I have been receiving emails from the #FoodBabeArmy about an alarming practice that happens at doctor’s offices around the country that needs to stop today.
First, however, I was thrilled by the news last week that Coke and Pepsi both announced that they’re (finally) removing Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) from their products – which includes Mountain Dew and Powerade. Of course these products are still no good for your body, as they are loaded with sugar or artificial sweeteners, preservatives, phosphates, and artificial colors. Once consumers find out about these questionable ingredients, food companies have nowhere left to hide, but some remain in denial, I’ll get to that in a minute.
This is a great win for my friend Sarah Kavanagh, an amazing teen food activist (seen below) who started the initial Change.org petition, and also for the #FoodBabeArmy because BVO is one of the most harmful ingredients that is still being used in the U.S., even though it’s banned in Europe and Japan. It’s patented for use as a flame retardant!
It’s banned for good reason.
According to food chemist, Walter Vetter, PhD, “BVO can build up in the body and cause toxic effects”. Most shockingly, there is a published report of a man who had to undergo dialysis after regularly consuming large amounts of Ruby Red Squirt containing BVO. There is another report here indicating that soda with BVO caused the same condition, deteriorating a man to the point that he couldn’t even walk. Of course, these people were drinking an insane amount of soda (up to 8 liters a day), and the cumulative effects on your body when you consume fewer BVO-containing drinks is largely unknown because the research is scarce. Charles Vorhees, a toxicologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center agrees by saying, “Compounds like these that are in widespread use probably should be reexamined periodically with newer technologies to ensure that there aren’t effects that would have been missed by prior methods…I think BVO is the kind of compound that probably warrants some reexamination.” Out of the research that has been done, it has been shown that BVO accumulates in your body and is linked to heart lesions. As reported in Scientific American, “After a few extreme soda binges—not too far from what many gamers regularly consume—a few patients have needed medical attention for skin lesions, memory loss and nerve disorders, all symptoms of overexposure to bromine”.
Given this evidence pointing to the dangers of BVO consumption, can you believe that it has taken SO LONG for Coke and Pepsi to finally remove it from their products?
There really is no excuse. Way back in the 1970s, the FDA began to question the safety of BVO and put the ingredient on “interim status”, which meant that food companies could use it in products until toxicology research was done. Well – guess what? Those studies have not been done in the last 40 years, so it has remained in our food – and the FDA has done nothing about it.
With the FDA asleep at the wheel, you will still find BVO legally in these drinks by the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group:
- Squirt
- Diet Squirt
- Ruby Red Squirt
- Diet Ruby Red Squirt
- Sunkist Fruit Punch Soda
- Sunkist Peach Soda
- Crush Orange Soda
- Crush Peach Soda
- Crush Pineapple Soda
- Peñafiel Grapefruit Soda
- Peñafiel Mandarin Soda
- Sun Drop Citrus Soda
- Diet Sun Drop Citrus Soda
- Sun Drop Cherry Lemon Soda
- Stewarts Orange ‘n Cream Soda
- Diet Stewarts Orange ‘n Cream Soda
- Stewarts Key Lime Soda
I found it incredibly disturbing that some of these sodas “comply with school beverage guidelines” and are being served nationwide in our schools. A member of my team contacted Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and was told they have no plans to remove BVO from any of these drinks because it’s “FDA approved” and has been diligently researched. At least we know the truth and will avoid these drinks at all costs.
Also, many store brand citrus sodas still contain brominated oil, so watch out for those too.
And we aren’t done yet.
There is one place where BVO is lurking that is reprehensible – and I knew that I needed to bring light to it. A drink containing BVO is being prescribed by doctors to pregnant women everywhere when they get tested for gestational diabetes – a routine test given to nearly all pregnant women in the U.S.
Check out the ingredients for the “Oral Glucose Tolerance Beverage” by AeroMed:
These drinks (also known as “Glucola”) are essentially sugar water with hazardous artificial colors and preservatives with a VERY LONG shelf life. They are no better than most sodas on the market – and truly not something you’d want to consume while pregnant. Yet, doctors routinely prescribe this non-carbonated soda to their pregnant patients, without taking into consideration the dangerous ingredients they contain. While it’s certainly important to monitor your blood glucose during pregnancy, there are alternatives to drinking this toxic sugar water.
Realize you have a choice – Simply ask your doctor what other options you have and if they don’t know, educate them!
The purpose of the drink is to ingest 50 to 100 grams of glucose, after which your doctor can test how your body handles influx of sugar. This woman was given the alternative of eating real food, such as bananas. This study showed that eating 28 jelly beans had the same effect on blood sugar in a 50 gram glucose test. Of course, you’d want to choose a non-gmo variety, free of artificial colors and other nasties!
An even better option that you can discuss with your doctor would be to avoid the test altogether and monitor your blood sugar with a glucometer throughout your pregnancy, as recommended here, here and here. This is the best alternative because you won’t create an extreme blood sugar spike, and can stick to your regular healthy diet. You will also avoid feeling like you are going to vomit and the dreaded “crash and burn” that women report after drinking glucola – including several Food Babe readers who have reached out to me personally.
