9 Food Additives and Preservatives and their Harmful Effects


Harmful Effects Of Food additives and preservatives

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.



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).




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.



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1 Comments
  • METHUSELAH James
    METHUSELAH James July 12, 2021 at 8:43 AM

    Nice oneπŸ€©πŸ€©πŸ€©πŸ‘ŒπŸ‘ŒπŸ‘ŒπŸ’₯πŸ’₯

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