Food Additives

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Food Additives & Preservatives

 

`Instinctively, we crave for freshness in our food. In the quest to satisfy the consumer's unending demand for freshness, the food industry keeps trying to achieve it by extending the shelf life of products. This is a contradiction in terms. You cannot extend the freshness in food. Food that has been kept is no longer genuinely fresh. The simple fact is that you neither store nor process food without damaging its nutritional content. The more you process it, and the longer you store it, the more you damage it. Preservation methods simply serve to slow down some of the aging processes, and mask the degeneration. They do not maintain true freshness. We have lost sight of this basic truth and a typical diet now consists of over 70 percent processed foods. This means 70 percent denatured food. Modern patterns of illness reflect this trend.' (Gwen Hewett, Healthy Living, Early Summer 1989, p.11)

`Preservatives can be considered in the classification of poisonous drugs because they have the same ill effects on the tissues in which they settle. Many of our canned foods are being preserved with drugs. In the past, arsenic was used in the canning of peas. We find that some companies are using certain poisonous fluids and drugs to preserve canned meats. Soda is frequently used as a preservative. Coal tar [a known cancer-producing agent] products often are used for coloring and flavoring.' (B. Jensen D.C., N.D., The Science and Practice of Iridology, p168)

One of our major concerns as regards the action of preservatives is that they work by destroying bacteria. The problem being that they indiscriminately destroy bacteria - good bacteria and bad bacteria. Which means that they could interfere with the growth of the friendly bacteria in the colon - leading to serious digestion problems, and to various imbalances in the natural bacterial population that should thrive in the digestive tract. This, we believe, could be a major cause of what is known as thrush or Candida.

 

The table below lists a number of additives, including some preservatives, that are suspected of having an adverse effect on the human system. This information was gleaned from an article by Garner Thomson in the Johannesburg Star dated 27/6/1985 as well as the book, Harmful Food Additives, Kroft and Houben, Port Washington, New York, Ashley Books, 1981.

The following information should be considered in the light of the fact that `the average person consumes between three and eight kilograms of additives per annum, while the dedicated " junk food junkie " is eating as much as 15 kilograms per annum.' (Garner Thomson, Johannesburg Star, 27/6/1985)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additive

 

Effect

 

Found In

 

 

Benzoates:

A family of about 10 chemicals that are banned in Russia

 

Believed to cause brain damage and to trigger allergies such as asthma and skin rashes

 

Margarine, fruit juices, beer, fruit purees, tea and coffee extracts, pickles and flour.

 

 

Bromates:

 

Destroy nutrients and cause nausea and diarrhoea

 

Used to bleach and to " mature " flour. Found in bread and white flour.

 

 

Butylates:

 

Have been implicated in high blood and cholesterol levels, as well as impaired kidney and liver function.

 

Margarine, butter, vegetable oils.

 

 

BHA

(butylated hydroxyanisole - a preservative)

 

Suspected of causing liver ailments and cancer

 

Fresh pork and pork sausages, steak sauces, vegetable oils, shortenings, crackers, potato chips, dry cereals. cake mixes, frozen pizza, instant teas, drink powders and many more.

 

 

 

Caffeine:

Colorant and flavorant

 

Stimulant, diuretic, causes nervousness, heart palpitations; may cause heart defects

 

Coffee, tea, cocoa, cola, soft drinks

 

 

Caramel:

A popular coloring and flavoring agent

 

Suspected of causing vitamin B6 deficiencies, having genetic effects and possibly even causing cancer

 

Candy, instant tea, soft drinks, bread, frozen pizza, brown colored foods like spreads, chocolate and baked goods.

 

 

Carrageenan:

Thickening agent and binder

 

Suspected of colitis effects, possible genetic effects

 

Sour cream, cottage cheese, yoghurt, whipped toppings, chocolate milk, ice cream, beer, jelly, gelatin, pudding desserts, baby formulas, punch drinks, olives, vegetables packaged with sauces, cookie dough, bread.

 

 

 

Chlorines:

Banned everywhere in the EEC except Britain

 

Powerful Irritant

 

Used to bleach flour and fat. In bread, flour and water.

 

 

Coal Tar AZO Dies:

Includes Tartrazine.

 

Hyperactivity, birth defects in animals, allergies, stomach upsets

 

Packet soups, sweets, smoked fish and meat, salad cream and jams.

 

 

Gallates:

They stop fats from going rancid

 

Stomach irritant and allergen

 

Vegetable oils, bread, dry cereals, and fats.

 

 

Glutamates:

As in monosodium glutamate

 

Can cause headaches, neck and/or chest pains in the sensitive, dizziness, palpitations and cancer. May cause genetic damage.

 

Used in almost every convenience food

 

 

Mono- and Di-glycerides

 

May cause genetic changes, cancer, birth defects and other abnormalities

 

Shortening, margarine, peanut butter, broth, bread, pies, dry roasted nuts, vegetables packaged with sauce, cookies, cakes, ravioli.

 

 

 

Nitrates/Nitrites:

Used to preserve meat and give hams their pink color

 

Increasingly suspected of causing cancer - especially in combination with other products. Overdoses have caused deaths

 

In cured meat products, some cheeses and in water where nitrate fertilizers are frequently used

 

 

Propyl Gallate

 

May damage the liver. May cause birth defects.

 

Meat products, potato sticks, vegetables packed with sauces, vegetable shortening and oils, chewing gum, pickles.

 

 

Red Dye 40

(Allura Red AC)

 

Possibly causes birth defects. Cancer suspect

 

Frankfurters, red gelatin desserts, red sweets, red soft drinks, red pistachio nuts, red chewing gums, cereals and baked goods.

 

 

Saccharin:

Inexpensive sugar substitute. Popular with diabetics. Danger warning now required on packets in some countries.

 

Causes allergic response and toxic reactions affecting skin, heart and gastro-intestinal tract. May cause tumors and bladder cancer.

 

 

Sugar substitute used in diet foods, ginger ale, plain and diet sodas, frozen desserts and breakfast drinks.

 

 

Sodium Erythrobate (Preservative, coloring agent, used to " freshen " foods)

 

 

Possible genetic effects, banned in several countries

 

Bacon, ham, frozen turkey roast, frankfurters, baked goods, potato salads, beverages.

 

 

Sulphites:

As in sulphur dioxide and calcium sulphite

 

Genetic mutations, cancer and allergies

 

Fruit, dried fruit and some wines

 

 

Tannin:

(Tannic Acid) Used for flavoring and in leather tanning

 

May cause liver tumors, cancer and other ailments

 

Wine, coffee, tea cocoa, beer, butter, artificial flavorings such as caramel. brandy and maple.