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Article: What's really in the food? The A to Z of the food industry's most evil ingre

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What's really in the food? The A to Z of the food industry's most evil ingredients

Thursday, July 28, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)


(NaturalNews) Ever wonder what's really in the food sold at grocery stores around the world? People keep asking me, "What ingredients should I avoid?" So I put together a short list that covers all the most toxic and disease-promoting ingredients in the food supply. These are the substances causing cancer, diabetes, heart disease and leading to tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs across America (and around the world).

If you want to stay healthy and out of the hospital, read ingredients labels and make sure you avoid all these ingredients:

Acrylamides - Toxic, cancer-causing chemicals formed in foods when carbohydrates are exposed to high heat (baking, frying, grilling). They're present in everything from bread crusts to snack chips, and because they aren't intentional ingredients, acrylamides do NOT have to be listed on labels.

Aspartame - Chemical sweetener that causes neurological disorders, seizures, blurred vision and migraine headaches. (http://www.naturalnews.com/030918_a...)

Autolyzed Proteins - Highly processed form of protein containing free glutamate and used to mimic the taste-enhancer chemical MSG.

BPA (Bisphenol-A) - A hormone mimicking chemical found in nearly all food packaging plastics. Active in just parts per billion, BPA promotes cancer, infertility and hormone disorders. It also "feminizes" males, promoting male breast growth and hormone disruption (http://www.naturalnews.com/032860_B...).

Casein - Milk proteins. Hilariously, this is widely used in "soy cheese" products that claim to be alternatives to cow's milk. Nearly all of them are made with cow's milk proteins.

Corn Syrup - Just another name for High Fructose Corn Syrup (see below). Frequently used in infant formula products (http://www.naturalnews.com/029863_S...).

Food Colors - FD&C Red #40, for example, is linked to behavioral disorders in children. Nearly all artificial food colors are derived from petroleum, and many are contaminated with aluminum.

Genetically Modified Ingredients - Not currently listed on the label because the GMO industry (Monsanto and DuPont) absolutely does not want people to know which foods contain GMOs. Nearly all conventionally grown corn, soy and cotton are GMOs. They're linked to severe infertility problems and may even cause the bacteria in your body to produce and release a pesticide in your own gut. If you're not eating organic corn, you're definitely eating GMO corn. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026426_G...) Learn more at www.ResponsibleTechnology.org or watch my GMO music video (hilarious) at www.NaturalNews.com/NoGMO

High Fructose Corn Syrup - A highly processed liquid sugar extracted with the chemical solvent glutaraldehyde and frequently contaminated with mercury (http://www.naturalnews.com/032948_h...). It's also linked to diabetes, obesity and mood disorders. Used in thousands of grocery items, including things you wouldn't suspect like pizza sauce and salad dressings.

Homogenized Milk - The fats in the milk are artificially modified to change them into smaller molecules that stay in suspension in the milk liquid (so the milk fat doesn't separate) (http://www.naturalnews.com/022967_m...). While it makes milk look better on the shelf, it's also blamed for promoting heart disease and may contribute to milk allergies. Raw milk is healthier, which is why the government had outlawed it (http://www.naturalnews.com/029322_r...).

Hydrochloride - When you see anything hydrochloride, such as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride or Thiamin Hydrochloride, those are chemical forms of B vitamins that companies add to their products to be able to claim higher RDA values of vitamins. But these are synthetic, chemical forms of vitamins, not real vitamins from foods or plants. Nutritionally, they are near-useless and may actually be bad for you. Also watch out for niacinamide and cyanocobalamin (synthetic vitamin B-12). (http://www.naturalnews.com/032766_c...)

Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein - A highly processed form of (usually) soy protein that's processed to bring out the free glutamate (MSG). Use as a taste enhancer.

Partially Hydrogenated Oils - Oils that are modified using a chemical catalyst to make them stable at room temperature. This creates trans fatty acids and greatly increases the risk of blocked arteries (http://www.naturalnews.com/027445_f...). It also promotes what I call "sludge blood," which is thick, viscous blood that's hard to pump. This is usually diagnosed by doctors as "high blood pressure" and (stupidly) treated with blood-thinning medications that are technically the same chemicals as rat poison (warfarin) (http://www.naturalnews.com/023149_d...).

Phosphoric Acid - The acid used in sodas to dissolve the carbon dioxide and add to the overall fizzy-ness of the soda. Phosphoric acid will eat steel nails. It's also used by stone masons to etch rocks. The military uses it to clean the rust off battleships. In absolutely destroys tooth enamel (http://www.naturalnews.com/021774.html). Search Google Images for "Mountain Dew Mouth" to see photos of teeth rotted out by phosphoric acid: http://www.google.com/search?q=moun...

