Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives (No.6)

No. 1)  Major toxic food additives
No. 2)  What "catches" on food labels to watch out for

No. 3)  What food labels says - (1) Nutrition Facts   (2) Ingredients

No. 4)  Cancer Testing
No. 5)  How to avoid toxic food additives


This time, i'll focus on "how we can get rid of bad chemicals in food - toxic food additives - out of your body system". As our body generates new cells to keep itself in good health, it also has a natural detox system. This system comprises of various organs as well as supporting systems to facilitate our body to purge out toxins through the skin, lungs, kidneys, liver, and colon. The processes of expulsion of these toxins are either through urination, fecal excretion, breath, or these toxins can also be neutralized by your organ.

However, these organs and supporting systems are like rivers flowing toward the ocean. It can be smooth in its travel so long as there are no accumulation of riverbank debris and narrowing of the riverbank. How do we accumulate riverbank debris? More often than not, it is the human intervention into the natural habitat that resulted in this.

If one organ becomes congested, the others must work harder to keep the system balanced. What junks do choke up and narrows our elimination system and slows down its detox function? The body doesn't just have to deal with the toxins we consume (drug residues, chemicals, food additives, saturated fat, high sugar), but those from external sources, such as include environmental pollutants (fungi, pesticides, heavy metals), polluted air (excessive carbon monoxide) and water etc. Those junks were never available in old days. For recent decades, we are exposed to them significantly.

By adding to the "toxic overload" we are taking away resources needed to maintain our body in good condition, generating / repairing cells, maintaining vital bodily functions,  breaking down fats, etc. etc.
If the body has to constantly deal with the onslaught of chemicals we ingest, there will be times when the body can no longer fulfill all its other major functions. Our increasing exposure to them has led us to see more cancer cases, chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, as well as inflammatory diseases like arthritis.

Isn't it too late you seriously start considering about those toxins till you finally get into direct contact with cancer in your life??  Recognizing and avoiding these harmful chemicals will definitely help you to keep your body in good condition. We must recognize not to abuse our natural detox system but allow them to function at their optimum. If they have been choked up for some time, it would require patience for your body to clear the debris accumulated over time and allow our detoxification organs to work their best again. This is the reason that we suffer from an initial stage of healing crisis (clearing up the debris) and then a strong feeling of rejuvenation and alertness (proper functioning of our natural detox function). It is through proper care of all these organs that they can expel toxins and neutralize them easily.

Solutions:

- Educate yourself and make wise and healthy choice for your food intake.
You are the one who make choices of what you consume. I've helped you to learn what you should look for and the reason why those are important for YOU. Read the food labels and avoid the foods that contain toxic food additives. Get fresh vegetables and fruits and cook at home. If you didn't demand the foods with toxic, the food manufactures have to supply something WE WANT TO BUY. Be smart. Take in charge of your health. You are the one who can make it happen!!

- Make more severe laws to ban using toxic food additives.
If we knew that those bad chemicals in foods make us sick, why don't we stop taking them? Although most governments ban the use of harmful chemicals in food, unfortunately all manufacturers don't oblige. Make the laws to enforce the food manufactures to ban the toxic food additives. Unless you take a initiative about your food intake, who does? Voicot the foods that contain those toxic food additives and give the food manufactures pressure. Without their economical damage, the food manufactures wouldn't do anything about it. We, the consumers, have to take charge of OUR healthy well being. You're the one who can make it happen!!

- Make laws requiring food labels to be EASY for anyone to read.
Do we need to have a chemical degree to read the labels?! How can we read such a tiny print? The label should state possible dangers in any of the ingredients, and/or make the names of ingredients easier to read.

- Use natural food preservatives.
Natural food preservatives include substances such as salt, sugar, rosemary extract and vinegar. Among these, salt, sugar and vinegar are used as an ingredient rather than additives or preservatives. They are preservatives that have been used in the recipe itself, hence they are also called as traditional preservatives.

