BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! TOP 10 INGREDIENTS TO AVOID IN 2015 1. High Fructose Corn Syrup HFCS is the poster-child ingredient for overly-processed foods. It is one of many cheap shortcuts that short-change wholesomeness and quality. And while nobodys ready to officially point the finger, the rise of HFCS just happens to correlate with the rise in US obesity rates. Go figure. ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/4/537.long 2. MSG (monosodium glutamate) MSG has been used in highly-processed foods for decades. And while the FDA has classified MSG as GRAS, Generally Recognized As Safe, we cannot understand why anyone would put this in anything, especially their Bloody Mary Mix--not that wed mention any names resourcesforlife/docs/item1225 mayoclinic/health/monosodium-glutamate/AN01251 3. Artificial Colors Yellow #5, Blue #1, and Red #40 are a few of the most-used artificial food colorings--but there are many, many more in thousands of products. Numerous studies bring up health concerns directly related to the use of many of these laboratory-created, chemically-complicated molecules, and yet food companies, big and small, just keep em coming. Seriously!! Who needs this crap in our food chain?!! And why do we need to add color to farmed Salmon??!! npr.org/2011/03/30/134962888/fda-probes-link-between-food-dyes-kids-behavior 4. BVO--Brominated Vegetable Oil This is a substance banned in Europe but somehow A-OK in the US that is used in all sorts of soft drinks our kids consume. The corporate lobbyists say that the concentrations are so low that theres no danger. But unfortunately studies show this stuff has the potential to collect in fat tissue around the brain. Just another example of a food chain with links broken by greed. parentables.howstuffworks/health-wellness/what-in-my-citrus-drink-teen-starts-flame-retardant-petition.html 5. Sodium Benzoate This is a chemical compound that is used as a preservative in way too many foods. It is created by combining sodium hydroxide with benzoic acid. While FDA-approved, there is still question as to its long-term effects on the body. One clear issue is when sodium benzoate combines with Vitamin C or E, benzene can form, which is a known carcinogen. naturalnews/033726_sodium_benzoate_cancer.html 6 & 6-1/2 BHA & BHT These two are found in snack foods, crackers, cereals--and many other things. Again, while GRAS, Generally Recognized as Safe, by the FDA, based on animal studies, the National Toxicology Program concluded that BHA “is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” BHA & BHT are used to keep oils from oxidizing in foods. So, basically, a way to gain shelf life at the expense of consumer health. berkeleywellnessalerts/alerts/healthy_eating/BHA-BHT-preservatives384-1.html 7. Caramel Coloring Without a # like other artificial colors-- this can sound pretty innocent. However, it is on the Center for Science in the Public Interests AVOID list. Most caramel coloring is made by heating a sugar compound (usually high-dextrose corn syrup), together with ammonium compounds, acids, or alkalis. This produces some bad stuff. cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#caramel 8. Aspartame This is the #2 artificial sweetener to be found in diet soft drinks, and is still in over 6,000 products. There has been much question about its long term safety. Again, while FDA-approved, there is plenty of data to support keeping it out of your familys diet--or at least greatly limiting its consumption. It, too, is on the CSPIs AVOID list. 9. Acesulfame-K or Acesulfame Potassium One that hasnt gotten a lot of press, but this stuff has plenty of issues with the health science community. Youll find it in all sorts of sweetened beverages and many other foods. The CSPI has it on the AVOID list, and animal testing has shown it as a potential carcinogen. cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#acesulfamek 10. Gluten Gluten is in most every processed food we eat. Its a protein found in wheat, but also in barley, oats, rye, and other grains. Wheat flour sometimes serves as a cheap extender or thickener. At Uncle Dougies, we are 100% Gluten Free across our entire line. While gluten issues are diagnosed for many, it goes undiagnosed for most, and the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that people with diagnosed, undiagnosed, and latent celiac disease or gluten sensitivity had a higher risk of death, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Heres a great link to check out on Huffpost from Mark Hyman, MD. huffingtonpost/dr-mark-hyman/gluten-what-you-dont-know_b_379089.html 11. TBHQ (I know we said 10, but the sad truth is theres way more than we can account for) On New Years Eve we pulled out a box of flatbread crackers and happened to look at the label. The 2nd ingredient caught our eye--Soybean Oil with TBHQ for freshness. We did a little digging and found that TBHQ stood for tertiary butylhydroquinone. We got the scoop on tertiary butylhydroquinone, and it was alarming. Amazing what some companies are putting in our food these days! scienceblogs/moleculeoftheday/2007/03/29/tbhq-mixed-feelings/ bedford.patch/blog_posts/why-is-my-baby-eating-tbhq-for-freshness So... thats our 2015 Top 10+ List. Unfortunately its not exhaustive and there are many other ingredients to watch out for--too many! But, hopefully, you found this to be enlightening (though it has the potential to be depressing as well). Bottomline? Seems that good, old-fashioned food, as natural as it can be, is the best stuff for all of us in 2015 and beyond. At Uncle Dougies, we will continue to champion the cause for great-tasting, real, good, and good-for-you food! And...NO CRAP! Happy New Year!!!
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 00:18:23 +0000
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