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7 Worst Ingredients In Food
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." 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.
Previous research also found that sucralose can destroy up to 50 percent of your beneficial gut flora. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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 1950's
(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.
Source:
articles.mercola.com