The following is my list of do nots when it comes to weight loss and food labels.

1. Anything You Can't Pronounce This is really easy. If you can't pronounce the word, don't buy it—it's a chemical. They can call it anything they want, they can say it's naturally derived, or that it comes from a plant, or that it's all-natu- ral. None of this is true. Keep in mind that food manufacturers lobby Congress through virtual payoffs and bribes to get legislation allowing food manufactures to call chemicals "all-natural ingredients." So the bottom line is, if you can't pronounce it, don't buy it.

2. Monosodium Glutamate Never buy anything with monosodium glutamate in it. If you're not convinced, read the book Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills. MSG is an excitotoxin. It is dangerous and deadly; it makes you fat, increases your appetite, and causes all types of physical and medical problems.

3. Aspartame This is also an excitotoxin. It makes you fat, it makes you hungry, it makes you depressed, and it leads to all types of medical conditions, including PMS and migraines. If you're not convinced,

4. High Fructose Corn Syrup This is highly chemically and physically addicting, and makes you fat. 5. Hydrogenated Oil or Partially Hydrogenated Oil If it's hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, don't buy it. This is a trans fat. It's deadly, it causes heart disease, makes you fat, and causes a whole host of other medical conditions.

6. Sugar The sugar used in processing is the most refined white powder you can imagine. They have taken natural sugarcane and turned it into a drug. It's put into food because of its sweetness, but also for its chemi- cally addicting qualities. It is also laced with the chemicals used in the growing of sugarcane. This should be avoided at all costs.