It's nice to be able to store foods for a long time and enjoy their improved taste, but an overuse of food additives and sweeteners can lead to a variety of troubles, from obesity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Taking just a few minutes to view rating of food additives hazardous to health, you can save yourself and your loved ones from many problems in the future.
5. Aspartame (E951)
This chemically engineered sugar substitute is composed of methylated aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Forms poison in the body - methanol. Regular consumption of aspartame can lead to migraines, seizures, loss of vision, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
- Besides toxicity, aspartame promotes weight gain by inducing carbohydrate cravings. A study of 80,000 women by the American Cancer Society found that those who used E951 gained more weight than those who did not use products with aspartame.
- This may be because we too often equate “diet” with foods that say “no sugar” and “contains sugar substitutes” with permission to eat more.
4. Artificial food colors
Animal studies have shown that certain color-enhancing additives can cause cancer. This applies to artificial dyes E-133 and E-132 (blue), E-142 and E-143 (green), E-129, E-124 and E-123 (red), E-110 and E-102 (yellow ).
- These dyes are made from coal tar. Who would deliberately consume it?
- Artificial food colors can provoke hyperactivity in children and cause allergic reactions.
3. Sodium nitrite (E250)
Found in smoked foods such as bacon, corned beef, ham, and smoked fish.
- It helps preserve meat and fish and stabilize the red color of meat products. Imagine a gray hot dog without the E250. However, if foods containing sodium nitrite are exposed to high temperatures (such as frying bacon), they may react with amino acid breakdown products. This produces nitrosamines. These dangerous compounds are highly carcinogenic. In laboratory studies, researchers inject these compounds into laboratory mice when they want to provoke cancer in them.
- Eating processed meats high in E250 has been linked to cases of pancreatic and stomach cancers.
2. Monosodium glutamate (E621)
The top 5 harmful food additives simply could not do without this amino acid, which is widely used as a flavor enhancer in instant meals, fast food, condiments, salad dressings, chips, etc. MSG is so “woven” into our food chain that it would be very difficult to find a product without it.
- E621 is not harmful to health in small amounts, but large doses in rats have caused loss of vision and thinning of the retina.
- And in a study of 752 healthy people in China, it was found that consuming monosodium glutamate increased the chances of gaining weight.
- In addition, the need to add artificial flavor means that the manufacturer does not rely on good food ingredients to give the product a naturally attractive scent.
1. Trans fats
Artificial trans fats are made by adding hydrogen molecules to unsaturated liquid oil. They can be found in potato chips, margarine, popcorn, and more.
- The risk of heart disease is higher when consuming trans fats when compared to saturated fats.
- Saturated fats, such as those found in butter, cheese, and beef, do raise total cholesterol, but trans fats have gone a step further. They both raise total cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. And it protects against heart disease.
Check food labels for the above additives before purchasing, and skip foods that contain them.