As
a kid growing up in the early '80s, I made every mistake in the book. I ate fast food instead of smart food. I played video
games when I should've been playing outside. By the time I reached age 14, I was carrying 212 pounds on a 5'10" frame.
(I wanted to be built like a basketball player, but instead was shaped more like a basketball.)
But I got lucky when I graduated from high school, enlisted in the Naval
Reserve, and had the tenets of fitness pounded into me, day after day. Soon after I graduated from college, I joined Men's
Health and learned the importance of proper nutrition and—just as important—the health threats inherent in
carrying around too much fat in your gut. If you have a bulging belly, it means your internal organs, including your heart,
are literally packed in fat.
My biggest lesson: Ordering dinner from a teenager in a paper hat can be like renting
a room to an arsonist. (That's one of the reasons Cook This, Not That! came about. The goal was to prove that quickly prepared food doesn't have to be terrible for our health, so we created scores
of delicious recipes that can be built in less time than you spend in the typical drive-thru line.)
In the past few
years there's been some progress on the fast-food front. Many chains have answered our calls for healthier, lower-calorie
options. Thing is, these efforts are almost always undermined by the rest of their menus. Show me a laminated menu (or plastic
menu board), and I'll show you a meal that will absolutely obliterate your waistline. To wit: These five caloric calamities—among
the worst fast-food meals in America.
WORST SEAFOOD DISH Long John Silver’s Fish Combo Basket 750 calories 42 g fat (10.5 g saturated, 12 g trans) 1,930 mg sodium
Holy deep-fried mackerel! That’s one gnarly
fish. In terms of calories we’ve seen worse, but nothing compares to this unruly load of trans fat. According the American
Heart Association, you should cap your trans fat intake at just 1 percent of total calories, which is around 2 grams for a
2,000-calorie diet. So with nearly six days’ worth, this plate is—ahem—swimming in trans fat. Blame Long
John’s fryer. Because it’s filled with partially hydrogenated oil, everything it touches comes out wearing a greasy
jacket of dangerous oils. Do your heart a favor and order off the Freshside Grille menu.
Eat This Instead! Long John's Grilled Salmon Platter 380 calories 8 g fat (2 g saturated) 1,270 mg sodium
And remember: Just because a food sounds healthy, doesn’t mean it is. Case in point: salads.
Check out this shocking list of The Worst Salads in America, and learn which ones from your favorite restaurants can keep you lean and healthy.
WORST BREAKFAST Hardee’s Loaded Biscuit and Gravy
with Large Hash Rounds 1,530 calories 110 g fat (26 g saturated) 3,020 mg sodium
Biscuits and gravy
falls pretty low in the hierarchy of healthy breakfast options, and the two hockey pucks of sausage that Hardee’s throws
on top certainly don’t boost its standing. Add another shot of sausage in the gravy and a big sack of tater tot–like
Hash Rounds on the side and you’ve got three-fourths of your day’s calories and well over a day’s worth
of saturated fat. If this is how you start the day, expect it to be a rough one.
Eat
This Instead! Frisco Breakfast Sandwich 400 calories 18 g fat (7 g saturated) 1,350 mg sodium
For
a better way to jumpstart your morning and your metabolism, and burn more fat, check out our list of Best and Worst Cereals. Those high in fiber and low in sugar will put your body in the sweet spot.
WORST CHICKEN ENTREE Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket (6-piece w/Country Gravy) 1,640 calories 74 g fat (12 g saturated, 1 g trans) 3,690 mg sodium
New rule: Once it becomes a “strip,”
it no longer qualifies as chicken. That’s because chicken has a reputation for being relatively healthy, and although
that reputation is often abused by food processors, no other abuse in the fast-food kingdom comes close to approaching the
egregious numbers in this basket. Snarf this thing down for lunch and you’ve just consumed nearly as many calories as
you’d get in five Crispy Chicken Sandwiches from Wendy’s.
Eat
This Instead! Grilled Chicken Wrap and an All-Beef Hot Dog 490 calories 30 g fat (10.5 g saturated,
.5 g trans) 1,350 mg sodium
Nutrition tip: Did you know that white chocolate isn't technically chocolate, since
it contains no cocoa solids? (It's mostly fat and sugar.) For other free health, fitness, and nutrition secrets that will
improve your life instantly, follow me on Twitter here.
WORST BURGER COMBO Wendy’s Triple Baconator Combo Meal with small
fries and small coke 1,850 calories 106 g fat (43 g saturated, 4 g trans) 2,790 mg sodium
Combo meals
are a dangerous breed. The standard pairing at most fast-food joints is a burger with a side of fries. Oh, and that “free”
beverage? Fill that cup with soda, even if it’s a small like this, and you’ve just tacked on as much sugar as
you’d find in two-and-a-half Hershey’s bars. So here’s a better plan: Skip the combo meals altogether and
order what you know will fill your belly up without filling it out. Then drink water—the world’s healthiest beverage—instead
of soda. Chances are you’ll save more money, and in this case, you’ll also save more than 1,300 calories while
still enjoying a delicious meal.
