9 Food Additives and Preservatives and their Harmful Effects
Almost
all processed and packaged foods come with food additives, including
preservatives, to enhance the taste, appearance, packaging and storage. It is
almost impossible to avoid food additives (and preservatives) in processed and
packaged food unless simple and raw ingredients are used to cook the food at
home.
Natural spices such as clove, anise, nutmegs, ginger etc. are additives
that are added to food to enhance their tastes and to even prolong their
storage (shelf life). Egyptian mummies were embalmed with spices that helped
preserve the corpses for centuries. After the death of Jesus, the Bible states
in Luke 24:1 that “…upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning,
they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and
certain others with them.”. Traditionally, foods were preserved with salts,
vinegar, sugar, drying, boiling, and freezing, which posed little or no health
threat to the consumer. However, many food additives have become notorious for
their health effects and readers are hereby cautioned of their effects.
RELATED: Amazing Benefits Of Cloves
Effects Of Food additives and preservatives
Commonly
used additives include monosodium glutamate (MSG) (which has been
associated with cancers, allergies, weight gain etc.), artificial food
colourants such as Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 that are
associated with allergies, sodium nitrite (that is commonly used to
preserve meat from bacterial degradation, adds a salty taste and a reddish-pink
colour to meat; heat exposure turns nitrites into cancer-causing nitrosamines).
1. Guar gum: (a carbohydrate that serves as a binding and thickening agent,
which is generally considered safe; it’s common in ice creams, soups, salad
dressings, sauces etc.).
2. High-fructose corn syrup: (made from corn and
common in soda, toffees, juice, snacks, cereals etc.; it consists of
concentrated fructose and high amounts can cause obesity and diabetes).
3. Artificial sweeteners: (aspartame, sucralose, saccharin and acesulfame potassium).
4. Carrageenan: (derived from seaweed and used as a thickener, preservative and emulsifier,
has been associated with health issues although evidence is limited).
5. Sodium benzoate:
(a preservative common in
carbonated drinks, fruit juices, pickles, condiments etc., has been found to
react with Vitamin C to form benzene, a cancerous compound).
Learn more:Are Spices In Your Food Good For You ?
6. Trans fats: (made
by hydrogenating unsaturated fats, increases CVDs; they are found in biscuits,
margarine, microwave popcorn etc.).
7. Xanthan gum: (obtained from plants
and are generally safe)
8. Artificial flavourings:
(chemicals that mimic
the taste of natural foods; they caused disroders in
experimental mice).
9. Yeast extract: (made from sugar and yeast, is added to cheese, soy sauce, salty
snacks etc. as a flavourant; it contains high levels of sodium and glutamate,
although it is considered relatively safe).
Other chemicals used to preserve food include alchohol,
sulphites (e.g. sulphur dioxide; causes bronchial irritation), butylates
(increases blood pressure and cholesterol), sorbates (sodium or
potassium sorbate), antioxidants (they preserve food by scavenging free
radicals and include sulphites, Vitamins C & E and BHA i.e., butylated
hydroxyanisole), antibacterial agents (Benzoates, Sodium benzoate,
Sorbates and Nitrites), chelators (Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic
acid (EDTA), Polyphosphates and Citric acid), and caramel (common in
bread, frozen pizza, candies, brown-coloured foods; causes cancer and vitamin
B6 deficiency).
Due to the widespread use of different food additives (and
preservatives) in processed and fast/restaurant foods, it is advisable to cook
one’s own food using simple ingredients.
It is worthy to note that pesticides such as fungicides,
insecticides, herbicides, antibiotics, nematicides and rodenticides, are used
in large amounts in commercial agriculture and animal husbandry. These
pesticides persist on fruits, leaves, roots, eggs, and all foods, necessitating
that foods are well washed, peeled, and/or decontaminated with activated
charcoal and/or baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) prior to
eating. Due to the health risks associated with pesticides (cancers,
alzheimers, allergies etc.) such as glyphosate (or Roundup) ,
the commonest pesticide used worldwide, it is better to avoid eating the peels
of raw fruits or eating vegetables without proper decontamination with
activated charcoal or baking soda. It is also advisable to buy or eat
organically grown food to reduce or avoid the risk of being exposed to
pesticides, many of which are organophosphates. Due to the serious health issues
associated with pesticides, the EU, California and several other countries are
banning several of them. Although more pesticides are being banned worldwide,
the safety of those still in use cannot be guaranteed, and caution in both
their exposure and consumption are advised to minimise risk.
DR. APPIAH
Dr. Appiah is a Natural Health Therapist (Naturopath) who engages the natural healing agents given by God to save lives. EAT FOOD AS MEDICINE! EAT TO LIVE, DON'T LIVE TO EAT!! FOR BOOKINGS AND MORE: WANT TO ADVERTISE YOUR PRODUCTS? WANT A PERSONAL(CERTIFIED) NATURAL MEDICINE PRACTITIONER? REACH ME DIRECTLY ON WHATSAPP +233245643615 appiahinok@gmail.com
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