Food ingredients have been used for centuries to boost the look and flavor of food and prolong life span. Nevertheless, do these food ingredients really “include” any worth to your food? Food additives discover their way into our foods to help reduce processing, product packaging, and storage, however how do we understand which food ingredients remain in that box of macaroni and cheese, and why does it have such a long life span?
A common American family spends about 90 percent of their food budget on processed foods and in doing so they get exposed to a huge selection of synthetic food ingredients, a lot of which can have serious effects to your health.
How to Avoid Food Preservatives
Processed and packaged foods are a practical choice for today’s busy households, but they’re filled with countless additives and preservatives to manage color, flavor, fragrance, nutrition, texture, and shelf life. Some are alright and some must be avoided, especially because they can have a disproportionately higher health influence on children compared with adults and have been linked to things like weight problems and ADHD.
Limit your child’s intake of food additives by following these simple steps:
Determine what your child consumes. Keep a food journal for a week, keeping in mind whatever that is consumed– including at school. At the end of the week, you need to have a smart idea of your child’s direct exposure to food ingredients. Food ingredients are mostly present in processed and packaged foods, sweet, soda and other “scrap” food, so if you restrict those foods, you’ll cut down considerably.
Eat entire foods. Eating a well balanced diet of fresh fruit and vegetables and entire grains will go a long way to keeping ingredients and preservatives out of your child’s system. Entire foods are much healthier than processed and packaged. But, if you do buy processed foods, try to find the organic choices which have little or no included synthetic colors or preservatives.
Sodium Sulfite (E221)
Preservative used in processed foods. According to the FDA, approximately one in 100 people is sensitive to sulfites in food. The majority of these people are asthmatic, recommending a link between asthma and sulfites. Individuals who are sulfite delicate might experience headaches, breathing problems, and rashes. In severe cases, sulfites can actually cause death by closing down the airway completely, causing heart attack.
Sodium Nitrate/Sodium Nitrite (E249, Е250, Е251, Е252)
Salt nitrate (or sodium nitrite) is used as a preservative, coloring, and flavoring in hot dogs, lunch meats, smoked fish and other processed meats. This component, which sounds harmless, is really highly carcinogenic once it gets in the human digestive system. There, it forms a range of nitrosamine substances that enter the bloodstream and wreak havoc with a number of internal organs: the liver and pancreas in particular.
Salt nitrite is commonly considered as a hazardous component, and the USDA in fact aimed to ban this additive in the 1970’s however was banned by food producers who grumbled they had no option for preserving packaged meat products. Why does the industry still use it? Simple: this chemical just happens to turn meats intense red. It’s really a color fixer, and it makes old, dead meats appear fresh and dynamic.
Sulfur Dioxide (E220)
Sulfur ingredients are poisonous and in the United States of America, the Federal Drugs Administration have restricted their use on raw fruit and vegetables. Adverse responses include bronchial problems particularly in those susceptible to asthma, hypotension (low blood pressure), flushing, tingling sensations or anaphylactic shock. It also destroys vitamins B1 and E. Not recommended for usage by children. The International Labour Organization says to avoid E220 if you experience conjunctivitis, bronchitis, emphysema, bronchial asthma, or heart disease.
Found in soft drinks, dried fruit, juices, cordials,vinegar, and potato products.
Good luck! Have a nice weekend.