Eat This Instead! Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and Small Chili 540 calories 23 g fat (9 g saturated) 1,520 mg sodium
Liquid calories are the most overlooked culprit behind America’s weight gain. See how many of
these you’ve gulped down without realizing the damage it might be doing to your waistline: The 20 Worst Drinks in America.
WORST SUB-SHOP MEAL Quiznos Tuna Melt (Large) with Cheetos 1,900 calories 145 g fat (29 g saturated, 2 g trans) 2,230 mg sodium
Don’t blame the chips. They contribute a paltry 160
calories to this meal. And at 110 calories, even the melted cheese is relatively innocuous. The real culprit here is the bucketload
of mayonnaise that Quizno’s uses to convert its tuna into tuna salad. That’s how it winds up carrying more fat
than two people should eat in an entire day. Best plan at Quizno’s: Skip the large subs. Nearly all eclipse 1,000 calories.
Instead, stick to bullets and Sammies, and don’t let the sandwich crafter get too carried away with the sauces.
Eat This Instead! 2 Roadhouse Steak Sammies and Baked Lays 620 calories 14 g fat (8 g saturated) 2,140 mg sodium
Sandwiches have tremendous potential for loading you up with nutrients
and keeping you slim. Unfortunately, too few actually deliver. Check out this handy list of The Worst Sandwiches in America to find out which ones make you large and which ones make you lean.
WORST PASTA Domino’s Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl Pasta 2,960 calories 114 g fat (48 g saturated, 2 g trans) 4,440 mg sodium
Domino’s may not boast many drive-thru windows, but
its food is most certainly made with speed in mind. This edible bowl is just one extension of that. It allows busy customers
to simply gobble up the whole meal, bowl and all. No dishes. (Next thing you know, restaurants will be giving you edible menus
and serving you soda from an edible cup. When you’re done, maybe you can just eat the table and chair, too.) This pasta-filled
bowl has two days' worth of fat and still manages to squeeze in 1,500 calories of pure carbohydrates!
Eat This Instead! Hand Tossed Pizza with Grilled Chicken, Green Peppers, and Shredded
Parmesan Cheese (2 slices, medium pie) 300 calories 6 g fat (2 g saturated) 500 mg sodium
12 Dangerous Food Additives: The Dirty Dozen Food Additives You Really Need to be Aware
Of by www.SixWise.com
In the United States,
more than 3,000 substances can be added to foods for the purpose of preservation, coloring, texture, increasing flavor and
more. While each of these substances is legal to use (at least here in the States), whether or not they are all something
you want to be consuming is another story all together.
The food colorings that make candy pretty colors have been linked to cancer and
tumors of the brain, thyroid, adrenal gland and kidney in animal studies.
With any processed
food you run the risk of coming across additives, and reading through ingredient labels can be like trying to decode a puzzle.
Of
course, eating largely fresh, whole foods is the best way to stay away from unsavory additives, but, assuming you do include
some processed foods in your diet, the following additives are ones you surely want to stay away from. Look for them on ingredient
labels and if one turns up, take a pass.
Propyl Gallate
This preservative, used to prevent fats
and oils from spoiling, might cause cancer. It's used in vegetable oil, meat products, potato sticks, chicken soup base and
chewing gum, and is often used with BHA and BHT (see below).
BHA and BHT
Butylated hydroxyanisole
(BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are used similarly to propyl gallate -- to keep fats and oils from going rancid.
Used commonly in cereals, chewing gum, vegetable oil and potato chips (and also in some food packaging to preserve freshness),
these additives have been found by some studies to cause cancer in rats. If a brand you commonly buy uses these additives,
look for a different variety, as not all manufacturers use these preservatives.
Potassium Bromate
This additive is used in breads
and rolls to increase the volume and produce a fine crumb structure. Although most bromate breaks down into bromide, which
is harmless, the bromate that does remain causes cancer in animals. Bromate has been banned throughout the world, except for
in the United States and Japan. In California, a cancer warning would likely be required if it were used, which is why it
is rarely used in that state.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
MSG is used as a flavor enhancer in
many packaged foods, including soups, salad dressings, sausages, hot dogs, canned tuna, potato chips and many more. According
to Dr. Russell Blaylock, an author and neurosurgeon, there is a link between sudden cardiac death, particularly in athletes,
and excitotoxic damage caused by food additives like MSG and artificial sweeteners. Excitotoxins are, according to Dr. Blaylock,
"A group of excitatory amino acids that can cause sensitive neurons to die."
Many consumers have also personally
experienced the ill effects of MSG, which leave them with a headache, nausea or vomiting after eating MSG-containing foods.
To find out more about the side effects associated with MSG, as well as a complete list of which foods contain it, see our
past article MSG: If it's Safe: Why do They Disguise it on the Labels?
Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)
This artificial sweetener is found in Equal and NutraSweet, along
with products that contain them (diet sodas and other low-cal and diet foods). This sweetener has been found to cause brain
tumors in rats as far back as the 1970s, however a more recent study in 2005 found that even small doses increase the incidence
of lymphomas and leukemia in rats, along with brain tumors.
People who are sensitive to aspartame may also suffer from
headaches, dizziness and hallucinations after consuming it.
Acesulfame-K
Acesulfame-K is an artificial
sweetener that's about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It's used in baked goods, chewing gum, gelatin desserts and soft drinks.