As you can see, there is absolutely no reason that you need to consume these toxic glucola drinks. Now that you are informed, you can make a better choice for yourself and your baby.
Remember, I am not a doctor (take my advice at your own risk), however, in my opinion there is no way in hell any doctor could convince me to drink something with flame retardant, artificial dyes made from petroleum, controversial preservatives and GMOs, pregnant or not!
If you know someone who is pregnant or is still drinking BVO, please share this critical information with them and let them know they have a choice!
Wishing you the greatest health imaginable.
Xo,
Vani
Update 12/6/2017: There is now a natural alternative, The Fresh Test, which is an exact equivalent to glucola – but without all the preservatives, dyes, and BVO.
When I was pregnant, the certified nurse midwives MADE me drink this stuff, because I was over age 40. I asked to drink juice or eat sweet fruit, etc., and they refused, they said I was putting the baby at risk. This was at a prominent practice in the Houston Medical center. After reading this, I would have pushed back harder and come up with some kind of strategy ahead of time…
Such idiots!
I reviewed the case study from the medical journal(cited, with link, above). What I found really interesting was the following excerpt:
“The patient reported that he had been drinking 8 liters of Ruby Red Squirt daily for several months. This soft drink contains brominated vegetable oil. The patient’s serum bromine level was 0.96 mg per deciliter (normal level, <0.5 mg per deciliter), and a diagnosis of bromoderma was made"
Folks, if you need to drink 8 liters of soda per day for several months to experience bromide toxicity, I seriously doubt that less than a litre consumed once in a doctor''s office could cause any lasting harm.
maybe not noticeable harm to the woman pregnant taking it ONCE, but you aren’t thinking about the small body of the baby inside the woman who would also consume it.
Oh, hell no. They can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do and they can give you all the dirty looks they want and talk behind your back, but you could have gone somewhere else. When I had my first child I REFUSED to take that drink in 2005, regardless of what they said to me I would not let them control me NO THANK YOU. I am now pregnant with my second and not only am I not drinking that disgusting harmful crap, but even though my prenatal care & labor would be paid by two different avenues I can use through the conventional doctors & hospitals – I am paying for a midwife to come to my home. Do not let them tell you that you have to do anything they say. It is your body and your baby.
Vani, Please tell me what I can use instead of the traditional colonoscopy prep drink??
Gina, I used coconut water ( organic ) and the nurse and doctor almost had an apoplexy when I refused to drink their cocktail from hell. I used what I wanted…it IS MY body. I chose the method of cleansing that I wanted and used only natural or organic products. I know that it hurt their bottom line for me to make my OWN choices about MY Body, but, after allowing them to rape and pillage my poor body ( I no longer have any female organs or gallbladder…and they even wanted to take my Pancreas and slurry it up in a blender ) I decided that they could all go ___ themselves. They broke a sacred trust between a patient and his doctor and I will never allow that process again.
Good luck with your procedure, Gina. I wish you all the best.
Thanks for this article. My husband and I are trying to get pregnant. Now I will go to the doctor armed with this knowledge. So thankful for your posts and to be a part of the FoodBabe Army!
If you haven’t already, you need to look at the ingredients being pushed on senior citizens as healthy… Ensure and similar “health” drinks. Awful stuff!
Chris,
You are absolutely right, and now they are also pushing similar drinks for children’s “nutrition”. Right, so parents should just give them a drink of poison instead of sitting them down and feeding them real food. When I was a kid, we ate real food and we WERE healthy. We drank water from the spigot ( or the hose in summer), and we didn’t DIE. My mother NEVER allowed cola or soda in the house, and to this day I cannot stomach it in any form.
It’s all control, instead of telling a diabetic they can reverse the disease by proper low carb, high veg diet, they feed them the actual thing a diabetic should NEVER consume—SUGAR! Why would you help a diabetic get off the sugar when you can further addict them to it? Hmmm, a permanent customer, I mean patient. Yikes, look out for your own health and educate yourselves!
This is the way to dispel all those lies that the medical field perpetuates! Yes, Amy! Keep telling the truth! In the 70’s ( the era that I grew up in ) NO ONE was over weight! AS a matter of FACT….we all looked like we could use an extra sandwich!
No one had allergies, type 2 diabetes…at the age of 12, Asperger’s, autism, or any of the many health issues our children are dealing with today.
UNCONSCIONABLE!!!
All of my friends’ moms and dads were in great shape and were not taking 14 prescribed meds which were causing them “side effects”. Since the introduction of GMO’s, chemical additives and demented pharmaceuticals we are actually the most unhealthy, developed nation on planet Earth! Wth?
If we continue to speak truth to power then those who have been abusing that power will have to find a rather large rock to hide under. I can only hope that while they are hiding under it they will develop a conscience.
That was actually what I was expecting this article to be about initially. It is absolutely sickening the crap they want seniors and kids to drink! “Ensure” and all those others that are similar are nothing but artificial vitamins and other synthetic no good for you junk. There is no proper nutrition in that! It is so disheartening seeing people drink this toxic stuff, while their health declines 🙁
I have difficulty passing food through parts of my intestinal tract, so rely on nourishing liquids. I’ve unfortunately made Ensure-type product a part of my routine, though I dislike all that soy (GMO certainly) and sugar. An alternative would be vegetable broth, but it does not fill me up. And a vitamin pill is difficult for me to pass, as well. I would like a good alternative from Food Babe.
