The Top 10 GMO Foods to Avoid (Video)
I recently sat down with Anthony Gucciardi of Natural Society to discuss the top 10 GMO foods you should avoid. Check it out!
Top 10 GMO Foods to Avoid
Length: 15 minutes
Video Transcript
Anthony Gucciardi:I'm here with Dr. Group, who is an expert on GMOs. One of the biggest questions I get in my inbox every single day is, "How do I avoid GMOs and, specifically, when I'm going to the grocery store, what can I buy that's GMO free?" Well, we're going to talk about what you might find at the grocery store that's most likely to contain GMOs and how to avoid them. So, first of all, Dr. Group, of Global Healing, we're running the Monsanto Video Revolt together, tell us a little first of all, is it even possible to avoid GMOs?
Dr. Group, DC: It is possible to avoid GMOs and it's something every family should do. They should go through their refrigerator, they should go through their cupboard, and one thing they should look for is anything that contains corn. If it's organic, then it's GMO free, but if it's not certified organic... they're going to need to go through and look for high fructose corn syrup, corn meal, anything made from corn. Most people have corn chips. The main thing though is to avoid anything made of corn.
Anthony Gucciardi: That's exactly right, I have a list here that I published on Natural Society... The number one food item that is GMO is corn. We have a list of the top 10 worst offenders that are most likely to be GMO, or that you might not think of as being GMO. Some of the things on the list might not be most proliferate GMO options but they might be sneaky GMO agents. Number one, like you said, is corn, but that also includes high fructose corn syrup specifically because they use junk corn, but that's in pretty much every processed food. Do we eliminate that when we buy organic?
Dr. Group, DC: You do eliminate that when you buy organic. There might be some cross contamination that we haven't figured out yet. But for the most part, you do eliminate that when you buy organic. Now, let me take this corn situation one step further. You have to remember that a lot of the USDA cattle, pig, and chicken are fed GMO corn. When you feed an animal GMO corn in their feed, those GMO organisms get into the cow, into the pig, into the chicken, and then you eat that. It's not just about eliminating corn; you have to have organic meat if you're going to be a meat eater. You have to also eliminate corn from your diet.
Anthony Gucciardi: And that's why we need to label GMOs and ultimately eradicate them completely and that's why it's a serious issue. But, for right now, we are talking about food independence. Also on this list is soy. They say 96% of corn is GMO and 94% of soy is GMO as well. That may even be harder to avoid than corn, soy is in so much stuff.
Dr. Group, DC: Soy is in everything right now. Just become an ingredient list shopper. Take the time... you're going to see the same ingredients in most products. You'll see soy, soy lecithin... if it says soy anything on the label and isn't certified organic, just don't buy it. I'm a proponent against soy whether it's organic or not just because I know from my research and from dealing with people who have switched over to soy because they think it's a good alternative to meat. Soy contains phytoestrogens and compounds, which are toxic to the body. I personally recommend people avoid all soy, but, to avoid the GMO aspect of it, and we're talking soy lecithin and soy in anything, make sure you do not buy any product that says soy on the ingredient label. If you're a mother using infant formula, look at it right now and if it contains corn or soy, get rid of it immediately and switch. Breast milk is best.
Anthony Gucciardi: Infant formula is the worst... Next up we've got sugar, and GMO sugar beets were introduced into the US market in 2009 and they've been modified by Monsanto to resist herbicide. So, we already know to avoid sugar, we know it's a health destroyer, we've seen the research on that. But, we never really think, gee, this sugar is GMO do you? We think about it as a negative health aspect, but there's another reason not to purchase sugar. So what are some good organic sweeteners?
Dr. Group, DC: Organic sweeteners are going to be raw agave nectar... I really try to stay away from any type of sugar or sweeteners and recommend people do the same, but if I was going to recommend one that's been proven since the age of time, it would be raw, locally harvested honey from an organic farm. It'll contain glucose oxidase... honey never goes bad, and it's full of vitamins and minerals and things that people can use and it's actually fairly healthy. People think they're avoiding sugar, I talk to people and they say, "Yeah I'm avoiding sugar, I don't put any sugar on my food" but anytime you go out to eat, most likely the bread has sugar in it, the drinks, the ketchup, the condiments. If you really break it down, there are massive amounts of sugar in all foods.