Two rat studies have found that this substance may cause cancer, and other studies to reliably prove this additive's safety
have not been conducted. Acesulfame-K also breaks down into acetoacetamide, which has been found to affect the thyroid in
rats, rabbits and dogs.
Olestra
Olestra is a fat substitute used in crackers and potato chips,
marketed under the brand name Olean. This synthetic fat is not absorbed by the body (instead it goes right through it), so
it can cause diarrhea, loose stools, abdominal cramps and flatulence, along with other effects. Further, olestra reduces the body's ability to absorb beneficial fat-soluble nutrients, including
lycopene, lutein and beta-carotene.
Sodium Nitrite (Sodium Nitrate)
Like diet soda? The aspartame that's
used to sweeten it increases lymphomas, leukemia and brain tumors in rats -- even in small doses.
Sodium
nitrite (or sodium nitrate) is used as a preservative, coloring and flavoring in bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, corned
beef, smoked fish and other processed meats. These additives can lead to the formation of cancer-causing chemicals called
nitrosamines.
Some studies have found a link between consuming cured meats and nitrite and cancer in humans.
The process used to make hydrogenated vegetable oil (or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil) creates trans fats, which promote heart disease and diabetes. The Institute of Medicine has advised that consumers should eat as little trans
fat as possible. You should avoid anything with these ingredients on the label, which includes some margarine, vegetable shortening,
crackers, cookies, baked goods, salad dressings, bread and more. It's used because it reduces cost and increases the shelf
life and flavor stability of foods.
Blue 1 and Blue 2
Blue 1, used to color candy, beverages
and baked goods, may cause cancer. Blue 2, found in pet food, candy and beverages, has caused brain tumors in mice.
Red
3
This food coloring is used in cherries (in fruit cocktails), baked goods and candy. It causes thyroid tumors
in rats, and may cause them in humans as well.
Yellow 6
As the third most often used food coloring,
yellow 6 is found in many products, including backed goods, candy, gelatin and sausages. It has been found to cause adrenal
gland and kidney tumors, and contains small amounts of many carcinogens.
Whether or not hair dye increases cancer risk is a question that has been bounced
around for several decades. It remains a question because some of the ingredients found in hair dye cause mutations in laboratory
mice.
In the 1970s, several studies suggested that hairdressers were more prone to cancers of the blood and lymph systems.
In the '90 s there was one study that found an increased risk of leukemia when hair dye was used for more than 15 years. Another
study found that women who dyed their hair one to four times a year had a greater risk to develop ovarian cancer.
In
1994, a study conducted by the American Cancer Society and the Food and Drug Administration found that using hair dye did
not increase the likelihood of dying from cancer. The exception was women who used black hair dye for more than 20 years.
The Nurses Health Study in 1994, failed to find any connection between hair dye use and cancers of the blood and lymph system.
In
February 2001 this topic arose again. Researchers at the University of Southern California reported that people who used permanent
hair dye once a month for ten years or more were five times more likely to develop bladder cancer.
None of these studies
contained specifics like type of hair dye or their ingredients.
Looking at these studies together, the evidence is not
sufficient for researchers to say unequivocally that there is a link between using hair dye and cancer. If there is a link,
it is with the use of permanent dark hair dye over a long period of time.
If you want to play it safe and continue to
color your hair, practice these precautions:
Space the use of the dye as far apart as possible.
Wear gloves
during dye application.
Do not leave dye on your scalp any longer than necessary.
Rinse scalp thoroughly after
dye application.
Choose products that contain henna, which is derived from plants
Hair dye and bladder cancer risk
Some research
has suggested that using hair dye may lead to an increased risk of bladder cancer, while other research has suggested it doesn’t.
Some studies have probably been too small to show up any small increase in risk. In the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA) May 2005, a large meta analysis was published that looked into all the research on hair dyes causing cancer. This found
that there is unlikely to be any link between dyeing your hair and bladder cancer.
In 2008, the WHO (World Health Organisation)
said that there is some evidence that hair dyes can increase the risk of bladder cancer for male hairdressers and barbers.
This is because they are working with these chemicals all the time. But this risk can be reduced by using non-touch hairdressing
techniques. The picture is less clear for people who have their hair dyed or dye their own hair.
Hair dye and risk of blood cell cancers
Blood cell cancers include lymphomas, leukaemia and myeloma. There is no definite evidence of a link between
the use of any type of hair dye and non Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), leukaemia or myeloma. Some studies have shown an increased
risk of non Hodgkin's lymphoma in women who use hair dye but other studies have not shown an increased risk.
An
analysis of all these studies, published in the Journal of American Medical Association in May 2005, found that there may
be a small link between hair dye use and myeloma, lymphoma or some types of lymphoblastic leukaemia. But the results of this
paper show that if there is any increase in risk, it must be extremely small. A recent large international study reported
in 2008 that women who began using hair dye before 1980 had a slightly increased risk of some types of non Hodgkin's lymphoma
- follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma. The increased risk was in women who
used dark coloured dyes.
A lot of hair dyes made before 1980 contained chemicals that were known to cause cancer
in mice. Since 1980, hair dyes have changed dramatically and many no longer contain these cancer causing chemicals (carcinogens).