Ensure (and it’s generics) are routinely given to patients in hospital. My dad was supposed to drink it because he couldn’t eat or drink much and they wanted him to have the “nutrients”. The think that ticks me off the most is the commercial for pediasure. If you can’t get your child to eat veggies, fruits, real food, and they are considered “picky” eaters you need to supplement their diet with this awful conglomeration of ingredients. These are the ingredients for the vanilla. I’m guessing the vanilla is in the natural and artificial flavors. I feel bad for the parents who blindly give their children these “doctor” recommended products.
Ingredients: Water, **Sugar**, **Corn Maltodextrin**, High Oleic **Safflower Oil**, Milk Protein Concentrate, **Canola Oil**, **Soy Protein** Isolate, Pea Protein Concentrate. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides, Natural & **Artificial** Flavor, **Cellulose Gel**, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Tuna Oil, Potassium Phosphate, **Cellulose Gum**, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Soy Lecithin, Monoglycerides, Salt, Potassium Hydroxide, m-Inositol, **Carrageenan**, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, L-Carnitine, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Lutein, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Sodium Molybdate, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3, and Cyanocobalamin.
I’ve marked just a few thinks that are in there with ** and i can only hope parents and caregivers open their eyes.
Thank you so much for the link to the Pregnant Atkids blog post on the oral glucose test and its alternatives. I had an awful time researching the glucola ingredients when I wrote my article. I really appreciate you getting the word out there. 90 percent of the women that are in our support group do not even know that have options. As I always say, when it comes to health, you are your own best advocate!
I’m really surprised at the people who are saying that they didn’t know they were “allowed” to refuse this drink from their doctor. You pay for their services, and if you don’t want to do anything they ask, you don’t have to. It’s this kind of blind following behavior that has lead us to many of the problems that face our nation. Thank you Vani for opening our eyes to so many things, and I pray that more people find your message.
Liesha…you right…up to a point. I have been turned away from many a doctor for not allowing them to prescribe anti-depressants and other medications that they deemed necessary for my “care”. So, while we do have the option to say “No” initially, it may come with a “Dear Jane/John letter at some time in the near future.
Yes!!!! I have had four kids and refused this after the first time made me so sick! They always freak.out. I gently explain that it is my body and that I do not ever eat sugar in that way to cause a massive spike so how is that relative to how my body handles that much overload? They stare in disbelief…I also refused vitamin k for my last at birth. Research your options and stick to your guns. They did check my glucose twice and it was fine.
I wish I knew this when I was pregnant. I wish I knew about you, Food Babe, way back. I am horrified every time I read your investigations. Thank you so much for opening America’s eyes.
I agree! I thought we new alot about health 12 years ago when I had my 1st child!
BVO is linked to infants being born with their intestines oozing out of their stomachs. I know of two women who drank Mountain “Dew” during their pregnancies and both babies were born with their intestines outside of their bodies.
People, we are being intentionally destroyed in every way conceivable; Spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. The chemical ingredients in our “food” supply is causing genetic deformations….literally changing our DNA. I see so many children born today with a plethora of serious health issues and this will only lead to more genetic deformities in their offspring. We are in a world of trouble here in the US: There is a reason that Hollywood is pumping out one Zombie themed movie after another. It seems that we are the butt of a very insidious and onerous “joke”.
There is not one media person that you can or should trust at this time. They are all in this for profit …and more. I won’t go into why they are doing what they are doing…yet. That is for another time.
Vani, I commend your valor and integrity, but, I would be very wary of those that become your handlers. You have the “attractive” factor that they will use to their advantage…and…it is working. There were many an “homely” female, who came before you to out these toxins but they were not “marketable”. Be careful, Vani….be very conscious of everything that is going on behind that “food” curtain. You would not believe who they really work for.
And, yes. “Doctors” ( and I use that term lightly ) do prescribe, on a daily basis, body damaging foods and pharmaceuticals! They have no conscience…other than the one they borrowed from their groomers. Their motto is ” The benefits outweigh the risks”…yet, what they forget to mention to the patient is that it is THEIR benefits that they are most interested in.
From early childhood my dad (a man way ahead of his time) taught me that doctors are educated to TREAT illness, not PREVENT it!! We have to educate ourselves and watch out for our own good health.
I concur! Our health is our responsibility but we are raised in an atmosphere of hierarchy and acquiescence to that hierarchy…even if it goes against our inner value system.
I hope that we all become educated on the systems of the body and start treating it like the organic system that it is.
Janice,
My Mom told me her father always said, “Either pay to put good food on the table or pay the doctor.” My Mom just passed at NINETY years old. She must have had a very strong body because she painted radium dials for the WWII planes. She was exposed to radium with absolutely no protection on a daily basis, enough to kill a weaker person. They washed their hands with Carbon Tetrachloride too (yikes)-look that one up). She actually glowed in the dark at night.