- Pass laws the require fast food restaurants to use more natural ingredients
A great deal of the support for chemical laden, toxic food is the fast food industry. The fast food industry is thriving right now because of people looking for inexpensive and convenient food. Do you know how expensive your medical bill will cost you?  Do you really want to exchange your health over the convenience???? Wake up!

Useful websites for investigating food additives:
Food Additives – http://www.foodadditivesworld.com/
National Institute of Health – http://www.nih.gov/
FDA Consumer – http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/default.htm

We've learned so much about bad chemicals in foods. You got to eat everyday. You have a full control of what you consume. Avoid those toxic food additives that would make you sick. Take charge of your healthy life. It's too late to realize how great your life can be with great health when you get sick. YOU make choices. You have the power. Be wise for yourself and loved ones.

Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives (No.5)

No. 1)  Major toxic food additives
No. 2)  What "catches" on food labels to watch out for
No. 3)  What food labels says - (1) Nutrition Facts   (2) Ingredients
No. 4)  Cancer Testing

Now we know many of these toxic food additives make us sick, so I'll focus on how to avoid the bad chemicals in foods this time. You'll check back blog No. 1 and No. 3 for which food additives to avoid.
The best bet is "get fresh wholesome foods and cook at home". You can skip reading the label part :) 
Not only you can have delicious and healthier foods, but also you can save your $.


Tip 1 Read labels.

You heard me so many times by now (lol), but it's really important!! Don't be fooled by catchy advertisement and complicated names. If you can’t say it or spell it, don’t eat it!! This is a sure way to avoid the toxins :) Check No. 2 and No. 3 for what to look for and how to read them. You need to read your food labels carefully and check them against the lists I provided for you. 

The worst offenders: Aspartame, Blue No.1 Dye, BHA, Olestra, Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, sodium nitrate, and propyl gallate. 

Tip 2 Go farmer's market. 

Most of the food in your grocery store comes from far places. Because of that, preservatives are added to last longer. Many processed meats, such as hot dogs and polish sausages, have a preservative called nitrate. This helps with the meat’s red color and preserves its flavor. But studies have linked nitrates to cancer. To avoid preservatives, buy food that isn’t meant to be stored. That means you’ll only have a few days or so to consume them. You can do this by shopping at a butcher’s who gets his meat from inside your state. Or go to a farmer’s market to buy fresh vegetables and fruits grown locally. If you want them for later you can pickle them yourself at home. We lived for centuries without preservatives - we can do without them now.

Tip 3       Stay in the grocery suburbs.
When you shop at the supermarket, stay in the grocery suburbs – the outskirts of the center of the store. You’ll find fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products. These foods will be less likely to contain toxic food additives.


Tip 4       Eat home cooked meals.
Most of us enjoy fast foods or ready-to-eat packaged foods. It is the easiest and convenient way to prepare a meal. But eating out leads to more processed foods and more processed foods leads to more toxic food additives. But if you just follow tips like cutting up veggies in advance, using slow cookers to cook while you’re gone and buying meat and putting it into daily use bags and sticking it in the freezer, you can save time on meal preparation and eat real food without added toxins. Start slow for you busy bodies. Home cooking recipes usually contain real food. Try one day a week with nothing but real food. If it gets easy then jump to two. Pretty soon you’ll eat home cooked meals every day.

Tip 5     Don’t Swallow Your Nutrients. 

Vitamins became the rage in the 1970s and many people still swallow their nutrients. But vitamins can also contain unnatural substances such as Aristolochic acid, which the FDA issued a warning about. It has been associated with permanent kidney damage. Get your nutrients through real food. Experts say there is no research to prove that vitamins are helpful to your health.