Some smaller recent studies in China and the USA have looked at whether women with certain types of gene changes may be more
at risk of developing lymphoma if they use hair dyes. They seem to show a slight increase in risk for women with certain gene
types but we need more research to be sure.
Food dyes can cause allergies, ADHD and possibly cancer, group says
By Danielle Koagel
June 30, 2010
Americans’ kitchen cabinets may be stuffed with a
rainbow of colorful foods but those foods could lead to allergies, ADHD and possibly cancer,, a watchdog group says. Because
of the perceived risks, the Center for Science in the Public Interest is calling on the government to ban food dyes in commercial
foods.
Food dyes can be found in predicable places, such as cereal and bright candies, to not-so-predictable places,
such as salad dressing and frozen dinners. American food producers pour about 15 million pounds of dyes into products, a five-fold
increase from 1955. Many of the food products containing dyes, such as fruit drinks and cereals with fun, playful colors,
are marketed to children.
CSPI says Americans’ overconsumption of dyes may be exposing them to unnecessary and
dangerous health risks. They contend children are at the highest risk. According to a CSPI press release, multiple studies
have linked some dyes to allergic reaction, which the group admits is extremely rare, and hyperactivity in children.
But
many of the dyes may pose a threat to everyone’s health. The group says the most widely-used dyes – Red 40, Yellow
5 and Yellow 6 – are suspected to cause cancer in high doses. However, the evidence is based primarily on rodent testing
in higher doses than found in food products.
“These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve
the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody,”
said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson, co-author of the 58-page report: Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks, in a press
release. “The Food and Drug Administration should ban dyes, which would force industry to color foods with real food
ingredients, not toxic petrochemicals.”
The FDA previously banned food dyes for health risks. Orange B was approved
for coloring sausage casings, but in 1978 the FDA proposed banning it because it was found to be toxic to rats. The industry
has not used Orange B for more than a decade.
The group maintains the food dye chemicals incorporated into thousands
of food products are unnecessary and dangerous, and other countries have agreed. Because of concerns about dyes’ impairment
of children’s behavior, the British government asked companies to phase out most dyes by last December 31, and on July
20, the European Union is requiring a warning notice for most food products with dye.
The CSPI suggests companies rely
on natural colors, such as pumpkin and carrot extract for orange foods, to maintain their bright appeal.
Do food dyes cause cancer in Americans?
One in eight women in the United States will
confront breast cancer in her lifetime. In 1996, this killer will strike 190,000 women and kill 50,000. Besides the devastating
effects on afflicted individuals and their families, the economic impact is huge, with direct costs and productivity losses
estimated at $3.8 billion each year. Significantly, the chances of American women encountering breast cancer are five to nine
times greater than for women in less-developed countries.
Some researchers have tried to link breast cancer to the low magnetic fields
associated with electric power lines; others have suggested pesticides or animal-growth hormones. Still others point to diet:
When women in low-risk areas "Westernize" their diet or move to North America, their risk becomes the same as that
of U.S. women.
Initially, researchers blamed meat and fat for the anomaly. More recently, they
are focusing on hormones. Estrogen long has been identified as a risk factor for cancer. High concentrations of cells with
estrogen receptors occur naturally in the breast, uterus and ovaries. In addition, some cancerous cells produce estrogen receptors.
(Breast-cancer patients often are given the drug Tamoxifen, which inhibits the growth of the tumor cells by binding to estrogen
receptors.)
Because the level of estrogen in American women is not increasing but breast cancer incidence is,
scientists suspect something in their diet. Food dyes, as well as pesticides, pollutants and contaminants from plastic packaging
materials have been found to mimic the growth-promoting effects of estrogen. Besides the potential to cause cancer, "xenoestrogens"
have been blamed for the worldwide decrease in human sperm counts
Yoplait Trix Wildberry Blue Yogurt is colored with Blue 1 and Red 40. Kraft's Macaroni & Cheese contains Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Pepsi and Coke use caramel color. If you and your kids are consuming prepackaged and processed food, chances are you're eating and drinking
food coloring, be it natural (pigments derived from plants or animals) or artificial (synthesized in a lab). Any food dye
that is used in the U.S. has had to pass muster with the FDA, but some of our approved dyes have been outright banned in Europe. So are these added colorings truly safe?VERDICT
...
Artificial Colorings: Two British studies have found that artificial food dyes, in
tandem with the preservative sodium benzoate, cause hyperactivity and other behavior problems in many children. And studies have suggested that Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3, and Yellow
6 all can cause cancer. Artificial food dyes have been blacklisted in the U.K. and parts of Europe, but not here. In the U.K, a McDonald's strawberry sundae gets its color from strawberries, while in the U.S. the sundae's color is from Red 40. Be on the safe side and avoid artificial
colorings altogether.
Beta-Carotene: Beta-carotene, which the body converts to Vitamin A, is used
to give an orange-yellow tint to such foods as margarine, breakfast cereals, and some beverages. It is a natural compound
often derived from algae, and is safe when used as a coloring.
Annatto: Sourced from the red seed of a tropical tree, annatto commonly
appears in butter and cheeses to make them yellow/orange. It's considered an antioxidant, so it helps rid the body of damaging
free radicals and also aids immune function. It's safe to consume.
