If you need to enhance the flavor of food by using artificial chemicals instead of herbs and spices, there is something very wrong with that and you wonder why you would want to put such things in their bodies.
Of course, there are more than five harmful substances found in food, but I wanted to focus on these five because they are the most common.
In no particular order, my top five are:
HYDROGENATED OR PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS
Of all the substances, for me personally, this has to be the worst. This is not to say that some (additives) are better than others, but there really isn’t a need for this in food, there really isn’t.
The hydrogenation process involves heating liquid oil to high temperatures so that it becomes a solid fat. Manufacturers claim that this improves the flavor and “mouthfeel” of the food they produce, as well as extends shelf life. This same process changes the chemical structure of the oil and makes it a ‘trans fat’.
I remember reading a newspaper article a while ago where a university professor said that hydrogenated oils have no health benefits. In fact, he couldn’t even gauge how dangerous they would be to the human body, so it’s best to avoid them all together.
In fact, hydrogenated oils do not have any health benefits. It’s no better than eating plastic. Your body can’t process plastic, so no one knows how it’s supposed to process hybrid oil.
A few years ago, a chain store made the decision to omit hydrogenated oils from all of its private label foods. I was very pleased to hear this and wish other supermarkets would do the same.
The main foods to consider are: hamburgers, pizzas, fast foods, powdered soups and sauce mixes, cakes, pies, desserts, cookies, some breakfast cereals, chips, French fries, non-dairy alternatives (cream etc.) and many non-organic processed ready meals.
It’s best to avoid fast food joints that sell fried food because you have no idea how often they change the oil. The more oil is reheated and reused, the more it oxidizes; basically, more and more free radicals are created. Free radicals are like rust in the body, and if you don’t consume antioxidants (found in fresh whole foods, particularly fruits and vegetables), you could be setting yourself up for some serious health problems down the road.
WHITE SUGAR
What surprises me about white sugar is that it’s found in foods you wouldn’t expect it to be in. I have lost count of the number of times I have been shopping, picked a product, looked and the label only to find sugar as one of the ingredients.
A few years ago, one of my favorite snacks was oatmeal cakes. When I was out shopping I wanted to buy my usual pack of oatcakes but they weren’t available so I looked for the store’s own brand alternative. I couldn’t believe it when I saw sugar as the third (or fourth) ingredient. I thought why? Why was it necessary to add sugar to a product when it was clearly not necessary? Answer? It’s a cheap bulking agent and adds flavor (supposedly). This is why supermarkets can boast that their products are cheaper: they add cheaper ingredients and less real products.
Most mornings, I see kids on their way to school gorging themselves on candy, chocolate, soda cans, and packets of potato chips. What happened to a hundred breakfasts? These kids must be a nightmare by the time they get to school.
Consuming large amounts of sugar in any form not only depletes minerals in the body (especially calcium), but also causes blood sugar problems. When too much sugar is consumed, calcium is drawn from the skeletal bones to buffer the acidic effects of excess sugar circulating in the blood. This can lead to thinning of the bones, leading to osteoporosis.
Blood sugar problems are not the same as diabetes, but if left unregulated, this is exactly what it can lead to. Constant interruptions in blood sugar can cause a number of symptoms including drowsiness, lethargy, tiredness, and cravings for sugary foods.
Refined white sugar can be found in just about every processed food you can think of, including salty products like canned (and/or fresh) soups, processed sausages and pastries, pizza, burgers, bread, and weight-loss products. Now you know why you are having trouble controlling your weight.
Now that the market is full of decent alternatives like agave and yacon, you can still get your sweet fix without the side effects. You can also use fresh and dried fruit as sweeteners in desserts and baking.
WHITE REFINED FLOUR
One thing I will never understand is why manufacturers spend money removing all the nutrients from whole grains, turning them into a pure white stuff with no nutrients, and then fortifying their food with inorganic vitamins and minerals. It’s puzzling!
White flour, like white sugar, is found in a myriad variety of foods, again all processed. I have lost count of the number of times clients come to me and tell me that they are trying to cut the wheat because they have a hard time digesting it. This really doesn’t surprise me considering it’s found in just about everything you can think of, including salads, salad dressings, and baked potatoes!
