Can The Food You Eat Hurt You?
Find Out What’s In Your Food
What are Additives?
Food additives are a type of food product that is added to a food in order to make it taste better, give it a longer shelf life, or make the food more nutritious.
Food additives can be found in nearly
every packaged and processed food.
Food additives have been linked to potential dangers with the human body. In the United States alone, there are over 10,000 different types of artificial additives that can be put into foods — many times without any warning on the packaging!
Types of Food Additives
The use of food additives in processed foods is not new. We have been using them for the last century to increase the shelf life, protect food from bacteria and fungi, or prevent discoloration.
The percentage of people eating processed foods has tripled in recent years with estimates at more than 60% of all Americans eating some form of food additive every day.
It is no secret that these additives are causing an Increasing number of health problems.
They are linked with allergies, asthma, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes type 2 and some cancers.
Avoid Eating Unwanted Ingredients:
You may be wondering how you can identify these additives.
The first step is to read labels and be aware of unlabeled ingredients.
The second step is to avoid foods that are high in sugar, high in fat, or made with processed grains.
Food Additives:
Today, companies are using a lot of additives to enhance the flavor, appearance and texture of food.
They are also used in different foods to preserve them longer.
Food additives can come in many forms but they mainly fall into three categories: sweeteners, preservatives and colorings.
Artificial Sweeteners: are used in diet sodas or sugar-free desserts to make them sweeter than the original version.
Some examples of artificial sweeteners include saccharin, aspartame and sucralose. These food additives help reduce the amount of sugar that is used in food products which is unhealthy for people with diabetes or other conditions like high cholesterol or heart disease.
Preservatives are used to protect food products from contamination with microbes that would cause spoilage and create health hazards for consumers.
Final Thoughts: Should You Avoid Them?
There are people that are more sensitive to the additives in food than others. Some people may have allergies, sensitivities, or intolerances to certain additives.
I am one of these “special” people, and so is my daughter. This caused many misdiagnosed problems and severe allergic reactions. Knowing this and changing our eating habits has made things better for us.
The most common additives are preservatives, emulsifiers, artificial colors and flavors. These substances can be found in almost all processed foods that are on grocery store shelves today.
Some people believe that these food additives have no effect on their health or they don’t care about them because they taste good.
However, there is evidence to show that these substances might be harmful to your health in some way.