Caramel Color: Used in cola and many other foods including canned meats and baked goods, caramel
color comes from carbohydrates that are heated until you have what basically amounts to burnt sugar. A study has suggested
that the caramel color in cola may cause an elevation in blood pressure, due to the advanced glycation end products, or AGEs, present in heated carbs. It certainly wouldn't hurt to reduce consumption
of this natural coloring by cutting back on cola -- doing so will also help your family drop some unwanted pounds.
Food coloring
in snacks, sauces, preserves, soups, wine, cider, etc.
Avoid if you suffer from asthma, rhinitis (including hayfever), or urticaria (hives).
Amaranth
E123
Food coloring in wine, spirits, fish roe.
Banned in the U.S. Avoid if you suffer from asthma, rhinitis,
urticaria or other allergies.
Aspartame
E951
Sweetener
in snacks, sweets, alcohol, desserts, ~diet" foods
May affect people with PKU (phenylketonuria). Recent reports show possibility of headaches, blindness,
and seizures with long-term high doses of aspartame.
Benzoic acid
E210
Preservative in many foods, including drinks, low sugar products, cereals, meat products.
Can temporarily inhibit the function of digestive enzymes.
May deplete glycine levels. Avoid ifyou suffer from asthma, rhinitis, urticaria or other allergies.
Brilliant
Black BN
E151
In drinks,
sauces, snacks, wines, cheese, etc.
Avoid if you suffer from asthma, rhinitis, urticaria, or other allergies.
Butylated Hydroxy-anisole
E320
Preservative, particularly in fat-containing foods, confectionery,
meats.
The International
Agency for Research on Cancer says BHA is possibly carcinogenic to humans. BHA also interacts with nitrites to form chemicals
known to cause changes in the DNA of cells.
Calcium benzoate
E213
Preservative in many foods, including drinks, low-sugar products, cereals, meat products.
Can temporarily inhibit function of digestive enzymes
and may deplete levels ofthe amino acid glycine. Should be avoided by those with hay fever, hives, and asthma.
Calcium sulphite
E226
Preservative in a vast array of foods-from burgers to
biscuits, from frozen mushrooms to horseradish. Used to make old produce look fresh.
In the U.S., sulphites are banned from many foods, including
meat. They can cause bronchial problems, flushing, low blood pressure, tingling, and anaphylactic shock. The International
Labour Organization says avoid them ifyou suffer from bronchial asthma, cardiovascular or respiratory problems and emphysema.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
E621
Flavor enhancer.
Has been known to cause pressure on the head, seizures,
chest pains, headache, nausea, burning sensations, and tightness of face. Many baby food producers have stopped adding MSG
to their products.
Ponceau 4R, Conchineal
Red A
E124
Food coloring.
People who suffer from asthma, rhinitis or urticaria may find their symptoms become
worse following consumption of foods containing this coloring.
Potassium benozoate
E212
See calcium benzoate.
See calcium benzoate.
Potassium nitrate
E249
Preservative in cured meats and canned meat products.
It can lower the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood;
it may combine with other substances to form nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic; and it may have an atrophying effect on
the adrenal gland.
Propyl p-hydroxybenozoate, propylparaben, and paraben
F216
Preservative in cereals, snacks, pate, meat products, confectionery.
Parabens have been identified as the cause of chronic dermatitis in
numerous instances.
Saccharin & its
Na, K and Ca salts
E954
Sweetener in diet, and no-sugar products.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded
that saccharin is possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Sodium metabisulphite
Preservative
and antioxidant.
May
provoke life-threatening asthma.
Sodium sulphite
E221
Preservative used in wine-making and other processed foods.
Sulphites have been associated with triggering asthma attacks. Most asthmatics
are sensitive to sulphites in food.
Stannous chloride (tin)
E512
Antioxidant and color-retention agent in canned and bottled foods, fruit juices.
Acute poisoning has been reported from ingestion of fruit
juices containing concentrations of tin greater than 250 mg per liter.
Sulphur dioxide
E220
Preservative.
Sulphur dioxide reacts with a wide range of substances found in food, including various essential vitamins,
minerals, enzymes and essential fatty acids. Adverse reactions: bronchial problems particularly in those prone to asthma,
hypotension (low blood pressure), flushing tingling sensations or anaphylactic shock. International Labour Organization says
to avoid E220 if you suffer from conjunctivitis, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma, or cardiovascular disease.
Sunset Yellow
FCF, Orange
Yellow S
E110
Food coloring.
Some animal studies have indicated growth retardation and severe weight loss.
People with asthma, rhinitis, or urticaria should avoid this product.
Tartrazine
E102
Yellow food coloring.
May cause allergic reactions and asthmatic attacks and has been implicated in bouts of hyperactivity
disorder in children. Those who suffer from asthma, rhinitis and urticaria may find symptoms worsen after consumption.
Pesticides
With today's
chemical farming, even the old adage that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" must be questioned. For the caterpillar,
one brief journey across the average apple is enough to kill it. But what about us? According to the World Health Organization,
there were three million cases of severe pesticide poisoning and 20,000 deaths globally in 1996. A survey by the Ministry
of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries found that 89% to 99% of all fresh fruit, cereals, and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides!
