Frankenfoods

This post came by request for a description of these chemicals in our food that you hear about in health articles and on the news. If you have any requests for a post, or something you'd like to learn more about, let me know and I'll work on it!!

One of the main reasons I choose whole, natural foods over more processed foods is the amount of chemicals and ingredients that can be added to these products. Many ingredients that are allowed by the FDA have been proven to cause all kinds of health risks. To avoid these yucky chemicals, it's best to choose items that have less than six ingredients, all of which you can pronounce. Anything that sounds like it's been made in a lab, is probably not good for your body. To avoid buying any potentially dangerous products, I'm going to tell you about the scariest ones. I've already mentioned artificial sweeteners and partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), and I don't want to be too repetitive, so see my previous posts for that.

Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite
These chemicals are added to meats to preserve color and prevent botulism. They are also found naturally in small amounts in fruits and vegetables. Nitrate easily converts to nitrite so they are basically the same thing once inside your body. The problem is the quantity in which they are added to our food. Since these compounds are naturally in our bodies and food, we can metabolize them and they are safe, however, at high levels, they can be toxic. High nitrite levels have been linked to respiratory diseases and migraines. The bigger problem is that when these chemicals are in an acidic or very hot environment, like your stomach or the fryer, they convert to nitrosamines, very powerful carcinogens. The most common place to find nitrates or nitrites is in cured meats like hot dogs, salami, pepperoni and bologna. Try to buy these products made without nitrates if you can.

High Fructose Corn Syrup
High fructose corn syrup, or corn sugar, as it is now being marketed, is corn syrup that has been processed to convert some of the glucose to fructose to make is sweeter. It is commonly used in a lot of processed foods mainly because of the cheap cost of production. The government subsidizes corn production, as well as taxes imported sugar, so that makes it more appealing to big companies. Nutritionally, HFCS and sugar are similar, however, HFCS consists of glucose molecules and fructose molecules, while cane and beet sugars contain sucrose which is a molecule of glucose and a molecule of fructose chemically bonded. Because HFCS is an unnatural, processed substance, our bodies process it differently. HFCS is harmful because it disrupts your body's natural appetite functions. It makes you crave more sweet foods and spikes your insulin production. All sweeteners have similar effects, but it is better to choose more natural options, or better yet, choose whole natural foods that are unsweetened and unprocessed.

Monosodium Glutamate
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a salt of the amino acid glutamate. It is used in foods to create the "umami" flavor or as a flavor enhancer to other tastes. Many people are sensitive to MSG and can get headaches, tightness or pressure in the face, rapid heartbeats, numbness in the limbs, chest pain, or trigger asthma symptoms. It has also been linked to obesity. Avoid buying products with MSG or hydrolyzed yeast or vegetable protein, which contain MSG.

Artificial Coloring
Foods marketed to children have to be fun so kids will want to eat them. Companies use artificial colors and flavors to make these foods more appealing. Red 40 and Yellow 5 and 6 make up most of the food dyes that are used and have been linked to hyperactivity and ADHD in children. These are the most common artificial colors, but not the only dangerous ones. Blue 1 & 2 and Red 3 may also cause cancer. Many brands now use fruit juices to color their products so try to find those varieties and avoid these yucky chemicals.

Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic hormone often found in canned foods. Because of it's chemical structure it's used to make plastics. It has been banned in baby bottles and has been labeled a toxic substance. People are most sensitive to this chemical during development because it can bind to the same receptor as natural estrogen and mimic its effects. It can also affect your thyroid. Make sure food containers and canned food you buy are BPA free. Also, this chemical is naturally made when acid from tomatoes react with can linings, even if the cans are BPA free so try to buy tomatoes in jars or cartons. Phthalate are another group of similar chemicals that should also be avoided.

BHA, BHT and Propyl Gallate
These three chemicals have been shown to cause cancer and are used as a preservative to keep fats and oils from going rancid. These are used in butter, shortening, cereals, chewing gum, dehydrated potatoes and packaged baked goods. The same properties that make these chemicals good preservatives are the properties that make them bad for you. They are easily oxidated and can cause cancer. They are hard for your body to process and eliminate. So again, avoid products with these substances.

Moral of the story: Buy whole, unprocessed foods and avoid additives that you can't pronounce. If it sounds like it will give you cancer, it probably will.