Anthony Gucciardi: And it's not always GMO. For example, the energy in protein bars. I was at Whole Foods the other day looking at these for a road trip and I realized... the organic ones, 35g of sugar and its two servings. That's more than you should eat in an entire day.
Dr. Group, DC: Yeah, exactly. Coconut palm sugar might be a good replacement might be a good replacement for general sugar and of course, stay away from high fructose corn syrup.
Anthony Gucciardi: Okay, the next one on the list is pretty obvious but most people don't know that it's genetically modified – aspartame. We talked about in another video how aspartame is made. In a 1998 article in The Independent, they talked about it. They actually take GMO bacteria and add the feces, the poop, of the bacteria, which is also GMO, and grow the aspartame made on that. That's from a Monsanto employee. Monsanto is at the root of aspartame as well. So anyone who thinks, oh it's just an alternative sugar free sweetener, and it's just an amino acid branch chain... it's not, it's genetically modified feces of bacteria. So, I think that's an obvious one but how do we avoid aspartame?
Dr. Group, DC: Aspartame is a very strong neurotoxin; it's one of the most dangerous things out there and wreaks havoc on the neurological system. The main thing with aspartame is that over 86 degrees, it converts to formaldehyde and it can completely start preserving your body. Back in the gulf war when the soldiers were suffering, they linked it to 18-wheelers full of diet sodas and drinks that had been sitting in the sun for weeks and baking. The soldiers were given the drinks and the ones from the divisions, they tracked it back, who had gulf war syndrome, the aspartame had started preserving their bodies from the inside out. So aspartame is an extremely dangerous item that should be avoided. All artificial sweeteners should be avoided. Maybe stevia, not artificial, it's natural. If you just get it into your mind that all artificial sweeteners should be avoided at all costs then you're doing good.
Anthony Gucciardi: Awesome. The next one is little known, which I think is little known – papayas. Most people, I don't think, don't go to the grocery store and think well this papaya might be GMO. It's actually a real concern. It might not be widespread around the world but it's something to think about. Do you have any input?
Dr. Group, DC: Well the thing is with papaya... not a lot of people eat it. It's not the sort of thing where 90% of the people who go grocery shopping come home with it. It's more of a southern and South American delicacy. I don't think there's a huge worry right now but if you do eat papaya, eat certified organic papaya.
Anthony Gucciardi: Exactly. Now, canola, that's a big one. Canola oil is obtained from rapeseed through a series of chemical actions. But, explain to people what rapeseed is and the history of canola oil.
Dr. Group, DC: Well, the big fight against Monsanto really started with rapeseed production... isn't rapeseed mixed with something else to make canola?
Anthony Gucciardi: Well see that's the thing, rapeseed isn't a real thing at this point. Monsanto has created so many connections that canola oil isn't even a real food.
Dr. Group, DC: Exactly, canola is a mixture of rapeseed and some other type of oil, I'm not sure... The fact that rapeseed or canola oil is in a lot of different foods and even mixed in fryers at fast food restaurants is another thing you have to avoid. A good point with oils – make sure when you're at a restaurant you ask what kind of oil they cook food in and... just avoid fast food restaurants anyway. All the stuff at a fast food restaurant... the beef is GMO fed cattle, the oils they used.
Anthony Gucciardi: The salad, the supposedly healthy salad, we did an article... at McDonalds, the McNuggets contain the same material as used to make a yoga mat. They have remanufactured meat... it's all horrible, there's no question, and now people complain about the horse meat in the burgers in the UK version of Burger King. But, the fact remains that there's way worse things than horsemeat, which is pretty crazy.
Dr. Group, DC: I would just avoid canola anyway. Really, the best oils to use are going to be organic cold pressed unrefined coconut oil. You can cook with it; it goes up to high temperatures without denaturing the oil. It's great for the skin; it's medium chain triglyceride oil. Coconut oil is reversing diseases right now; it's an amazing substance. Use grape seed oil, certified organic grape seed oil and the best are just olive oil. You can use it for anything, it tastes great.