She lost her Thyroid and her breast to cancer, had ongoing horrendous skin cancer and probably had uterine cancer this past year. So her father was right, and she survived the assault and lived to tell about it!
Well said! Thank you!
Food Babe-as usual, I’m grossed out again on your website and that’s awesome! Of course I’ve had this drink as I’ve got two kids, had to take that test and even then I complained but the doctor thought I was crazy. Here’s the thing: I totally thought you were going to talk about ENSURE. What do you think about that stuff anyway? When my grandma was dying in the hospital, they were giving it to her and when I saw the label I couldn’t believe it. It’s all goo, no real food nutrition. I got her natural ice cream instead (there was no other natural food option in the little town) but I was just horrified by that crap! I suggest ENSURE as a Food Babe target!
Thank you for all you do!!
Would you please answer the questions about Boost and Ensure? I noticed that they were twice mentioned and not addressed.
The ingredients speak for themselves. Nasty. Whole Foods has something kind of similar, focused I think on protein, not necessarily vit/minerals. Good luck.
I enjoy most of the food Babe articles as most are right on. This one, however is a little off. Yes, this chemical is harmful in large amounts and I agree that it should be taken out of beverages that Americans drink large amounts of. The glucose tolerance test for pregnant women is used to test for gestational diabetes. Unregulated blood sugar can cause birth defects in a fetus which is why it is so important to screen pregnant women. Te reason you have to drink the “glucola” is because they have to have a very set, precise measurement of glucose in order for the test to have accurate results. This is why you can’t just bring in your own fruit (or even your own healthy jelly beans) for the test.
When it comes to healthcare, you have to balance the risks with the benifits and in this case the benifits of preventing birth defects from undiagnosed gestational diabetes far outweighs the risks of the preservatives and coloring in this drug.
Furthermore, artificial colorin in pharmaceuticals is designed to be lifesaving so that pharmacists and health are professionals do not administer the wrong meds – which sometimes can be FATAL.
First of all, if you are going to try to discredit what someone is saying, you should first check your spelling, as anyone who cannot spell surely will not have any merit in any decisions that I make!! STOP trying to PROMOTE poisoning of unborn children!!!
Meg, If I may be so bold, I would like to address your response. First and foremost, gestational diabetes is an epidemic now ONLY because of the toxic food supply. My grandmother or mother never needed such a test and I doubt that our great-great grandmothers did as well. There was no epidemic of babies being born with “defects”. Why not PREVENT gestational diabetes by telling your pregnant patients to stay away from all processed food? Why not tell your pregnant patients that HFCS causes Non-alcoholic fatty Liver Syndrome therefore ensuring that the unborn baby will also be at risk for NAFLS??
I have seen children born, today, with multiple birth defects due to what the mother consumed throughout the pregnancy yet not ONE “doctor” will tell the mother to be to stay away from these foods. Seems like this glucose test is a “day late and a dollar short”. I would ask myself why this is?
Something seems very suspect about this whole “glucose testing” epidemic.
Jamie, this statement is false and erroneous. I do not eat processed food, make almost all of my food from scratch with real ingredients and my test still showed that I had high blood sugar levels. There is nothing in my diet that is unhealthy. Pregnancy hormones in my body are not allowing enough insulin to be produced. And that is not my fault. I have eliminated all refined sugars from my diet. Thus, I do not agree with your comment.
Cindy, we are faced with a multitude of health issues from this modern lifestyle we are leading. The chemicals in our cleaning products, bath and “beauty” products, BPA in plastics and many, many other hormone disruptors are daily assaults on our health. ( Glyphosate …. think Round-up Ready corn, soybean, cotton, canola …. alone was found to cross the blood/brain barrier in the fetus therefore guaranteeing this child future health problems.
Processed “food” is but one of the many hormone disruptors and DNA game changers. We really do not stand a chance in this man-made hell…..neither do our children.
I totally agree. The problem is not preventing Gestational Diabetes in the first place. This is the problem. Preventing Gestational Diabetes (one lifestyle disease of many) would be the beginning of the collapse of our economic system as we know it. Our economic system banks on most people eating eating the chemical concoctions passed along as real food, contaminating their bodies with chemical laden beauty products, using chemical laden products in their homes and on their lawns. Above all, our system is designed to convince you everything is fine. The research studies presented to us and touted by the media are conducted by the producers of these products and designed to convince us the products are absolutely fine . And to keep the whole thing going is a campaign to discredit, intimidate, make fun of, etc. those who doubt and buck the system. Jamie, you are spot on in your advice to Vani about being used and controlled by the very system she is fighting against. I saw her picture with Dr. Oz. I don’t trust Dr. Oz for one minute.
SOMEBODY….Give Marcia a Nobel Peace Prize! You nailed it, Marcia..
” Above all, our system is designed to convince you everything is fine. ”
You have your finger on the pulse of this beast, Marcia…but….can you feel him skip a heartbeat now? This goliath System of Spiritual, Emotional and Physical Poverty is found out! We have our eyes, minds and hearts open now to the truth…to the reality of what has been done to us….to our beloved children ( and I LOVE my children and grandchildren. So much that I would question EVERYONE and EVERYTHING as to the health and validity of the “System”).
