A few things. First off, I freaked out last night when I discovered a YouTube video containing a commercial at the bottom of my latest post. AAAKK!!! I have since learned that WordPress has chosen to place ads on your blog unless you give them $30 a year. I am now faced with the decision of whether I want ads that advertise Lord only knows what representing me on my blog, or cough up $30. I had no intention of ever advertising on this blog. I also had no intention of ever paying money to maintain this blog. Decisions. Until then, please know that I am not happy about the ads recently thrown up on my blog. 😦
Secondly, when did Easter in America become about poisoning our children and glorifying a bunny? When my children were gifted candy recently by someone other than me, I cringed because of what they were going to consume in the name of Easter and our risen King.
Say hello to the infamous peep. I ate them as a kid and they were delicious. Now I know what is in them and the joy is gone.
They look sweet and innocent enough until you flip the package over. One might even think, “Gluten free–they must be OK.” And how could anything made in a city named Bethlehem be bad?
But I think the ingredients speak for themselves, don’t they? Please tell me they do. Please tell me that you understand the dangers of corn syrup and synthetic dyes and chemical preservatives? Please.
I realized something else about the Easter candy as I was photographing it. I noticed that there was no mention of Easter. The box just said, “Happy”. That’s it. What happened to Happy Easter? Merry Christmas has gone to the wayside for Happy Holidays. Have we lost Easter too?
I dare you to read the ingredients. But please know first that he was “Proudly made in the U.S.A. since 1948”.
Maybe it should read, “Recklessly causing unexplained, incurable disease and allergy triggers since 1948”. Just saying.
Do I need to get into the horrors of hydrogenated vegetable oil? Do I? I am not even going to get into the highlighted words right now. But I wanted to point out something on the label that I have never seen before: “U.S. Certified Colors”. Guess how many colors in this bunny? Six. Gag. And it says U.S. Certified because some are banned in other countries (that acknowledge the dangers). Banned, people!
This is Red #40:
disodium 6-hydroxy-5-((2-methoxy-5-methyl-4-sulfophenyl)azo)-2-naphthalenesulfonate (source)
Still yummy? You might also know it as petroleum. Yuck. Ignorance was sweet bliss. But knowledge is power, right?
Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, have been proven to be tainted with cancer-causing contaminants and cause a host of physical and behavioral problems. (source)
Personally, after spending over $400 dollars on a blood test that my insurance wouldn’t pay for, I’ve learned that out of the handful of things my immune system does not like–dyes make the list–red and yellow specifically. You think I don’t want to keep it out of my children like a crazy lady now? It kills me that they have access to it at school. But it doesn’t matter. Because it is everywhere in our society and we are giving it as gifts at all of the holidays. It’s not easy to decide whether or not to allow my children to have it in limited quantities or not at all. And it’s a losing battle in this day and age.
My hope is that one day the bells will go off and the plug will be pulled and the people in charge will shake things up for the sake of our health. In the meantime, I pray that mommies and daddies and young and old will become aware and more vigilant about keeping dangerous toxins out of their diets.
Rheum For God 
1) I don’t see ads. I sometimes get a message telling me that my browser blocked stuff; I get it when viewing my own blog, too, and wonder what’s being blocked since everything I put there shows up. Don’t worry about the ads; I think people understand.
2) Happy Easter 🙂
2-1/2) It drives me crazy that my church does an egg hunt for kids – using plastic eggs filled with candy.
3) Things that require an ingredient label are frequently not good for us. It just shouldn’t be that hard to obtain food that promotes good health.
Hope you are doing well.
Hi WarmSocks!
Happy Easter to you and your family!
Thank you for saying about the ads. They seem to come and go, so who knows what ads will pop up for people. Eek. 🙂
I really hope you are feeling well! It’s so great to hear from you!
I too was raised on the candy and products you mention. Only now, as a 47-year-old father of two, I still can’t seem to change my eating habits. I was raised either being fed by Mom as a child or making TV dinners as a teenager. I wasn’t trained to care for myself. So today, I still fall back on packaged and processed food. I have Psoriatic Arthritis. I can’t wear short sleeves or pants. I can’t wrestle with my 10-year-old son. Or play catch with my daughter. Or go bike riding. Some still think it is up to me–if I had more self-esteem maybe I would change. But I mostly just think I will never improve. As the song says, “I don’t want to die, though I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.”
Jeff,
I apologize that it has taken me this long to reply. I have to be honest. When I received your comment, it troubled me and I didn’t sleep well that night because I wrestled with how to respond.
Your comment stirred up a couple of emotions. Deep sadness because of the song line you quoted. This disease is so maddening and heart wrenching… I’m so sorry you feel the way you do and battle the disease as well. 😦 I feel your pain. Personally, I am ready for Jesus to return right now! Heavenly body without pain–yes, please!
I also felt frustration because you are a father, yet can’t seem to find the motivation to change your way of eating. I have a dear friend who struggles in the area of his diet. It impacts his weight, disease, mental state, wife and child. He is educated about the dangers of fast food and processed food and suffers the ill effects. However, his diet is still not what it should be and his health and weight battles continue. He too is a father. I told him that I love him as a brother in Christ, and I am about to kick his tail for not changing his ways!
If not for ourselves, at least for our children. I want to leave a legacy of healthy eating for my children. And I want them to have a parent that strives to be an active part of their lives the best I can. I don’t want to be sick and shriveled up in pain due to my own laziness, lack of will power or self-control.
Baby steps, my brother. It doesn’t have to be a full blown change over night. Think of the impact it would have on your children not only now, but in the future when they are on their own, and when they too are possibly parents. Think of your possible future grand babies. Please.
You are in my prayers, Jeff. Thank you for commenting.