More than 3, 000 food additives - preservatives, flavorings, colorings and others - are added to the food we consume. This is also the main reason why experts recommend avoiding processed foods. While nutritionists, who mean well, will teach you the importance of reading food labels, the much healthier way is to eat things that don't need labels.
While you can eat some processed foods, there are literally dozens of food additives that you should not allow in your diet.
The Five Scariest Food Additives
Artificial sweeteners
Experiments have found that sweet taste, regardless of calorie content, improves appetite. Sweeteners have been shown to lead to rapid weight gain. In addition, they lead to a number of health problems.
Aspartame can also be thought of as a sweet-tasting neurotoxin. The amino acids in it literally attack your cells, even crossing the blood-brain barrier to attack your brain cells, creating a toxic cellular hyperstimulation called excitotoxicity. It also causes inflammation of the intestines.
Synthetic trans fats
Synthetic trans fats are common in foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oil - biscuits, chips, most store-bought pastry products and all kinds of fried foods. They cause inflammation, which is a hallmark of most chronic and severe diseases.
Synthetic trans fats also interfere with cancer-fighting enzymes in the body. They cause heart disease, sabotage the immune system. They also interfere with insulin receptors, as well as prevent the release of enzymes necessary for the production of sex hormones.
Artificial flavors
Artificial flavors are an unnatural addition to your menu. They can be in a combination of hundreds of supplements. Strawberry artificial flavor, for example, can contain nearly 50 chemical ingredients. An artificial flavoring called diacetyl, which is often used as a butter flavoring in microwavable popcorn, directly affects the brain and can trigger Alzheimer's.
Monosodium glutamate
This flavoring agent is most commonly associated with Chinese food, but is actually found in countless processed foods, ranging from frozen dinners and salad dressings to meats. It overloads cells and leads to their death, causing brain dysfunction and damage of varying degrees - and potentially even triggering or worsening cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's.
Artificial colorings
Artificial colorings have been linked to a number of health problems ranging from cancer and hyperactivity, as well as allergy-like reactions. Red is the most widely used color and accelerates the appearance of tumors and also triggers hyperactivity in children. It has been proven that blue dye, which is used in candies and drinks, is associated with the occurrence of brain tumors.