Being a student of Astrology I can verify that this “system” is corrupt, criminal, and, most of all, it is detrimental to the evolution of the Soul….the energy being just trying to BE. It destroys, perverts, and pollutes. I have studied a great deal of all systems and can tell Vani’s readers that counselor Lundy Bancroft has done the world a profound favor by sharing his experience in trying to rehabilitate abusive men. What he found was these men felt entitled to do the horrible things that they do. Lundy found that misogyny was at the root of their “value system”. You know, the one where men think that they have a right to walk up to their estranged spouse and blow her away with a 12 gauge shotgun …in front of her customers..in a mall.
Or, one who feels it perfectly acceptable to walk into a Cracker Barrel and shoot, point blank, your estranged wife and 11 year old daughter.
I have experienced misogyny in the form of childhood sexual abuse and spousal abuse. Millions of women have. It is an accepted part of “life”. We cry for food transparency but ignore the most perverse and pervasive form of physical assault to our bodies…but, I think that since it is only done to females ( for the majority ) it is just not worth talking about.
When misogyny is at the root of a “system” ( Just look at the image of the new woman ) then this system, in it’s entirety is null and void. It has no inherent value…no matter how much of a paycheck you might take home at the end of the day. Equality is an illusion.
( Here, you can watch a small portion of the interview with Aaron Russo, before his passing, detailing why the women’s movement was even funded by the Rockefeller Foundation—–>http://hunchmag.com/the-real-reason-for-womans-lib/ ).
This “System” IS designed to keep us acclimated…accepting of it as a viable system worth supporting. It is not. One need only look at our children ( addicted to oxycontin, sports, porn, gossip, entertainment and other demoralizing pastimes ). We are the ‘Selfie’ Nation.
As long as there are rewards for our participation then we will continue to feed this “beast”, giving it life.
The Food revolution is just like the women’s movement …all smoke and mirrors. All revolutions are mere illusions because when one has not grasped the reality of who and what they actually are…continually allowing the system to define this life experience….then we will continue to be manipulated to the detriment of our evolution….to serve this “system” rather than create a new one.
We are ‘seed’ bearers. What we ‘plant’ we reap. We will have to plant more than non GMO seeds in order to harvest a healthy crop.
It is encouraging that you can see that Vani is being used, Marcia. It gives me hope that more young and older women will see this as well.
As I have stated before in another post, Vani was not the first woman to sound the alarm on the fast food industry; Just the most marketable.
Why is she so “marketable”?
She fell right into their misogynistic laps.
Meg, as an RN, I agree that gestational diabetes is dangerous and needs to be monitored.
However,there is no earthly reason they can’t calibrate better glucose challenge alternatives. Maple syrup and apple concentrate are a couple that come to mind.
I am in full agreement, the risks need to be weighed against the benefits. It’s tricky getting all the needed information, including the medical field.
In some cases the flaps regarding food adulterations are way overblown, but I’d rather people get more picky about what they put into their bodies. In addition, it’s difficult to discover what’s overblown and what isn’t.
Too bad scare tactics tend to rebound. I do not know what the answer is.
I was tested for gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with my third child thirty-five years ago. The lab told me to mix a concoction at home that consisted of maple syrup and grape jelly. It was gross but didn’t contain the harmful chemicals of the prescribed elixirs of today.
I come from a medical family and always tell people that they must be their own advocate in medical matters. Doctors are people not gods, they are fallible like everyone. If your doctor takes offense at being questioned find another.
Don’t ever be afraid of hurting a doctor’s feelings! It is your life, your child’s life or the life of a loved one you are talking about. USE YOUR BRAIN, THAT IS WHY YOU HAVE IT!!!!!
I refused to drink this toxic glucola for my test at 28 weeks pregnant. After doing my research, I had asked my doctor if I could simply drink a sugar/water mixture since all they are testing is how my body handles the sugar. They were not happy about veering away from the conventional way of doing things, but with my urging, they finally agreed to letting me do it that way and said that I must make sure it is exactly 50 grams of sugar mixed with 10 ounces of water. I used organic cane sugar and felt so much better knowing that I was drinking a pure, simple drink without artificial dyes and chemicals being passed to my baby.
I was able to get a non-colored glucose drink when I had to be tested for hypoglycemia recently, but I am always shocked at what they feed people in hospitals and doctors offices…
For a gallbladder test they wanted me to drink and “Ensure Shake” – Even if I could have drank that stuff I wouldn’t have (I have a dairy allergy)… then I had a sleep study and they offered me some cranberry juice… I said sure but when they brought it in a cup I quickly asked for an ingredient list. Sure enough first ingredient was HFCS followed by artificial colors, natural flavors, malodextrin, and some other synthetic chemicals. I decided to stick with my Numi tea I had brought 🙂
I to would like to know what to use instead of the goop they want you to swill down before a colonoscopy.
