Food Additives
July 15, 2009
Sometimes it is easier to buy organic foods because you know some of the yucky stuff isn’t in it but everyone can’t afford to buy all organic, all the time. Jennifer Newell, from HealthNews, has a great tip for buying healthier products for your family, organic or not. Check the food that you are buying for any of the following additives :
#1 – #3 have been found to cause cancer through certain types of food prep, such as cooking meat at high temps:
1.Sodium nitrite – adds color and flavor to meat products and acts as a preservative ( often in prepackaged deli meat )
2.BHA & BHT – preservatives added to cereal, gum, potato chips to prevent them from oxidizing
3.Propyl gallate – found in meats, chicken soup base and gum
4.Monosodium glutamate – canned and frozen foods may contain these flavoring although most food manufacturers have removed it
5.Trans fats – studies link these to heart disease, strokes and kidney problems
6.Aspartame – this is my #1 food additive NO NO. I can’t stand the taste, for one thing, but I honestly feel weird when I have anything with aspartame in it ( sugar free gum, diet soda, etc. ). Aspartame is in lots of diet, sugar free and low fat food products ( yogurt, cookies, etc. ) so you have to watch carefully for it.
7.Acesulfame-K – also a sweetener in soft drinks and baked goods
8.Food colorings (Blue & , Red , Green , Yellow )
9.Olestra
10.Potassium bromate – added to white flour and breads to increase the volume but has cancer-causing properties, some states actually require a label noting that
11.White sugar – no nutritional value but hard to stay away from 
12.Sodium chloride – salt, as always ‘keep it in moderation’
I’ve found the easiest way to avoid some of these additives is to find a product ( a particular brand of bread, for example ) that does not have these additives and then I buy that every time. Then I’m not constantly reading ingredient labels in the grocery store ( I HATE grocery shopping ) and I know I’m choosing a healthy product for my family.
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