What if someone told us that we were eating food poison with each bite we take? What would our reactions be? Of course we don’t cook our food in a pan of poison, or spice our foods with poison salts. But, we do eat poison everyday with some of the foods we eat. We need to start taking a look at the food we are feeding our kids, our families, and ourselves. Eating this “poison” will have serious health issues later on in life.
As a society, we all are exposed to the worst kinds of chemicals in the foods we eat. Food for kids today tends to be full of color, additives, MSG and artificial sweeteners.According to an article, the following list is a huge no-no and should not be given to us or our kids. A list from an article in The Guardian, included this list of bad additives which included: Artificial sweeteners, sodium benzoate (E211), suffer dioxide (E220), the coloring Quinoline Yellow (E104), Brilliant Blue (E133), Sunset Yellow (E110), Carmoisine (E122), Ponceau (4R (E124), and Monosodium glutamate (E621). (Wolfe, 2004).
According to this article, this list is a big no-no and should never be added to our foods, let alone consumed by us, or our kids.Pesticides, preventives additives and chemicals have become a huge part of life, maybe we should start asking more questions or research the foods we intake each day. Raise awareness about the preventives and additives that are included in the food we buy, better yet, buy organic foods. It’s time that we as humans take more control over the things we eat and feed our families.
Some product used as food additives or preservatives are also used to retard corpse decomposition (formaldehyde), in antiperspirants (aluminum compounds), in anti freeze or paint remover (propylene glycol), most common chicken feeds contained arsenic (Roxarsone). (Yegin, Articles on line, 2003) ] Organic arsenic stimulates growth while inorganic acid arsenic can cause bladder, lung, skin, kidney, and colon cancer, and it has deleterious immunological, neurological, and endocrine effects. Low-level exposures can lead to partial paralysis and diabetes. And Roxarsone is proven to be converted to arsenate (inorganic arsenic) very rapidly by the micro organism in chickens.
And through chicken fertilizers, humans are exposed to inorganic arsenic. (Yegin, Articles on line, 2003) There have been findings that additives cause cancer in rats.Not all manufacturers use these preservatives, Aspartame; Aspartame is a popular artificial sweetener which is also known by the brand names NutraSweet and Equal. It‘s suppose to be about 200 times sweeter than sugar and found in diet foods such as low-calorie desserts, gelatins, drink mixes, and soft drinks. This sweetener has been found to cause brain tumors in rats as far back as the 1970s, however a more recent study in 2005 found that even small doses increase the incidence of lymphomas and leukemia in rats, along with brain tumors. [ (Thundiyli, 2005) ] A few minor changes in the way we eat or the foods we buy.
The same article from the Guardian stated, “Suspect the worst when ingredients listing mention loose terms such as “flavorings” or “coloring”. Likewise, with the word “flavor”, the difference between the snack that says “cheese flavor” and “cheese flavored” is that the latter actually has chest in it”. (Wolfe, 2004) We need to pick our snacks and foods with awareness. Eat as much fresh produce that you can get at a local Farmer’s Market, or purchase items that are organically grown.
If you go organic, often this is more expensive than going to the Farmer’s Market and getting fresh vegetable and fruits.We need to start reading labels that are on the packages of food we buy and be more heath conscious of what the manufacturers are putting in the foods we eat. The very first step is to just BE AWARE of what is in the foods we eat, read the labels, drive a few extra miles to a farmer’s market, or better yet, grow your own garden this summer for fresh vegetable. Just a few step toward eating the freshest, healthiest and more than likely foods that taste way better than store bought foods that are full of additives and other items that will eventually help you live a little longer life, feel better in general.
