7 Worst Ingredients in Food
December 30, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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Thousands of food additives are added to US foods, but seven of
the worst include high-fructose corn syrup, synthetic trans
fats, artificial flavors, monosodium glutamate (MSG), artificial
colors, artificial sweeteners and preservatives
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Many of the food additives that are perfectly legal to use in US
foods are banned in other countries due to health concerns
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Common chemicals used to flavor, preserve, sweeten and color
your food may be linked to cancer, behavioral problems,
reproductive damage and more
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Swapping your processed food diet for one that focuses on fresh
whole foods is a necessity if you value your health
By Dr. Mercola
More than 3,000 food additives -- preservatives, flavorings,
colors and other ingredients -- are added to US foods, and this
is one of the key reasons why I recommend avoiding most
of the processed foods that contain them.
While many well-meaning nutritionists will teach you the
importance of reading food labels, the easiest way to eat
healthy is to stick with foods that need no food label at all…
When was the last time you saw an ingredients list on a
grass-fed steak or a bunch or broccoli?
There’s a good chance, though, that you do eat some processed
foods, and if this is the case reading the label is invaluable.
There are literally thousands of ‘red flags’ to watch out for in
the foods you eat, but a handful take the proverbial cake for
worst of the worst.
The Seven Worst Ingredients in Processed Foods
Andrea Donsky, founder of
NaturallySavvy.com,
did a wonderful job of highlighting seven ingredients you should
avoid eating in the infographic above. She refers to them as the
"Scary Seven."1
If you see any of these on a food label, promptly put it
back on the shelf; if you value your health, you don’t want
to be putting these in your body. Let’s take a look at each in
detail:
1. Artificial Sweeteners
Experiments have found that sweet taste, regardless of
its caloric content, enhances your appetite, and consuming
artificial sweeteners has been shown to lead to even
greater weight gain than consuming sugar.
Aspartame has
been found to have the most pronounced effect, but the same
applies for other artificial sweeteners, such as acesulfame
potassium, sucralose and saccharin.
Yet, weight gain is only the beginning of why artificial
sweeteners should generally be avoided. Aspartame, for
instance, is a sweet-tasting neurotoxin. As a result of its
unnatural structure, your body processes the amino acids
found in aspartame very differently from a steak or a piece
of fish.
The amino acids in aspartame literally attack your cells,
even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain
cells, creating a toxic cellular overstimulation, called
excitotoxicity, similar to MSG.
Further, inflammatory bowel disease may be caused or
exacerbated by the regular consumption of the popular
artificial sweetener Splenda (sucralose), as it inactivates
digestive enzymes and alters gut barrier function.2
Previous research also found that sucralose can destroy
up to 50 percent of your beneficial gut flora.3
While you certainly don’t want to overdo it on sugar,
there's little doubt in my mind that artificial sweeteners
can be even worse for your health than sugar and
even fructose.
2. Synthetic Trans Fats
These are common in foods that contain partially
hydrogenated vegetable oil, such as crackers, chips, most
store-bought baked goods, and any fried foods, just to name
a few examples. Synthetic trans fats are known to promote
inflammation, which is a hallmark of most chronic and/or
serious diseases.
For instance, in one 2010 study, post-menopausal women
who consumed the most daily synthetic trans fat had a 30
percent higher incidence of ischemic strokes.4
Synthetic trans fats have also been linked to:
- Cancer: They interfere with enzymes your body uses
to fight cancer.
- Diabetes:
They interfere with the insulin receptors in your cell
membranes.
- Decreased immune function: They reduce your immune
response.
- Problems with reproduction: They interfere with
enzymes needed to produce sex hormones.
- Heart
disease
Your intake of trans fats should be as low as possible;
no “safe upper limit” has even been established because,
quite simply, there is none.
3. Artificial Flavors
What’s particularly alarming when you see a word like
“artificial flavor” on an ingredients label is that there’s
no way to know what it actually means. It could mean that
one unnatural additive is included, or it could be a blend
of hundreds of additives. Strawberry artificial flavor can
contain nearly 50 chemical ingredients, for example.5
Or take the artificial flavoring called diacetyl, which
is often used as a butter flavoring in microwave popcorn.
Research shows diacetyl has several concerning properties
for brain health and may trigger
Alzheimer’s disease.
Genetically engineered flavor enhancers can also be
listed under the artificial flavor (or natural flavor)
label.
4. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
This flavor enhancer is most often associated with
Chinese food, but it's actually in countless processed food
products ranging from frozen dinners and salad dressing to
snack chips and meats.
MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your
cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain
dysfunction and damage to varying degrees -- and potentially
even triggering or worsening learning disabilities,
Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's
disease and more.
