Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives (No.1)

Have you ever thought that we take bad chemicals in foods daily? There are over 3000 different food additives purposefully added to our foods. Some of them are known to cause cancer, though we need further research for sure. In theory, any additives shown to cause cancer in humans or animals are not allowed to be added to our foods. But political and economical pressures have made the FDA "loosen" their standards and allow “small amounts” of the toxic food additives to be used in foods.

Yeah, it sounds scary... But it's important that you recognize "bad chemicals in foods" - toxic food additives exist all over. Certain food additives can cause allergic reactions in certain people - such as pregnant women, infants, people with high blood pressure and kidney problems. Although we need more researches, we rather avoid those "possible" cancer suspects than just ignore them. The best bet to avoid these is to eat Natural Foods :)

I'm researching a lot about this topic and found so many information.... I can make a website about it, if I want (lol). So I try to break down (I'm not sure how long it can be....), summarize and concise them so that you can understand easily :)

In general, it's best to avoid the following ingredients.

•  Artificial coloring
•  Artificial Sweetners: Acesulfame-K, Aspartame, Saccharin
•  BHA and BHT
•  Caffeine
•  MSG
•  Olestra
•  Potassium bromate
•  Propyl gallate
•  Salt (Sodium Chloride)
•  Sodium nitrite
•  Trans Fats
•  White Sugar
  

• Artificial Colorings
  The source of many artificial food colors are coal tar and petrochemicals. The human body was not designed to eat petrochemicals and the risk the consumption of these ingredients pose to our health is obvious. The food manufactures are using them to make the foods more appealing to the consumers. 
  Blue 1: used in beverages, candy and baked goods. Blue 2: used in pet food, candy and beverages. Red 3: Used in fruit cocktail cherries, baked goods and candy.
  Yellow 6: used in beverages, baked goods, candy, sausages, and gelatin. It is the third most widely used of all food colorings.
  
  
• Aspartame (also known by "Equal" and "NutraSweet") - Artificial Sweetner
  It is composed of methanol and two amino acids. Although originally believed to be the perfect artificial sweetener, it caused brain tumors in rats in certain studies conducted in the 70s. Further studies found that even small doses of the sweetener increased the occurrence of lymphoma and leukemia, and occasionally caused brain tumors in rats.
  
  
• Acesulfame-K - Artificial Sweetner
  It is approximately 200 times sweeter than regular sugar and is used around the world in baked goods, soft drinks, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. An added concern is that the breakdown product of acesulfame-K known as acetoacetamide.
  
  
• Saccharin (also known by "Sweet'N Low") - Artificial Sweetner
  
• It does not contain any calories, does not raise blood sugar levels and is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar). Research showed bladder tumors in male rats with the ingestion of saccharin.

• BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Butylated hydroxytoluene)
  These are used as a preservative. These can be found in butter, meats, chewing gum, snack foods, dehydrated potatoes, and even beer. These additives are approved by the FDA as safe for human consumption. However, they are proven carcinogens. There is proof that some people have difficulty metabolizing BHA and this can result in health and behavioral changes.

• Caffein
  It is the only drug that is present naturally (coffee, tea, cocoa, coffee-flavored yogurt and frozen desserts) or added to widely consumed foods like soft drinks, energy drinks, gum, and waters. Because it increases the risk of miscarriages (and possibly birth defects) and inhibits fetal growth, it should be avoided by women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant. It also may make it harder to get pregnant. It's a stimulant - keeps many people from sleeping, causes jitteriness, and affects calcium metabolism. It is mildly addictive. The caffeine in a standard cup or two of coffee is harmless to most people. If it were more than that, reconsider your habit... Note: some "energy drinks" contain far more caffeine than most soft drinks.
  
  
• MSG (Monosodium glutamate)
  An amino acid used widely as a flavor enhancer in frozen dinners, salad dressings, chips and restaurant food. Love the taste but, I pay later – feel sluggish and bloated. MSG is now so ubiquitous in our food chain (east and west) that you would be very hard pressed to go MSG-free. As you would expect, junk foods and instant foods like soups and other mixes contain MSG. When you see the word “citric acid” in prepared food ingredient lists, think MSG. Industrial citric acid is not made from citrus fruits, its made from corn. Its not pure either.

• Olestra (also known by "Olean")
  A fat substitute that adds no fat, calories, or cholesterol to products. It has been used in the preparation of traditionally high-fat foods such as potato chips, thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. It may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools and inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients.
  
  
• Potassium bromate (KBrO3)
  An oxidizing agent - used as a food additive, mainly in the bread-making process. Although adverse effects are not evident in animals fed bread-based diets made from flour treated with KBrO3, the agent is carcinogenic in rats and nephrotoxic in both man and experimental animals when given orally. It induces renal cell tumors, mesotheliomas of the peritoneum, and follicular cell tumors of the thyroid. In addition, it is a complete carcinogen, possessing both initiating and promoting activities for rat renal tumorigenesis.

• Propyl gallate
  Preservative, used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling, might cause cancer. It’s used in vegetable oil, meat products, potato sticks, chicken soup base and chewing gum, and is often used with BHA and BHT.
  
  
• Salt (Sodium Chloride)
  Salt is probably the single most harmful substance in the food supply. It is used in many processed foods,  cured meats, snacks, and restaurant meals. Other additives, such as monosodium glutamate and sodium benzoate, contribute additional sodium. Salt serves many purposes in foods - preservative, additional/erasing flavors etc. High in sodium diet increases blood pressure in most people, thereby increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack. Everyone should avoid salty processed foods and restaurant meals, use salt moderately.
  
  
• Sodium nitrite
  It is used as a color fixative and preservative in meats and fish. It also prevents growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium which causes botulism. While this chemical will prevent the growth of bacteria, it can be toxic in high amounts for animals, including humans. 

• Trans Fat
  Try finding hamburgers without trans fats in them, it is almost impossible.  Hamburgers taste perfectly fine without them adding trans fats.  Margarines have at least  .5% in them and sometimes as high as .7%. Artificial trans fats are made when hydrogen gas reacts with oil. They can be found in cookies, crackers, icing, potato chips, stick margarine and microwave popcorn. About 80 percent of trans fat in American’s diet comes from factory-produce partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. . Trans fats pose a higher risk of heart disease than saturated fats. Trans fats not only raise total cholesterol levels, they also deplete good cholesterol (HDL), which helps protect against heart disease.
  
  
• White sugar
  The white crystalline substance (we know of as sugar) is an unnatural substance produced by industrial processes (mostly from sugar cane or sugar beets) by refining it down to pure sucrose, after stripping away all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes and other beneficial nutrients.What is left is a concentrated unnatural substance which the human body is not able to handle, at least not in anywhere near the quantities that is now ingested in today’s accepted lifestyle. Sugar is addictive.The damage sugar does is slow and insidious. It takes years before it ruins your pancreas, your adrenal glands, throws your whole endocrine system out of kilter and produces a huge list of damage.Sugar is the main cause of diabetes, hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. It is either a significant or contributory cause of heart disease, arteriosclerosis, mental illness, depression, senility, hypertension, cancer.

There are more things to add to help you understand "Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives". It might not be so fun but I hope it'll be helpful for you to understand it easily :) To be continued....