INGREDIENT LIST DEALBREAKERS: Common Additives to Avoid in Packaged Foods

INGREDIENT LIST DEALBREAKERS: Common Additives to Avoid in Packaged Foods

There are over 10,000 additives allowed in US foods today (compare that to less than 400 in Europe). And there are many ingredients - listed and not listed - that we should avoid in packaged foods, so I'm starting The Snack Life with my ingredient list dealbreakers.

This list is not exhaustive but focused on common ingredients that I try to eliminate from my kids’ diets. Beyond issues with the ingredients themselves, these are all markers for highly processed foods, so avoiding these helps you avoid a lot of other “stuff”.

ARTIFICIAL COLORS

  • Linked to hyperactivity in children
  • Disrupt gut microbiome
  • Most are made from petroleum and many are banned in other countries
  • Ingredient Watch List: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3, Erythrosine, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, FD&C Lakes, Citrus Red 2

ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS & SWEETENERS

  • Non-nutritive sweeteners often increase cravings for sugar
  • Disrupt gut microbiome
  • Side effects can include headaches and nausea
  • The WHO recently declared aspartame a possible carcinogen (i.e. there is evidence that it may cause cancer)
  • Ingredient Watch List: Acesulfame potassium (acesulfame-K, or Ace-K), advantame, aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal), neotame (Newtame), sucralose (Splenda), saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low), vanillin (synthetic flavor)

    ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES

    • Disrupt gut microbiome
    • Nitrates and nitrites (added to preserve meats) are linked to cancer
    • Several preservatives that we see in US foods are banned in other countries, including BHA & BHT (common in cereals) and propylparaben
    • Food manufacturers are required to list a chemical preservative’s purpose within ingredients (e.g. “to preserve freshness”), but it’s not always clear!
    • Ingredient Watch List: Benzoic acid, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), calcium disodium EDTA, calcium propionate, calcium sorbate, methylparaben, potassium benzoate, potassium sorbate, propylparaben, sodium nitrate/nitrite, sodium benzoate, sodium citrate, sodium diacetate, sodium propionate, sorbic acid, TBHQ

      HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP

      • Cheaper and sweeter than regular sugar
      • More rapidly absorbed into the blood stream than table sugar, and studies strongly suggest that HFCS is associated with more weight gain than table sugar
      • Damaging to the liver and overconsumption of fructose is linked to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (which is now seen in children!)
      • Linked to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems
      • 90+% of corn is GMO, which also means it’s almost certainly been treated with Glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup)
      • Ingredient Watch List: HFCS, glucose-fructose, glucose-fructose syrup, isoglucose, fructose syrup, fructose isolate

        OTHER ADDITIVES

        • Azodicarbonamide (ADA)
          • Whitening agent and dough conditioner
          • Breaks down into carcinogenic compounds
          • Banned in other countries
        • Brominated Vegetable Oil
          • Mostly removed from foods/drinks in US at this point
          • Banned in several counties
        • Potassium Bromate
          • Used in bread to improve flour and strengthen dough
          • Linked to cancer in animal studies
        • Titanium Dioxide
          • Coloring and anti-caking agent
          • Highly controversial and potential carcinogen
          • Banned in other countries
        • Emulsifiers linked to gut microbiome disruption (ideally no emulsifiers, stabilizers or thickeners)
          • Polysorbate 60, 65, 80
          • Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)
          • DATEM (Diacetyl Tartaric and Fatty Acid Esters of Mono And Diglycerides)
          • Carrageenan

         

        SCREENSHOT/COPY BELOW FOR QUICK REFERENCE

         

        SOURCES

        https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/news-media/research-highlights/new-report-shows-artificial-food-coloring-causes-hyperactivity-in-some-kids/

        https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-35309-y

        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/#!po=59.3750

        https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-no-calorie-artificial-sweeteners-have-any-effect-on-gut-health-or-metabolism

        https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2023/07/14/aspartame-declared-possible-carcinogen-by-world-health-organization/

        https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6843281/

        https://progressreport.cancer.gov/prevention/nitrate

        https://health.clevelandclinic.org/avoid-the-hidden-dangers-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup-video/

        https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/how-high-fructose-intake-may-trigger-fatty-liver-disease

        https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2022/05/cancer-causing-chemical-may-be-lurking-your-bread

        https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2022/07/23/titanium-dioxide-food-skittles-lawsuit-health/10106708002/

        https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-020-00996-6

         

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