Food Additives

Introduction to Food Additives

The modern era has brought about incredible advancements, but it has also introduced a concerning downside: the prevalence of processed food. While modern science has enabled us to produce food that is more visually appealing, longer-lasting, and often cheaper, this convenience comes at a cost. To achieve these desirable qualities, manufacturers often turn to food additives – substances added to food to enhance its appearance, flavor, texture, or shelf life.

While some additives are harmless, others have raised concerns about their potential impact on human health. Let’s delve into some common food additives to understand the potential risks they pose:

MSG

MSG is an abbreviation for monosodium glutamate. It is a very common food additive that is used to support and intensify flavor. It is commonly found in canned soups, frozen meals, and many other food. One of the side effects of consuming MSG can be headaches, mood and behavior changes, hyperactivity, sweating, numbness, weight gain, negative impact on growth and development or even harmful neurological effects. Every one of us has different levels of sensitivity and some of us will experience MSG more intensely than others. You will also find those who would swear that they never feel any impact of MSG. I personally experience headaches after consuming MSG which is why I stopped consuming them.

Artificial Food Coloring

Nice and brighter colors are really attractive especially in the food industry. This is why artificial food coloring was invented. You can find it in almost anything, including candies, drinks, cereals, yogurts, condiments, and chips. Consuming food with artificial coloring is sometimes related to allergic reactions, and can also be responsible for hyperactivity. Some studies linking them to increasing the chance of cancer.

Artificial Flavoring

This exists to simulate the taste of kinds of other ingredients (fruit, meat, caramel, chocolate, and much more) to reduce manufacturing costs. Multiple studies blame artificial flavoring as a bad impact on people’s health. They increase the chance of reducing the production of red blood cells and can have a toxic effect on bone marrow cells. Avoiding artificial flavor is very easy. Don’t buy fruit with flavoring but buy food made from real ingredients – it will have real natural flavor.

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial Sweeteners are used in diet (light) drinks and food as a sugar replacement. It is most commonly known as aspartame and others are Acesulfame potassium, Sucralose, D-Tagatose, and Saccharin. The reason for their existence is very simple – they reduce the intake of calories. Since you need much less of the amount of artificial sweetener than real sugar to reach the same sweetness (artificial sweeteners are much sweeter), hypothetically, it should be easy to reduce the intake of calories when using artificial sweeteners. But are artificial sweeteners really a great and healthy alternative for losing weight (or at least not gaining weight)? However, some studies claim that artificial sweeteners may help promote weight loss and blood sugar control, others claim the exact opposite, and also warn about potential health hazards. Multiple studies made in the last 30 years, have shown that users of artificial sweeteners, gain more weight or had higher a Body Mass Index (BMI) than those who don’t use them.

The reason this occurs is that artificial sweeteners are flooding your taste buds with sweetness, which blinds your taste buds, pushing your sweetness threshold ever higher, while you never actually satisfy the craving. Some studies also show that since artificial sweeteners are really sweet they may have a negative impact on releasing satiety hormones, which affects your body’s ability to send signals to the brain to show that you’ve had enough leading to overeating.

Studies also show that artificial sweeteners change a person’s microbiome and kill the good bacteria in your intestine. Intestinal flora is very important for your overall health including your mental health. Some people can experience an increase in headaches or even migraines after consuming artificial sweeteners. And last but not least, artificial sweeteners are for a lot of people highly addicting after they get used to consuming them. To me, artificial sweeteners always taste “processed”. Having known quite a lot of people who love food that contain them, it seems that most people can get used to them and in some cases like them even more than sugar. But is it worth it? I recommend to use only real sugar in moderation (if your health allows you) or skip sugar completely, and stop using sweetener since it never tastes like real sugar, and based on the findings from a lot of research, it is not worth the risk.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

High-fructose corn syrup is a cost-effective sweetener, which often replaces real sugar in pop drinks, juices, candy, and many other food and drinks. It is rich in fructose (simple sugar), which is full of empty calories and contributes only to weight gain and in increasing belly fat. At the same time, it increases the chance of diabetes since it increases your blood sugar level. Another side effect is that it can trigger inflammation in cells which can play a central role in many chronic conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, or heart diseases. For all these reasons, it is best to skip food, especially pop drinks, that contain high-fructose corn syrup. If you are looking for something sweet, it is always much better to select a version with real sugar rather than one with high-fructose corn syrup.

Sodium Benzoate

Sodium Benzoate preservatives are often added to fizzy drinks or acidic foods like pickles, fruit juices, condiments, pickles, and more. Sodium benzoate is associated with increased ADHD, and in combination with artificial food coloring, is blamed for increasing hyperactivity. When combined with Vitamin C, it can be converted into a benzene, which is a compound associated with cancer. Fizzy drinks, especially diet drinks, are especially high on benzene.

Sodium Nitrite

Sodium Nitrite is commonly added to deli meat, bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and other kinds of processed meat to extend the lifetime and improve color, which occurs more with red and pink meats.

Consumption of sodium nitrites increases the risk of cancer (specifically stomach, colorectal, bladder, and breast cancer). The good news is that you can buy deli meat and other processed meat products with no sodium nitrites added. It usually is claimed on the packaging’s cover with the sentence “no nitrites added except those naturally occurring in celery salt and sea salt”. Even though it is a little more expensive and sometimes hard to find, it is totally worth it. Or another even better option, is to make your own products to get a perfectly natural product. It is very easy to smoke pork belly to get delicious bacon, and you can even use your grill for it. You can also prepare delicious deli meat the same way, and if you can invest time and effort, you can also make hot dogs and sausages. Yes, the latter is a little harder to make but is still doable. With any from homemade product, you have full control over the quality and what you put in, which pays from a health and taste perspective.

Guar Gum

Guar Gum is used to bind and thicken food. You can find it processed ice cream, dressings, sauces, and other similar food. Guar gum is linked to positive and negative effects on your health. One of the health benefits is reducing bloating and constipation and increasing the feeling of fullness (helping to reduce your calorie intake). On the other hand, overconsumption can lead to increasing bloating and cramps.

Xanthan Gum

Xanthan Gum is an additive that is used to thicken and stabilize syrups, sauces, dressings, and other foods. It is associated with a few health benefits including reducing blood sugar and bad cholesterol. However, research of the benefits is still limited. For most people it is generally safe. Consumed in large amounts it can cause digestive issues.

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