Message #43168

[guest587]

Let me know if you're interested in what he has to say about pesticides or GMO's. Here is the section on additives.

Additives

How much of what we eat doesn't qualify as food? More than is good for us. The average American child has consumed 7 and a half pounds of chemicals by the age of five. There are more than 15,000 chemicals in our food supply. Many don't have to be listed on ingredients labels, and many have never been tested for safety.

It's a scary thought: By the time we're adults, our bodies have been infiltrated by thousands of non-food substances, things never consumed before by human beings. Pounds and pounds of them. Chemical formulations with dubious scientific backing. Newly invented substances that make food easier to process, or that keep it fresher for longer, or that give it a color or taste or consistency that the manufacture believes we want. Who knows what the long-term effects will be?

The Food and Drug Administration's job is to protect us, but that doesn't always work so well. Scientist began questioning the safety of trans fats a good 50 years before they were declared not safe to eat by the FDA- a half century's worth of damage done to those of us who unknowingly ate them. Even the containers that hold our food pose a danger, because they contain phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA), which we only recently learned are dangerous.

So, what's the solution? Eat food, not food-like substances. It may not always be possible, but you need to be sure to avoid the really bad ones. The roster of food additives allowed by the government is long; it reads like a phone book. It's an eye-opener, and for most of us, completely impossible to navigate. Luckily, we have organizations looking out for us.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has compiled a detailed report on food additives, including a Dirty Dozen list that calls out those that pose the greatest danger to our health:

1. Nitrates and nitrites (which turn into carcinogenic nitrosamines when heated at high temperatures): Used to color, preserve, and flavor processed meats like bacon, hot dogs, and salami; a "probable" carcinogen according to the World Health Organization.

2. Potassium bromate: Found in bread and other baked goods; linked to various cancers; not allowed in food in Canada, the United Kingdom, or the European Union.

3. Propylparaben: Used in baked goods; believed to be an endocrine disruptor; also may be carcinogenic.

4. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT): Used as a preservative in cereal and other foods; caused cancer in animal tests.

5. Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA): Similar to BHT; listed by California as a carcinogen.

6. Propyl gallate: Used in food with animal fats, like lard and sausage; may be carcinogenic.

7. Theobromine: Used in chocolate, bread, and sports drinks; in animal testing it had possible effects on reproduction and development.

8. Flavorings, natural or artificial: Even when these say "natural, they may be extracted using other chemicals that aren't listed. Any time you see a word like "flavors" or "spices," it's a cause for concern. Natural vanilla flavor comes from beavers' anal glands. Look it up if you don't believe me.

9. Artificial colorings: Associated with everything from cancer to hyperactivity in children.

10. Diacetyl: Flavoring, like the "butter" taste in microwave popcorn; has deemed hazardous for the workers in the factories where it's used.

11. Phosphates: In thousands of foods; linked to risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

12. Aluminum additives: Such as sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium aluminum sulfate; used as stabilizers; linked to neurotoxicity.

13. Calcium propionate: A preservative used in flour that affects your gut flora and produces neurotoxins that cause ADHD and autism.

Another watchdog organization, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), also compiles a list of additives, which it categorizes variously as "safe," "cut back," "caution," "certain people should avoid," or "avoid" For the full list visit, https://cspinet.org/eating-healthy/chemical-cuisine