Tip 6    Wash Your Produce. 
Many fresh vegetables and fruits, no matter how fresh and natural they look, often have residues of pesticides on them. Foods to be watch out for include grapes, celery, lettuce, cucumber, cabbage and green beans. Fruits like apples and pears are coated with paraffin wax to make them look shiny and delicious. Not to mention the fact that the food you are about to eat has been handled by produce clerks, shippers, pickers and other shoppers. E. Coli, Listeria, and Salmonella can live on fruits and vegetables whether they are organic or not. So wash them by gently rubbing them under cold running water without soap.

You don't need to study chemicals to avoid bad chemicals in foods. Just pay a little more attention to what you eat. If you follow these tips, you will avoid some of the toxic food additives. But you’ve already taken the first step - you’ve gotten educated. Now the rest is up to you :)

Calbee Potato Chips Usushio flavor - My Favorite Japanese Foods (No.6)

Yes, this is very standard potato chips for the Japanese in Japan - Calbee potato chips usushio flavor. This is my favorite Japanese foods :) As you know, I'm not so fond of junk foods. But I can't just ignore this very typical Japanese snack...

By the way, "Usushio" means "Lightly salted" in Japanese. This Calbee potato chips "Usushio" flavor is VERY lightly or LITTLE salted for you -even for me now, though I'm 100 % Japanese born in Japan. People who used to eat "Lay's" will be surprised how little they use salt for it... When I had it in Japan, I thought this was a bit salty. I've lived in US for a long while and am so used to eat VERY salty potato chips and foods here. ( I mean everything here is too salty or too sweet....) When I had this in US, I was so surprised how little salt I could taste and how much my taste bud can change by living here and changing diets... My taste palette used to be much more sensitive or delicate.... :(

This "Usushio" is the standard flavor among their potato chip lines. There are many other flavors: Consommé punch, Nori Shio, Shoyu & Mayo, pepper etc. They are all good. As other typical hit food products in Japan, there are many "area limited" flavors: Shoyu & Butter, Konbu (Kelp) & Shoyu, Kyushu (Southern part of Japan) Shoyu etc. Typical, typical, typical.... The Japanese love that "limited" stuff. They can't help trying new and different stuff... Those words tickle our curiosities... I don't know why... We just love something "SPECIAL" and "LIMITED"... lol

My friend's father (Osamu Harada), who is very famous illustrator in Japan,  designed this famous potato character. My friend told me about it one day and I remembered I thought WOW.... Because I believe ALL THE JAPANESE know this character and the chips.

Most of the Japanese care about dieting but do eat a junk food like this. They know it's all about moderation. Their foods are used obviously less salt than ones in US. This Calbee potato chips Usushio flavor always reminds me of it. The Japanese love to enjoy the tastes of the ingredients themselves. Subtle seasoning is almost always good for them. I thought "Usushio" is so "JAPANESE" stuff.... lol. My favorite Japanese foods will continue....

Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives (No.4)

This time, I'll focus on "cancer testing" - how FDA or the researchers figure out which chemicals in foods  can be toxic food additives....

Scientists and researchers are looking for the answer. They look at the causes of the deteriorating health of the population and figure out some of the important triggers - the type of food we eat and bad chemicals in foods added by the food manufactures. With non-smoking related cancers representing 80 % of new cancer cases, many people are blaming on the toxic food additives for their health deterioration. Unfortunately or fortunately, there are evidences to suggest that food additives are making us sick...

FDA has a database listing over 3,000 substances which are added to our foods. Food additives have the purpose of adding taste and color to over processed food that has little (natural) flavor and color left. FDA claims they are all safe - including even "MSG" and "Aspartame". As I mentioned on my past posts, many of them are no better than poison. Even if all of the food additives were safe individually, rarely does any food have only one additive in it. Testing for additive safety has been done for individual additives, not for combinations of the additives. They could be harmful in certain combinations. No one knows the effects of the many different additives used in the hundreds of various combinations...