White wheat flour has become a staple food in the western world and people consume it several times a day without even realizing it. They may think they have a varied diet, but if you break it down into an ingredient list, the top items on the list will be white flour, white sugar, fat, and salt.
Just like white sugar, white flour will deplete our body of nutrients. Why? Because it contains no nutrients, your body has to draw on its own reserves, and if those reserves run low, you’re in for trouble.
Your body needs nutrients to function at an optimal level. If these nutrients are not there, that is when we begin to have health problems. Over time these (health problems) become more chronic especially if we keep eating the same sub-optimal foods. Wouldn’t you put diesel in your car because if it has unleaded gasoline, would you? Of course not! Your car would stop in no time. But that’s what you’re doing to your body when you consume white flour products. The only difference is that your body will start to show signs of ill health.
Another thing you’ll notice about white flour is how sticky it is. Now imagine that sticking to your gut, because that’s what happens. Gluten is the substance responsible for this and the first three letters say it all: GLU add an E and we have glue!
Imagine, for breakfast you start the day with toasted glue, add a good amount of hydrogenated fat and maybe a little sugar (jam)… hmmm, great! That will keep you fighting fit and performing at your best, right?
There are many alternatives, so it is possible to avoid foods that contain white refined flour. The best whole grains are those that are stone-ground, for example, wholemeal flour, spelled, rye and kamut. Plus, you can replace whole grains with gluten-free alternatives like millet, coconut, potato, rice, and hemp flour. With whole grains, the nutrients remain intact. Alternatively, you can sprout most of these grains and eat them as-is or homogenize them, mix them with herbs and spices, and make them into delicious, nutrient-dense crackers.
SOFT DRINKS
I’ve never been a big fan of fizzy drinks. My mom never bought a house when she shopped, so this translated to me when I moved out and started doing my own shopping. Before I knew it, the only time I had sodas was when I was out to eat (I didn’t drink much alcohol) or on some other special occasion, so it wasn’t a big deal to stop drinking them altogether when you started studying nutrition.
Fizzy drinks are not only high in sugar (everyone knows this), but they are also high in phosphorous. Phosphorus is a substance that is very good at leaching calcium from the bones because calcium is necessary to maintain blood pH homeostasis. Phosphorus is also very acidic and upsets the balance with potassium. This, along with a high consumption of dairy products, is what probably contributes to the highest levels of osteoporosis in the Western world.
Fizzy drinks again are empty calories. They do not contribute anything to your health, except extra calories. It’s no wonder childhood obesity rates are reaching epidemic levels. Additionally, more and more children are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Until a few years ago, this was a health problem that appeared in adulthood, not anymore.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS AND OTHER ARTIFICIAL ADDITIVES
Let’s make this really simple: the word artificial says it all. If it’s not natural, why put it in your body?
A study from the 1970s showed that aspartame caused brain tumors in rats and that lifetime use increases cancer risk. Aspartame has also been shown to have a direct effect on brain chemistry. It can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause all sorts of problems and has even been linked to food cravings. So if you’re on a diet and eating ‘low-fat’ foods that contain aspartame but have cravings all the time, this could be why.
Food colors, emulsifiers, flavors, thickeners and preservatives: what benefit do any of these have for your health? The only reason so many foods contain these unnecessary chemicals is for preservation, to extend shelf life and enhance flavor, but this can easily be done with herbs and spices. Most people ignore what they can’t understand and buy it anyway. Also, many may not question additional additives in the foods they buy because they don’t know about it, or if they do, they don’t care. If someone doesn’t care, he tells me that he doesn’t think much of himself…he doesn’t think he’s worth it and it’s a shame.
If a substance is not from the earth, then it is man-made, and if it is man-made, then it has no place in the food we eat.
The result of all this is that these substances do not contribute anything to your health because they are devoid of nutrients.
I look forward to a world that eventually rejects what food manufacturers are producing and returns to the way we used to live many years ago: growing our own food and relying on each other for support and resources.
When (if ever) this will happen is anyone’s guess, but I’d like to think it will happen one day.
