7 Food Additives You Need to Avoid By Janet Martin At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Food additives are used to make food appear fresher, more delectable, and longer lasting. In the US, about 3,000 substances can be added by manufacturers to their products in order to help enhance food flavor, increase shelf life, and improve the texture and color of their food products. Although most of these substances are safe, there are some items that you need to look out for.

The best way to ensure that you are not consuming unhealthy additives is by eating and consuming only fresh and whole foods. However if you cannot help introducing some processed food in your everyday diet, just make sure that you stay away from products that contain dangerous food additives. Here are seven of the most unhealthful substances that you need to avoid and exclude from the list of ingredients in the food that you eat or feed your family.

BHA and BHT

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) are used to make sure fats don't go rancid immediately. These substances are quite common ingredients in cereals, vegetable oil, chewing gum, and chips. Some studies show that BHA and BHT cause cancer in rats. According to World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, BHA could cause cancer in humans. In fact, BHA is labeled as a carcinogen in the State of California.

Aspartame

One artificial sweetener that is used in diet sodas and other low-cal products is aspartame. In the 70's, several studies have already shown that aspartame can cause brain tumors in rats. In 2005, another study has confirmed that even just a small amount of this substance can increase the risk of developing brain tumors as well as leukemia and lymphomas in rats. Some people also experience dizziness, headaches and hallucination after taking food that is loaded with aspartame.

Acesulfame-K

Another artificial sweetener that you should avoid is acesulfame-K, which is considered to be sweeter than sugar by as much as 200 times. It is common to find this ingredient in baked goodies, gelatin, chewing gum, and sodas. Some studies have shown that this substance can also cause cancers in rats. To date, a clinical study to confirm its safety in humans is yet to be conducted.

Potassium Bromate

Although potassium bromate, which is used in breads, cakes, doughnuts and rolls, can still be used in Japan and the US, it is actually banned in other parts of the world because of its cancerous threat. The Center for Science in the Public Interest is actually asking the US Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of potassium bromate because clinical research found that it can cause cancer in rats.

Sodium Nitrate

The ingredient used to preserve, add color and flavor bacon, hot dogs, corned beef and other processed or cured meats is sodium nitrate. Many studies have shown that this food additive is responsible for the development of nitrosamines, which have been confirmed to cause cancer. Research shows that there is a direct link between cancer in humans and the immoderate consumption of food containing sodium nitrate.

Red # 3

A popular coloring included in candies, baked goods and cherries is the red # 3 dye. Experts believe that this can increase risk for thyroid tumors in rats as well as in humans. Presently, the FDA is looking at completely banning the use of this red dye. In the meantime, just be on guard for baked and processed foods that contain this ingredient.

Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil

Many canned goods, potato chips, baked goods and many other foods available in the market contain hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is responsible for creating transfat. According to the Institute of Medicine, consumers should stay away from food that contains transfat because it elevates risk for diabetes and other heart problems.

If you have been consuming food with the above ingredients all these years, you can go into a detoxification program to get rid of all the toxins that these food additives may have accumulated in your body. Drinking plenty of water and eating mostly fruits and vegetables are good ways to flush out toxins from your system.

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