In general, food additives are tested - whether if it causes a cancer or not - by feeding large dosages to small numbers of rats and mice. Large dosages are used to compensate for the small number of animals that can be used (a few hundred is considered a big study... I'm not kidding...). Also, the large dosages can compensate for the possibility that rodents may be less sensitive than people to a particular chemical (as happened with thalidomide). Note: Humans are 5 times more sensitive to the toxic effects of certain food additives than rats and 20 times more sensitive than monkeys.

Some of you might claim that such tests are improper and that large amounts of any chemical would cause cancer. That is not true. Large amounts of most chemicals don't cause cancer. When a large dosage causes cancer, most scientists believe that a smaller amount would also cause cancer, but less frequently. But some toxins might be reasonably safe at tested levels. However, unsafe levels can also be reached if toxins accumulate in human bodies (toxic over-load, some chemicals bioaccumulate - which means that they increase in concentration over time, potentially to generally accepted toxic levels.

It would be nice if lower, more realistic dosages could be used, but a test using low dosages and a small number of animals would be extraordinarily insensitive. It would also be nice if test-tube tests not using any animals were developed that could cheaply and accurately identify cancer-causing chemicals. While some progress has been made in that direction, those tests have not proven reliable. Thus, the standard high-dosage cancer test on small numbers of animals is currently the only practical, reasonably reliable way to identify food additives (and other chemicals) that might cause cancer. Remember, food manufacturers are presenting one-sided and questionable research results to support their use of chemicals without telling us the whole truth. 

Another problem at cancer testing is that poorly calibrated production equipment may mix in more of those chemicals than even the FDA would consider safe.... Bad news keep coming up, huh... :(

The Pesticide Action Network North America and Commonweal  reported that Americans can experience up to 70 daily exposures to residues of a class of toxic chemicals known as "persistent organic pollutants" (POPs), including such chemicals as DDT and dioxin, through their diets. The report, "Nowhere to Hide: Persistent Toxic Chemicals in the U.S. Food Supply," analyzes chemical residue data collected by the FDA and finds persistent chemical contaminants in ALL food groups. 

The Delaney Clause is an important part of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. That important consumer-protection clause specifically bans any additive that "is found to induce cancer when ingested by man or animal." The food and chemical industries are seeking to weaken or repeal that law. I do want to talk about "Codex alimentarius" soon... Stand up for your own safety. Make a healthy choice. Read the food labels carefully. You already know there are tons of bad chemicals in foods - toxic food additives. 

Bad Chemicals In Foods - Toxic Food Additives (No.3)

I'm feeding you tons of information about bad chemicals in foods. Are you full with the information of toxic food additive???? This time, I'll show you how to read food labels and how to use the information.

No. 1)  Major toxic food additives
No. 2)  What "catches" on food labels to watch out for

No. 3)  What food labels says - (1) Nutrition Facts   (2) Ingredients

1) Nutrition Facts 
This is good and useful, but not the most important information you need to get from food labels about the item. It gives you information on calories, grams of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugars, and protein in each serving plus some percentages of a few nutrients. What they don't tell you is that:

 1 gram of fat = approximately 9 calories.
 1 gram of protein = approximately 4 calories.            
 1 gram of carbohydrate = approximately 4 calories.
 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar

Ex: a 123 calorie snack with 7 g of fat, 2 g of protein and 13 g of carbohydrate of which 12 g of the carbohydrate is sugar.

- To get fat calories, multiply calories from fat.(9x7=63). To get % of fat, divide 63 fat calories by 123 snack calories to get 51% fat.
- To get protein calories, multiply calories from protein.(4x2=8) To get % of protein, divide 8 protein calories by 123 snack calories to get 7% protein.
- To get carbohydrate calories, multiply 4x13=52 calories from carbohydrate. To get % of carbohydrate, divide 52 carbohydrate calories by 123 snack calories to get 42% carbohydrate.
- To get the number of teaspoons of sugar in the snack, divide 12g of sugar in the snack by 4, to get 3 teaspoons of sugar.

• Start here:  Note the size of a single serving and how many servings are in the package.

