Excerpt:
1. Sodium nitrite
2. BHA & BHT
3. Propyl gallate
4. Monosodium glutamate
5. Trans fats
6. Aspartame
7. Acesulfame-K
8. Food colorings (Blue & , Red , Green , Yellow )
9. Olestra
10. Potassium bromate
11. White sugar
12. Sodium chloride
There are many reasons that some people choose to shop and eat a completely organic range of foods, but the primary reason seems to center around the additives in various non-organic food items. Those additives have been studied and linked to various diseases, and instead of taking the chance that unhealthy preservatives and flavorings might be integrated into grocery store items, people often opt for the strictly organic route so as to avoid them altogether.
But everyone cannot afford the prices of organic foods or the time it takes to shop at specialty markets for them. Thus, becoming informed about the additives in everyday food items can make for an easier shopping experience and healthier items being ingested by everyone. In addition, a mass boycott of foods that contain such additives could prompt food manufacturers to remove such harmful ingredients from their products in the future.
Thanks to MSN Health & Fitness contributor Jean Weiss, a list of the most medically questionable and harmful additives in everyday foods has been compiled to educate the masses. There are several that may be recognizable due to news reports and popular opinion, but others may be new to some and worthy of notation.
One of the most common additives in food is the preservative, which can come in different forms. Sodium nitrite is one of them, as it is added to not only preserve food but to add color and flavor to meat products, most commonly bacon, ham, hot dogs, sandwich meats, and smoked fish. BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydrozyttoluene) are other preservatives added to foods like cereal, gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils to prevent them from oxidizing. And propyl gallate has similar de-oxidizing values and is found in meats, chicken soup base, and gum. All of these preservatives have been found to cause cancer through certain types of food preparation, such as cooking meat at high temperatures. Though the studies are not conclusive and mostly conducted on animals, all of them contain reactive compounds that can be harmful.
As far as flavoring, monosodium glutamate (MSG) used to be a very common amino acid used in restaurant foods, soups, and salad dressings, though most food preparers and manufacturers have removed it from their list of ingredients. Beware of canned and frozen foods that still may attempt to use it, as MSG can cause migraines and other adverse effects. Trans fats are also being eliminated from most foods, as the studies linking them to heart disease, strokes, and kidney problems are widely-accepted.
Sweeteners are another item to avoid when possible. Aspartame is 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. These products, only preliminarily linked to cancer, have the same negative nutritional value as white sugar, all of which should be minimized in any diet.
Many food colorings have been banned by the FDA but some can still be found in foods that require a particular color. And Olestra is a product also discouraged by health food organizations that is rarely used anymore, though was common for a time in potato chips as an additive that prevented fat from being absorbed in the digestive system. Each of these items should be avoided at all costs, as the food colorings have been tied to cancer and Olestra simply blocks vitamins from being processed through the body and blocks the digestive process from functioning normally.
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- groups:
- News, Green, Current Tonight, Earth and Science, 6 more
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- recommended by:
- Apocalipstick,
- ras_menelik
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- JanforGore
- added this
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- JanforGore
- 4 months ago
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And 14.
Anyone want to go for 15?
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- JanforGore
- 4 months ago
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Thank you for posting this. This is more helpful than any ten bills the Republicans or Democrats have brought.
Can you guess?
The fact that I am not pleased with Mr. Obama, you already know.
But I am also not pleased with the WHOLE CONGRESS.
Thanks again. -
15 - Beef Jerky Underpants.
Just being silly, saw that along the side as I was reading your post, which is great btw, as usual!
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Does anything have trans fat in it?? Everything is trans fat free. It sounds like a made up fat that they use to say isn't in their product.
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I also love how everything leads to cancer. You can get cancer from literally ANYTHING.
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I also love how everything leads to cancer. You can get cancer from literally ANYTHING.
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Firstly, let me just say that it is important to eat a healthy diet, and many of the items listed above are in the worst junk food.
Yes, everything does cause cancer to some degree or another. Neat article on it here:
http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/papers/vethumtoxicology31(6)p589y1989.html
Furthermore:
You ever heard the saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" or that you should eat the apple peel because it is the most healthy part?