That means that pesticides used in animal feed also contaminate most meat and milk.
Although few proper surveys have
been carried out to find the extent of the problem, the Association for Public Analysts randomly tested 305 fruits: 31 of
the samples contained pesticide residues above the safety levels, and another 72 samples showed lower pesticide residues.
Some fruits-particularly strawberries, raspberries, grapes, and tomatoes had measurable levels of at least six different pesticides!
More recent concernes deal with the level of chemicals in carrots and lettuce. In 1994, a survey of carrots found some to
have levels 25 times higher than the safety limit. In 1995, 10% of lettuces tested had levels in excess of the safety limit.
What can you do to protect yourself?
1. Select organic fruit and vegetables whenever possible. Wash or peel non-organic produce.
2. Choose fruits and vegetables in season. This means that your exposure to the chemicals used to delay ripening, prolong
shelf-life, preserve color and so on, will be limited.
3. Supplement your diet with antioxidant
nutrients-vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals zinc and selenium-since the detoxification of many pesticides involves these
nutrients.
Food Additives
Chemicals are purposely added to food to change its color, preserve it, prevent rancidity, keep fats
emulsified, and foods stable. Most of the chemicals are synthetic compounds, some with known negative health effects. But
more importantly, we don't really know what the long-term consequences of consuming such large amounts of additives are. It
is therefore best to avoid all additives, with a few notable exceptions.
Since foods without preservatives are more
likely to spoil, it's important to buy fresh produce and consume it relatively quickly. However, there are some additives
you don't need to avoid:
Colors
E101
E160
vitamin B2
carotene, vitamin A
Antioxidants
E300-304 E306-309
vitamin C,
tocopherols like vitamin E
Emulsifiers
E322
lecithin
Stabilizers
E375 E440
niacin
pectin
Preservatives and
Additives Excerpt
from NORTH AMERICAN DIET
This is the age of science. A fabricated custom-made reality, competing with the natural, organic
world man from which has lived for thousands of years. Yet the living, human cell has been incapable in keeping up with our
ever-changing times. The small print on your Twinkies reads more like rocket fuel than food for human consumption with unpronounceable
test tube names labeling chemicals manufactured in the cauldrons of industry. There is no doubt that the Twinkie-drug has
been a successful experiment in taste-bud delight, their bright plastic husks found in dumps all over the planet. But are
there side effects? And if so, do they outweigh the benefits that Twinkies are providing for the millions who have come to
depend upon their relief from the drudgery of daily living?
The
human body consists of billions of microscopic living cells, composed of perfectly, balanced quantities of water and organic
substances. If you have eaten the standard North American Diet for years, without serious harm to your health, it is due to
your body's outstanding resistance. Yet genetic weaknesses may be hidden by youth. The cumulative effect of toxins will increase
the risk of becoming a host to disease or premature death. Unfortunately, resistance to disease diminishes as the abuse continues.
Disease is like heating a pot of water. When the water becomes too hot, it quickly boils over. The biochemistry of the body
will absorb toxins only to a point. There is a boiling point—illness!
We live like no other generation before us. A giant experiment of toxic ingestion. In this game, the stakes are high,
it can cost your life. We may consider our way of eating as normal, but the modern diet is about as normal as a test tube
of chemicals. The body’s chemistry is recreated by ingesting countless food additives and environmental contaminants.
The toxins in your body have been accumulating since birth and are imbedded in
every cell structure and organ. But do not despair, there is an answer. Toxins disrupt the natural chemistry of your body.
Remove the harmful elements in your diet, replacing them with health-filled foods, and a wonderful new metamorphosis will
occur. God has created the body to be irrepressibly healthy!
Chemicals
which have the power to produce mutations through chromosome damage are called mutagens. They cause disruptions of the genetic
code which are responsible for over 15,000 inheritable, genetic disorders. Sadly, they may have a drastic consequence to our
grandchildren.
The food industry aims at making products look and
taste appealing without thought to the products' nutritional value. Loaded with chemical additives and designed to be addictive,
processed food is manufactured first for profit.
All great chefs
will tell you that the tangy flavor of lemon juice is a must in enhancing and lifting the taste of fish. In fact, lemon juice
is widely used to compliment a variety of popular dishes. But to cut cost and for the sake of convenience, manufacturers have
replaced lemon juice with 2-methyl-3-(pisopropylphenyl)-propionaldehyde. An unpronounceable name to add to the estimated three
thousand chemical additives which we consume.
Your body has become
a chemical depository. Sulfur is used to keep dried fruit fresh. Formaldehyde which is used to retard corpse decomposition
is added to disinfect frozen vegetables. The blue shimmer on the surface of luncheon meat is the result of sodium nitrate.
Sodium nitrate is commonly used in the preservation of ham, bacon, sausage and bologna to keep meat looking red, when normally,
it would have decomposed into an unappealing gray. In the stomach, sodium nitrate is converted into nitrous acid which is
suspected of inciting stomach cancer. Germany and Norway have banned the use of this powerful toxin.
Feed for raising chickens contains arsenic to stimulate growth, increase egg-production and give the
chicken a yellowed skin. Aluminum compounds are added to baking powder, aspirin, antacids, beer, table salt and antiperspirants.