• Check total calories per serving:  Look at the serving size and how many servings you’re really consuming.  If you double the servings you eat, you double the calories and nutrients, including the Percent Daily Value (% DV).
  
  
• Limit these nutrients :  Limit your total fat to no more than 56~78g per day — including no more than 16g of saturated fat, less than 2g of trans fat, and less than 300 mg cholesterol (for a 2,000 calorie diet).

• Get enough of these nutrients :  Make sure you get 100 % of the fiber, vitamins and other nutrients you need everyday.

• Quick guide to % DV :  The % DV section tells you the percent of each nutrient in a single serving, in terms of the daily recommended amount.  As a guide, if you want to consume less of a nutrient (such as saturated fat, cholesterol or sodium), choose foods with a lower % DV — 5 % or less is low.  If you want to consume more of a nutrient (such as fiber), seek foods with a higher % DV — 20 % or more is high.

Tip 1:  Remember that the information shown in these panels is based on 2,000 calories per day.  You may need to consume less or more than 2,000 calories depending upon your age, gender, activity level, and whether you’re trying to lose, gain or maintain your weight.  Find out your personal daily limits.

     - Low            40 calories per serving
     - Moderate   100 calories per serving
     - High           400 calories or more per serving

Tip 2:  When the Nutrition Facts panel says the food contains “0 g” of trans fat, it means the food contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. When the Nutrition Facts label says a food contains “0 g” of trans  fat, but includes “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredient list, it means the food contains trans fat, but less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. So, if you eat more than one serving, you could quickly reach your daily limit of trans fat.

Tip 3:  There is no % DV shown for trans fat on the panel because FDA doesn't have enough scientific information to set this value. I recommend eating less than 20 calories or (less than 2g of trans fat) a day – that’s less than 1 % of your total daily calories (for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet).


  2) Ingredients

These bad chemicals in foods are widely used in the more industrialized countries. These toxic food additives are normally defined as non nutritive substances (intentionally added to food), generally in small quantities, to improve its appearance destroyed by processing, flavor, texture or preservation. Even though it were only tiny amount, they might rise to harm your health and we should avoid.

Food scientist, toxicologists and control officials mention food problems in the following decreasing order: microbial contamination of food, natural toxic in food, environmental contamination of food and food additives. Food additives serve the interests of both the consumer and the producer of foodstuffs since they inhibit the spoilage of food, thus reducing the losses and enabling greater production at a lower cost. They increase the viability of the diet, make preparation of food more convenient and help stabilize the quality of food. Many countries require a toxicological analysis of any food additive which determines, in most cases, the average amount of a substance expressed in mg/kg of body weight which can be taken daily in the diet over a lifetime without risk considering all known factors.

Note: food flavouring substances are different from food additives as there are several thousand flavoring substances which occur naturally. Most flavouring substances are identical substances to the tens of thousands which have been detected in the flavouring component of natural foods such as fruits, spices, vegetables, milk and meat products. The natural flavouring component of foods is invariably an extremely complicated mixture comprising a few dozen to several thousand different chemicals of natural origin.

A Good Rule of Thumb
- If the list of ingredients is long, there's probably a lot of chemical additives in the product. It’s best to avoid these foods because of the unknown health effects of combinations of food additives.

- If the list of ingredients is short, it may or may not have harmful additives in it.

- Ingredients are listed on the label in order of predominance by weight...the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last. If there’s a questionable additive on the list, the closer it is to the front of the list, the more you put yourself at risk.

- Generally only those ingredients that are required by law to be listed on the label are listed. So, you never really know if there are any other ingredients in the product that are not listed on the label.

