Skinny Bitch_ Ultimate Everyday Cookbook - Kim Barnouin [17]
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS
Commonly found in chewing gums, diet soda, and sugar-free foods, artificial sweeteners claim to reduce the number of calories, but they’re taking your health hostage in the meantime. They disguise themselves under such aliases as Acesulfame-K, saccharin, Equal, Splenda, NutraSweet, Sweet’N Low, sucralose, sorbitol, and aspartame. Aspartame—a common artificial sweetener that is still on my shit list—is one of the most controversial ingredients on grocery shelves. By 1998, eighty percent of complaints brought to the FDA about food additives were focused on aspartame products. Its running list of negative side effects makes pill popping look saintly: blurred vision, memory loss, anxiety attacks, seizures, migraines, dizziness, depression, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, and various forms of cancer.53 There are even aspartame victim support groups. Sucralose, another modified sugar mentioned above, is 600 times as sweet as sugar. Not a difficult one to figure out.
BENZOATE PRESERVATIVES: BHA (BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE) AND BHT (BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE)
BHA and BHT are oxidants, lovely preservatives that food companies use to preserve fats and prevent foods from going rancid. Hello, cancer! They also have been known to affect estrogen levels, while causing asthma, rhinitis, dermatitis, tumors, and urticaria.54 BHT has been banned in England but, again, the U.S. says it’s a-okay.55
BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL (BVO)
A chemical that enhances flavor in citrus-based fruit drinks and soft drinks, BVO increases triglycerides and cholesterol and can cause serious damage to the liver, testicles, thyroid, heart, and kidneys. No refills, please.56
POTASSIUM BROMATE
Bromate has been banned throughout most of the world, and California requires a cancer warning on the label if this additive is an ingredient. But the FDA hasn’t illegalized it.57 They just encourage bakers not to use it. Smart move, geniuses. That’s going to stop them. While we’re at it, let’s encourage them not to put gasoline in our muffins, either.
Often found in white flour, breads, and rolls, potassium bromate can cause nervous system damage, kidney disorders, and gastrointestinal problems.58
PROPYLENE GLYCOL
The FDA claims propylene glycol is “generally safe” except when used in foods. Maybe that’s because it’s also a mineral oil found in automatic brake fluid, hydraulic fluid, and antifreeze.59 But that’s just a lucky guess. Propylene glycol is used to thicken dairy products and factory foods like soda pop and salad dressing.60 Your safest bet is to keep it out of your pantry.
PROPYL GALLATE
Often used in conjunction with BHA and BHT to keep fats and oils from going rotten, this synthetic preservative has prompted warnings of adverse side effects such as allergic reactions that constrict breathing.61 Recall that you need to breathe to stay alive. It’s used in everything from mayonnaise and soup to vitamins.
SODIUM NITRATE AND SODIUM NITRITE
Nitrates and nitrites produce cancer-causing agents in the stomach and can cause death but have not been banned by the FDA because they prevent botulism. 62 Big red flag. Commonly used to prevent bacteria growth in meats and preserve its color and flavor. Yet another reason to cut meat out of your diet.
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (MSG)
A flavor enhancer most often found in packaged foods, MSG might as well be radioactive. It can cause headaches, chest pain, high blood pressure, nausea, and nervous system and reproductive disorders. 63 According to author and neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock, there is a link between sudden cardiac arrest (aka death) and excitotoxic damage evoked by MSG and artificial sweeteners.64 Food manufacturers have even found ways to downplay it in infant formulas and over-the-counter medications by labeling it