with me every day.

In order for people today to protect themselves from harmful ingredients, even walking through a so-called "Natural Foods" or health foods store is not enough.

"Mrs. Gooch's," in Los Angeles, was created by a woman who nearly died. Yes, Sandy Gooch, was fortunate to have a chemist-father, as the story goes, who discovered she was literally dying from the chemicals in a popular soda that many people drink. Often this soda is even recommended to assist with "upset stomach!" Such products are so commonplace and present similar dangers to ANYONE who, unthinkingly, just drinks/eats/wears what is out there because it is convenient, handy or close by.

After Mrs. Sandy Gooch's nearly lethal health challenge was reversed, she decided to create "Mrs. Gooch's" as a way to protect the consumer. It was possible to walk through the store and NOT read the ingredients, because so much care had gone in to protecting consumers. But when "Mrs. Gooch's" Stores were acquired, products began appearing on the shelves with ingredients that indicated it was NO LONGER POSSIBLE TO FEEL SAFE. Yes, products appeared that contained ingredients known to be harmful. Some naturopathic doctors even recommend that all so-called "healthy" oils, for example, are not so healthy and that it may be preferred to concentrate on specific oils that are better or healthier for us.

The point is that NO ONE IS SAFE, even in health food stores. It does not matter, it seems, where you shop. Even ingredients/products promoted as "healthy" or "safe" may not be so, may even contain allergens for some, and that is where your hard, dedicated work to protect consumers comes in:

· FOOD ADDITIVES: A Shopper's Guide To What's Safe & What's Not

· HEALTHY EATING: For Extremely Busy People Who Don't Have Time For It

· DYING TO LOOK GOOD: The Disturbing Truth About What's Really in Your Cosmetics, Toiletries and Personal Care Products

The three books you offer have become ESSENTIAL companions to shoppers everywhere. If people want to make informed decisions, they have to rely on experts like yourself who are trustworthy and who do enough investigating to produce recommendations that will, in fact, protect us from all the many dangers that lurk out there.

As we go about our daily lives, oftentimes NOT thinking about what's good to eat, what's good to clean with, what's good to use as cosmetics, toiletries and personal care products, we may even be using so-called "healthy" products with ingredients touted to be safe and found in health food stores that may, in fact, NOT be so healthy after all. So often, for example, it is possible to come across products that contain ingredients like chemical preservatives with the justification for their inclusion: "They protect against the buildup of harmful yeast" or "They are in very small quantities, so are not harmful," etc. What such products/ingredients contain are POTENTIALLY LETHAL INGREDIENTS TO WHICH ANYONE CAN HAVE AN ACUTE ALLERGIC REACTION OR DEVELOP A LONG-TERM SUBTLE DISEASE WHICH CAN, EVENTUALLY, BECOME LETHAL.

Do consumers want to protect themselves and those they care about? What information is it possible to rely upon? Do we want to walk through product aisles and "hope for the best?" Or, to we want to read books you offer that are so easy, simple and well-researched that, finally, we have a way to protect our best interests?

Yes, your books offer us the safety and reassurance that it is possible to walk through the aisles as protected consumers!

If we care enough about our families and friends and business associates - anyone with whom we may share foods/products with, then it becomes our responsibility to walk through the aisles of any store armed with the protection offered from the many, many hours and years of research to which you have dedicated your career.

Yes it may take some effort and education to protect us, but your books make it so much easier. What is needed now is a way to walk into ANY supermarket, even "natural" foods/products and "health" stores, so that informed decisions can be made. With your books, is possible to choose products that - despite some information being shared to suggest that the products/foods are okay - will protect us in the long run.

It is so true that "You are what you eat."

It is also true that the skin is the largest organ of the body and literally absorbs whatever is placed onto the surface.

Thus the stomach (eat) and the skin (body surface) both are conveyors of whatever ingredients placed onto or inside of our bodies. Even the water we wash with is not something we think about, but it is possible to install filters/showers that will protect our bodies totally immersed by water every time we bathe!

Your books will protect any consumer who does not want to risk the ill health challenges and the eventual dangers that can lead to grave disease(s) and even death!

It is hard to think of anything more important! Do we want to live symptom-free? Do we want to avoid illness? Do we want to "Improve Health Maintenance?"

Everyone touts education as a "ticket to success." Dr. Christine Farlow's books are the TICKET TO SAFETY in living!

Respectfully,

[...]

this book provides a plethora of information on a variety of additives but the depth is light. that's okay. if you're very interested i think you have enough to go off and do more research. this book is worth it. very small and easy to flip through. not too many sections/chapters. try it...by the way, i found my copy at whole foods.

I am very pleased with this book! At first it seemed like a lot of money for a pocket-sized-book, but it is worth every penny, even with the shipping cost added to the purchase. I am learning alot, and it's so easy to follow, and so very helpful, plus it's easy to carry, just put it in your pocket. I have highlighted the safe additives for quick reference. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Meh

This is a good book for very general info. Good to have with you on trips to the store. It is smaller than I thought (pocket size) and the info is good, but not in much detail. I also bought the Dying to Look GOod which is the cosmetic guide. It was bigger and a bit more informative. Worth the $5, though.

This is a practical handbook for the layperson and as well, the health professional to use while shopping and teaching others factual data of what is in the food items they are purchasing. This book has a simple approach and easy to carry size making it a good choice. The alert to the label designation of genetically modified '8' on fresh produce is a valuable community service. Thank you Christine for the tip on 'salted fish' being a carcinogen. This is entirely true! The fish lie is exposed in my ebook 'There's Fishy Business Going On' for the public review. Thank you Christine for your public service, I do recommend this useful book for others.

Although my edition is the original one, I highly recommend this little book. Anyone who takes the responsibility of buying food for him/herself and/or others should have this book as a guide. It gives the bottom line of what many of the common chemicals that are used in the processing of our foods do to our bodies. You don't have to be a phD to understand what's spelled out so well in this pocket size book, you only have to have the courage to follow its inherent message and be well on your way to being healthy again.