Propylene Glycol - A liquid used in the automotive industry to winterize RVs. It's also used to make the fake blueberries you see in blueberry muffins, bagels and breads. (Combined with artificial colors and corn syrup.) See shocking "Fake Blueberries" video at: http://www.naturalnews.tv/v.asp?v=7...

Sodium (Salt) - The processed white salt lacking in trace minerals. In the holistic nutrition industry, we call it "death salt" because it promotes disease and death. Real salt, on the other hand, such as "dirty" sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, is loaded with the trace minerals that prevent disease, such as selenium (cancer), chromium (diabetes) and zinc (infectious disease). Much like with bread and sugar, white salt is terrible for your health. And don't be fooled by claims of "sea salt" in grocery stores. All salt came from the sea if you go far back enough in geologic time, so they can slap the "sea salt" claim on ANY salt!

Sodium Nitrite - A cancer-causing red coloring chemical added to bacon, hot dogs, sausage, beef jerky, ham, lunch meats, pepperoni and nearly all processed meats. Strongly linked to brain tumors, pancreatic cancers and colon cancers (http://www.naturalnews.com/007024.html). The USDA once tried to ban it from the food supply but was out-maneuvered by the meat industry, which now dominates USDA regulations. Sodium nitrite is a complete poison used to make meats look fresh. Countless children die of cancer each year from sodium nitrite-induced cancers.

Soy Protein - The No. 1 protein source used in "protein bars," including many bars widely consumed by bodybuilders. Soy protein is the "junk protein" of the food industry. It's made from genetically modified soybeans (often grown in China) and then subjected to hexane, a chemical solvent (http://www.naturalnews.com/026303_s...) that can literally explode.

Sucralose - An artificial chemical sweetener sold as Splenda. The sucralose molecule contains a chlorine atom (http://www.naturalnews.com/027491_a...). Researchers have repeatedly found that artificial sweeteners make people fat by actually promoting weight gain (http://www.naturalnews.com/024543_h...).

Sugar - The bleached, nutritionally-deficient byproduct of cane processing. During sugar cane processing, nearly all the minerals and vitamins end up in the blackstrap molasses that's usually fed to farm animals. (Blackstrap molasses is actually the "good" part of sugar cane juice.) Molasses is often fed to farm animals because every rancher knows that farm animals need good nutrition to stay alive. Amazingly, conventional doctors don't yet realize this about humans, and they continue to claim that eating sugar is perfectly fine for you. Sugar promotes diabetes, obesity, mood disorders and nutritional deficiencies.

Textured Vegetable Protein - Usually made of soy protein which is extracted from genetically modified soybeans and then processed using hexane, an explosive chemical solvent (see Soy Protein, above). Widely used in vegetarian foods such as "veggie burgers" (most of which also contain MSG or Yeast Extract, by the way).

Yeast Extract - Hidden form of MSG that contains free glutamate and is used in many "natural" food products to claim "No MSG!" Yeast extract contains up to 14% free glutamate. You'll find it in thousands of grocery store products, from soups to snack chips. I even once spotted it used on fresh meat!

Food label tricks
Here's a trick food companies frequently used to pack more sugar into their products without making sugar look like the first ingredient:

Ingredient labels, you see, must list the most prominent ingredients first, and some consumers might freak out of they saw a box of cereal that said, "Sugar, whole grain wheat, corn" and so on. Instead, the company uses 3 or 4 different forms of sugar to distribute them farther down the label, like this:

"Whole grain wheat, sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids..."

This way, the first ingredients looks like "whole grain wheat" when, in reality, the cereal might be over fifty percent sugars!

How to buy honest food
• Shop are your local farmer's market, food co-op or CSA.

• In the USA, look for the USDA Organic label on foods. This is a legitimate claim to being certified organic. It's one of the few programs run by the USDA that actually has integrity.

• Read the ingredients labels! If you see names of chemicals you can't pronounce, don't buy it.

• Buy more unprocessed food ingredients and make your own meals rather than buying ready-to-eat, processed foods, which are almost universally formulated with disease-promoting ingredients.

• GROW some of your own food! The best food you can ever eat is food from your own garden.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033162_food_ingredients_chemicals.html#ixzz1VPLOgUz3




I think this is a little hyperbolic but informative none the less.
 
Acrylamides - Toxic, cancer-causing chemicals formed in foods when carbohydrates are exposed to high heat (baking, frying, grilling). They're present in everything from bread crusts to snack chips, and because they aren't intentional ingredients, acrylamides do NOT have to be listed on labels.

Does this happen when we bake our own bread? Or just when bread is baked in the very hot commercial ovens?

Ingredient labels, you see, must list the most prominent ingredients first, and some consumers might freak out of they saw a box of cereal that said, "Sugar, whole grain wheat, corn" and so on. Instead, the company uses 3 or 4 different forms of sugar to distribute them farther down the label, like this:

"Whole grain wheat, sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids..."