- Cut Back : Not toxic, but large amounts may be unsafe or promote bad nutrition -
Caffeine, corn syrup, dextrose (Corn Sugar, Glucose), fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenatated starch hydrolysate, invert sugar, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, polydextrose, salatrim, salt, sorbitol, sugar, tagatose, xylitol

- Caution : May pose a risk and needs to be better tested. Try to avoid -
Artificial colorings (Citrus red 2, Red 40), brominated vegetable oil (BVO), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), diacetyl, heptyl paraben, quinine, stevia/rebiana

- Avoid : Unsafe in amounts consumed or is very poorly tested and not worth any risk -
Acesulfame potassium, artificial colorings (blue 2, green 3, orange B, red 3, yellow 5, yellow 6), aspartame (Nutrasweet), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), cyclamate (Not legal in US), hydrogenated vegetable oil, olestra (olean) , partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propyl gallate, saccharin, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite.

Now you know what the food label says about bad chemicals in foods and how to read the information about the toxic food additives. Read the label carefully before you buy it.

Bad Chemicals in foods - Toxic food additives (No.2)

At No.1, I discussed about the awareness of how common the toxic food additives are used and how often we take bad chemicals in foods daily. So, I'll go a little further about food labels and what "catches" to watch out for. Reading the labels can be tricky....

How can you be aware of them?
Now you realized we take a lot of bad chemicals in foods. How can you avoid those toxic food additives?Packaged foods must list the ingredients on the labels. Food labels contain a wealth of information about the product if you knew what to look for and how to interpret them. The packaging tells you nothing about how healthy the product is. The main purpose of food labels is to sell the product, not tell you what's in it. Being able to read them can be challenging.

We recently start seeing the packages saying like "No preservatives added" and "Natural fruit flavors with real fruit juice" on various food products. Those newly added claims make me wonder what kinds of food additives they used to use before?! If they weren't so natural, what were that?? Those words don't guarantee that there are no toxic additives in the product, though they could mean well. 

It is just the food manufacturer's gimmick hoping you'll think these are healthy, natural and safe to eat.... The easiest way to be aware of the additives is to READ the labels and to KNOW what it means.

1. Serving Size: Note the size of a single serving and how many servings are in the package.
Many processed foods packaged as a "single serving" actually contain 2 or more servings. According to NLEA (the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act) of 1990, a food item in a relatively small container may be labeled as a single serving if the entire contents can "reasonably be expected to be consumed in a single-eating occasion." However, there is often a discrepancy.

- "Big Grab" potato chips : A single-serving snack size bag of chips has fewer calories than a larger, but still single-serving, size of the same snack. The serving size can vary depending on the package.
- "Big Gulp" drinks : An average serving of a soft drink is 12 ounces. But it can be up to 64 ounces (+ 5 can sodas)! Most people buy them with the intention of eating or drinking the whole thing.
- Others: large muffins (which often contain two servings), bagels, "individual" ice cream containers (some contain 4 servings), and personal size pizzas.

2. Exempt Ingredients
Food labels list ingredients in descending order. (The most prevalent ingredient is first, the least is last.) However, ingredients that constitute less than 2 percent can be listed in any order after the heading "contains less than 2% of the following." Other ingredients called "incidental additives" don't have to be listed on labels. These include substances transferred to food via packaging and "ingredients of other ingredients" that are present at "insignificant levels" and have no "technical or functional effect."

Natural and artificial flavors are also often grouped together under one name, and the food manufacturers aren't required to disclose what "artificial flavors" really means. The exception here (since Jan, 06): any food containing a "major food allergen" must have it listed on the label (whether or not its part of flavoring or incidental additives). Major food allergens - milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat, and food ingredients containing proteins derived from any of these food categories.

3. Watch out "Natural" and "Free From" claiming:

• 100% Natural
• All natural ingredients 
• Gluten - free
• Natural fruit flavors with Real Fruit Juice
• No artificial ingredients
• No Artificial preservative 
• No preservatives 
• Real fruit

Sounds nice, huh?! These statements make you feel as if it were free from bad chemicals in foods...  "NATURAL" isn't always safe, and products with the these 'natural' labeling are not required by law to contain only natural ingredients. There may be harmful ingredients. Remember, the purpose of the labels is to SELL the product. The food manufacturers hope you'll think there are safer to eat. Buying products in a healthy food stores do not guarantee that packaged products you buy will be no harmful additives either.

