Natural Way Health Blog

Food Additives

Food additives are often hidden in foods and some are known to be harmful. Few serious studies have been done looking into the long term effects of these food additives and the companies that make them have been successful in turning the regulators heads with flawed study data. There are so many on the market today that it would take a book to look at just a few but here are some more common offenders and ones that we strongly suggest you look out for. We advocate cooking and preparing your food from scratch if at all possible as processed food is where you’ll find most of these:

1. Sodium nitrite
2. BHA & BHT
3. Propyl gallate
4. Monosodium glutamate
5. Trans fats
6. Aspartame
7. Neotame – successor to aspartame
8. Sucralose
9. Acesulfame-K
10. Food colorings (Blue, Red, Green, Yellow)
11. Olestra- used to block fat absorption
12. Potassium bromate
13. White sugar
14. High Fructose Corn Syrup
15. Sodium chloride (salt) – replace with himalayan rock salt

Since some of these may not be familiar to you, sodium nitrite is a preservative added most commonly to bacon, ham, hot dogs, sandwich meats, and smoked fish. BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are other preservatives added to foods like cereal, gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils. Propyl gallate is found in meats, chicken soup base, and gum. All of these preservatives have been linked to cancer.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) can cause migraines and other adverse effects. Trans fats are being eliminated from most foods, as the studies linking them to heart disease, strokes, and kidney problems are widely accepted.
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener found in products like NutraSweet and Equal as well as diet foods and soft drinks. And acesulfame-K is a newer sweetener used in soft drinks and some baked goods. A very effective substitute, and one that is very safe, is Trehalose and it looks and tastes like sucrose but doesn’t raise blood glucose levels so is great for diabetes.
Many food colorings have been banned by the FDA, but some can still be found in foods that require a particular color. Olestra was common for a time in potato chips as an additive that prevented fat from being absorbed in your digestive system. Food colorings have been tied to cancer and Olestra also blocks vitamins from being processed.
Potassium bromate is sometimes added to white flour, breads, and rolls to increase the volume of the products, but it has cancer-causing properties that have prompted some states in America to actually require a label to that effect.
Finally, white sugar and sodium chloride (salt) can be dangerous if not kept to a minimum.

Tags: Acesulfame K, Artificial Sweetener, Blood Glucose Levels, Chicken Soup Base, Diet Foods, Food Additives, Food Colorings, Fructose Corn Syrup, Gallate, High Fructose Corn, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hot Dogs, Kidney Problems, Olestra, Potassium Bromate, Potato Chips, Processed Food, Rock Salt, Smoked Fish, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Nitrite, Soft Drinks, Trans Fats, Vegetable Oils, White Sugar