I find a health professional that will give me a warm water deep colonic just before my (last 3) colonoscopies and haven’t had any Dr object yet (in fact I think they are excited to see such a clean colon). I had colon cancer and surgery and prepped for that surgery the same way. I just make sure that I’ve eaten tons of fiber (i.e. soaked Chai seed – raw foods etc) for days ahead of time to make the flush easy to do. (A little DE added into the diet helps too lololol 🙂 )
I am 25 weeks pregnant and will have my gest diabetes test anytime now! I’m so glad to know about these other options. Thank you!
When I was pregnant in the Czech Republic my OBGYN had me eat jelly beans, non of this (more) toxic stuff. Yet another reason I’m glad my first pregnancy was there.
Thank you so much for bringing the glucose tolerance drink up! I was SO uncomfortable with drinking that when I was pregnant but I did not know I had other options. It never sat right with me but I didn’t know I could request something else. Next time around, I really hope my midwives would be open to something like jelly beans! Thanks.
Velda,
while I love the fact that Vani is researching all of these food horrors for us I believe strongly that it is our personal responsibility to research these kinds of issues. If we want to put something in our bodies we should probably investigate the company that creates the product we are thinking of consuming and the ingredients in the product. This way we have more personal control over our lives.
What if Vani “quit” Food Babe? Who would we turn to? Who should know these answers to our questions?
At this point, I would just assume that most crap on your local grocers shelves is just that; crap. If it has been stirred up in a big ol’ nasty vat, injected with unpronounceable ingredients and packed into a box/can/bag then I would steer clear of it.
The positive side of this food horror story is that we CAN take control of our food choices by growing our own or working at a CSA for our healthy, digestible food.
And P.S. We really do not need Ensure or all those other ridiculous drinks. My husbands grandmother is 88 and still chopping wood….but, she is a native of Northern Spain and has never eaten a single thing that came out of a can/box/bag. And, of course, she has never needed a canned drink to help her maintain her weight.
Good luck!
Jamie;
I read your posts on this thread and just also want to add that opposition to the ‘controlled opposition’ could also be ‘controlled’, you know? They all, while possessing truth within, are based on distrust, paranoia, fear and us vs. them.
Of course, divide/conquer along with hegelian ‘problem-reaction-solution’ models are the reality. I wish that people would not surrender their sovereignty so readily. Alas, the norm is that public outcry calls out for ‘truth’ in the form of a new leader/movement/committee/laws which are used to further control.
At the same time, truth IS in this information.
IF people awaken to the reality of food poisons, the pituitary and pineal glands have a chance to function properly. Misogyny and human hierarchies may have a chance to be recognized, in this case. Otherwise, a foggy stupor without ability to think or reason IS linked to nutrition and toxins. Puppets and parrots are the order of the day, but knowledge within them is still valid and I would not surrender that knowledge simply b/c subterfuge is at play. Tools are tools.
If memory serves, Fresca also contains BVO – I noticed it wasn’t on your list. I noticed years ago when my boss had a steady supply of Fresca in the work fridge. I tried one and thought it was good – until I read the ingredients. I recently found out that I was born with only one kidney so I am very careful about what goes into my body. Had never heard of BVO so I looked it up and saw the studies regarding heavy consumption. I got her to stop her multi Fresca a day habit, which is good…but she’s switched to Diet Coke which really isn’t much better. thanks for continuing to fight the good fight.
This BVO in soft drinks that was used as a trigger to launch pepsi products in India in the late 1980’s. The 7 up and Pepsi launched in India in the 80’s were BVO free. The rest of the market was not, and the politician that owned a big stake in Pepsi India sorta created the scandal, maligned his competition and provided a big take off for Pepsi India.
Thanks.
Srinath.
FB, you freaking ROCK! You’re soooo complete w/ your reporting as well as giving numerous options for what to do/ ask for instead! Love it!!
My OB threatened to “fire” me when I mentioned my concern over this drink. I even offered to do alternatives (listed in this article) and she refused to acknowledge them. She bullied me and in the end I did drink the stuff. I still feel horrible about that to this day!
I asked my midwife what was in the drink and she didn’t know. (After bragging about being a midwife for 30+ years). I researched the ingredients on my own and decided I would not be drinking it. I found a pre-packaged organic fruit smoothie drink that had exactly 50 mg of sugar and took it to my test. Everyone in the lab was confused and said nobody ever refuses the drink 🙁 I finally got someone in the lab to go over the ingredients with me and she said she wouldn’t drink the “poison” either. I got approval to use my own drink and had no side effects. Passed the test too 🙂 I explained to them that I strictly avoid all of the ingredients in the prescribed drink and there was no way I would drink it. It blows my mind that hospitals are pushing these poisons when they are supposedly a place to go for health. Scary! XO
With thanks to people like you Vani I stopped drinking these poisons a long time ago and have never looked back.
I’m shock because When I was pregnat I got diabites for drink orange juice , carrots and banana every morning in the begin of the pregnancy And the hospital they gave me drink to check the levels of diabites is rediculos !!!! I have a questions the prenatal vitamins are good for pregnancy? I asking because When I was taking this pills honestly I was feeling bad every time I took this vitamins .
