Perfect Health: The Natural Way

By Mary-Ann Shearer

Summarized with permission of Benbella Books. All rights reserved.

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Food Additives

Food additives refer to chemicals such as flavorants, colorants and preservatives which are added deliberately during industrial food processing. The manufacturers believe that using these chemicals enhances their products and makes them easier to sell. Although the amounts of additives used by manufacturers are legal, the accumulative and combined effect of these substances may cause a tremendous amount of health problems, especially in children.

There are thousands of additives and many of them may be harmless. The following are listed as they are the most commonly used and the most likely to cause health problems.

Colorants:

TARTRAZINE (E 102)

• Bright yellow coal tar dye, commonly found in many sweets.
• Responsible for a wide range of allergic and intolerant symptoms, including hyperactivity in children, asthma, migraine headaches, skin rashes and possibly cancer.

ANNATO (E 160 [B])

• A natural yellow coloring extracted from the Annato tree used to color cheese and butter.
• Evidence shows it can provoke symptoms of intolerance in people who are susceptible to urticaria (hives) or angioneurotic edema (a severe condition of hives or a bad skin rash).

ALUMINUM (E 173)

• Used as a silver colorant, it is also found in Ceylon (black) and green tea.
• Aluminum pots can oxidize and contaminate food during the cooking process.
• There is evidence that it plays a part in the onset of Alzheimer's disease or senility.

Preservatives

SODIUM BENZOATE AND OTHER BENZOATES (E 210-E 219)

• Used in margarine, some dried fruits, sodas, juices, bottled sauces and salad dressings.
• In all related studies, levels of consumption have been found to provoke ill-health including (in some cases) fetal damage, hyperactivity, asthma, and urticaria.

SULFUR DIOXIDE AND THE SULFITING AGENTS (E 220-E 227)

• Found in dried snacks, beer, wine, sausage, soups, sauces, juices, sodas, and salad dressings.
• Can reduce levels of calcium (making teeth and bones brittle), enhance the carcinogenic (cancer-forming) action of any known carcinogen and destroys vitamin Bl.
• Can cause nausea, headaches, asthma attacks, eczema, hypertension, ulcers, hives or urticaria, anaphylactic shock and severe coughing, leading to bronchitis in children.

SODIUM NITRITE AND NITRATE (E 250 AND E 251)

• Found in nearly all processed meats, bacon, and Vienna sausages.
• Interfere with the mechanism for distributing oxygen around the body and combine with amines (basic chemicals found in our food) to produce nitrosamines, which are among the most carcinogenic substances ever identified.
• The question, according to scientists, is not whether they cause cancer but how much cancer they cause.

ACETIC ACID (E 260)

• The main ingredient of vinegar found in all mayonnaises, dressings, pickles, and sauces.
• A corrosive and toxic substance that irritates the tissues and can damage the central nervous system, the kidneys, and the liver.
• Acetic acid is a by-product of fermentation of food in the stomach, frequently the result of poor combining.

CALCIUM PROPIONATE (E 282)

• Widely used as a preservative in breads, ranging from white to whole wheat and rye.
• Can cause gastrointestinal symptoms similar to a gallbladder attack. May cause migraines.
• Destroys the enzyme that enables people to assimilate calcium.

 

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