THE BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOOD ADDITIVES IN OUR FOOD SUPPLY

"Food additive" defined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is any substance used to provide a technical effect in foods. Food additives are substances added to food to help give them a better taste or to preserve them so that they are safe to eat for a certain period of time. Some additives are simply for appearance and make the food look appetizing. The additives can be classified as Anti-caking agents, Antioxidants, Artificial Sweeteners, Artificial Colors, Artificial Flavors, Flavor Enhancers, Humectants and Propellants, Emulsifiers, Stabilizers, Thickeners, and Preservatives etc. The use of food additives has become more prominent in recent years, due to the increased production of prepared, processed, and convenience foods. There are over 14,000 man-made chemicals added to our American food supply today. Consumers are also keen on buying "low-calorie", "low-fat foods", indicating a growing demand for food additives such as artificial sweeteners and fat replacers. With the development of technology, more and more additives have become available for food manufacturers to use. The world market for food additives is projected to exceed $33.9 billion by the year 2015.

The food additives have a specific purpose and are tested for toxicity and safety. Even if all of the food additives used in our foods were safe individually, rarely does any food have only one additive in it. The history of food additives is riddled with additives that, after many years of use, were found to pose health risks. Some of the foods you eat may have two or three additives and some may only have one. Additives that are safe individually may be harmful in certain combinations. Nobody knows the effects of the many different additives used in the thousands of different combinations in our food supply. Some of the known dangers of food additives and preservatives are listed below: Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a preservative is classified as a possible carcinogen (possibly causes cancer) by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Caramel is a famous flavoring and coloring agent that can cause vitamin B6 deficiencies. It can cause certain genetic defects and even cancer. Red Dye 40 is suspected to cause certain birth defects and possibly cancer. Saccharin causes toxic reactions and allergic response, affecting skin, gastrointestinal tract and heart. It may also cause tumors and bladder cancer. Sodium chloride can lead to high blood pressure, kidney failure, stroke and heart attack. Almost all of the processed foods contain additives, substances intended to change the food in some way before it is sold to consumers. Food Additives are not natural nutrition for humans or their pets. Children are suffering the most from food additives because they are exposed to food chemicals from infancy, and human bodies were not meant to be exposed to the degree of chemicals and food additives that we are currently consuming. It is important for everyone to be aware of the types of chemicals and food additives that they are eating or feeding their families.

Simple rules to avoid unwanted additives in your daily diet: Rule #1: Next time you go for grocery shopping, remember to check the ingredient list of any packaged food item that you are interested in buying. The ingredient list on a food label is the listing of each ingredient in descending order of predominance. Listing ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight means that the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least is listed last. Rule #2: If the list of ingredients is long and have a bunch of scientific words that are hard to pronounce, avoid it. Most likely, the product has a lot of chemical additives in it. It’s best to avoid such foods because of the unknown health effects of combinations of food additives. Rule #3: Buy more whole foods and fewer 'processed foods,' such as ready-made meals. Processed foods are foods that have been compromised by the addition of hormones, additives, preservatives, unnatural genetic material or other chemical or heat treatments that alter or destroy the natural healthy enzymes, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals occurring in the whole foods. Rule #4: Buy locally grown, fresh and unprocessed foods sold at your local stores or at farmers market. These foods are not transported thousands of miles and not packed with preservatives before reaching you. Rule #5: Buy organic foods instead of buying conventionally grown foods to avoid the antibiotics, growth-hormones, herbicides and pesticide residues in your meals. Studies show that organic foods are much safer to consume than the conventionally grown foods. Rule #6: Cook fresh meals at home instead of buying pre-made boxed or frozen dinners. The time you spend preparing an additive-free meal will pay off in fresh flavor and increased food safety for you and your family. If you follow these simple rules, we believe you have already taken your first step towards healthy eating. Attend one of our upcoming workshops, we will help you eliminate the wrong foods from your pantry and refrigerator and teach you how to replace them with better quality foods. We are confident once you attend our Minute Wonder workshops, you will be able to confidently walk through the aisles of a grocery store and pick the best healthy food item among the hundreds of alternatives on the shelves.

To schedule your own personalized workshop, please contact Preeti Gupta at 510-579-7124 or send her an e-mail preeti@minutewonder.com.