Part of the problem is that free glutamic acid (MSG is
approximately 78 percent free glutamic acid) is the same
neurotransmitter that your brain, nervous system, eyes,
pancreas and other organs use to initiate certain processes
in your body. Although the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) continues to claim that consuming MSG in food does not
cause these ill effects, many other experts say otherwise.
5. Artificial Colors
Every year, food manufacturers pour 15 million pounds of
artificial food dyes into U.S. foods -- and that amount only
factors in eight different varieties.6
As of July 2010, most foods in the European Union that
contain artificial food dyes were labeled with warning
labels stating the food "may have an adverse effect on
activity and attention in children." The British government
also asked that food manufacturers remove most artificial
colors from foods back in 2009 due to health concerns.
Nine of the food dyes currently approved for use in the
US are linked to health issues ranging from cancer and
hyperactivity to allergy-like reactions -- and these results
were from studies conducted by the chemical industry itself.7
For instance, Red # 40, which is the most widely used dye,
may accelerate the appearance of immune system tumors in
mice, while also triggering hyperactivity in children.
Blue # 2, used in candies, beverages, pet foods and more,
was linked to brain tumors. And Yellow 5, used in baked
goods, candies, cereal and more, may not only be
contaminated with several cancer-causing chemicals, but it's
also linked to hyperactivity, hypersensitivity and other
behavioral effects in children.
6. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
It’s often claimed that HFCS is no worse for you than
sugar, but this is not the case. Because high-fructose corn
syrup contains free-form monosaccharides of
fructose and glucose, it cannot be considered
biologically equivalent to sucrose (sugar), which has a
glycosidic bond that links the fructose and glucose
together, and which slows its break down in the body.
Fructose is primarily metabolized by your liver, because
your liver is the only organ that has the transporter for
it. Since all fructose gets shuttled to your liver, and, if
you eat a typical Western-style diet, you consume high
amounts of it, fructose ends up taxing and
damaging your liver in the same way alcohol and other
toxins do. And just like alcohol, fructose is metabolized
directly into fat – it just gets stored in your fat
cells, which leads to mitochondrial malfunction, obesity and
obesity-related diseases.
The more fructose or HFCS a food contains, and the more
total fructose you consume, the worse it is for your health.
As a standard recommendation, I advise keeping your
TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day.
For most people it would also be wise to limit your fructose
from fruit to 15 grams or less, as you're
virtually guaranteed to consume "hidden" sources of fructose
if you drink beverages other than water and eat processed
food.
Fifteen grams of fructose is not much -- it represents
two bananas, one-third cup of raisins, or two Medjool dates.
Remember, the average 12-ounce can of soda contains 40 grams
of sugar, at least half of which is fructose, so one can of
soda alone would exceed your daily allotment.
7. Preservatives
Preservatives lengthen the shelf-life of foods,
increasing manufacturers’ profits – at your expense, since
most are linked to health problems such as cancer, allergic
reactions and more. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and
butylated hydrozyttoluene (BHT) are preservatives that
affect the neurological system of your brain, alter behavior
and have the potential to cause cancer. Tertiary
butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is a chemical preservative so
deadly that just five grams can kill you.
The preservative sodium benzoate -- found in many soft
drinks, fruit juices and salad dressings – has been found to
cause children to become measurably more hyperactive and
distractible. Sodium nitrite, a commonly used preservative
in hot dogs, deli meats and bacon, has been linked to higher
rates of colorectal, stomach and pancreatic cancers. And the
list goes on and on…
US Processed Foods May Be Even Worse Than Those in Other
Countries
Many of the food additives that are perfectly legal to use in
US foods are banned in other countries. The banned ingredients
include various food dyes, the fat substitute Olestra,
brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate (aka brominanted
flour), Azodicarbonamide, BHA, BHT, rBGH, rBST and arsenic.
When foods are processed, not only are valuable nutrients
lost and fibers removed, but the textures and natural variation
and flavors are also lost. After processing, what's left behind
is a bland, uninteresting "pseudo-food" that most people
wouldn’t want to eat. So at this point, food manufacturers must
add back in the nutrients, flavor, color and texture to
processed foods in order to make them palatable, and this is why
they become loaded with food additives. If you live in Europe,
you may have more options than Americans, as you may be able to
find some processed foods that do not contain any synthetic
additives.
Still, swapping your processed food diet for one that focuses
on fresh whole foods is a necessity if you value your health.
Remember, people have thrived on vegetables, meats, eggs, fruits
and other whole foods for centuries, while processed foods were
only recently invented.
If you want to eat (and be) healthy, I suggest you follow the
1950s (and before) model and spend quality time in the kitchen
preparing high-quality meals for yourself and your family. If
you rely on processed inexpensive foods, you exchange
convenience for long-term health problems and mounting medical
bills. For a step-by-step guide to make this a reality in your
own life, simply follow the advice in my
optimized nutrition plan along with these
seven steps to wean yourself off processed foods.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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