It's true that it's false that it's true that it's false."

"Look before you leap."

"He who hesitates is lost." Feeling overwhelmed with a preponderance of conflicting information?

In February, the Netcraft Web Server Survey found 108.8 million distinct Web sites, with an estimated 30 billion Web pages. The Library of Congress lists innumerable publications. Weekly, hundreds of television shows and pharmaceutical advertising spots deluge us with facts, opinions and allegations. In Washington, D.C., there exists countless associations, lobbying and special interest groups, all with their own biased agendas.

The American Medical Association lists about 650,000 physicians. According to government statistics, $95 billion is spent on medical research annually. Yet American health is in terrible shape. Government statistics state that 25 percent of the population reports to have one or more of five major chronic conditions: mood disorders, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and hypertension. Food and chemical allergies (now known to exist even in the womb) have doubled over the past decade. Obesity and overweight have become the norm.

It is well known that nutrition and exercise have great bearing on these problems, yet Americans continue to stuff their grocery carts and bodies with processed foods. Packaged cereals, breads, snacks, packaged meats, and canned fruits and juices more often than not, contain some form of corn. And constant consumption of any one food can create addictions and allergies. America's food choices seem to be based more upon convenience than health.

Strangely, the thing that has sparked discussion about bad chemicals in our foodstuffs was not the increase in chronic disease, but the poisoning of some 10,000 pets with foodstuffs from China. Whereas, food labeling requires a list of ingredients, it does not require an explanation of the refining or packaging process, often the hidden source of chemical exposure. Perhaps if the processes were required on labels, the contents of our grocery carts would change drastically.

Following an article where I was critical of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) I received a letter from Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, Washington, DC. In it she states, "HFCS is as natural as sugar. Both HFCS and sugar undergo processing to make the final sweetener. The sugar refining process consists of numerous steps and process aids including; multiple, clarifying steps with heat and lime, polymer flocculent and phosphoric acid including: evaporation steps; centrifugation; washing with pressure filtration or chemical treatment; and decolorizing with carbon or bone char. Hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide; or enzymes are added to liquid sucrose to break the bond between glucose and fructose to make invert sugar..."

What is considered natural? The U. S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA/IFIC Booklet, 1993 states, "In fact, 'natural' has no federal definition, and 'organic' refers only to restrictions on pesticide use in food production, not to whether one food is safer than another."

Webster's dictionary is clear: natural {L. naturalis, by birth] 1. of, forming a part of, or arising from nature. 2. produced or existing in nature; not artificial or manufactured. 3. dealing with nature: as a natural science. 4. In a state provided in nature, without man-made changes..."

Hippocrates remarked, "The influence of each process is considerable and each has a totally different effect from another. How can anyone who has not considered such matters and come to understand them possibly know anything of the diseases that afflict mankind? Each one of the substances of a man's diet acts upon his body and changes it in some way and upon these changes his whole life depends." (Excerpt from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon)

A friend of mine attended a self-help meeting given at her local hospital. Showing up early to the meeting, she found a note taped to the door. It stated, "Self-Help Meeting, Tonight, 8 p.m." At 7:45 she entered the empty room and while waiting for others to show up, read a book. She waited and waited. She recalls, "Still alone at 8:30, I finally got it- it was a self-help meeting!"

Essentially, it's up to you.

Don't hesitate to take a good look at your diet. Leap into eating fresh and minimally processed foods. Fresh foods smell and taste better and can dramatically change your health and life. It's true.

MIMI BORGER is classified ad manager for The Observer. She is the author of "The Story of Mr. Allergyhead." Reach her at TheObserver@rrobserver.com.