It has been a while since the last post, and since then I have officially become a certified nutritionist! My certification is through the ISSA (International Sport Sciences Association), the only ACCREDITED certification organization. The Vice President of Education graded my test and wrote “Your work on the examination was second to none. Although I have read countless articles on nutrition I thouroughly enjoyed your research paper and the way you presented your paper on food additives”. So I thought it would be a good post for NF. Enjoy!
Food Additives and their safety
It’s a sore subject for most people. There is nothing wrong with a few packaged cookies, or a handful of lowfat crackers, or even the occasional soda right? In our present day american diet, an estimated 70% of the average person’s diet contains some type of food additive. With more and more studies being done to date, more evidence of harmful effects are being discovered from ingesting these substances. As our nation becomes sicker the focus is being put on lifestyles infested with contaminants, chemicals, and pollutants.
The term “additive” when associated with food is defined as “any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result-directly or indirectly- in its becoming a component or otherwise effecting the characteristics of any food” according to the Journal of International Food Information Council. There are many inherently good reasons for some food additives; to maintain food freshness and safety, maintain the nutritional value of foods, to improve taste and texture of food, etc. We all feel safe buying a package of deli turkey meat from the local supermarket, because we know they have been processed with substances added to them to preserve their freshness. Should we just assume all food is safe then? My opinion is an absolute NO.
As I mentioned earlier, Americans are sicker than ever and a few stats may help support my claim. Over 65% of Americans over 20 years of age are over weight and 30% are clinically obese. Estimates for the year 2005 are that 80,700,000 people in the United States have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease: High blood pressure — 73,000,000, Coronary heart disease — 16,000,000, Myocardial infarction (acute heart attack) — 8,100,000, Angina pectoris (chest pain or discomfort caused by reduced blood supply to the heart muscle) — 9,100,000, Stroke — 5,800,000, Heart Failure — 5,300,000. There are 23.6 million people in the United States, or 8% of the population, who have diabetes. The total prevalence of diabetes increased 13.5% from 2005-2007. These are only a few of the stats, not to mention the use of antidepressants, beta blockers and cholesterol-lowering drugs taken by much of the population over 50.
Long ago in ancient times, food was unprocessed, unrefined, and was void of chemicals. Food was eaten directly from the family crop, herd or orchard. There was no need for nitrates or nitrates to be added to meat. It was eaten and what was left over was dried and salted with pure sea salt to preserve it. The University of Minnesota extension states that “Nitrite in meat greatly delays development of botulism, develops cured meat flavor and color, retards development of rancidity and off-odors and off-flavors in during storage, inhibits development of warmed-over flavor, and preserves flavors of spice smoke etc. These are amazing feats for one chemical. The same report however, reveals that “lower doses of sodium or potasium nitrate or sodium nitrite have caused acute methemoglobinemia (when hemoglobin loses its ability to carry oxygen) particularly in infants, resulting from conversion of nitrate to nitrite after consumption. Even more disturbing is the formation of “nitrosamines” from the combination of natural breakdown products of protein with nitrites. These nitrosamines are known carcinogen in test animals. Personally I don’t care how red, salty, smoky and “safe” theses foods are, I will do without.
The cheap and quick process of hydrogenating a liquid fat to form a solid substance at room temperature is why Hydrogenated Fats are found in most packaged foods. The process actually renders them indigestable to the body, therefore being touted as health foods or low-fat foods. It was only a couple years ago that these chemicals, also known as “Trans Fats” were required to be listed on nutrional labels because of a new law from the FDA. It is known to be linked with cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, and immune sytem deficiencies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed test results finding these trans fats raised LDL cholesterol levels (or the “good” cholesterol). It was always assumed that eating foods high in fat like beef or whole milk was the culprit. The people I discussed earlier in ancient times did not suffer from clogged arteries or need statins, because they didn’t consume indigestible man-made fats.
Fake fats and preservatives are not the only substances I want to mention. I have found in my years of personal training that probably 80% of the people who sit down in front of me have a love affair with sweets. I was amazed at first and now deconditioned by the shear amount of Cola, Mocha Frappuchinos, ice cream, and chocolate that the average person ingests. Most of them are indifferent when I ask them if they are willing to give any of them up. All the products I just mentioned usually are composed of one main ingredient: high fructose corn syrup. If not that, plain old sugar. Other less-intimidating names are used on the nutritional panel like turbinado, cane sugar, evaporated cane juice, rice malt among many others. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is cheaper to process, so more and more products contain it. The American Journal of CLinical Nutrition’s commentary on HFCS is enlightening. “Consumpion of HFCS in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity” is the the title. In the article it is noted that consumption of HFCS increased>1000% between 1970 and 1990! When I was a kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s I don’t remember seeing so many morbidly obese people as I do today. Also, HFCS represents >40% of caloric sweeteners added to foods and beverages and is the sole sweetener in soft drinks in the united states. The increased use of HFCS in the U.S. mirrors the rapid increase in obesity. The digestion, absorbtion, and metabolism of fructose differ from those of glucose. Unlike glucose, fructose does not stimulate insulin secretion or enhance leptin production. Because insulin and leptin act as key afferent signals in the regulation of food intake and body weight, this suggests that dietary fructose may contribute to increased energy intake and weight gain. Furthermore, calorically sweetened beverages may enhance caloric consumption. Thus, the increase of consumption of HFCS has a temporal relation to the epidemic of obesity, and the overconsumption of HFCS in calorically sweetened beverages may play a rol in the epidemic of obesity.
Many people do try to restrict their calories but refuse to give up sweets, so the answer is of course another chemical. Artificial sweeteners are believed to be better then table sugar because they add no calories. Aspartame, Malitol (sugar alcohol) saccharin, and sucralose (”Splenda”) are a few varieties. No matter how the label spins it, these are CHEMICALS. In an article by Dr. Mercola on the potential dangers of sucralose, the process of its production is explained. Three chlorine molecules are added to a sucrose or sugar molecule. A sucrose molecule is a disaccharide that contains two single sugars bound together; glucose and fructose. The chemical process to make sucralose alters the chemical composition of the sugar so much that it is somehow converted to a fructo-galactose molecule. This type of sugar molecule does not occur in nature and therefore your body does not possess the ability to properly metabolize it. As a result of this unique biochemical make-up, McNeil Nutitionals (Splenda’s manufacturer) makes its claim that Splenda is not digested or metabolized by the body making it contain zero calories. As a fat soluble substance, this chemical can remain in your stored fat cells for years. The only studies done on the safety of this chemical lasted only three months, and was not tested on pregnant women or children. My opinion once again, ELIMINATE IT.
These are only a handful of additives out of the thousands now used. With more testing in the future, hopefully we can become more like other countries and completely ban chemicals from our foods. I realize that food will cost more, but it won’t change my budget because after researching the topic thouroughly for years, I have made it a point to buy only whole food with labels that read “ingredients: oranges” or “ingredients: pure northwest bee honey”. Even so, less money would be spent on medications and doctors because the population would be healthier.
Recent Comments