Anthony Gucciardi: Not high heat cooking though.
Dr. Group, DC: No, not with your cooking, you can use it with salads and other stuff. If you're cooking at low temperatures it's not that bad but... we could go into detail on that, making sure you don't cook with a Teflon pan...
Anthony Gucciardi: But for now, it's a good alternative to canola oil, which hopefully nobody is buying. I've never actually seen someone buy a big thing of it to cook with.
Dr. Group, DC: Well, there are restaurants that purchase it and people purchase it.
Anthony Gucciardi: Well, they need to stop doing that. Next one is cotton oil. It's originating in India and China and lots of times are GMO. GMO cotton is pretty big as well. Obviously, purchase organic shirts and clothing if you can but cottonseed oil is something that's in a lot of products and it just goes back to checking the ingredients once again doesn't it.
Dr. Group, DC: The best thing I can say for cottonseed is that you will find it on ingredient lists... if you see it, don't buy it.
Anthony Gucciardi: Yeah, no one needs an alternative to cottonseed oil. Now, number eight is dairy because we know bovine growth hormone, Monsanto's cloned, injectable hormone that goes into cows and ultimately kills them is still in 30% of the milk in the United States. I think avoiding dairy is recommended by a large group of experts anyway. Especially if it's not organic.
Dr. Group, DC: Yeah, I recommend substitutes like hemp milk, almond milk, rice milk and make sure they're all organic. Or, make your own. I make my own organic milk from raw almonds that aren't irradiated because a lot of things are. The rGBH in dairy and in cheese... we've seen a huge rise in ovarian and reproductive cancers, especially breast cancers in women. It wreaks havoc on children's hormone levels, it wreaks havoc on male hormone levels and it wreaks havoc on female hormones. So, you have a hormonal disruption that has it and not only that, but the cows have mastitis so you end up with pus residue and blood in the milk and it should just be avoided. When that happens, the cows are shot up full of antibiotics and vaccinations and all kinds of other stuff, which all ultimately comes out through the milk.
Anthony Gucciardi: Exactly. So, the last two aren't as big and I don't think we need to go in depth but they're zucchini and yellow squash and they're modified to resist certain viruses. They're not as big a deal as corn or soy but it's something to think about if you're constantly purchasing zucchini or squash to make sure you're buying organic alternatives or at least non-GMO because this will be an increasing issue. I think this helps a lot of people. Even if they're not going to purchase all organic at least they know the trigger items and ingredients right now and you'll know that at least with these things you'll need to purchase non-GMO every single time you go to the store.
Top 10 GMO Foods to Avoid:
- Corn
- Soy
- Sugar
- Aspartame
- Papayas
- Canola
- Cotton
- Dairy
- Yellow squash
- Zucchini
Dr. Group, DC: I recommend people educate themselves about GMOs – watch the movie, "Genetic Roulette" a good documentary. Another good one is "Seeds of Death" you can watch them both for free on YouTube and they'll give you a good understanding on GMOs. Also, Anthony, I recommend everyone watch our video we did on how to detox your life of GMOs and how to detox your body of GMOs.
Anthony Gucciardi: Also participate in the Monsanto Video Revolt on July 24th at www.MonsantoVideoRevolt.com, upload your videos against Monsanto. Thanks a lot for watching; we're going to do another video again shortly.
Dr. Group, DC: Thank you.
†Results may vary. Information and statements made are for education purposes and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.
Dr. Edward Group, DC
FOUNDER | HEALER | ADVOCATEDr. Group, DC is a healer and alternative health advocate, and an industry leader and innovator in the field of natural health who is dedicated to helping others. He is a registered doctor of chiropractic (DC), a naturopathic practitioner (NP), and proud alum of Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management. Dr. Group, DC is the founder of Global Healing – a mission and vision he has shared through best-selling books and frequent media appearances. He aims to spread his message of positivity, hope, and wellness throughout the world.
