(Listed alphabetically)
Known commercially as Sunette
or Sweet One, acesulfame is a sugar substitute sold in packet or tablet form,
in chewing gum, dry mixes for beverages, instant coffee and tea, gelatin
desserts, puddings and non-dairy creamers. Tests show that the additive causes
cancer in animals, which means it may increase cancer in humans. Avoid
acesulfame K and products containing it. Your sweet tooth isn't worth it.
The great bulk of artificial
colorings used in food are synthetic dyes. For decades synthetic food dyes have
been suspected of being toxic or carcinogenic and many have been banned.
Whenever possible, choose foods without dyes. They're mostly used in foods of
questionable nutritional worth anyway. Natural ingredients should provide all
the color your food needs.
This sugar substitute, sold
commercially as Equal and NutraSweet, was hailed as the savior for dieters who
for decades had put up with saccharine's unpleasant after taste. There are
quite a few problems with aspartame. The first is phenylketonuria (PKU). One
out of 20,000 babies is born without the ability to metabolize phenylalanine,
one of the two amino acids in aspartame. Toxic levels of this substance in the
blood can result in mental retardation. Beyond PKU several scientists believe
that aspartame might cause altered brain function an behavior changes in
consumers. And many people (though a minuscule fraction) have reported
dizziness, headaches, epileptic-like seizures, and menstrual problems after
ingesting aspartame.
Avoid
aspartame if you are pregnant, suffer from PKU, or think that you experience
side affects from using it. If you consume more than a couple of servings a day
consider cutting back. And, to be on the safe side, don't give aspartame to
infants.
These two closely related
chemicals are added to oil-containing foods to prevent oxidation and retard
rancidity. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World
Health Organization, consider BHA to be possibly carcinogenic to humans, and
the State of California has listed it as a carcinogen. Some studies show the
same cancer causing possibilities for BHT.
BHT
and BHA are totally unnecessary. To avoid them read the label. Because of the
possibility that BHT and BHA might cause cancer, both should be phased out of
our food supply. To play it safe, phase them out of your diet.
Caffeine is found naturally
in tea, coffee, and cocoa. It is also added to many soft drinks. It is one of
the few drugs -- a stimulant -- added to foods. Caffeine promotes stomach-acid
secretion (possibly increasing the symptoms of peptic ulcers), temporarily
raises blood pressure, and dialates some blood vessels while constricting
others. Excessive caffeine intake results in "caffeinism," with
symptoms ranging from nervousness to insomnia. These problems also affect
children who drink between 2 to 7 cans of soda a day. Caffeine may also
interfere with reproduction and affect developing fetuses. Experiments on lab
animals link caffeine to birth defects such as cleft palates, missing fingers
and toes, and skull malformations.
Caffeine
is mildly addictive, which is why some people experience headaches when they
stop drinking it. While small amounts of caffeine don't pose a problem for
everyone, avoid it if you are trying to become or are pregnant. And try to keep
caffeine out of you child's diet.
Early in this century a
Japanese chemist identified MSG as the substance in certain seasonings that
added to the flavor of protein-containing foods. Unfortunately, too much MSG
can lead to headaches, tightness in the chest, and a burning sensation in the
forearms an the back of the neck. If you think you are sensitive to MSG, look
at ingredient listings. Also, avoid hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, which
may contain MSG.
Sodium nitrite and sodium
nitrate are two closely related chemicals used for centuries to preserve meat.
While nitrate itself is harmless, it is readily converted to nitrite. When
nitrite combines with compounds called secondary amines, it forms nitrosamines,
extremely powerful cancer-causing chemicals. The chemical reaction occurs most
readily at the high temperatures of frying. Nitrite has long been suspected as
being a cause of stomach cancer. Look for nitrite-free processed meats -- some
of which are frozen, refrigeration reduces the need for nitrites -- at some
health food and grocery stores. But regardless of the presence of nitrite or
nitrosamines, the high-fat, high-sodium content of most processed meats should
be enough to discourage you from choosing them. And don't cook with bacon
drippings.
Olestra, the fake fat made by
Procter and Gamble, is both unsafe and unnecessary. Olestra was approved over
the objection of dozens of leading scientists.
The
additive may be fat-free but it has a fatal side-effect: it attaches to
valuable nutrients and flushes them out of the body. Some of these nutrients --
called carotenoids -- appear to protect us from such diseases as lung cancer,
prostate cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration. The Harvard School of
Public Health states that "the long-term consumption of olestra snack
foods might therefore result in several thousand unnecessary deaths each year
from lung and prostate cancers and heart disease, and hundreds of additional
cases of blindness in the elderly due to macular degeneration. Besides
contributing to disease, olestra causes diarrhea and other serious
gastrointestinal problems, even at low doses."
FDA
certified olestra despite the fact that there are safe low-fat snacks already
on the market. There is no evidence to show that olestra will have any
significant effect on reducing obesity in America.
Despite
being approved as safe by the FDA, all snacks containing olestra must carry a
warning label (similar to one found on cigarettes) that states:
This Product Contains
Olestra. Olestra may cause abdominal cramping and loose stools. Olestra
inhibits the absorption of some vitamins and other nutrients. Vitamins A, D, E,
and K have been added.
As of May 2000, more than
18,000 consumers have submitted to the FDA reports of adverse reactions that
they attributed to olestra. That’s more reports than the FDA has received for
all other additives in history -- combined.
This additive has long been
used to increase the volume of bread and to produce bread with a fine crumb
(the non-crust part of bread) structure. Most bromate rapidly breaks down to
form innocuous bromide. However, bromate itself causes cancer in animals. The
tiny amounts of bromate that may remain in bread pose a small risk to
consumers. Bromate has been banned virtually worldwide except in Japan and the
United States. It is rarely used in California because a cancer warning might
be required on the label.
Several studies in the 1970s
linked saccharin with cancer in laboratory animals. Avoid it. Sweetener packets
and cans of saccharin-containing diet drinks bear warning labels: "Use of
this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin,
which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals."
In
May 2000, the government revised its position on saccharin and said that while
saccharin causes bladder cancer in animals it does not cause cancer in humans.
CSPI disagrees with those
decisions. Later that year, Congress passed a law removing the warning
label from products.
Sulfites are a class of
chemicals that can keep cut fruits and vegetables looking fresh. They also
prevent discoloration in apricots, raisins, and other dried fruits; control
"black spot" in freshly caught shrimp; and prevent discoloration,
bacterial growth, and fermentation in wine. Until the early 80's they were
considered safe, but CSPI found six scientific studies proving that sulfites
could provoke sometimes severe allergic reactions. CSPI and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) identified at least a dozen fatalities linked to sulfites.
All of the deaths occurred among asthmatics. In 1985 Congress finally forced
FDA to ban sulfites from most fruits and vegetables. Especially if you have
asthma, be sure to consider whether your attacks might be related to sulfites.
The ban does not cover fresh-cut potatoes, dried fruits, and wine.