It also leaches into our food and water through cookware, soft drink cans and aluminum foil. It has been discovered in high
concentrations in the brain of Alzheimer's patients and is suspected in contributing to this most hideous disease.
Potatoes may seem untouched by chemicals but because of their bad habit of sprouting,
they are coated with the chemical inhibitor, maleic hydrazide, which has resulted in cancer in laboratory animals.
Ice cream producers use propylene glycol, the same substance in antifreeze and
paint remover. Carboxymethylcellulose is a stabilizer, used in ice cream, salad dressing, cheese spreads and chocolate milk.
It has produced tumors in 80% of rats injected. Yet, the FDA flatly denies it as a carcinogen, for the reason that when it
was given to the rats orally, it didn’t cause cancer.
For 50
years, producers have added brominated oils to bottled fruit juice to maintain a look of freshness—even after 6 months
of storage. Unfortunately, brominated oils have side effects. They produce changes in heart tissue, enlargement of the thyroid,
kidney damage, decrease in liver metabolism and cause withered testicles. Canada, Holland, and Germany have banned brominated
oils in the production of bottled drinks, yet they can still be imported from other countries.
New food additives are believed to be met with stringent testing. But due to unreliable testing methods,
lack of qualified technicians, expensive analysis equipment, budget cuts and government lobbying by food conglomerates, additives
that are marginally carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic stay in use.
The
fetus cannot deal with foreign chemicals. Whatever toxic substances the mother eats flow largely unimpeded into the fetus.
Unlike an adult, the fetus lacks protective, detoxifying systems. Teratogens are toxins which harm fetal development. Certain
food additives are considered mildly teratogenic.
What toxicology
testing cannot accurately predict is the long-term combined effect of 3,000 additives and environmental toxins on children,
the elderly, newborn, the fetus, and people with cancer. The combined effect of these toxins on humans is unknown.
The processed food industry loads fat, sugar and salt into their products because
they are cheap. They use chemicals to change these cheap, raw materials into brightly-colored, tasty products with a long
shelf life. Food producers buy the cheapest raw materials, manufacture the product as quickly as possible, then sell it for
the highest price. Good business sense, but, what is lost in the manufacturing is quality.
Before cyclamate was banned, it was used to sweeten drinks such as Cool-Aid which contained 28.5% of
this substance. It was discovered that 30% of humans converted as much as 40% of the cyclamates ingested into Cyclohexylamine
which produces chromosome damage in animals, a high rate of still-born young, and birth defects. It was then banned. Lipton
donated its artificially sweetened product to mental hospitals and prisons in Ohio where it was accepted without question.
It seems as if food companies will do just about anything to enhance the taste and textures of their products. The aim is
to increase the pleasure of eating even if it means compromising nutritional value.
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE A common example of the thousands of chemicals
used in our new high-tech foods is monosodium glutamate. MSG is like glutamic acid, an amino acid that is used in the function
of the brain. Dr. John W. Olany of the University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, decided to test MSG by injecting it into
infant mice. After the MSG injection, nerve cells, especially in the hypothalamus, became dramatically swollen. Within several
hours, these cells died. It was discovered that the enzymes which help to metabolize MSG in adults do not exist in infants.
It is suspected that instead of the nutrient glutamic acid, MSG is carried to the brain, causing a dangerous excess. When
his report was published, Gerber, Beech-Nut, and Heinz took monosodium glutamate out of their baby foods., Naive mothers fed
MSG to their babies believing that these trustworthy companies would never put something harmful into their baby’s foods.
At present, the average consumer eats over one gram of MSG per day. When pregnant
women eat MSG, it crosses the placenta. MSG fed to growing rats, reduced their growth rate by 16%. The effect on the human
fetus is still unknown!
FOOD COLORING Synthetic color adds nothing to nutritional value. Numerous colors have been banned after twenty
years on the market, only to discover that they were carcinogenic.
All certified food colors in use today are of a class of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
that are universally suspect as carcinogenic. The FDA argues that food coloring is safe because it causes cancer only when
injected into rats, not when they are feeding on it. Therefore, the FDA gives manufacturers the freedom to use food coloring
at their discretion. Children are attracted to bright colors. Fruit loops, gum balls, popsicles and fruit drinks are mostly
color and sugar. The food industry is making millions on selling chemical substances that have zero value to life.
On the Island of Nauru lived a small group of healthy and happy Polynesians. These
people were left undisturbed until it was discovered that part of the island contained huge quantities of bird dung, containing
valuable phosphates that can be used in fertilizer. The native islanders grew wealthy by selling this resource and with their
new-found money supply they imported foods from the industrialized nations. The flavor of the North American diet cost them
1/3 of the Naurauns developing diabetes.
EARTH ADDITIVES
The Great Lakes is the largest body of fresh water in
the world. A global treasure. People living by the Great Lakes have at least 30 contaminants stored in their body fat such
as mercury, dioxin, and PCBs. According to Dr. Andrew Gilman, Manager of the Great Lakes Health Effects Center, health problems
from contaminants around the lakes are affecting some residents. The most susceptible to these poisons are the elderly, new-born,
children, fetuses and those in ill health. Women who drink water from the Great Lakes had a significantly higher rate of mouth
and thyroid cancer.