Or anything in the "tose" family, like maltose, dextrose, fructose, etc. !

Genetically Modified Ingredients - Not currently listed on the label because the GMO industry (Monsanto and DuPont) absolutely does not want people to know which foods contain GMOs. Nearly all conventionally grown corn, soy and cotton are GMOs. They're linked to severe infertility problems and may even cause the bacteria in your body to produce and release a pesticide in your own gut. If you're not eating organic corn, you're definitely eating GMO corn.

In Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope, she mentions that more than 70% of corn, soy and cotton is genetically modified to withstand the forces of nature, bringing more profit for companies like Monsanto. So maybe you're not "definitely" eating it, but chances are against you that you're not!

BPA (Bisphenol-A) - A hormone mimicking chemical found in nearly all food packaging plastics. Active in just parts per billion, BPA promotes cancer, infertility and hormone disorders. It also "feminizes" males, promoting male breast growth and hormone disruption

I have noticed puffy nipples in a couple of my male friends, both of whom eat many boxed foods with plastic wrappings. And we wonder why no one can have children naturally anymore.
 
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Thank you for posting this! It's nice to have a handy list. :P

One that I would like to add is datem. As dumb as this is going to sound, I thought it was from a plant (you know, like durum?)! I had no idea it was an abbreviation: Diacetyl Tartaric (Acid) Ester of Monoglyceride = DATEM. Apparently it's also "Often derived from GM soya bean oil" source. 8( 8( 8(
 
Does this happen when we bake our own bread? Or just when bread is baked in the very hot commercial ovens?

This article was the first I've heard of it. I looked it up on wiki which only confirmed that acrylamides are used for industrial manufacturing and that their formation in cooked starches was discovered in 2002.
 
• Read the ingredients labels! If you see names of chemicals you can't pronounce, don't buy it.

• Buy more unprocessed food ingredients and make your own meals rather than buying ready-to-eat, processed foods, which are almost universally formulated with disease-promoting ingredients.

I will attempt to follow this advice. I've been snacking on shelled roasted peanuts. It's good because you have to crack open the shell to get to (usually) two nuts, so you may end up eating slower and pigging out less than if you could grab a whole handful of nuts at a time. Also, they don't have any additives. I also try to snack on fruit.
 
Oh oh--Got another! Did you know that Sodium Benzoate + Potassium Benzoate = Benzene?!

Sodium Benzoate is found in many "foods," same with Potassium Benzoate. The US FDA says they're both below the dangerous limit when put in products. But what happens if you don't eat the typical serving size? 8(
 
IMO some of the odd things like MSG, Hydrolyzide protein, free glutamate, and DATEM are not so bad, but I do try to stay away from fake B12, artificial colors, sodium benzoate, and pesticide heavy foods. Search for "What's on my food"--it's a cool pesticides on food resource. Also another one in baked bread is this azidocarbinamide or something like that that is banned in the EU and Australia for causing respiratory illness.
Write to your congresspeople to make our food safer and more natural.
 
IMO some of the odd things like MSG, Hydrolyzide protein, free glutamate, and DATEM are not so bad, but I do try to stay away from fake B12, artificial colors, sodium benzoate, and pesticide heavy foods. Search for "What's on my food"--it's a cool pesticides on food resource. Also another one in baked bread is this azidocarbinamide or something like that that is banned in the EU and Australia for causing respiratory illness.
Write to your congresspeople to make our food safer and more natural.

Have you written to congress about this matter? What did you say to them and who did you send it to? I'm sure there are lobbyist groups about natural and organic foods. Are there any that you know of?
 
Oh yeah, I've gone to senators and reps websites and filled out the contact forms. They all send generic letters to my home saying they have recieved and read the info with the exception of a senator actually mentioning my topic in one of the letters.
Not sure about organic lobby groups but the what'sonmyfood people are part of the pesticideactionnetwork and they have petitions to sign.
Good topics would be offering incentives and subsidies to organic producers to offset costs and extra work involved, and that it is more land-sustainable and less polluting too. Go for it, let the congress know what you want, there is nothing to lose.
 
this is quite an eye opener and has made me reconcider what I eat......thanks for a great read
 
Sugar - The bleached, nutritionally-deficient byproduct of cane processing. During sugar cane processing, nearly all the minerals and vitamins end up in the blackstrap molasses that's usually fed to farm animals. (Blackstrap molasses is actually the "good" part of sugar cane juice.) Molasses is often fed to farm animals because every rancher knows that farm animals need good nutrition to stay alive. Amazingly, conventional doctors don't yet realize this about humans, and they continue to claim that eating sugar is perfectly fine for you. Sugar promotes diabetes, obesity, mood disorders and nutritional deficiencies.

