i haven't read the whole thread, but i thought i'd put my 2 cents in. if you live in the US, the food is loaded with poisons and chemicals. corn syrup being one of the worst offenders along with artificial sweeteners. i was near diabetic, so i did some research (you know, looking stuff up online

). the results were startling.
1st thing that i looked at was the toxic poison fluoride which is put in the water in most cities (you know, where poor people and minorities live). the fluoride put inot the water is not pharmaceutical grade, it is the toxic chemical waste from phosphate fertilizer manufacturing. it is poison, yet you never hear anyone say it is haraam to drink. prozac is a 94% fluoride compound. think about it. they aren't the same, but similar. fluoride destroys parts of your brain, it can reduce your IQ by 20 points!!! try to remove fluoride from your diet.
aspartame was 2nd on the list. as i was trying to avoid sugar, guess what i bought??? :embarrass turns out aspartame is another toxin. it is in many, many foods and soft drinks. it also triggers something in your brain that makes you think you are still hungry.
GMOs...next up was GMOs. in the US, they are everywhere! their safety is in doubt, though you hear some people, even Muslims, who have relationships with GMO producing companies, Monsanto, Dow, claim they are perfectly safe. don't be persuaded. the corn in corn syrup is GMO. the soy in soy products is GMO. the vast majority of "diet" or "healthy" foods in the US contain GMO. go organic if you can, local and natural at a minimum.
i changed my diet to organic eggs and organic bread, but high yield dwarf wheat is problematic. i eat organic lentils with rice and peppers. i drink filtered water, tea and coffee using organic, non BGH, milk and stevia for sweetener. i am not saying stevia tastes great, it is just one of the few safe alternatives.
in less than 4 months, i lost 35 lbs! this is just by removing poisons from my diet. no more "packaged" food, eat actual food. turn off you TV too. "advertising" is propaganda, it was created as such. it's main purpose is to sell you crap you don't need.
i won't bore you with links and vids unless someone is interested.
ma salaama