Dangerous (well, scary) Additives


I came across an article on scary additives that I thought I’d share. The link will be at the bottom. Note that the “found in” sections are not exhaustive lists – read your labels.

Here’s the top 10 scariest additives, as according to the editors of Men’s Health.

  1. Olestra (found in Lay’s Light chips and Pringles Light chips) – causes diarrhea, blocks the body’s ability to absorb beta carotene and lycopene; animal studies show that olestra causes more weight gain than real fat.
  2. Caramel coloring (found in colas and other soft drinks, La Choy soy sauce, Stove Top stuffing mix) – when produced with ammonia, it puts off 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, chemicals that have been linked to cancer in mice.
  3. Saccharin (found in Sweet’n’Low and TaB cola) – linked to bladder tumors in rats; shown to cause more weight gain than real sugar.
  4. Potassium Bromate (found in Johnny Rockets hoagie rolls) – causes thyroid and kidney tumors in rats; banned in most countries
  5. Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) (found in Goya lard, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, Orbit gum) – BHA is reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen, according to the department of health and human services; BHT is less dangerous but causes cancer in lab rats.
  6. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil – aka trans fats (found in McDonalds McChicken, Long John Silvers cheese and broccoli soup) – trans fats cause about 70,000 heart attacks per year.
  7. Sulfites (found in wine, Sun-Maid Mixed Fruit, Jolly Ranchers, Fig Newtons) – can trigger asthma symptoms in certain individuals.
  8. Azodicarbonamide (found in Dunkin’ Donuts bagels, McDonalds burger buns) – also used in the production of industrial foam, potential cause of asthma.
  9. Carrageenan (Weight Watchers Giant Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Bars, Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches, Creamsicles) – linked to cancer, colon trouble, ulcers in animal studies.
  10. Ammonium Sulfate (Nature’s Own bread, Subway rolls) – found in fertilizer and flame retardants, but NOT shown to have adverse health effects in animals.

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/top-10-scariest-food-additives


One response to “Dangerous (well, scary) Additives”

  1. It sounds like you just have to go back to making everything from scratch like we did 20 years ago in other countries. Even then you don’t know how the food was really grown or if it was sprayed to make the trip to market.
    Thanks for the information.
    mom

    Like

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