Food label tricks
Here's a trick food companies frequently used to pack more sugar into their products without making sugar look like the first ingredient:

Ingredient labels, you see, must list the most prominent ingredients first, and some consumers might freak out of they saw a box of cereal that said, "Sugar, whole grain wheat, corn" and so on. Instead, the company uses 3 or 4 different forms of sugar to distribute them farther down the label, like this:

"Whole grain wheat, sugar, corn syrup, corn syrup solids..."

This way, the first ingredients looks like "whole grain wheat" when, in reality, the cereal might be over fifty percent sugars!

Appreciated and necessary info, thanks. I'll add the cane sugar trick. As the public is getting aware of sugar being bad cane sugar is used in a lot of organics. Taking people in with it's good rap, but pure and white cane sugar are processed crystalline sugars. The only whole form, filled with nutrients, is dried cane juice (which is not crystalline)!

Second one is instead of saying ingredients: water, sugar, concentrated fruitjuice etc on kids syrups. They discovered ingredients: water, fruitjuice (made from concentrated fruit juice), sugar, etc is just as true but way better looking.

Still on debate is the wholegrain dilemma white is refined but wholegrain contains phyticacid. Partially milled would be perfect to create an intermediate brown bread. But instead they mix white and wholegrain for this purpose, which is not the same imo!
 
^ Oh I know. I already basically don't eat processed foods--Sometimes I'll have something minimally processed like Sunshine Burgers or Ezekiel bread, but that's about it.

That video was just shocking in how widespread the fake blueberries are. I had no idea.
 
Thanks for sharing :) I'd just like to comment tho - not all TVP is made from genetically modified soybeans - the TVP in my cupboard is GM free. Just look at the packet of what you are buying. And I wouldn't really go so far as saying to avoid casein, unless of course you are vegan and don't want to eat animal products. It is just the naturally occurring protein in milk.

We buy "cleopatras" milk sometimes and it is so freaking amazinly tasty - definitely recommend it. Homogonising milk also takes away all the real flavour!

Casein - Milk proteins. Hilariously, this is widely used in "soy cheese" products that claim to be alternatives to cow's milk. Nearly all of them are made with cow's milk proteins.

Textured Vegetable Protein - Usually made of soy protein which is extracted from genetically modified soybeans and then processed using hexane, an explosive chemical solvent (see Soy Protein, above). Widely used in vegetarian foods such as "veggie burgers" (most of which also contain MSG or Yeast Extract, by the way).
 
Oh oh--Got another! Did you know that Sodium Benzoate + Potassium Benzoate = Benzene?!

How do you figure? Are you saying that combining the two ingredients makes benzene? That's certainly a new one on me, I don't see how benzoate + benzoate would equal anything without either another reagent or a catalyst, since benzoate = benzoate. The sodium and potassium are spectator ions; they do nothing.

Are you saying that benzoate = benzene? Well, again, no, not really. I'm not saying that it's not toxic - the whole point is that it is toxic, as it's a preservative - but it's not the same as benzene and is not anywhere near as bad. It should certainly be avoided.

Interestingly though, there is some concern with benzoic acid salts reacting with ascorbic acid to release benzene. The jury's still out, but it's an actual reason to avoid it.

I'm not even going to touch the hydrochloride thing. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
 
Interestingly though, there is some concern with benzoic acid salts reacting with ascorbic acid to release benzene. The jury's still out, but it's an actual reason to avoid it.

I believe this is what she means by saying ____ + ________= _____. Having the two chemicals in your system, if they interact at any given time, can release benzene into your body which is, as you've mentioned, very toxic for the human body.
 
How do you figure? Are you saying that combining the two ingredients makes benzene? That's certainly a new one on me, I don't see how benzoate + benzoate would equal anything without either another reagent or a catalyst, since benzoate = benzoate. The sodium and potassium are spectator ions; they do nothing.

Are you saying that benzoate = benzene? Well, again, no, not really. I'm not saying that it's not toxic - the whole point is that it is toxic, as it's a preservative - but it's not the same as benzene and is not anywhere near as bad. It should certainly be avoided.

Interestingly though, there is some concern with benzoic acid salts reacting with ascorbic acid to release benzene. The jury's still out, but it's an actual reason to avoid it.

I'm not even going to touch the hydrochloride thing. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

I believe this is what she means by saying ____ + ________= _____. Having the two chemicals in your system, if they interact at any given time, can release benzene into your body which is, as you've mentioned, very toxic for the human body.
Maybe the article I read was mistakeningly referring to potassium benzoate when it meant to refer to benzoic acid salts. Unfortunately, I cannot find the article I reference. After reading the article, I asked my professor if it were truly possible for you to ingest one food with sodium benzoate and another with potassium benzoate and form benzene in your system, and she said, "Anything is possible. But the amounts of both those chemicals are trivial when they're in food." 8( Some people eat a lot! "Trivial" amounts add up rather quickly when all you're eating are processed foods.
 
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