I know what you’re thinking. How can all
this be true, in light of the fact that many seem to live in generally, good health? I mean, if everything that we eat, drink
and breathe are loaded with poisons, how can the world be full of seemingly healthy people? It would be appropriate right
now to bow your head in humility and awe at the wondrous body that God has created for you. Truly, it seems able to endure
overwhelmingly hostile conditions and still survive. But God’s best is not survival, only keeping one step ahead of
illness. He wants you to experience the fullness of all His blessings, physical and spiritual. Everything which God makes
sparkles with Life.
***
Dyes, bleaches, antioxidants, preservatives, chemical flavors, buffers, noxious sprays, alkalizers,
acidifiers, deodorants, moisteners, drying agents, expanders, modifiers, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, clarifiers,
disinfectants, defoliants, fungicides, neutralizers, anticaking and antifoaming agents, hydrolyzers, hydrogenators, herbicides,
pesticides, synthetic hormones, antibiotics, steroids and four thousand other drugs that just make your mouth water with anticipation.
They find their way into the human food chain and become the raw materials for
every cell of your body. They disrupt the natural chemistry resulting in cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease,
allergies, diverticulitis, emphysema, stomach ulcers, premature aging, impotence, hypoglycemia and arthritis. These countless
diseases exist because chemically-synthesized substances disrupt the bio-chemistry of hundreds of billions of microscopic
living cells which make up the body.
The life of most cells is short;
new cells are constantly being made to replace dead ones. The raw materials for this rebuilding come from the blood stream.
When it contains toxins, the process of rebuilding cells is disrupted. Resistance to disease diminishes. If you have a genetic
weakness and continue to eat processed foods, the cumulative effect of toxins will increase the risk of becoming a host to
disease or premature death.
Cancer Dietitian Lifestyle tips for prevention and survivorship. Keeping you well beyond cancer!
Shopping was easy when most food came from farms. Now, factory-made foods have made chemical additives and preservatives a
significant part of our diet. People may not be able to pronounce the names of many of these chemicals, but
they still want to know what the chemicals do. More importantly, which ones are safe and which are poorly tested or
possibly dangerous. Preservatives and Food Additives
in the US:
Preservatives and food additives are a tricky subject. I've talked recently about reading
the ingredient list of the packaged foods that you buy. Now that you are looking more closely at the list, you might wonder
"what the heck are all these long, complicated words?!!"
For the most part, long words on the ingredient
list are chemically produced or chemically altered preservatives or food additives. Some additives that are allowed in the
US are not allowed in other countries. Take Nutri-Grain bars for an example:
The above picture shows an identical product, but in the UK it is sold with natural food coloring whereas in the
US it is sold with questionable food colorings. So how do you know if the additives in your food are linked to health problems
or not?
Know the Facts!
The Center for Science
in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org) is a great place for updated scientific information about health. They have two resources that may be of use to you:
Nature's perfect whole food from land and sea. Made with certified organic barley grass, a harvest of natural herbs and
non-dairy acidophilus cultures. Macro Greens is an abundant source of anti-oxidants, co-nutrients, enzymes, vitamins, minerals
and amino acids. A miracle food for people who prefer to get their energy, vitamins and minerals from whole foods. Macro Greens
contains the highest Alkaline pH facor available in food.Moore
What happens to your body after you drink a soda every day, for a long time
Thinkstock
Sugar rushes and caffeine highs followed by a depressing energy crash are what happens to your body if you drink a soda right now, but plenty of Blisstree readers actually seem to be okay with that. Some of you think it’s alarmist to compare a caffeine
and sugar rush to doing drugs, and some just don’t really care about the slump they’ll find themselves in after
drinking 39 grams of sugar, but what makes us really worried about a soda-slurping habit is what happens over the long term.
Here’s a quick snapshot of you, in a few years, after drinking soda on a regular basis:
You’ll
Be Fatter: According to research in the Nurse’s Health Study, which monitored the health of 90,000 women for eight years, drinking a single soda every day of the week added 10 pounds
over a four-year period.
You’ll Probably Have Diabetes: In the Nurses’ Health Study, women who said they drank
one or more servings a day of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch were twice as likely to have developed type 2 diabetes during the study than those who rarely consumed these beverages.
You’re Much More Likely to Develop Heart
Disease: According to a study published in 2007 in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, subjects who drank a soda every day over a four-year period had a 25% chance
of developing high blood sugar levels and a 32% greater chance of developing lower “good” cholesterol levels.
The Nurses’ Health Study found that women who drank more than two sugary beverages per day had a 40% higher risk of
heart attacks or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.
You’re Probably
Also Less Healthy In Other Ways: Several studies, including the 2007 study published in Circulation, suggest
that diet sodas have some of the same effects on health as regular sodas, despite having none or very little of the sugar.
Why? Drinking soda is typically part of an overall lifestyle that’s not very healthy: We know you don’t like us
to compare drinking caffeine and sugar to substance abuse, but when it comes to your lifestyle, some think that soda is just
like a gateway drug.
You can reach this post's author, Briana Rognlin, via e-mail at briana@blisstree.com.
