When I first understood the connection between my seizures and food ingredients, it was a mind-blowing moment for me. It was a moment when I realized how little I actually knew about my own body. Even after 16 years I was just beginning to understand the sensitivities I did possess toward certain ingredients and the very serious consequences that followed these “sensitivities.” The truth is, our processed food products do contain dangerous ingredients. Ingredients that can and will harm the human body. 

So what are you going to do about it??? That right there is the million dollar question because it has the potential to influence the type of immune system your body develops.

The sad truth is that the majority of society chooses the path that could be labeled as “Easy Street.” It is the route where you choose to do nothing and continue on as if nothing is wrong with foods that are made from chemically-derived ingredients. 

It might work better if I point out the elephant in the room sooner rather than later…it is NOT okay to consume products that essentially aren’t real in any way, shape, or form. 

I had to learn this the hard way, but consuming processed ingredients is not a great way to lead your body down a healthy path. Do your body a huge favor and just say “NO” to everything processed.

There were quite a few significant products that I was forced to give up after discovering my own personal food sensitivities. Deciding to choose the route that completely detoxes everything synthetic from my diet may not have been my first choice at the time, but looking back over the past 10 years I only see positive changes. In many ways, this choice I was also forced to make actually saved my life. As a teenager, I didn’t realize the need for a change in my diet. Everything seemed just fine so I carried on like it was. It’s crazy how everything can seem peachy from an outside perspective, but on the inside a storm is actually brewing. 

My storm was Epilepsy. And once the storm broke loose with that very first seizure occurring in 2009, it seemed like my body’s level of sensitivity to everything food-related just sky-rocketed. I began realizing that certain foods I used to have no problem consuming could and would actually prompt a Gran Mal seizure. As you can imagine, this was a great motivating factor to drastically change my entire diet. 

I said goodbye to every processed food product I was so used to consuming and I began to do something incredibly foreign to my daily activities…I read ingredient labels. It was not an easy feat at first because some of those ingredient names are incredibly complicated! This activity has now become habit for me…I literally cannot purchase a product without first checking a label and sometimes it means double-checking (you never know when companies add new ingredients to their product). I continued this behavior because if it meant finding a product that had what I like to call a “Clean” ingredient label, it made sorting through the crazy ingredient names and individually researching the true composition of each ingredient totally worth it. 

At first, I had gotten very used to giving up practically every snack food because finding a “clean” ingredient label can sometimes feel impossible. It had reached a point where it was easier to bake something completely from-scratch than try and find a healthy, clean processed food product at the grocery store. It was definitely a challenge, but it wasn’t impossible. 

Late July Crackers started out as a miracle replacement for Ritz Crackers, but they have turned into a bit of a remedy for certain symptoms post-seizure. It is very strange and I have no explanation for my symptoms, but after a Gran Mal or Partial seizure I get what I would describe as “the Shivers.” It is actually very annoying because my whole body is shivering as if it is cold, even my teeth are chattering, but the temperature around me is normal. I don’t know if these same symptoms also occur for others who, like me, are coping with seizures, but if they do you’ll definitely want to keep reading!

Late July Crackers appealed to me because they taste exactly the same, maybe even a little better than Ritz Crackers. They have become a staple snack in my house because this product is clean, healthy, and a remedy of sorts for my post-seizure “shivers.” I usually eat about 3-4 crackers and without fail my shivers will stop and my brain seems to pull it together in a way that is both speedy and efficient. It is my go-to snack nowadays as well as my treatment option for post-seizure shivering. 

It is worth it to research every ingredient label because clean products, such as Late July’s Crackers, do exist and they do have the potential to go above and beyond their product description. 

Every person’s body is different and, therefore, reacts differently toward varying ingredient labels. So, even if this product doesn’t work the same for you at least you’ll still have a good quality, non-GMO, and Organic snack in your pantry! 

Below I have provided the Late July ingredient label and the Ritz Crackers ingredient label so that you can see the massive difference between the two products…

Late July Organic Classic Rich Flaky, Buttery Tasting Crackers Ingredient Label: 

Organic wheat flour, Organic evaporated cane sugar, Organic expeller pressed sunflower oil and/or Organic expeller safflower oil, Organic palm oil, Sea Salt, Leavening (baking soda, ammonium bicarbonate, cream of tartar).  

Ritz Crackers Ingredient Label:  

Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Folic Acid), Canola Oil, Palm Oil, Sugar, Salt, Leavening (Calcium Phosphate and/or Baking Soda), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor.   

The Canola Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soy Lecithin, and Natural Flavor will each provoke a seizure in my brain all by themselves. To see these ingredients all mixed together in a single product is basically my biggest nightmare. Avoiding these types of ingredient labels is a must for anyone who wants to eat foods composed of REAL ingredients, not chemicals!  

Sources:

1. Late July Organic Classic Rich Crackers Product Box: available at most health food stores
2. Ritz Crackers (Original Flavor) Product Box: available at standard grocery stores

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