Despite dairy being a major staple of the modern diet and often being promoted as an excellent source of nutrition, it’s also one of the most common sources of food sensitivities and is associated with many disorders and diseases. However, as with most foods, there’s a significant amount of variation in the quality of milk, and this is a critical factor to consider.

More than 2000 years ago, Hippocrates, often referred to as the father of medicine, promoted the healing effects of milk. Since then, many doctors have continued to do the same. Milk is essential to the survival and development of baby mammals, including humans, and even the adult members of traditional tribes such as the Masai and Samburu continue to thrive on significant amounts of it. In addition, anecdotal evidence as well as published research supports its numerous health benefits. If this is the case, then how can milk be associated with so many health problems? One of the most compelling reasons is the difference between pasteurized milk and raw milk. However, to understand why pasteurization is not the great idea that it’s widely believed to be and why it destroys many of milk’s inherent health benefits, it’s necessary to consider the history of milk and the politics behind pasteurization.

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Organic food is an important part of a healthy diet, but because of its growing popularity, large corporations are taking advantage of the opportunity and are deteriorating the reliability of the USDA’s organic certification requirements in the process.

The USDA’s organic seal is the most widely recognized and trusted marker of organic foods. For this label to be used on food products, they should be free of unnatural ingredients, should not be genetically modified or irradiated, and should be from crops that are grown without chemicals and livestock that are raised without antibiotics or hormones. Despite the many benefits of certified organic food, it’s unfortunately not always as healthy or pure as you may think.

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Wal-Mart stores are well known for their variety and low prices, but are often criticized about the questionable approach to their success. Among the many negative impacts that Wal-Mart is often accused of, their tremendous influence is degrading the quality of organic food.

Wal-Mart is the largest public company in the world and is the largest grocery retailer in the United States. They are able to offer such low prices because they use their prominence to pressure wholesalers into selling them goods at a significant discount. Although this is a great business tactic, it encourages wholesalers to compromise their level of quality in order to meet the demand. One such compromise is the use of cheap offshore labor. In fact, Wal-Mart has been accused multiple times of dealing directly with foreign suppliers that run sweatshops and is even known for treating their own employees poorly.

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With our high level of intelligence and the vast amount of technological innovation that we enjoy today, it’s ironic that excellent health is so elusive to so many people. Without any of the modern technology that we rely on today, our primitive ancestors were able to enjoy exceptional health and rarely encountered the many chronic and debilitating conditions that are so common today. These people had an intimate knowledge of nature and a tremendous appreciation for it which is something that we’ve lost without reliance on technology.

While our primitive ancestors were forced to live in agreement with nature, we seem to do everything we can to outsmart it, and we almost always fail. The following are some of the more notable and devastating mistakes that we’re still making.

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Despite the fact that processed food is becoming widely recognized as unhealthy, many people still have a flawed understanding of food quality and don’t know how to differentiate the good from the bad.

Unfortunately, many people allow their perception of healthy food to be influenced by the tremendous presence of the food industry. Like any other type of industry, food manufacturers are most concerned with making money and taking advantage of rising trends. As such, even foods that are marketed as healthy are often not.

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This catchy Dunkin’ Donuts slogan actually has a lot of truth to it. Most Americans rely on coffee to wake up and get their day started, and some people even need it to get through the afternoon. Are you one of them?

According to the National Coffee Association, more than 50% of Americans consume coffee on a daily basis and drink an average of 3 cups per day. Dunkin’ Donuts, arguably the most popular coffee franchise in America, helps to support this habit by serving nearly 1 billion cups of coffee each year. There’s no doubt that the coffee habit is alive and well, but unfortunately, many people are using it to mask a significant problem that they may not be aware of.

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Fresh the Movie is a documentary about food quality, sustainable farming, and the major flaws of our food system. Based on the excitement surrounding this film, I had high expectations for it and thought it could potentially have a significant impact on the many people who are making misguided dietary decisions. Without a doubt, it’s an excellent documentary that everyone should see, but it in regard to it’s potential to provoke change, it fell short of what I was hoping for.

The average consumer typically doesn’t understand or care about the health or environmental consequences of eating processed food. If they do happen to choose whole foods, they’re even less likely to realize that the conventionally farmed produce and meat in most grocery stores has health and environmental consequences as well. Fresh the Movie provides a great synopsis of these problems, but I question if it’s message is strong enough to inspire the average consumer to make a change.

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Despite the fact that humans have evolved on red meat, it’s been unduly regarded as an unhealthy food. While some of this is based on misconception, the health benefits of red meat truly depend on the livestock it comes from and how they’re raised.

As the most popular and widely available type of red meat, beef has been targeted with much of the criticism. While the beef from conventionally raised cattle deserves some of this criticism, grass fed beef is an excellent source of nutrition that promotes good health.

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While the media frenzy surrounding the so called swine flu pandemic is causing many people to panic, we have much more serious problems to worry about such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Despite the fact that these diseases are killing people in much larger proportions than any pandemic we’ve had in modern times, many of us have grown numb to their frightening prevalence.

In a single day, more people die in the United States alone from any one of these diseases than the total number of people who’ve died worldwide from the recent outbreak of swine flu. What we should really be concerned about is not a pandemic of swine flu, but rather an epidemic of poor health!

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Kentucky Fried Chicken recently announced it’s grilled chicken meal and has started an advertising campaign aimed to promote it as a healthy choice. The ads ask you to “Unthink what you thought about KFC.” If you fall for this clever slogan, the only thing you’ll be unthinking is your health!

KFC Grilled Chicken Ingredients

Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for KFC, the ingredients of their food is available on their website. Here’s what’s in KFC’s Grilled Chicken:

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