Ex. The ingredients from a loaf of bread that states 'ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS,' and 'NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES ADDED,' are: Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, wheat bran, vital wheat gluten butter. Contains 2% or less of each of the following: rye meal, corn flour, molasses, rolled whole wheat, salt, dough conditioners (ammonium sulfate, sodium stearoyl lactylate), brown sugar, honey, vinegar, oatmeal, soy flour, mono and diglycerides, partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

      Here is an analysis of the ingredients.

Enriched wheat flour : "white flour". The bran and the germ portion of the whole wheat (rich in vitamins and minerals), have been refined out. To compensate for the refining 20 nutrients out, they add back nutrient additives like synthetic nutrients, niacin (vitamin B3) etc. These are added to mostly refined and processed foods giving a false sense of nutritional value and can lead to nutritional imbalances.
High fructose corn syrup : sugar derived from corn. It is associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, vitamin B deficiency, hyperactivity, tooth decay, periodontal disease and indigestion.
Dough Conditioners : in general, can cause mineral deficiencies.
Ammonium sulfate : It may cause nausea, mouth ulcers, kidney and liver problems.
Sodium stearoyl lactylate : It may be milk, corn, peanut or soy based, and may cause blood pressure and kidney disturbances, and water retention.
Brown sugar : frequently white sugar with molasses added. It is associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, B-vitamin deficiency, hyperactivity, tooth decay, periodontal disease and indigestion.
Mono and diglycerides : It may be corn, soy, peanut or fat based. They may cause genetic changes, cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions.
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil : It's associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and elevated cholesterol.

Also "FREE FROM" labeling. The FDA allows food manufacturers to round to zero any ingredient that accounts for less than 0.5 grams per serving. So while a product may claim to be "gluten-free" or "alcohol-free," it can legally contain up to 0.5 grams per serving. While this may seem like an insignificant amount, over time this small fraction can add up... Remember watch out for "Zero Trans Fat", too. So, always READ LABELS very carefully.

4. Unfamiliar Terms for Unsavory Ingredients
Food manufacturers are known to use "clean labels," in which they hide ingredients they know the consumers would rather not have in their foods under names they won't recognize.

Ex:  if you wanted to avoid MSG, you must look for all of the following terms, as they all contain MSG...

Autolyzed yeast, Calcium caseinate, Gelatin, Glutamate, Glutamic acid, Hydrolyzed protein, Sodium caseinate, Monopotassium glutamate, Monosodium glutamate, Textured protein, Yeast extract,
Yeast food, Yeast Nutrient      
                          

5. Misleading Ingredient Claims
Food manufacturers are shamelessly tricking consumers who are trying to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Many processed foods that claim to contain healthy ingredients highlighted on labels actually don't include them, or only include them in insignificant amounts. Moreover, they are typically loaded with fats, refined sugars, refined flour, and salt, in various combinations. Common offenders: strawberry yogurt without strawberries and blueberry waffles without blueberries. CSPI (The Center for Science in the Public Interest) recently asked the FDA to "immediately stop misleading food labels," including:

• Kellogg's Eggo Nutri-Grain Pancakes: The label says they're made with whole wheat and whole grain, but they're made primarily of white flour and contain more high-fructose corn syrup than whole wheat or whole grain.
• Betty Crocker Super Moist Carrot Cake Mix: Contains only carrot powder as the 19th ingredient on the label.
• Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Fruit Juice Snacks: The primary ingredients are corn syrup and sugar.

Now you know a little bit more about how to read "between the line" on food labels. Don't be fool by the food manufactures "smooth" statement. You should be careful when you READ the labels. There are tons of bad chemicals in foods - many of them really contains toxic food additives..... 

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....