C’mon, people! Most of us subscribe to this blog because we need to learn, not because we think we already know everything! It is unfair to assume someone in the medical profession knows everything – that’s why it’s called a “Medical Practice”. Those of us lucky enough to have found this site are in a position to educate and introduce others (including medical professionals).
Vani, please don’t stop what you do because as an only parent, you’re my best resource!
Terrific post. Please do a similar analysis of Ensure and Boost. Would love to know what’s lurking in those drinks.
Ok folks, calm down, calm down! Vani is NOT telling any one not to take the GD test. She is simply saying ‘hey, look what you’re drinking!’ It’s not necessary for the food coloring, the preservatives, etc. These companies are making an extra buck off your unborn baby. Stand up and say something or even better refuse to drink it! I wish I would have refused instead of only making a fuss. Why can’t they make an alternative? I would pay an extra five bucks for it any day!
@Christy- Honey, if you’re not alarmed, you’re not paying attention. The goal here is not to defy our doctors and put our babies at risk, or even to alarm any one. The goal here is to educate and create change by standing up for our health! Thank you Food Babe!
This is wonderful! Thank you for calling out doctors on stuff like this—I was told to drink Gatorade to help with morning sickness. Um, artificial colors, hello? It is high time the medical industry gets on board with true health and nutrition and quits participating in the sickening of America. I also find it outrageous that there is a long list of foods not to eat when you are pregnant but absolutely no warnings about eating fast food or food with additives like these.
YES!!!! I LOVE that you are taking on this drink!!!!!!!!!! I am a passionate birth activist and this makes me so happy. 😀 😀 😀
When my son was in ICU after having brain surgery for a tumor on his pituitary, he was given Gatorade to drink. I said NO, we don’t drink that stuff. The doctor said he needed the potassium. I went and got coconut water and showed the Dr. The comparison. He was surprised, then said that was fine, but he also needs the sodium, so I went and bought lightly salted cashews. The Dr was surprised,, His numbers were fine. Every meal he was still brought a Gatorade. It was unbelievable that an institution that is supposed to make you healthy agai,, often makes you more sick.
I am a type II Diabetic. I have never had a MD talk to me about what I eat or drink except one time when a Dr told me not to drink Orange Juice. I went to a Chiropractic Clinic where eating and drinking correctly was a priority and within 10 days my counts were low enough to quit prescription drugs. (Metformin). This was just over a year ago. I also have wheat and dairy allergies, that MD’s never even checked to see if allergies existed. Don’t need to when all you do is order a prescription for anything and everything that is or maybe a problem.
I’m wondering, of all of the people here horrified by drinking this toxic drink one time during each pregnancy, how many are still eating conventionally grown fruits and vegetables every day?
A lot of health officials require this, yet they know how toxic it is! American health… Vani, what do you suggest as a subsitute?
I am not surprised women feel they can not refuse. Our pRental rights are constantly under scrutiny of healthcare workers, social workers, government. The UN would love to assign a so ial worker to every child born so no one could refuse this test!
I think they also use this beverage for some diabetes tests. The one where they take a blood sample, make you drink this, then take another blood sample (after 2 hours I think). Sounds about right? I’d never take it otherwise. Can’t believe pregnant women are taking it as well. They can feed you some pseudo reason for needing it, but lets get real, in the entire existence of mankind women did fine without this monstrosity…
I always recommend that anyone who has or will have small children in their lives (child-bearing age women, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc..) read this book: “What’s Gotten Into Us: How To Live Healthy In a Toxic World”, by McKay Jenkins. It goes beyond food to discuss that toxins are lurking everywhere and how to reduce exposure. It is one thing for adults to be exposed to chemicals, but growing fetuses and small children are at a MUCH higher risk to these exposures. I was in a Sustainability Program that used this book on the required reading list and it certainly made a big impact on my consumer habits.
Thanks Vani for making such a difference and actually getting companies to change their ways!
This is so weird that you just posted this. I was jut researching the drink myself because I have the glucose test this week. It is my third pregnancy. Luckily, I have te option to drink orange juice instead.
I personally stay as far as possible from doctors, unless, you absolutely need one fast… (like life or death).
Doctors have always been trained to do one thing, prescribe medications. Most medications ARE harmful in one way or another to your body. This is why we have organics!!.
Hi Vani! Thanks for this article! My sister had a baby back in December and she essentially was “forced” to take the same drink as pictured. She was not given any alternatives. Also, I find it appalling that other doctors and pediatricians will recommend unhealthy drinks like GATORADE and Pedialyte if your child has the flu, diarrhea, etc. Coconut water is a much healthier alternative to re-hydrate.