Take a look at this list of natural carcinogens and mutagens, and pay special attention to how many are in an apple:
Acetaldehyde (apples, bread, coffee, tomatoes)—mutagen and potent rodent carcinogen
Acrylamide (bread, rolls)—rodent and human neurotoxin; rodent carcinogen
Aflatoxin (nuts)—mutagen and potent rodent carcinogen; also a human carcinogen
Allyl isothiocyanate (arugula, broccoli, mustard)—mutagen and rodent carcinogen
Aniline (carrots)—rodent carcinogen
Benzaldehyde (apples, coffee, tomatoes)—rodent carcinogen
Benzene (butter, coffee, roast beef)—rodent carcinogen
Benzo(a)pyrene (bread, coffee, pumpkin pie, rolls, tea)—mutagen and rodent carcinogen
Benzofuran (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
Benzyl acetate (jasmine tea)—rodent carcinogen
Caffeic acid (apples, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, coffee, grapes, lettuce, mangos, pears, potatoes)—rodent carcinogen
Catechol (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
Coumarin (cinnamon in pies)—rodent carcinogen
1,2,5,6-dibenz(a)anthracene (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
Estragole (apples, basil)—rodent carcinogen
Ethyl alcohol (bread, red wine, rolls)—rodent and human carcinogen
Ethyl acrylate (pineapple)—rodent carcinogen
Ethyl benzene (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
Ethyl carbamate (bread, rolls, red wine)—mutagen and rodent carcinogen
Furan and furan derivatives (bread, onions, celery, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce, coffee)—many are mutagens
Furfural (bread, coffee, nuts, rolls, sweet potatoes)—furan derivative and rodent carcinogen
Heterocyclic amines (roast beef, turkey)—mutagens and rodent carcinogens
Hydrazines (mushrooms)—mutagens and rodent carcinogens
Hydrogen peroxide (coffee, tomatoes)—mutagen and rodent carcinogen
Hydroquinone (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
d-limonene (black pepper, mangos)—rodent carcinogen
4-methylcatechol (coffee)—rodent carcinogen
Methyl eugenol (basil, cinnamon and nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies)—rodent carcinogen
Psoralens (celery, parsley)—mutagens; rodent and human carcinogens
Quercetin glycosides (apples, onions, tea, tomatoes)—mutagens and rodent carcinogens
Safrole (nutmeg in apple and pumpkin pies, black pepper)—rodent carcinogen-
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- good_stuff
- 4 months ago
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Just a random fact here: Probably the most significant free-radical in one's body is hydrogen peroxide. That's why your liver contains so much catylase. Even potatoes have catylase.
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- RichLikesJuice
- 4 months ago
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You forgot about the big one: HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!
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done and done.
course...it's kinda easy in asia
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I always thought 7-11's and Circle K's should be outlawed.
They are as bad as any crack dealer.-
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- onemalefla
- 4 months ago
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I run five kilometers a day and exercise for another 1.5 hours on top of that, but, I love Chipotle, McDonalds, and just about any fast food chain or junk food you throw at me.
That isn't to say I'm shoving this stuff down my throat everyday. Everything in moderation folks.
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There is a really good collection of short videos on this subject at this link to youtube - check it out....
"Hippocrates, the founder of medicine said: "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food."
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"Sodium chloride"
LOL. Would it be ok if I just jumped off a cliff?
This article needs to be retitled or sodium chloride needs to be taken off the list. While I agree that most people eat too much salt, if you REMOVE it from your diet, you might as well just off yourself now.
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I think most of the additives listed should be avoided. That said, I agree with bishopobispo. Moderation is most important. It okay to have those salt laden potato chips, but only once in a while. Also, I see a bag of Ghirardelli squares in that picture, in no way am I giving up those delicious morsels.
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Good list, especially now that HFCS has been added.
Aspartame is BAD. BAD BAD BAD. Initially cutting it from my dietary lifestyle was a challenge because it's in everything from yogurt to Crystal Light... but I just started to read labels. After a few trips to the grocery store that took a little longer because of this, I now know which foods (or brands of foods) to avoid. And if I can, I shop organic.
I only get one body. I'd rather not fill it with crappy chemicals and preservatives. I lost six pounds in two weeks just by cutting out foods that contain many of these additives. With the exception of an occasional indulgence, I eat mostly real food... none of that Lean Cuisine garbage.
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apparently, theses things cannot be avoided...neither can cancer or spending $5 for an apple...
it stinks, and people should make wiser choices.
the quote "every scanned item at the store is a vote" from Food, Inc is something that sticks in my mind...
"vote" for healthier foods/snacks (such as Larabars or Clif Bars or organic fruit) instead of a candy bar, maybe something will change.
you can't avoid it all, you'd starve to death nowadays...but you can avoid some easily. some, not so easily.
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- MissAmanda
- 4 months ago
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Omega3 from thc 4 me!
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- SHAWN_RITTIMAN
- 4 months ago
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The more people avoid this poison , the less there will be in food . I used to be able to get away with a little junk , but as you get older , you really notice it . You can grow lettuce indoors ,year round (lust pluck off what leaves you need ) and sprouts too . The damage is cumulative . Be well for those you love , corporations could care less about us . If they could just take our money , they would .
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Cant drink a a soda in this country unlsess i order it onine thus paying absurd amounts on shipping. But Dublin Dr. Pepper is sometimes worth that price. fuck off corn syrup...
