By Brannen Hinton CEO of Vision Essence, Inc.
Procuring proper nutrition is arguably our most important activity.1 It’s also one of the most exclusive. When the primary grocery shopper of any household has undoubtedly experienced the sticker shock at jaw-dropping price jumps for fresh foods and produce, it’s no wonder over 6 million Canadians experience food insecurity, struggling to get enough to eat for their family.2 Food banks across Canada have seen monthly visits spike anywhere from 20-300% from 2019 to 2022, and with no sign of the trend slowing. Volunteers say the shelves are running bare.3 Whether it’s fast food, dollar stores, or the dreaded “middle aisles” of the supermarket, people are seeking cheap food options, unwittingly poisoning them14 | Eye Digest Magazine
selves and the next generation with every bite.4 While this sounds extreme, scientists over the last 20 years have identified the key drivers of chronic inflammatory disease, and it begins in the gut.5-7 Mass consumption of industrial synthetic food surfactants and emulsifiers, ubiquitous in highly-processed and packaged foods, are leading the western world to the worst health crisis in modern history. Ubiquitous ingredients like polysorbate, disguised as ‘tween 80’, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and carboxymethylcellulose are invading the food, drug, and natural health product space. They’re known to thin the gut mucosa, open tight junctions between enterocytes, and increase permeability to all the inflammatory