At one point I was hospitalized and had a feeding tube in my stomach. While in the hospital they tried feeding me (through the tube) the Ensure, Boost and another brand of their “garbage” liquids. My body rejected this crap and I threw it all back up…much to their chagrin. Then because I had lost so much weight (95 pounds) they wanted me to gain weight. They sent me home with a “prescription” for Boost VHC (very high calorie) drink…and Medicare paid for it! Well, needless to say, I wasn’t about to put that crap in my body, either! So, using my Vita Mix blender and fresh fruits and veggies and raw (my own fresh ones) eggs, my husband put this mix through the feeding tube. I am gaining some of the weight back and I know I feel much better using these fresh foods than I would if I had used the Boost VHC. I am well on my way to recovery from my ordeal (tonsil cancer) and I know that I am healthier than those who follow ‘doctor’s orders’ for the Boost garbage (which is made up of HFCS and questionable oils and artificial vitamins! My question is why would Medicare pay for the cost of this garbage but not the choice of fresh fruits and veggies?–the Answer is: Because it doesn’t benefit the producer of this “garbage drink”!!! If you just read the labels on this stuff the doctors try to give you you’ll find they are all laced with stuff that is not good for your body. Thank goodness my body rejected the stuff in the hospital and I got to go home before I was completely gone from this world!!!
Snake Oil.
Many thanks to you for being such a good health detective!! We are making some life style changes and we have you to thank for it. Gordon and Sanda Bell
Soooo very angry about the glucose drink prescribed for all three of my pregnancies!! Strangely enough I had gestational diabetes for 2 of my pregnancies and managed them well with diet alone even though I was being strong armed into using insulin. Kept my blood sugars perfect. I feel as though I’m a great advocate for myself in so many areas but forget to question authority when it comes to medical professionals! Grrrrrrr!!!! Let’s not even get started with the ingredients in vaccines! People think it’s an anti vaccine culture that’s growing when it’s and anti-crap that’s being injected into my child movement. They put anti freeze in vaccines to preserve them when there is food grade anti freeze out there that they could use. EPA makes installers of geothermal heating systems use in in the wells dug into the ground but we don’t need to do the same for the vaccines that are injected into us!
Sorry, didn’t mean to rant! Thanks for all you do!
Dear Vani,
You are doing a great service to all humankind!
Keep up the good work and may God and humans richly bless you for sharing a wealth of knowledge and research to benefit all of us including the yet unborn!
WOMEN -Guardians of the health of our current and future generations!
Cannot agree more with that last statement. I am a male MD and I have learned more about nutrition from my layperson wife, the mother of my four kids, than I ever did in medical school. Our one “nutrition” course was just a rehash of our biochemistry course and nothing more. I do not recall any foods even being mentioned. This was back in the mid 80’s, and I am told that things have improved since then, but who knows?
When I was pregnant with my third baby in 1980 I was being cared for by the local Health Department because we didn’t have health insurance. Because my first baby was 10 pounds, didn’t matter that i was over 9 pounds at birth and he was very healthy, they said I must have had gestational diabetes so i should have a GTT. I researched the test and thought that if it is made to stress my system to see how if reacts, it must also stress my baby. I told them I didn’t want to take the test. Because of that, and the fact that I refused their prenatal vitamins ( I was taking far superior natural vitamins) I was discharged from their care. She turned out to be my smallest baby, 8 lbs 12 oz, my second very successful homebirth and very healthy.
I am the office manager in a freestanding birth center, and all of our clients are screened for gestational diabetes. However, not a single one of them is given that nasty Glucola before the test. They are instructed to eat a specific breakfast that contains 50g of carbs. There are three options: one “conventional” with eggs, milk, OJ and an English muffin; one vegan choice with tofu and other non-animal-based foods; and a lemonade choice with fresh lemon juice and a prescribed measurement of sugar added to water. Most of our clients opt for the conventional or vegan breakfast, and it just makes so much more sense to me to have pregnant women eat REAL food rather than ingest a Franken-drink like Glucola. At least then the glucose tolerance test is screening for the way their body reacts to carbs in their diet. It makes a lot more sense for them to ingest the carbs along with some protein and fiber since that’s how most people eat. Who do you know who gets up in the morning and drinks several ounces of undiluted soft drink syrup? Ick.
I am also a childbirth educator, and I tell my students that their provider’s reaction to a proposal that they eat the 50g of carbs in real food versus drinking the nasty syrup is a really good way to gauge whether the provider is going to be supportive of any other unconventional birth choices they might want to make. 😉
Another glucose option would be a brand of glucose tablets called Glucolift. They’re made to help people with diabetes when they are hypoglycemic (low blood sugar), so they can raise their blood sugar to a safe level. Glucolift tablets are are GMO-free, taste pretty good, and are made of much better ingredients than the other products listed above. Check them out!!
It seems like the REAL cautionary tale here is not to drink eight liters of soda a day for several months :-). Any other dangers appear highly speculative and lack any research evidence. I’ll stick to my 1-2 cans of soda per week, and feel pretty secure that I’ll never experience bromide toxicity (at least not from soda consumption!).
I am amazed by how many people are ignorant to the fact of what some of these ingredients can do. In many cases scientific evidence is hardly needed. Use a bit of common sense and you can quickly figure out that certain ingredients should not be consumed. But any excuse will do to continue with bad eating and drinking habits. Too bad common sense and self-discipline can’t be prescribed by doctors!
And, what is this stuff, Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin? Sounds like a kind of Turpentine.
These chemicals were made from plants until the petroleum industry took over.